In [1]:
import re
import nltk
import string
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
In [2]:
# Function which returns string containing contents of .txt file at file_path
def txt_file_to_string(file_path):
with open(file_path, "r", encoding ="utf8") as curr:
text = curr.read()
text = text.replace("\n", " ").replace("\r", " ")
return text
In [3]:
# Book 1 is Pride and Prejudice stored in string T1
book_one_path = "E:/Pride and Prejudice.txt"
T1 = txt_file_to_string(book_one_path)
T1
Out[3]:
'The Project Gutenberg eBook of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Pride and Prejudice Author: Jane Austen Release Date: June, 1998 [eBook #1342] [Most recently updated: August 23, 2021] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 Produced by: Anonymous Volunteers and David Widger *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PRIDE AND PREJUDICE *** THERE IS AN ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF THIS TITLE WHICH MAY VIEWED AT EBOOK [# 42671 ] cover Pride and Prejudice By Jane Austen CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Chapter 53 Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Chapter 56 Chapter 57 Chapter 58 Chapter 59 Chapter 60 Chapter 61 Chapter 1 It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters. “My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?” Mr. Bennet replied that he had not. “But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.” Mr. Bennet made no answer. “Do not you want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently. “_You_ want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.” This was invitation enough. “Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.” “What is his name?” “Bingley.” “Is he married or single?” “Oh! single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!” “How so? how can it affect them?” “My dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife, “how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.” “Is that his design in settling here?” “Design! nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he _may_ fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.” “I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley might like you the best of the party.” “My dear, you flatter me. I certainly _have_ had my share of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. When a woman has five grown-up daughters, she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty.” “In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of.” “But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when he comes into the neighbourhood.” “It is more than I engage for, I assure you.” “But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them. Sir William and Lady Lucas are determined to go, merely on that account, for in general, you know, they visit no newcomers. Indeed you must go, for it will be impossible for _us_ to visit him, if you do not.” “You are over scrupulous, surely. I dare say Mr. Bingley will be very glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying whichever he chooses of the girls; though I must throw in a good word for my little Lizzy.” “I desire you will do no such thing. Lizzy is not a bit better than the others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so good-humoured as Lydia. But you are always giving _her_ the preference.” “They have none of them much to recommend them,” replied he; “they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters.” “Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves.” “You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least.” “Ah, you do not know what I suffer.” “But I hope you will get over it, and live to see many young men of four thousand a year come into the neighbourhood.” “It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come, since you will not visit them.” “Depend upon it, my dear, that when there are twenty, I will visit them all.” Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. _Her_ mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news. Chapter 2 Mr. Bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr. Bingley. He had always intended to visit him, though to the last always assuring his wife that he should not go; and till the evening after the visit was paid she had no knowledge of it. It was then disclosed in the following manner. Observing his second daughter employed in trimming a hat, he suddenly addressed her with, “I hope Mr. Bingley will like it, Lizzy.” “We are not in a way to know _what_ Mr. Bingley likes,” said her mother resentfully, “since we are not to visit.” “But you forget, mamma,” said Elizabeth, “that we shall meet him at the assemblies, and that Mrs. Long has promised to introduce him.” “I do not believe Mrs. Long will do any such thing. She has two nieces of her own. She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I have no opinion of her.” “No more have I,” said Mr. Bennet; “and I am glad to find that you do not depend on her serving you.” Mrs. Bennet deigned not to make any reply; but, unable to contain herself, began scolding one of her daughters. “Don’t keep coughing so, Kitty, for heaven’s sake! Have a little compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces.” “Kitty has no discretion in her coughs,” said her father; “she times them ill.” “I do not cough for my own amusement,” replied Kitty fretfully. “When is your next ball to be, Lizzy?” “To-morrow fortnight.” “Aye, so it is,” cried her mother, “and Mrs. Long does not come back till the day before; so, it will be impossible for her to introduce him, for she will not know him herself.” “Then, my dear, you may have the advantage of your friend, and introduce Mr. Bingley to _her_.” “Impossible, Mr. Bennet, impossible, when I am not acquainted with him myself; how can you be so teasing?” “I honour your circumspection. A fortnight’s acquaintance is certainly very little. One cannot know what a man really is by the end of a fortnight. But if _we_ do not venture somebody else will; and after all, Mrs. Long and her nieces must stand their chance; and, therefore, as she will think it an act of kindness, if you decline the office, I will take it on myself.” The girls stared at their father. Mrs. Bennet said only, “Nonsense, nonsense!” “What can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation?” cried he. “Do you consider the forms of introduction, and the stress that is laid on them, as nonsense? I cannot quite agree with you _there_. What say you, Mary? for you are a young lady of deep reflection, I know, and read great books and make extracts.” Mary wished to say something very sensible, but knew not how. “While Mary is adjusting her ideas,” he continued, “let us return to Mr. Bingley.” “I am sick of Mr. Bingley,” cried his wife. “I am sorry to hear _that_; but why did not you tell me so before? If I had known as much this morning, I certainly would not have called on him. It is very unlucky; but as I have actually paid the visit, we cannot escape the acquaintance now.” The astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished; that of Mrs. Bennet perhaps surpassing the rest; though when the first tumult of joy was over, she began to declare that it was what she had expected all the while. “How good it was in you, my dear Mr. Bennet! But I knew I should persuade you at last. I was sure you loved your girls too well to neglect such an acquaintance. Well, how pleased I am! and it is such a good joke, too, that you should have gone this morning, and never said a word about it till now.” “Now, Kitty, you may cough as much as you choose,” said Mr. Bennet; and, as he spoke, he left the room, fatigued with the raptures of his wife. “What an excellent father you have, girls,” said she, when the door was shut. “I do not know how you will ever make him amends for his kindness; or me either, for that matter. At our time of life, it is not so pleasant, I can tell you, to be making new acquaintance every day; but for your sakes, we would do anything. Lydia, my love, though you _are_ the youngest, I dare say Mr. Bingley will dance with you at the next ball.” “Oh!” said Lydia stoutly, “I am not afraid; for though I _am_ the youngest, I’m the tallest.” The rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how soon he would return Mr. Bennet’s visit, and determining when they should ask him to dinner. Chapter 3 Not all that Mrs. Bennet, however, with the assistance of her five daughters, could ask on the subject, was sufficient to draw from her husband any satisfactory description of Mr. Bingley. They attacked him in various ways; with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises; but he eluded the skill of them all; and they were at last obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence of their neighbour, Lady Lucas. Her report was highly favourable. Sir William had been delighted with him. He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assembly with a large party. Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love; and very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley’s heart were entertained. “If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield,” said Mrs. Bennet to her husband, “and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for.” In a few days Mr. Bingley returned Mr. Bennet’s visit, and sat about ten minutes with him in his library. He had entertained hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose beauty he had heard much; but he saw only the father. The ladies were somewhat more fortunate, for they had the advantage of ascertaining from an upper window, that he wore a blue coat and rode a black horse. An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched; and already had Mrs. Bennet planned the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred it all. Mr. Bingley was obliged to be in town the following day, and consequently unable to accept the honour of their invitation, etc. Mrs. Bennet was quite disconcerted. She could not imagine what business he could have in town so soon after his arrival in Hertfordshire; and she began to fear that he might be always flying about from one place to another, and never settled at Netherfield as he ought to be. Lady Lucas quieted her fears a little by starting the idea of his being gone to London only to get a large party for the ball; and a report soon followed that Mr. Bingley was to bring twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with him to the assembly. The girls grieved over such a number of ladies; but were comforted the day before the ball by hearing, that instead of twelve, he had brought only six with him from London, his five sisters and a cousin. And when the party entered the assembly room it consisted of only five altogether; Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and another young man. Mr. Bingley was good-looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion. His brother-in-law, Mr. Hurst, merely looked the gentleman; but his friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend. Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal people in the room; he was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, was angry that the ball closed so early, and talked of giving one himself at Netherfield. Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves. What a contrast between him and his friend! Mr. Darcy danced only once with Mrs. Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, declined being introduced to any other lady, and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the room, speaking occasionally to one of his own party. His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and everybody hoped that he would never come there again. Amongst the most violent against him was Mrs. Bennet, whose dislike of his general behaviour was sharpened into particular resentment by his having slighted one of her daughters. Elizabeth Bennet had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen, to sit down for two dances; and during part of that time, Mr. Darcy had been standing near enough for her to overhear a conversation between him and Mr. Bingley, who came from the dance for a few minutes, to press his friend to join it. “Come, Darcy,” said he, “I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance.” “I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this, it would be insupportable. Your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with.” “I would not be so fastidious as you are,” cried Bingley, “for a kingdom! Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty.” “_You_ are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,” said Mr. Darcy, looking at the eldest Miss Bennet. “Oh! she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you.” “Which do you mean?” and turning round, he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt _me_; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me.” Mr. Bingley followed his advice. Mr. Darcy walked off; and Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him. She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous. The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family. Mrs. Bennet had seen her eldest daughter much admired by the Netherfield party. Mr. Bingley had danced with her twice, and she had been distinguished by his sisters. Jane was as much gratified by this as her mother could be, though in a quieter way. Elizabeth felt Jane’s pleasure. Mary had heard herself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most accomplished girl in the neighbourhood; and Catherine and Lydia had been fortunate enough to be never without partners, which was all that they had yet learnt to care for at a ball. They returned, therefore, in good spirits to Longbourn, the village where they lived, and of which they were the principal inhabitants. They found Mr. Bennet still up. With a book he was regardless of time; and on the present occasion he had a good deal of curiosity as to the event of an evening which had raised such splendid expectations. He had rather hoped that all his wife’s views on the stranger would be disappointed; but he soon found that he had a very different story to hear. “Oh, my dear Mr. Bennet,” as she entered the room, “we have had a most delightful evening, a most excellent ball. I wish you had been there. Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it. Everybody said how well she looked; and Mr. Bingley thought her quite beautiful, and danced with her twice. Only think of _that_, my dear; he actually danced with her twice; and she was the only creature in the room that he asked a second time. First of all, he asked Miss Lucas. I was so vexed to see him stand up with her; but, however, he did not admire her at all; indeed, nobody can, you know; and he seemed quite struck with Jane as she was going down the dance. So he enquired who she was, and got introduced, and asked her for the two next. Then, the two third he danced with Miss King, and the two fourth with Maria Lucas, and the two fifth with Jane again, and the two sixth with Lizzy, and the _Boulanger_—” “If he had had any compassion for _me_,” cried her husband impatiently, “he would not have danced half so much! For God’s sake, say no more of his partners. Oh that he had sprained his ankle in the first dance!” “Oh! my dear,” continued Mrs. Bennet, “I am quite delighted with him. He is so excessively handsome! and his sisters are charming women. I never in my life saw anything more elegant than their dresses. I dare say the lace upon Mrs. Hurst’s gown—” Here she was interrupted again. Mr. Bennet protested against any description of finery. She was therefore obliged to seek another branch of the subject, and related, with much bitterness of spirit and some exaggeration, the shocking rudeness of Mr. Darcy. “But I can assure you,” she added, “that Lizzy does not lose much by not suiting _his_ fancy; for he is a most disagreeable, horrid man, not at all worth pleasing. So high and so conceited that there was no enduring him! He walked here, and he walked there, fancying himself so very great! Not handsome enough to dance with! I wish you had been there, my dear, to have given him one of your set-downs. I quite detest the man.” Chapter 4 When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him. “He is just what a young man ought to be,” said she, “sensible, good-humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners!—so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!” “He is also handsome,” replied Elizabeth, “which a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete.” “I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time. I did not expect such a compliment.” “Did not you? _I_ did for you. But that is one great difference between us. Compliments always take _you_ by surprise, and _me_ never. What could be more natural than his asking you again? He could not help seeing that you were about five times as pretty as every other woman in the room. No thanks to his gallantry for that. Well, he certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him. You have liked many a stupider person.” “Dear Lizzy!” “Oh! you are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in general. You never see a fault in anybody. All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in my life.” “I would wish not to be hasty in censuring any one; but I always speak what I think.” “I know you do; and it is _that_ which makes the wonder. With _your_ good sense, to be so honestly blind to the follies and nonsense of others! Affectation of candour is common enough;—one meets with it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design—to take the good of everybody’s character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad—belongs to you alone. And so, you like this man’s sisters, too, do you? Their manners are not equal to his.” “Certainly not; at first. But they are very pleasing women when you converse with them. Miss Bingley is to live with her brother, and keep his house; and I am much mistaken if we shall not find a very charming neighbour in her.” Elizabeth listened in silence, but was not convinced; their behaviour at the assembly had not been calculated to please in general; and with more quickness of observation and less pliancy of temper than her sister, and with a judgment too unassailed by any attention to herself, she was very little disposed to approve them. They were in fact very fine ladies; not deficient in good humour when they were pleased, nor in the power of being agreeable where they chose it; but proud and conceited. They were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought, and of associating with people of rank; and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others. They were of a respectable family in the north of England; a circumstance more deeply impressed on their memories than that their brother’s fortune and their own had been acquired by trade. Mr. Bingley inherited property to the amount of nearly a hundred thousand pounds from his father, who had intended to purchase an estate, but did not live to do it. Mr. Bingley intended it likewise, and sometimes made choice of his county; but as he was now provided with a good house and the liberty of a manor, it was doubtful to many of those who best knew the easiness of his temper, whether he might not spend the remainder of his days at Netherfield, and leave the next generation to purchase. His sisters were very anxious for his having an estate of his own; but though he was now established only as a tenant, Miss Bingley was by no means unwilling to preside at his table, nor was Mrs. Hurst, who had married a man of more fashion than fortune, less disposed to consider his house as her home when it suited her. Mr. Bingley had not been of age two years, when he was tempted by an accidental recommendation to look at Netherfield House. He did look at it, and into it for half an hour, was pleased with the situation and the principal rooms, satisfied with what the owner said in its praise, and took it immediately. Between him and Darcy there was a very steady friendship, in spite of great opposition of character. Bingley was endeared to Darcy by the easiness, openness, and ductility of his temper, though no disposition could offer a greater contrast to his own, and though with his own he never appeared dissatisfied. On the strength of Darcy’s regard Bingley had the firmest reliance, and of his judgment the highest opinion. In understanding, Darcy was the superior. Bingley was by no means deficient, but Darcy was clever. He was at the same time haughty, reserved, and fastidious, and his manners, though well bred, were not inviting. In that respect his friend had greatly the advantage. Bingley was sure of being liked wherever he appeared, Darcy was continually giving offence. The manner in which they spoke of the Meryton assembly was sufficiently characteristic. Bingley had never met with pleasanter people or prettier girls in his life; everybody had been most kind and attentive to him; there had been no formality, no stiffness; he had soon felt acquainted with all the room; and as to Miss Bennet, he could not conceive an angel more beautiful. Darcy, on the contrary, had seen a collection of people in whom there was little beauty and no fashion, for none of whom he had felt the smallest interest, and from none received either attention or pleasure. Miss Bennet he acknowledged to be pretty, but she smiled too much. Mrs. Hurst and her sister allowed it to be so—but still they admired her and liked her, and pronounced her to be a sweet girl, and one whom they should not object to know more of. Miss Bennet was therefore established as a sweet girl, and their brother felt authorised by such commendation to think of her as he chose. Chapter 5 Within a short walk of Longbourn lived a family with whom the Bennets were particularly intimate. Sir William Lucas had been formerly in trade in Meryton, where he had made a tolerable fortune, and risen to the honour of knighthood by an address to the king during his mayoralty. The distinction had perhaps been felt too strongly. It had given him a disgust to his business and to his residence in a small market town; and, quitting them both, he had removed with his family to a house about a mile from Meryton, denominated from that period Lucas Lodge, where he could think with pleasure of his own importance, and, unshackled by business, occupy himself solely in being civil to all the world. For, though elated by his rank, it did not render him supercilious; on the contrary, he was all attention to everybody. By nature inoffensive, friendly, and obliging, his presentation at St. James’s had made him courteous. Lady Lucas was a very good kind of woman, not too clever to be a valuable neighbour to Mrs. Bennet. They had several children. The eldest of them, a sensible, intelligent young woman, about twenty-seven, was Elizabeth’s intimate friend. That the Miss Lucases and the Miss Bennets should meet to talk over a ball was absolutely necessary; and the morning after the assembly brought the former to Longbourn to hear and to communicate. “_You_ began the evening well, Charlotte,” said Mrs. Bennet with civil self-command to Miss Lucas. “_You_ were Mr. Bingley’s first choice.” “Yes; but he seemed to like his second better.” “Oh! you mean Jane, I suppose, because he danced with her twice. To be sure that _did_ seem as if he admired her—indeed I rather believe he _did_—I heard something about it—but I hardly know what—something about Mr. Robinson.” “Perhaps you mean what I overheard between him and Mr. Robinson; did not I mention it to you? Mr. Robinson’s asking him how he liked our Meryton assemblies, and whether he did not think there were a great many pretty women in the room, and _which_ he thought the prettiest? and his answering immediately to the last question—‘Oh! the eldest Miss Bennet, beyond a doubt, there cannot be two opinions on that point.’” “Upon my word! Well, that was very decided indeed—that does seem as if—but, however, it may all come to nothing, you know.” “_My_ overhearings were more to the purpose than _yours_, Eliza,” said Charlotte. “Mr. Darcy is not so well worth listening to as his friend, is he?—Poor Eliza!—to be only just _tolerable_.” “I beg you would not put it into Lizzy’s head to be vexed by his ill-treatment, for he is such a disagreeable man that it would be quite a misfortune to be liked by him. Mrs. Long told me last night that he sat close to her for half an hour without once opening his lips.” “Are you quite sure, ma’am?—is not there a little mistake?” said Jane. “I certainly saw Mr. Darcy speaking to her.” “Aye—because she asked him at last how he liked Netherfield, and he could not help answering her; but she said he seemed very angry at being spoke to.” “Miss Bingley told me,” said Jane, “that he never speaks much unless among his intimate acquaintance. With _them_ he is remarkably agreeable.” “I do not believe a word of it, my dear. If he had been so very agreeable, he would have talked to Mrs. Long. But I can guess how it was; everybody says that he is eat up with pride, and I dare say he had heard somehow that Mrs. Long does not keep a carriage, and had come to the ball in a hack chaise.” “I do not mind his not talking to Mrs. Long,” said Miss Lucas, “but I wish he had danced with Eliza.” “Another time, Lizzy,” said her mother, “I would not dance with _him_, if I were you.” “I believe, ma’am, I may safely promise you _never_ to dance with him.” “His pride,” said Miss Lucas, “does not offend _me_ so much as pride often does, because there is an excuse for it. One cannot wonder that so very fine a young man, with family, fortune, everything in his favour, should think highly of himself. If I may so express it, he has a _right_ to be proud.” “That is very true,” replied Elizabeth, “and I could easily forgive _his_ pride, if he had not mortified _mine_.” “Pride,” observed Mary, who piqued herself upon the solidity of her reflections, “is a very common failing, I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed; that human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary. Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.” “If I were as rich as Mr. Darcy,” cried a young Lucas, who came with his sisters, “I should not care how proud I was. I would keep a pack of foxhounds, and drink a bottle of wine every day.” “Then you would drink a great deal more than you ought,” said Mrs. Bennet; “and if I were to see you at it, I should take away your bottle directly.” The boy protested that she should not; she continued to declare that she would, and the argument ended only with the visit. Chapter 6 The ladies of Longbourn soon waited on those of Netherfield. The visit was returned in due form. Miss Bennet’s pleasing manners grew on the goodwill of Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley; and though the mother was found to be intolerable, and the younger sisters not worth speaking to, a wish of being better acquainted with _them_ was expressed towards the two eldest. By Jane this attention was received with the greatest pleasure; but Elizabeth still saw superciliousness in their treatment of everybody, hardly excepting even her sister, and could not like them; though their kindness to Jane, such as it was, had a value as arising in all probability from the influence of their brother’s admiration. It was generally evident whenever they met, that he _did_ admire her; and to _her_ it was equally evident that Jane was yielding to the preference which she had begun to entertain for him from the first, and was in a way to be very much in love; but she considered with pleasure that it was not likely to be discovered by the world in general, since Jane united with great strength of feeling, a composure of temper and a uniform cheerfulness of manner which would guard her from the suspicions of the impertinent. She mentioned this to her friend Miss Lucas. “It may perhaps be pleasant,” replied Charlotte, “to be able to impose on the public in such a case; but it is sometimes a disadvantage to be so very guarded. If a woman conceals her affection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose the opportunity of fixing him; and it will then be but poor consolation to believe the world equally in the dark. There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all _begin_ freely—a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show _more_ affection than she feels. Bingley likes your sister undoubtedly; but he may never do more than like her, if she does not help him on.” “But she does help him on, as much as her nature will allow. If _I_ can perceive her regard for him, he must be a simpleton indeed not to discover it too.” “Remember, Eliza, that he does not know Jane’s disposition as you do.” “But if a woman is partial to a man, and does not endeavour to conceal it, he must find it out.” “Perhaps he must, if he sees enough of her. But though Bingley and Jane meet tolerably often, it is never for many hours together; and as they always see each other in large mixed parties, it is impossible that every moment should be employed in conversing together. Jane should therefore make the most of every half-hour in which she can command his attention. When she is secure of him, there will be leisure for falling in love as much as she chooses.” “Your plan is a good one,” replied Elizabeth, “where nothing is in question but the desire of being well married; and if I were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I should adopt it. But these are not Jane’s feelings; she is not acting by design. As yet, she cannot even be certain of the degree of her own regard, nor of its reasonableness. She has known him only a fortnight. She danced four dances with him at Meryton; she saw him one morning at his own house, and has since dined in company with him four times. This is not quite enough to make her understand his character.” “Not as you represent it. Had she merely _dined_ with him, she might only have discovered whether he had a good appetite; but you must remember that four evenings have been also spent together—and four evenings may do a great deal.” “Yes; these four evenings have enabled them to ascertain that they both like Vingt-un better than Commerce; but with respect to any other leading characteristic, I do not imagine that much has been unfolded.” “Well,” said Charlotte, “I wish Jane success with all my heart; and if she were married to him to-morrow, I should think she had as good a chance of happiness as if she were to be studying his character for a twelvemonth. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.” “You make me laugh, Charlotte; but it is not sound. You know it is not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself.” Occupied in observing Mr. Bingley’s attentions to her sister, Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend. Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying. Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing; and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness. Of this she was perfectly unaware;—to her he was only the man who made himself agreeable nowhere, and who had not thought her handsome enough to dance with. He began to wish to know more of her, and as a step towards conversing with her himself, attended to her conversation with others. His doing so drew her notice. It was at Sir William Lucas’s, where a large party were assembled. “What does Mr. Darcy mean,” said she to Charlotte, “by listening to my conversation with Colonel Forster?” “That is a question which Mr. Darcy only can answer.” “But if he does it any more I shall certainly let him know that I see what he is about. He has a very satirical eye, and if I do not begin by being impertinent myself, I shall soon grow afraid of him.” On his approaching them soon afterwards, though without seeming to have any intention of speaking, Miss Lucas defied her friend to mention such a subject to him, which immediately provoking Elizabeth to do it, she turned to him and said, “Did not you think, Mr. Darcy, that I expressed myself uncommonly well just now, when I was teasing Colonel Forster to give us a ball at Meryton?” “With great energy; but it is a subject which always makes a lady energetic.” “You are severe on us.” “It will be _her_ turn soon to be teased,” said Miss Lucas. “I am going to open the instrument, Eliza, and you know what follows.” “You are a very strange creature by way of a friend!—always wanting me to play and sing before anybody and everybody! If my vanity had taken a musical turn, you would have been invaluable; but as it is, I would really rather not sit down before those who must be in the habit of hearing the very best performers.” On Miss Lucas’s persevering, however, she added, “Very well; if it must be so, it must.” And gravely glancing at Mr. Darcy, “There is a fine old saying, which everybody here is of course familiar with—‘Keep your breath to cool your porridge,’—and I shall keep mine to swell my song.” Her performance was pleasing, though by no means capital. After a song or two, and before she could reply to the entreaties of several that she would sing again, she was eagerly succeeded at the instrument by her sister Mary, who having, in consequence of being the only plain one in the family, worked hard for knowledge and accomplishments, was always impatient for display. Mary had neither genius nor taste; and though vanity had given her application, it had given her likewise a pedantic air and conceited manner, which would have injured a higher degree of excellence than she had reached. Elizabeth, easy and unaffected, had been listened to with much more pleasure, though not playing half so well; and Mary, at the end of a long concerto, was glad to purchase praise and gratitude by Scotch and Irish airs, at the request of her younger sisters, who with some of the Lucases, and two or three officers, joined eagerly in dancing at one end of the room. Mr. Darcy stood near them in silent indignation at such a mode of passing the evening, to the exclusion of all conversation, and was too much engrossed by his own thoughts to perceive that Sir William Lucas was his neighbour, till Sir William thus began. “What a charming amusement for young people this is, Mr. Darcy! There is nothing like dancing after all. I consider it as one of the first refinements of polished societies.” “Certainly, sir; and it has the advantage also of being in vogue amongst the less polished societies of the world.—Every savage can dance.” Sir William only smiled. “Your friend performs delightfully,” he continued after a pause, on seeing Bingley join the group; “and I doubt not that you are an adept in the science yourself, Mr. Darcy.” “You saw me dance at Meryton, I believe, sir.” “Yes, indeed, and received no inconsiderable pleasure from the sight. Do you often dance at St. James’s?” “Never, sir.” “Do you not think it would be a proper compliment to the place?” “It is a compliment which I never pay to any place if I can avoid it.” “You have a house in town, I conclude?” Mr. Darcy bowed. “I had once some thoughts of fixing in town myself—for I am fond of superior society; but I did not feel quite certain that the air of London would agree with Lady Lucas.” He paused in hopes of an answer; but his companion was not disposed to make any; and Elizabeth at that instant moving towards them, he was struck with the notion of doing a very gallant thing, and called out to her, “My dear Miss Eliza, why are not you dancing? Mr. Darcy, you must allow me to present this young lady to you as a very desirable partner. You cannot refuse to dance, I am sure, when so much beauty is before you.” And, taking her hand, he would have given it to Mr. Darcy, who, though extremely surprised, was not unwilling to receive it, when she instantly drew back, and said with some discomposure to Sir William, “Indeed, sir, I have not the least intention of dancing. I entreat you not to suppose that I moved this way in order to beg for a partner.” Mr. Darcy, with grave propriety, requested to be allowed the honour of her hand, but in vain. Elizabeth was determined; nor did Sir William at all shake her purpose by his attempt at persuasion. “You excel so much in the dance, Miss Eliza, that it is cruel to deny me the happiness of seeing you; and though this gentleman dislikes the amusement in general, he can have no objection, I am sure, to oblige us for one half-hour.” “Mr. Darcy is all politeness,” said Elizabeth, smiling. “He is, indeed—but, considering the inducement, my dear Miss Eliza, we cannot wonder at his complaisance; for who would object to such a partner?” Elizabeth looked archly, and turned away. Her resistance had not injured her with the gentleman, and he was thinking of her with some complacency, when thus accosted by Miss Bingley, “I can guess the subject of your reverie.” “I should imagine not.” “You are considering how insupportable it would be to pass many evenings in this manner—in such society; and indeed I am quite of your opinion. I was never more annoyed! The insipidity, and yet the noise; the nothingness, and yet the self-importance of all these people! What would I give to hear your strictures on them!” “Your conjecture is totally wrong, I assure you. My mind was more agreeably engaged. I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow.” Miss Bingley immediately fixed her eyes on his face, and desired he would tell her what lady had the credit of inspiring such reflections. Mr. Darcy replied with great intrepidity, “Miss Elizabeth Bennet.” “Miss Elizabeth Bennet!” repeated Miss Bingley. “I am all astonishment. How long has she been such a favourite?—and pray when am I to wish you joy?” “That is exactly the question which I expected you to ask. A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment. I knew you would be wishing me joy.” “Nay, if you are so serious about it, I shall consider the matter as absolutely settled. You will have a charming mother-in-law, indeed, and of course she will be always at Pemberley with you.” He listened to her with perfect indifference, while she chose to entertain herself in this manner; and as his composure convinced her that all was safe, her wit flowed long. Chapter 7 Mr. Bennet’s property consisted almost entirely in an estate of two thousand a year, which, unfortunately for his daughters, was entailed, in default of heirs male, on a distant relation; and their mother’s fortune, though ample for her situation in life, could but ill supply the deficiency of his. Her father had been an attorney in Meryton, and had left her four thousand pounds. She had a sister married to a Mr. Phillips, who had been a clerk to their father, and succeeded him in the business, and a brother settled in London in a respectable line of trade. The village of Longbourn was only one mile from Meryton; a most convenient distance for the young ladies, who were usually tempted thither three or four times a week, to pay their duty to their aunt and to a milliner’s shop just over the way. The two youngest of the family, Catherine and Lydia, were particularly frequent in these attentions; their minds were more vacant than their sisters’, and when nothing better offered, a walk to Meryton was necessary to amuse their morning hours and furnish conversation for the evening; and however bare of news the country in general might be, they always contrived to learn some from their aunt. At present, indeed, they were well supplied both with news and happiness by the recent arrival of a militia regiment in the neighbourhood; it was to remain the whole winter, and Meryton was the headquarters. Their visits to Mrs. Philips were now productive of the most interesting intelligence. Every day added something to their knowledge of the officers’ names and connections. Their lodgings were not long a secret, and at length they began to know the officers themselves. Mr. Philips visited them all, and this opened to his nieces a source of felicity unknown before. They could talk of nothing but officers; and Mr. Bingley’s large fortune, the mention of which gave animation to their mother, was worthless in their eyes when opposed to the regimentals of an ensign. After listening one morning to their effusions on this subject, Mr. Bennet coolly observed, “From all that I can collect by your manner of talking, you must be two of the silliest girls in the country. I have suspected it some time, but I am now convinced.” Catherine was disconcerted, and made no answer; but Lydia, with perfect indifference, continued to express her admiration of Captain Carter, and her hope of seeing him in the course of the day, as he was going the next morning to London. “I am astonished, my dear,” said Mrs. Bennet, “that you should be so ready to think your own children silly. If I wished to think slightingly of anybody’s children, it should not be of my own, however.” “If my children are silly, I must hope to be always sensible of it.” “Yes—but as it happens, they are all of them very clever.” “This is the only point, I flatter myself, on which we do not agree. I had hoped that our sentiments coincided in every particular, but I must so far differ from you as to think our two youngest daughters uncommonly foolish.” “My dear Mr. Bennet, you must not expect such girls to have the sense of their father and mother. When they get to our age, I dare say they will not think about officers any more than we do. I remember the time when I liked a red coat myself very well—and, indeed, so I do still at my heart; and if a smart young colonel, with five or six thousand a year, should want one of my girls, I shall not say nay to him; and I thought Colonel Forster looked very becoming the other night at Sir William’s in his regimentals.” “Mamma,” cried Lydia, “my aunt says that Colonel Forster and Captain Carter do not go so often to Miss Watson’s as they did when they first came; she sees them now very often standing in Clarke’s library.” Mrs. Bennet was prevented replying by the entrance of the footman with a note for Miss Bennet; it came from Netherfield, and the servant waited for an answer. Mrs. Bennet’s eyes sparkled with pleasure, and she was eagerly calling out, while her daughter read, “Well, Jane, who is it from? What is it about? What does he say? Well, Jane, make haste and tell us; make haste, my love.” “It is from Miss Bingley,” said Jane, and then read it aloud. “MY DEAR FRIEND,— “If you are not so compassionate as to dine to-day with Louisa and me, we shall be in danger of hating each other for the rest of our lives, for a whole day’s _tête-à-tête_ between two women can never end without a quarrel. Come as soon as you can on the receipt of this. My brother and the gentlemen are to dine with the officers.—Yours ever, “CAROLINE BINGLEY” “With the officers!” cried Lydia. “I wonder my aunt did not tell us of _that_.” “Dining out,” said Mrs. Bennet, “that is very unlucky.” “Can I have the carriage?” said Jane. “No, my dear, you had better go on horseback, because it seems likely to rain; and then you must stay all night.” “That would be a good scheme,” said Elizabeth, “if you were sure that they would not offer to send her home.” “Oh! but the gentlemen will have Mr. Bingley’s chaise to go to Meryton; and the Hursts have no horses to theirs.” “I had much rather go in the coach.” “But, my dear, your father cannot spare the horses, I am sure. They are wanted in the farm, Mr. Bennet, are not they?” “They are wanted in the farm much oftener than I can get them.” “But if you have got them to-day,” said Elizabeth, “my mother’s purpose will be answered.” She did at last extort from her father an acknowledgment that the horses were engaged. Jane was therefore obliged to go on horseback, and her mother attended her to the door with many cheerful prognostics of a bad day. Her hopes were answered; Jane had not been gone long before it rained hard. Her sisters were uneasy for her, but her mother was delighted. The rain continued the whole evening without intermission; Jane certainly could not come back. “This was a lucky idea of mine, indeed!” said Mrs. Bennet, more than once, as if the credit of making it rain were all her own. Till the next morning, however, she was not aware of all the felicity of her contrivance. Breakfast was scarcely over when a servant from Netherfield brought the following note for Elizabeth: “MY DEAREST LIZZY,— “I find myself very unwell this morning, which, I suppose, is to be imputed to my getting wet through yesterday. My kind friends will not hear of my returning home till I am better. They insist also on my seeing Mr. Jones—therefore do not be alarmed if you should hear of his having been to me—and, excepting a sore throat and headache, there is not much the matter with me.—Yours, &c.” “Well, my dear,” said Mr. Bennet, when Elizabeth had read the note aloud, “if your daughter should have a dangerous fit of illness—if she should die, it would be a comfort to know that it was all in pursuit of Mr. Bingley, and under your orders.” “Oh! I am not at all afraid of her dying. People do not die of little trifling colds. She will be taken good care of. As long as she stays there, it is all very well. I would go and see her if I could have the carriage.” Elizabeth, feeling really anxious, was determined to go to her, though the carriage was not to be had; and as she was no horsewoman, walking was her only alternative. She declared her resolution. “How can you be so silly,” cried her mother, “as to think of such a thing, in all this dirt! You will not be fit to be seen when you get there.” “I shall be very fit to see Jane—which is all I want.” “Is this a hint to me, Lizzy,” said her father, “to send for the horses?” “No, indeed. I do not wish to avoid the walk. The distance is nothing, when one has a motive; only three miles. I shall be back by dinner.” “I admire the activity of your benevolence,” observed Mary, “but every impulse of feeling should be guided by reason; and, in my opinion, exertion should always be in proportion to what is required.” “We will go as far as Meryton with you,” said Catherine and Lydia. Elizabeth accepted their company, and the three young ladies set off together. “If we make haste,” said Lydia, as they walked along, “perhaps we may see something of Captain Carter before he goes.” In Meryton they parted; the two youngest repaired to the lodgings of one of the officers’ wives, and Elizabeth continued her walk alone, crossing field after field at a quick pace, jumping over stiles and springing over puddles with impatient activity, and finding herself at last within view of the house, with weary ankles, dirty stockings, and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise. She was shown into the breakfast-parlour, where all but Jane were assembled, and where her appearance created a great deal of surprise. That she should have walked three miles so early in the day, in such dirty weather, and by herself, was almost incredible to Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley; and Elizabeth was convinced that they held her in contempt for it. She was received, however, very politely by them; and in their brother’s manners there was something better than politeness; there was good humour and kindness. Mr. Darcy said very little, and Mr. Hurst nothing at all. The former was divided between admiration of the brilliancy which exercise had given to her complexion, and doubt as to the occasion’s justifying her coming so far alone. The latter was thinking only of his breakfast. Her enquiries after her sister were not very favourably answered. Miss Bennet had slept ill, and though up, was very feverish, and not well enough to leave her room. Elizabeth was glad to be taken to her immediately; and Jane, who had only been withheld by the fear of giving alarm or inconvenience, from expressing in her note how much she longed for such a visit, was delighted at her entrance. She was not equal, however, to much conversation, and when Miss Bingley left them together, could attempt little beside expressions of gratitude for the extraordinary kindness she was treated with. Elizabeth silently attended her. When breakfast was over, they were joined by the sisters; and Elizabeth began to like them herself, when she saw how much affection and solicitude they showed for Jane. The apothecary came, and having examined his patient, said, as might be supposed, that she had caught a violent cold, and that they must endeavour to get the better of it; advised her to return to bed, and promised her some draughts. The advice was followed readily, for the feverish symptoms increased, and her head ached acutely. Elizabeth did not quit her room for a moment, nor were the other ladies often absent; the gentlemen being out, they had in fact nothing to do elsewhere. When the clock struck three, Elizabeth felt that she must go, and very unwillingly said so. Miss Bingley offered her the carriage, and she only wanted a little pressing to accept it, when Jane testified such concern in parting with her, that Miss Bingley was obliged to convert the offer of the chaise to an invitation to remain at Netherfield for the present. Elizabeth most thankfully consented, and a servant was dispatched to Longbourn to acquaint the family with her stay, and bring back a supply of clothes. Chapter 8 At five o’clock the two ladies retired to dress, and at half-past six Elizabeth was summoned to dinner. To the civil enquiries which then poured in, and amongst which she had the pleasure of distinguishing the much superior solicitude of Mr. Bingley’s, she could not make a very favourable answer. Jane was by no means better. The sisters, on hearing this, repeated three or four times how much they were grieved, how shocking it was to have a bad cold, and how excessively they disliked being ill themselves; and then thought no more of the matter: and their indifference towards Jane when not immediately before them, restored Elizabeth to the enjoyment of all her original dislike. Their brother, indeed, was the only one of the party whom she could regard with any complacency. His anxiety for Jane was evident, and his attentions to herself most pleasing, and they prevented her feeling herself so much an intruder as she believed she was considered by the others. She had very little notice from any but him. Miss Bingley was engrossed by Mr. Darcy, her sister scarcely less so; and as for Mr. Hurst, by whom Elizabeth sat, he was an indolent man, who lived only to eat, drink, and play at cards; who, when he found her prefer a plain dish to a ragout, had nothing to say to her. When dinner was over, she returned directly to Jane, and Miss Bingley began abusing her as soon as she was out of the room. Her manners were pronounced to be very bad indeed, a mixture of pride and impertinence; she had no conversation, no style, no taste, no beauty. Mrs. Hurst thought the same, and added, “She has nothing, in short, to recommend her, but being an excellent walker. I shall never forget her appearance this morning. She really looked almost wild.” “She did, indeed, Louisa. I could hardly keep my countenance. Very nonsensical to come at all! Why must _she_ be scampering about the country, because her sister had a cold? Her hair so untidy, so blowsy!” “Yes, and her petticoat; I hope you saw her petticoat, six inches deep in mud, I am absolutely certain; and the gown which had been let down to hide it not doing its office.” “Your picture may be very exact, Louisa,” said Bingley; “but this was all lost upon me. I thought Miss Elizabeth Bennet looked remarkably well when she came into the room this morning. Her dirty petticoat quite escaped my notice.” “_You_ observed it, Mr. Darcy, I am sure,” said Miss Bingley; “and I am inclined to think that you would not wish to see _your sister_ make such an exhibition.” “Certainly not.” “To walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever it is, above her ankles in dirt, and alone, quite alone! what could she mean by it? It seems to me to show an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country-town indifference to decorum.” “It shows an affection for her sister that is very pleasing,” said Bingley. “I am afraid, Mr. Darcy,” observed Miss Bingley, in a half whisper, “that this adventure has rather affected your admiration of her fine eyes.” “Not at all,” he replied; “they were brightened by the exercise.” A short pause followed this speech, and Mrs. Hurst began again. “I have an excessive regard for Miss Jane Bennet, she is really a very sweet girl, and I wish with all my heart she were well settled. But with such a father and mother, and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it.” “I think I have heard you say that their uncle is an attorney in Meryton.” “Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside.” “That is capital,” added her sister, and they both laughed heartily. “If they had uncles enough to fill _all_ Cheapside,” cried Bingley, “it would not make them one jot less agreeable.” “But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world,” replied Darcy. To this speech Bingley made no answer; but his sisters gave it their hearty assent, and indulged their mirth for some time at the expense of their dear friend’s vulgar relations. With a renewal of tenderness, however, they repaired to her room on leaving the dining-parlour, and sat with her till summoned to coffee. She was still very poorly, and Elizabeth would not quit her at all, till late in the evening, when she had the comfort of seeing her asleep, and when it appeared to her rather right than pleasant that she should go downstairs herself. On entering the drawing-room she found the whole party at loo, and was immediately invited to join them; but suspecting them to be playing high she declined it, and making her sister the excuse, said she would amuse herself for the short time she could stay below, with a book. Mr. Hurst looked at her with astonishment. “Do you prefer reading to cards?” said he; “that is rather singular.” “Miss Eliza Bennet,” said Miss Bingley, “despises cards. She is a great reader, and has no pleasure in anything else.” “I deserve neither such praise nor such censure,” cried Elizabeth; “I am _not_ a great reader, and I have pleasure in many things.” “In nursing your sister I am sure you have pleasure,” said Bingley; “and I hope it will soon be increased by seeing her quite well.” Elizabeth thanked him from her heart, and then walked towards a table where a few books were lying. He immediately offered to fetch her others; all that his library afforded. “And I wish my collection were larger for your benefit and my own credit; but I am an idle fellow, and though I have not many, I have more than I ever looked into.” Elizabeth assured him that she could suit herself perfectly with those in the room. “I am astonished,” said Miss Bingley, “that my father should have left so small a collection of books. What a delightful library you have at Pemberley, Mr. Darcy!” “It ought to be good,” he replied, “it has been the work of many generations.” “And then you have added so much to it yourself, you are always buying books.” “I cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as these.” “Neglect! I am sure you neglect nothing that can add to the beauties of that noble place. Charles, when you build _your_ house, I wish it may be half as delightful as Pemberley.” “I wish it may.” “But I would really advise you to make your purchase in that neighbourhood, and take Pemberley for a kind of model. There is not a finer county in England than Derbyshire.” “With all my heart; I will buy Pemberley itself if Darcy will sell it.” “I am talking of possibilities, Charles.” “Upon my word, Caroline, I should think it more possible to get Pemberley by purchase than by imitation.” Elizabeth was so much caught by what passed, as to leave her very little attention for her book; and soon laying it wholly aside, she drew near the card-table, and stationed herself between Mr. Bingley and his eldest sister, to observe the game. “Is Miss Darcy much grown since the spring?” said Miss Bingley; “will she be as tall as I am?” “I think she will. She is now about Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s height, or rather taller.” “How I long to see her again! I never met with anybody who delighted me so much. Such a countenance, such manners!—and so extremely accomplished for her age! Her performance on the pianoforte is exquisite.” “It is amazing to me,” said Bingley, “how young ladies can have patience to be so very accomplished as they all are.” “All young ladies accomplished! My dear Charles, what do you mean?” “Yes, all of them, I think. They all paint tables, cover screens, and net purses. I scarcely know any one who cannot do all this, and I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.” “Your list of the common extent of accomplishments,” said Darcy, “has too much truth. The word is applied to many a woman who deserves it no otherwise than by netting a purse or covering a screen. But I am very far from agreeing with you in your estimation of ladies in general. I cannot boast of knowing more than half a dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance, that are really accomplished.” “Nor I, I am sure,” said Miss Bingley. “Then,” observed Elizabeth, “you must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman.” “Yes; I do comprehend a great deal in it.” “Oh! certainly,” cried his faithful assistant, “no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.” “All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.” “I am no longer surprised at your knowing _only_ six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing _any_.” “Are you so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility of all this?” “_I_ never saw such a woman. _I_ never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe, united.” Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley both cried out against the injustice of her implied doubt, and were both protesting that they knew many women who answered this description, when Mr. Hurst called them to order, with bitter complaints of their inattention to what was going forward. As all conversation was thereby at an end, Elizabeth soon afterwards left the room. “Eliza Bennet,” said Miss Bingley, when the door was closed on her, “is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own; and with many men, I dare say, it succeeds. But, in my opinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art.” “Undoubtedly,” replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefly addressed, “there is meanness in _all_ the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation. Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable.” Miss Bingley was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject. Elizabeth joined them again only to say that her sister was worse, and that she could not leave her. Bingley urged Mr. Jones’s being sent for immediately; while his sisters, convinced that no country advice could be of any service, recommended an express to town for one of the most eminent physicians. This she would not hear of; but she was not so unwilling to comply with their brother’s proposal; and it was settled that Mr. Jones should be sent for early in the morning, if Miss Bennet were not decidedly better. Bingley was quite uncomfortable; his sisters declared that they were miserable. They solaced their wretchedness, however, by duets after supper, while he could find no better relief to his feelings than by giving his housekeeper directions that every possible attention might be paid to the sick lady and her sister. Chapter 9 Elizabeth passed the chief of the night in her sister’s room, and in the morning had the pleasure of being able to send a tolerable answer to the enquiries which she very early received from Mr. Bingley by a housemaid, and some time afterwards from the two elegant ladies who waited on his sisters. In spite of this amendment, however, she requested to have a note sent to Longbourn, desiring her mother to visit Jane, and form her own judgment of her situation. The note was immediately dispatched, and its contents as quickly complied with. Mrs. Bennet, accompanied by her two youngest girls, reached Netherfield soon after the family breakfast. Had she found Jane in any apparent danger, Mrs. Bennet would have been very miserable; but being satisfied on seeing her that her illness was not alarming, she had no wish of her recovering immediately, as her restoration to health would probably remove her from Netherfield. She would not listen, therefore, to her daughter’s proposal of being carried home; neither did the apothecary, who arrived about the same time, think it at all advisable. After sitting a little while with Jane, on Miss Bingley’s appearance and invitation, the mother and three daughters all attended her into the breakfast parlour. Bingley met them with hopes that Mrs. Bennet had not found Miss Bennet worse than she expected. “Indeed I have, sir,” was her answer. “She is a great deal too ill to be moved. Mr. Jones says we must not think of moving her. We must trespass a little longer on your kindness.” “Removed!” cried Bingley. “It must not be thought of. My sister, I am sure, will not hear of her removal.” “You may depend upon it, Madam,” said Miss Bingley, with cold civility, “that Miss Bennet shall receive every possible attention while she remains with us.” Mrs. Bennet was profuse in her acknowledgments. “I am sure,” she added, “if it was not for such good friends I do not know what would become of her, for she is very ill indeed, and suffers a vast deal, though with the greatest patience in the world, which is always the way with her, for she has, without exception, the sweetest temper I ever met with. I often tell my other girls they are nothing to _her_. You have a sweet room here, Mr. Bingley, and a charming prospect over that gravel walk. I do not know a place in the country that is equal to Netherfield. You will not think of quitting it in a hurry, I hope, though you have but a short lease.” “Whatever I do is done in a hurry,” replied he; “and therefore if I should resolve to quit Netherfield, I should probably be off in five minutes. At present, however, I consider myself as quite fixed here.” “That is exactly what I should have supposed of you,” said Elizabeth. “You begin to comprehend me, do you?” cried he, turning towards her. “Oh! yes—I understand you perfectly.” “I wish I might take this for a compliment; but to be so easily seen through I am afraid is pitiful.” “That is as it happens. It does not necessarily follow that a deep, intricate character is more or less estimable than such a one as yours.” “Lizzy,” cried her mother, “remember where you are, and do not run on in the wild manner that you are suffered to do at home.” “I did not know before,” continued Bingley immediately, “that you were a studier of character. It must be an amusing study.” “Yes; but intricate characters are the _most_ amusing. They have at least that advantage.” “The country,” said Darcy, “can in general supply but few subjects for such a study. In a country neighbourhood you move in a very confined and unvarying society.” “But people themselves alter so much, that there is something new to be observed in them for ever.” “Yes, indeed,” cried Mrs. Bennet, offended by his manner of mentioning a country neighbourhood. “I assure you there is quite as much of _that_ going on in the country as in town.” Everybody was surprised; and Darcy, after looking at her for a moment, turned silently away. Mrs. Bennet, who fancied she had gained a complete victory over him, continued her triumph. “I cannot see that London has any great advantage over the country, for my part, except the shops and public places. The country is a vast deal pleasanter, is not it, Mr. Bingley?” “When I am in the country,” he replied, “I never wish to leave it; and when I am in town it is pretty much the same. They have each their advantages, and I can be equally happy in either.” “Aye—that is because you have the right disposition. But that gentleman,” looking at Darcy, “seemed to think the country was nothing at all.” “Indeed, Mama, you are mistaken,” said Elizabeth, blushing for her mother. “You quite mistook Mr. Darcy. He only meant that there was not such a variety of people to be met with in the country as in town, which you must acknowledge to be true.” “Certainly, my dear, nobody said there were; but as to not meeting with many people in this neighbourhood, I believe there are few neighbourhoods larger. I know we dine with four-and-twenty families.” Nothing but concern for Elizabeth could enable Bingley to keep his countenance. His sister was less delicate, and directed her eye towards Mr. Darcy with a very expressive smile. Elizabeth, for the sake of saying something that might turn her mother’s thoughts, now asked her if Charlotte Lucas had been at Longbourn since _her_ coming away. “Yes, she called yesterday with her father. What an agreeable man Sir William is, Mr. Bingley—is not he? so much the man of fashion! So genteel and so easy! He has always something to say to everybody. _That_ is my idea of good breeding; and those persons who fancy themselves very important and never open their mouths, quite mistake the matter.” “Did Charlotte dine with you?” “No, she would go home. I fancy she was wanted about the mince-pies. For my part, Mr. Bingley, _I_ always keep servants that can do their own work; _my_ daughters are brought up differently. But everybody is to judge for themselves, and the Lucases are a very good sort of girls, I assure you. It is a pity they are not handsome! Not that _I_ think Charlotte so _very_ plain—but then she is our particular friend.” “She seems a very pleasant young woman,” said Bingley. “Oh! dear, yes; but you must own she is very plain. Lady Lucas herself has often said so, and envied me Jane’s beauty. I do not like to boast of my own child, but to be sure, Jane—one does not often see anybody better looking. It is what everybody says. I do not trust my own partiality. When she was only fifteen, there was a gentleman at my brother Gardiner’s in town so much in love with her, that my sister-in-law was sure he would make her an offer before we came away. But, however, he did not. Perhaps he thought her too young. However, he wrote some verses on her, and very pretty they were.” “And so ended his affection,” said Elizabeth impatiently. “There has been many a one, I fancy, overcome in the same way. I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love!” “I have been used to consider poetry as the _food_ of love,” said Darcy. “Of a fine, stout, healthy love it may. Everything nourishes what is strong already. But if it be only a slight, thin sort of inclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away.” Darcy only smiled; and the general pause which ensued made Elizabeth tremble lest her mother should be exposing herself again. She longed to speak, but could think of nothing to say; and after a short silence Mrs. Bennet began repeating her thanks to Mr. Bingley for his kindness to Jane, with an apology for troubling him also with Lizzy. Mr. Bingley was unaffectedly civil in his answer, and forced his younger sister to be civil also, and say what the occasion required. She performed her part indeed without much graciousness, but Mrs. Bennet was satisfied, and soon afterwards ordered her carriage. Upon this signal, the youngest of her daughters put herself forward. The two girls had been whispering to each other during the whole visit, and the result of it was, that the youngest should tax Mr. Bingley with having promised on his first coming into the country to give a ball at Netherfield. Lydia was a stout, well-grown girl of fifteen, with a fine complexion and good-humoured countenance; a favourite with her mother, whose affection had brought her into public at an early age. She had high animal spirits, and a sort of natural self-consequence, which the attentions of the officers, to whom her uncle’s good dinners and her own easy manners recommended her, had increased into assurance. She was very equal, therefore, to address Mr. Bingley on the subject of the ball, and abruptly reminded him of his promise; adding, that it would be the most shameful thing in the world if he did not keep it. His answer to this sudden attack was delightful to their mother’s ear. “I am perfectly ready, I assure you, to keep my engagement; and when your sister is recovered, you shall, if you please, name the very day of the ball. But you would not wish to be dancing while she is ill.” Lydia declared herself satisfied. “Oh! yes—it would be much better to wait till Jane was well, and by that time most likely Captain Carter would be at Meryton again. And when you have given _your_ ball,” she added, “I shall insist on their giving one also. I shall tell Colonel Forster it will be quite a shame if he does not.” Mrs. Bennet and her daughters then departed, and Elizabeth returned instantly to Jane, leaving her own and her relations’ behaviour to the remarks of the two ladies and Mr. Darcy; the latter of whom, however, could not be prevailed on to join in their censure of _her_, in spite of all Miss Bingley’s witticisms on _fine eyes_. Chapter 10 The day passed much as the day before had done. Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley had spent some hours of the morning with the invalid, who continued, though slowly, to mend; and in the evening Elizabeth joined their party in the drawing-room. The loo table, however, did not appear. Mr. Darcy was writing, and Miss Bingley, seated near him, was watching the progress of his letter, and repeatedly calling off his attention by messages to his sister. Mr. Hurst and Mr. Bingley were at piquet, and Mrs. Hurst was observing their game. Elizabeth took up some needlework, and was sufficiently amused in attending to what passed between Darcy and his companion. The perpetual commendations of the lady either on his handwriting, or on the evenness of his lines, or on the length of his letter, with the perfect unconcern with which her praises were received, formed a curious dialogue, and was exactly in unison with her opinion of each. “How delighted Miss Darcy will be to receive such a letter!” He made no answer. “You write uncommonly fast.” “You are mistaken. I write rather slowly.” “How many letters you must have occasion to write in the course of a year! Letters of business, too! How odious I should think them!” “It is fortunate, then, that they fall to my lot instead of to yours.” “Pray tell your sister that I long to see her.” “I have already told her so once, by your desire.” “I am afraid you do not like your pen. Let me mend it for you. I mend pens remarkably well.” “Thank you—but I always mend my own.” “How can you contrive to write so even?” He was silent. “Tell your sister I am delighted to hear of her improvement on the harp, and pray let her know that I am quite in raptures with her beautiful little design for a table, and I think it infinitely superior to Miss Grantley’s.” “Will you give me leave to defer your raptures till I write again? At present I have not room to do them justice.” “Oh! it is of no consequence. I shall see her in January. But do you always write such charming long letters to her, Mr. Darcy?” “They are generally long; but whether always charming, it is not for me to determine.” “It is a rule with me, that a person who can write a long letter with ease, cannot write ill.” “That will not do for a compliment to Darcy, Caroline,” cried her brother, “because he does _not_ write with ease. He studies too much for words of four syllables. Do not you, Darcy?” “My style of writing is very different from yours.” “Oh!” cried Miss Bingley, “Charles writes in the most careless way imaginable. He leaves out half his words, and blots the rest.” “My ideas flow so rapidly that I have not time to express them—by which means my letters sometimes convey no ideas at all to my correspondents.” “Your humility, Mr. Bingley,” said Elizabeth, “must disarm reproof.” “Nothing is more deceitful,” said Darcy, “than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.” “And which of the two do you call _my_ little recent piece of modesty?” “The indirect boast; for you are really proud of your defects in writing, because you consider them as proceeding from a rapidity of thought and carelessness of execution, which, if not estimable, you think at least highly interesting. The power of doing anything with quickness is always much prized by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance. When you told Mrs. Bennet this morning that if you ever resolved on quitting Netherfield you should be gone in five minutes, you meant it to be a sort of panegyric, of compliment to yourself—and yet what is there so very laudable in a precipitance which must leave very necessary business undone, and can be of no real advantage to yourself or any one else?” “Nay,” cried Bingley, “this is too much, to remember at night all the foolish things that were said in the morning. And yet, upon my honour, I believed what I said of myself to be true, and I believe it at this moment. At least, therefore, I did not assume the character of needless precipitance merely to show off before the ladies.” “I dare say you believed it; but I am by no means convinced that you would be gone with such celerity. Your conduct would be quite as dependent on chance as that of any man I know; and if, as you were mounting your horse, a friend were to say, ‘Bingley, you had better stay till next week,’ you would probably do it, you would probably not go—and, at another word, might stay a month.” “You have only proved by this,” cried Elizabeth, “that Mr. Bingley did not do justice to his own disposition. You have shown him off now much more than he did himself.” “I am exceedingly gratified,” said Bingley, “by your converting what my friend says into a compliment on the sweetness of my temper. But I am afraid you are giving it a turn which that gentleman did by no means intend; for he would certainly think the better of me, if under such a circumstance I were to give a flat denial, and ride off as fast as I could.” “Would Mr. Darcy then consider the rashness of your original intention as atoned for by your obstinacy in adhering to it?” “Upon my word, I cannot exactly explain the matter, Darcy must speak for himself.” “You expect me to account for opinions which you choose to call mine, but which I have never acknowledged. Allowing the case, however, to stand according to your representation, you must remember, Miss Bennet, that the friend who is supposed to desire his return to the house, and the delay of his plan, has merely desired it, asked it without offering one argument in favour of its propriety.” “To yield readily—easily—to the _persuasion_ of a friend is no merit with you.” “To yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either.” “You appear to me, Mr. Darcy, to allow nothing for the influence of friendship and affection. A regard for the requester would often make one readily yield to a request, without waiting for arguments to reason one into it. I am not particularly speaking of such a case as you have supposed about Mr. Bingley. We may as well wait, perhaps, till the circumstance occurs, before we discuss the discretion of his behaviour thereupon. But in general and ordinary cases between friend and friend, where one of them is desired by the other to change a resolution of no very great moment, should you think ill of that person for complying with the desire, without waiting to be argued into it?” “Will it not be advisable, before we proceed on this subject, to arrange with rather more precision the degree of importance which is to appertain to this request, as well as the degree of intimacy subsisting between the parties?” “By all means,” cried Bingley; “let us hear all the particulars, not forgetting their comparative height and size; for that will have more weight in the argument, Miss Bennet, than you may be aware of. I assure you that if Darcy were not such a great tall fellow, in comparison with myself, I should not pay him half so much deference. I declare I do not know a more awful object than Darcy, on particular occasions, and in particular places; at his own house especially, and of a Sunday evening, when he has nothing to do.” Mr. Darcy smiled; but Elizabeth thought she could perceive that he was rather offended, and therefore checked her laugh. Miss Bingley warmly resented the indignity he had received, in an expostulation with her brother for talking such nonsense. “I see your design, Bingley,” said his friend. “You dislike an argument, and want to silence this.” “Perhaps I do. Arguments are too much like disputes. If you and Miss Bennet will defer yours till I am out of the room, I shall be very thankful; and then you may say whatever you like of me.” “What you ask,” said Elizabeth, “is no sacrifice on my side; and Mr. Darcy had much better finish his letter.” Mr. Darcy took her advice, and did finish his letter. When that business was over, he applied to Miss Bingley and Elizabeth for the indulgence of some music. Miss Bingley moved with alacrity to the pianoforte, and after a polite request that Elizabeth would lead the way, which the other as politely and more earnestly negatived, she seated herself. Mrs. Hurst sang with her sister, and while they were thus employed, Elizabeth could not help observing, as she turned over some music-books that lay on the instrument, how frequently Mr. Darcy’s eyes were fixed on her. She hardly knew how to suppose that she could be an object of admiration to so great a man; and yet that he should look at her because he disliked her, was still more strange. She could only imagine, however, at last, that she drew his notice because there was a something about her more wrong and reprehensible, according to his ideas of right, than in any other person present. The supposition did not pain her. She liked him too little to care for his approbation. After playing some Italian songs, Miss Bingley varied the charm by a lively Scotch air; and soon afterwards Mr. Darcy, drawing near Elizabeth, said to her— “Do not you feel a great inclination, Miss Bennet, to seize such an opportunity of dancing a reel?” She smiled, but made no answer. He repeated the question, with some surprise at her silence. “Oh!” said she, “I heard you before; but I could not immediately determine what to say in reply. You wanted me, I know, to say ‘Yes,’ that you might have the pleasure of despising my taste; but I always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes, and cheating a person of their premeditated contempt. I have, therefore, made up my mind to tell you, that I do not want to dance a reel at all—and now despise me if you dare.” “Indeed I do not dare.” Elizabeth, having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at his gallantry; but there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody; and Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger. Miss Bingley saw, or suspected enough to be jealous; and her great anxiety for the recovery of her dear friend Jane received some assistance from her desire of getting rid of Elizabeth. She often tried to provoke Darcy into disliking her guest, by talking of their supposed marriage, and planning his happiness in such an alliance. “I hope,” said she, as they were walking together in the shrubbery the next day, “you will give your mother-in-law a few hints, when this desirable event takes place, as to the advantage of holding her tongue; and if you can compass it, do cure the younger girls of running after the officers. And, if I may mention so delicate a subject, endeavour to check that little something, bordering on conceit and impertinence, which your lady possesses.” “Have you anything else to propose for my domestic felicity?” “Oh! yes. Do let the portraits of your uncle and aunt Philips be placed in the gallery at Pemberley. Put them next to your great uncle the judge. They are in the same profession, you know, only in different lines. As for your Elizabeth’s picture, you must not attempt to have it taken, for what painter could do justice to those beautiful eyes?” “It would not be easy, indeed, to catch their expression, but their colour and shape, and the eyelashes, so remarkably fine, might be copied.” At that moment they were met from another walk by Mrs. Hurst and Elizabeth herself. “I did not know that you intended to walk,” said Miss Bingley, in some confusion, lest they had been overheard. “You used us abominably ill,” answered Mrs. Hurst, “running away without telling us that you were coming out.” Then taking the disengaged arm of Mr. Darcy, she left Elizabeth to walk by herself. The path just admitted three. Mr. Darcy felt their rudeness, and immediately said,— “This walk is not wide enough for our party. We had better go into the avenue.” But Elizabeth, who had not the least inclination to remain with them, laughingly answered, “No, no; stay where you are. You are charmingly grouped, and appear to uncommon advantage. The picturesque would be spoilt by admitting a fourth. Good-bye.” She then ran gaily off, rejoicing as she rambled about, in the hope of being at home again in a day or two. Jane was already so much recovered as to intend leaving her room for a couple of hours that evening. Chapter 11 When the ladies removed after dinner, Elizabeth ran up to her sister, and seeing her well guarded from cold, attended her into the drawing-room, where she was welcomed by her two friends with many professions of pleasure; and Elizabeth had never seen them so agreeable as they were during the hour which passed before the gentlemen appeared. Their powers of conversation were considerable. They could describe an entertainment with accuracy, relate an anecdote with humour, and laugh at their acquaintance with spirit. But when the gentlemen entered, Jane was no longer the first object; Miss Bingley’s eyes were instantly turned toward Darcy, and she had something to say to him before he had advanced many steps. He addressed himself to Miss Bennet, with a polite congratulation; Mr. Hurst also made her a slight bow, and said he was “very glad;” but diffuseness and warmth remained for Bingley’s salutation. He was full of joy and attention. The first half-hour was spent in piling up the fire, lest she should suffer from the change of room; and she removed at his desire to the other side of the fireplace, that she might be further from the door. He then sat down by her, and talked scarcely to anyone else. Elizabeth, at work in the opposite corner, saw it all with great delight. When tea was over, Mr. Hurst reminded his sister-in-law of the card-table—but in vain. She had obtained private intelligence that Mr. Darcy did not wish for cards; and Mr. Hurst soon found even his open petition rejected. She assured him that no one intended to play, and the silence of the whole party on the subject seemed to justify her. Mr. Hurst had therefore nothing to do, but to stretch himself on one of the sofas and go to sleep. Darcy took up a book; Miss Bingley did the same; and Mrs. Hurst, principally occupied in playing with her bracelets and rings, joined now and then in her brother’s conversation with Miss Bennet. Miss Bingley’s attention was quite as much engaged in watching Mr. Darcy’s progress through _his_ book, as in reading her own; and she was perpetually either making some enquiry, or looking at his page. She could not win him, however, to any conversation; he merely answered her question, and read on. At length, quite exhausted by the attempt to be amused with her own book, which she had only chosen because it was the second volume of his, she gave a great yawn and said, “How pleasant it is to spend an evening in this way! I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” No one made any reply. She then yawned again, threw aside her book, and cast her eyes round the room in quest for some amusement; when hearing her brother mentioning a ball to Miss Bennet, she turned suddenly towards him and said: “By the bye, Charles, are you really serious in meditating a dance at Netherfield? I would advise you, before you determine on it, to consult the wishes of the present party; I am much mistaken if there are not some among us to whom a ball would be rather a punishment than a pleasure.” “If you mean Darcy,” cried her brother, “he may go to bed, if he chooses, before it begins—but as for the ball, it is quite a settled thing; and as soon as Nicholls has made white soup enough, I shall send round my cards.” “I should like balls infinitely better,” she replied, “if they were carried on in a different manner; but there is something insufferably tedious in the usual process of such a meeting. It would surely be much more rational if conversation instead of dancing were made the order of the day.” “Much more rational, my dear Caroline, I dare say, but it would not be near so much like a ball.” Miss Bingley made no answer, and soon afterwards she got up and walked about the room. Her figure was elegant, and she walked well; but Darcy, at whom it was all aimed, was still inflexibly studious. In the desperation of her feelings, she resolved on one effort more, and, turning to Elizabeth, said: “Miss Eliza Bennet, let me persuade you to follow my example, and take a turn about the room. I assure you it is very refreshing after sitting so long in one attitude.” Elizabeth was surprised, but agreed to it immediately. Miss Bingley succeeded no less in the real object of her civility; Mr. Darcy looked up. He was as much awake to the novelty of attention in that quarter as Elizabeth herself could be, and unconsciously closed his book. He was directly invited to join their party, but he declined it, observing that he could imagine but two motives for their choosing to walk up and down the room together, with either of which motives his joining them would interfere. “What could he mean? She was dying to know what could be his meaning?”—and asked Elizabeth whether she could at all understand him? “Not at all,” was her answer; “but depend upon it, he means to be severe on us, and our surest way of disappointing him will be to ask nothing about it.” Miss Bingley, however, was incapable of disappointing Mr. Darcy in anything, and persevered therefore in requiring an explanation of his two motives. “I have not the smallest objection to explaining them,” said he, as soon as she allowed him to speak. “You either choose this method of passing the evening because you are in each other’s confidence, and have secret affairs to discuss, or because you are conscious that your figures appear to the greatest advantage in walking; if the first, I would be completely in your way, and if the second, I can admire you much better as I sit by the fire.” “Oh! shocking!” cried Miss Bingley. “I never heard anything so abominable. How shall we punish him for such a speech?” “Nothing so easy, if you have but the inclination,” said Elizabeth. “We can all plague and punish one another. Tease him—laugh at him. Intimate as you are, you must know how it is to be done.” “But upon my honour, I do _not_. I do assure you that my intimacy has not yet taught me _that_. Tease calmness of manner and presence of mind! No, no; I feel he may defy us there. And as to laughter, we will not expose ourselves, if you please, by attempting to laugh without a subject. Mr. Darcy may hug himself.” “Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at!” cried Elizabeth. “That is an uncommon advantage, and uncommon I hope it will continue, for it would be a great loss to _me_ to have many such acquaintances. I dearly love a laugh.” “Miss Bingley,” said he, “has given me more credit than can be. The wisest and the best of men—nay, the wisest and best of their actions—may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first object in life is a joke.” “Certainly,” replied Elizabeth—“there are such people, but I hope I am not one of _them_. I hope I never ridicule what is wise and good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, _do_ divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can. But these, I suppose, are precisely what you are without.” “Perhaps that is not possible for anyone. But it has been the study of my life to avoid those weaknesses which often expose a strong understanding to ridicule.” “Such as vanity and pride.” “Yes, vanity is a weakness indeed. But pride—where there is a real superiority of mind, pride will be always under good regulation.” Elizabeth turned away to hide a smile. “Your examination of Mr. Darcy is over, I presume,” said Miss Bingley; “and pray what is the result?” “I am perfectly convinced by it that Mr. Darcy has no defect. He owns it himself without disguise.” “No,” said Darcy, “I have made no such pretension. I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding. My temper I dare not vouch for. It is, I believe, too little yielding—certainly too little for the convenience of the world. I cannot forget the follies and vices of others so soon as I ought, nor their offenses against myself. My feelings are not puffed about with every attempt to move them. My temper would perhaps be called resentful. My good opinion once lost, is lost forever.” “_That_ is a failing indeed!” cried Elizabeth. “Implacable resentment _is_ a shade in a character. But you have chosen your fault well. I really cannot _laugh_ at it. You are safe from me.” “There is, I believe, in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil—a natural defect, which not even the best education can overcome.” “And _your_ defect is to hate everybody.” “And yours,” he replied with a smile, “is willfully to misunderstand them.” “Do let us have a little music,” cried Miss Bingley, tired of a conversation in which she had no share. “Louisa, you will not mind my waking Mr. Hurst?” Her sister had not the smallest objection, and the pianoforte was opened; and Darcy, after a few moments’ recollection, was not sorry for it. He began to feel the danger of paying Elizabeth too much attention. Chapter 12 In consequence of an agreement between the sisters, Elizabeth wrote the next morning to their mother, to beg that the carriage might be sent for them in the course of the day. But Mrs. Bennet, who had calculated on her daughters remaining at Netherfield till the following Tuesday, which would exactly finish Jane’s week, could not bring herself to receive them with pleasure before. Her answer, therefore, was not propitious, at least not to Elizabeth’s wishes, for she was impatient to get home. Mrs. Bennet sent them word that they could not possibly have the carriage before Tuesday; and in her postscript it was added, that if Mr. Bingley and his sister pressed them to stay longer, she could spare them very well. Against staying longer, however, Elizabeth was positively resolved—nor did she much expect it would be asked; and fearful, on the contrary, as being considered as intruding themselves needlessly long, she urged Jane to borrow Mr. Bingley’s carriage immediately, and at length it was settled that their original design of leaving Netherfield that morning should be mentioned, and the request made. The communication excited many professions of concern; and enough was said of wishing them to stay at least till the following day to work on Jane; and till the morrow their going was deferred. Miss Bingley was then sorry that she had proposed the delay, for her jealousy and dislike of one sister much exceeded her affection for the other. The master of the house heard with real sorrow that they were to go so soon, and repeatedly tried to persuade Miss Bennet that it would not be safe for her—that she was not enough recovered; but Jane was firm where she felt herself to be right. To Mr. Darcy it was welcome intelligence—Elizabeth had been at Netherfield long enough. She attracted him more than he liked—and Miss Bingley was uncivil to _her_, and more teasing than usual to himself. He wisely resolved to be particularly careful that no sign of admiration should _now_ escape him, nothing that could elevate her with the hope of influencing his felicity; sensible that if such an idea had been suggested, his behaviour during the last day must have material weight in confirming or crushing it. Steady to his purpose, he scarcely spoke ten words to her through the whole of Saturday, and though they were at one time left by themselves for half-an-hour, he adhered most conscientiously to his book, and would not even look at her. On Sunday, after morning service, the separation, so agreeable to almost all, took place. Miss Bingley’s civility to Elizabeth increased at last very rapidly, as well as her affection for Jane; and when they parted, after assuring the latter of the pleasure it would always give her to see her either at Longbourn or Netherfield, and embracing her most tenderly, she even shook hands with the former. Elizabeth took leave of the whole party in the liveliest of spirits. They were not welcomed home very cordially by their mother. Mrs. Bennet wondered at their coming, and thought them very wrong to give so much trouble, and was sure Jane would have caught cold again. But their father, though very laconic in his expressions of pleasure, was really glad to see them; he had felt their importance in the family circle. The evening conversation, when they were all assembled, had lost much of its animation, and almost all its sense by the absence of Jane and Elizabeth. They found Mary, as usual, deep in the study of thorough-bass and human nature; and had some extracts to admire, and some new observations of threadbare morality to listen to. Catherine and Lydia had information for them of a different sort. Much had been done and much had been said in the regiment since the preceding Wednesday; several of the officers had dined lately with their uncle, a private had been flogged, and it had actually been hinted that Colonel Forster was going to be married. Chapter 13 “I hope, my dear,” said Mr. Bennet to his wife, as they were at breakfast the next morning, “that you have ordered a good dinner to-day, because I have reason to expect an addition to our family party.” “Who do you mean, my dear? I know of nobody that is coming, I am sure, unless Charlotte Lucas should happen to call in—and I hope _my_ dinners are good enough for her. I do not believe she often sees such at home.” “The person of whom I speak is a gentleman, and a stranger.” Mrs. Bennet’s eyes sparkled. “A gentleman and a stranger! It is Mr. Bingley, I am sure! Well, I am sure I shall be extremely glad to see Mr. Bingley. But—good Lord! how unlucky! There is not a bit of fish to be got to-day. Lydia, my love, ring the bell—I must speak to Hill this moment.” “It is _not_ Mr. Bingley,” said her husband; “it is a person whom I never saw in the whole course of my life.” This roused a general astonishment; and he had the pleasure of being eagerly questioned by his wife and his five daughters at once. After amusing himself some time with their curiosity, he thus explained: “About a month ago I received this letter; and about a fortnight ago I answered it, for I thought it a case of some delicacy, and requiring early attention. It is from my cousin, Mr. Collins, who, when I am dead, may turn you all out of this house as soon as he pleases.” “Oh! my dear,” cried his wife, “I cannot bear to hear that mentioned. Pray do not talk of that odious man. I do think it is the hardest thing in the world, that your estate should be entailed away from your own children; and I am sure, if I had been you, I should have tried long ago to do something or other about it.” Jane and Elizabeth tried to explain to her the nature of an entail. They had often attempted to do it before, but it was a subject on which Mrs. Bennet was beyond the reach of reason, and she continued to rail bitterly against the cruelty of settling an estate away from a family of five daughters, in favour of a man whom nobody cared anything about. “It certainly is a most iniquitous affair,” said Mr. Bennet, “and nothing can clear Mr. Collins from the guilt of inheriting Longbourn. But if you will listen to his letter, you may perhaps be a little softened by his manner of expressing himself.” “No, that I am sure I shall not; and I think it is very impertinent of him to write to you at all, and very hypocritical. I hate such false friends. Why could he not keep on quarreling with you, as his father did before him?” “Why, indeed; he does seem to have had some filial scruples on that head, as you will hear.” “Hunsford, near Westerham, Kent, 15_th October_. “Dear Sir,— “The disagreement subsisting between yourself and my late honoured father always gave me much uneasiness, and since I have had the misfortune to lose him, I have frequently wished to heal the breach; but for some time I was kept back by my own doubts, fearing lest it might seem disrespectful to his memory for me to be on good terms with anyone with whom it had always pleased him to be at variance.—‘There, Mrs. Bennet.’—My mind, however, is now made up on the subject, for having received ordination at Easter, I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the Right Honourable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, widow of Sir Lewis de Bourgh, whose bounty and beneficence has preferred me to the valuable rectory of this parish, where it shall be my earnest endeavour to demean myself with grateful respect towards her ladyship, and be ever ready to perform those rites and ceremonies which are instituted by the Church of England. As a clergyman, moreover, I feel it my duty to promote and establish the blessing of peace in all families within the reach of my influence; and on these grounds I flatter myself that my present overtures are highly commendable, and that the circumstance of my being next in the entail of Longbourn estate will be kindly overlooked on your side, and not lead you to reject the offered olive-branch. I cannot be otherwise than concerned at being the means of injuring your amiable daughters, and beg leave to apologise for it, as well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every possible amends—but of this hereafter. If you should have no objection to receive me into your house, I propose myself the satisfaction of waiting on you and your family, Monday, November 18th, by four o’clock, and shall probably trespass on your hospitality till the Saturday se’ennight following, which I can do without any inconvenience, as Lady Catherine is far from objecting to my occasional absence on a Sunday, provided that some other clergyman is engaged to do the duty of the day.—I remain, dear sir, with respectful compliments to your lady and daughters, your well-wisher and friend, “WILLIAM COLLINS” “At four o’clock, therefore, we may expect this peace-making gentleman,” said Mr. Bennet, as he folded up the letter. “He seems to be a most conscientious and polite young man, upon my word, and I doubt not will prove a valuable acquaintance, especially if Lady Catherine should be so indulgent as to let him come to us again.” “There is some sense in what he says about the girls, however, and if he is disposed to make them any amends, I shall not be the person to discourage him.” “Though it is difficult,” said Jane, “to guess in what way he can mean to make us the atonement he thinks our due, the wish is certainly to his credit.” Elizabeth was chiefly struck by his extraordinary deference for Lady Catherine, and his kind intention of christening, marrying, and burying his parishioners whenever it were required. “He must be an oddity, I think,” said she. “I cannot make him out.—There is something very pompous in his style.—And what can he mean by apologising for being next in the entail?—We cannot suppose he would help it if he could.—Could he be a sensible man, sir?” “No, my dear, I think not. I have great hopes of finding him quite the reverse. There is a mixture of servility and self-importance in his letter, which promises well. I am impatient to see him.” “In point of composition,” said Mary, “the letter does not seem defective. The idea of the olive-branch perhaps is not wholly new, yet I think it is well expressed.” To Catherine and Lydia, neither the letter nor its writer were in any degree interesting. It was next to impossible that their cousin should come in a scarlet coat, and it was now some weeks since they had received pleasure from the society of a man in any other colour. As for their mother, Mr. Collins’s letter had done away much of her ill-will, and she was preparing to see him with a degree of composure which astonished her husband and daughters. Mr. Collins was punctual to his time, and was received with great politeness by the whole family. Mr. Bennet indeed said little; but the ladies were ready enough to talk, and Mr. Collins seemed neither in need of encouragement, nor inclined to be silent himself. He was a tall, heavy-looking young man of five-and-twenty. His air was grave and stately, and his manners were very formal. He had not been long seated before he complimented Mrs. Bennet on having so fine a family of daughters; said he had heard much of their beauty, but that in this instance fame had fallen short of the truth; and added, that he did not doubt her seeing them all in due time disposed of in marriage. This gallantry was not much to the taste of some of his hearers; but Mrs. Bennet, who quarreled with no compliments, answered most readily. “You are very kind, I am sure; and I wish with all my heart it may prove so, for else they will be destitute enough. Things are settled so oddly.” “You allude, perhaps, to the entail of this estate.” “Ah! sir, I do indeed. It is a grievous affair to my poor girls, you must confess. Not that I mean to find fault with _you_, for such things I know are all chance in this world. There is no knowing how estates will go when once they come to be entailed.” “I am very sensible, madam, of the hardship to my fair cousins, and could say much on the subject, but that I am cautious of appearing forward and precipitate. But I can assure the young ladies that I come prepared to admire them. At present I will not say more; but, perhaps, when we are better acquainted—” He was interrupted by a summons to dinner; and the girls smiled on each other. They were not the only objects of Mr. Collins’s admiration. The hall, the dining-room, and all its furniture, were examined and praised; and his commendation of everything would have touched Mrs. Bennet’s heart, but for the mortifying supposition of his viewing it all as his own future property. The dinner too in its turn was highly admired; and he begged to know to which of his fair cousins the excellency of its cooking was owing. But he was set right there by Mrs. Bennet, who assured him with some asperity that they were very well able to keep a good cook, and that her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen. He begged pardon for having displeased her. In a softened tone she declared herself not at all offended; but he continued to apologise for about a quarter of an hour. Chapter 14 During dinner, Mr. Bennet scarcely spoke at all; but when the servants were withdrawn, he thought it time to have some conversation with his guest, and therefore started a subject in which he expected him to shine, by observing that he seemed very fortunate in his patroness. Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s attention to his wishes, and consideration for his comfort, appeared very remarkable. Mr. Bennet could not have chosen better. Mr. Collins was eloquent in her praise. The subject elevated him to more than usual solemnity of manner, and with a most important aspect he protested that “he had never in his life witnessed such behaviour in a person of rank—such affability and condescension, as he had himself experienced from Lady Catherine. She had been graciously pleased to approve of both of the discourses which he had already had the honour of preaching before her. She had also asked him twice to dine at Rosings, and had sent for him only the Saturday before, to make up her pool of quadrille in the evening. Lady Catherine was reckoned proud by many people he knew, but _he_ had never seen anything but affability in her. She had always spoken to him as she would to any other gentleman; she made not the smallest objection to his joining in the society of the neighbourhood nor to his leaving the parish occasionally for a week or two, to visit his relations. She had even condescended to advise him to marry as soon as he could, provided he chose with discretion; and had once paid him a visit in his humble parsonage, where she had perfectly approved all the alterations he had been making, and had even vouchsafed to suggest some herself—some shelves in the closet up stairs.” “That is all very proper and civil, I am sure,” said Mrs. Bennet, “and I dare say she is a very agreeable woman. It is a pity that great ladies in general are not more like her. Does she live near you, sir?” “The garden in which stands my humble abode is separated only by a lane from Rosings Park, her ladyship’s residence.” “I think you said she was a widow, sir? Has she any family?” “She has only one daughter, the heiress of Rosings, and of very extensive property.” “Ah!” said Mrs. Bennet, shaking her head, “then she is better off than many girls. And what sort of young lady is she? Is she handsome?” “She is a most charming young lady indeed. Lady Catherine herself says that, in point of true beauty, Miss de Bourgh is far superior to the handsomest of her sex, because there is that in her features which marks the young lady of distinguished birth. She is unfortunately of a sickly constitution, which has prevented her from making that progress in many accomplishments which she could not have otherwise failed of, as I am informed by the lady who superintended her education, and who still resides with them. But she is perfectly amiable, and often condescends to drive by my humble abode in her little phaeton and ponies.” “Has she been presented? I do not remember her name among the ladies at court.” “Her indifferent state of health unhappily prevents her being in town; and by that means, as I told Lady Catherine one day, has deprived the British court of its brightest ornament. Her ladyship seemed pleased with the idea; and you may imagine that I am happy on every occasion to offer those little delicate compliments which are always acceptable to ladies. I have more than once observed to Lady Catherine, that her charming daughter seemed born to be a duchess, and that the most elevated rank, instead of giving her consequence, would be adorned by her. These are the kind of little things which please her ladyship, and it is a sort of attention which I conceive myself peculiarly bound to pay.” “You judge very properly,” said Mr. Bennet, “and it is happy for you that you possess the talent of flattering with delicacy. May I ask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from the impulse of the moment, or are the result of previous study?” “They arise chiefly from what is passing at the time, and though I sometimes amuse myself with suggesting and arranging such little elegant compliments as may be adapted to ordinary occasions, I always wish to give them as unstudied an air as possible.” Mr. Bennet’s expectations were fully answered. His cousin was as absurd as he had hoped, and he listened to him with the keenest enjoyment, maintaining at the same time the most resolute composure of countenance, and, except in an occasional glance at Elizabeth, requiring no partner in his pleasure. By tea-time, however, the dose had been enough, and Mr. Bennet was glad to take his guest into the drawing-room again, and, when tea was over, glad to invite him to read aloud to the ladies. Mr. Collins readily assented, and a book was produced; but, on beholding it (for everything announced it to be from a circulating library), he started back, and begging pardon, protested that he never read novels. Kitty stared at him, and Lydia exclaimed. Other books were produced, and after some deliberation he chose Fordyce’s Sermons. Lydia gaped as he opened the volume, and before he had, with very monotonous solemnity, read three pages, she interrupted him with: “Do you know, mamma, that my uncle Phillips talks of turning away Richard; and if he does, Colonel Forster will hire him. My aunt told me so herself on Saturday. I shall walk to Meryton to-morrow to hear more about it, and to ask when Mr. Denny comes back from town.” Lydia was bid by her two eldest sisters to hold her tongue; but Mr. Collins, much offended, laid aside his book, and said: “I have often observed how little young ladies are interested by books of a serious stamp, though written solely for their benefit. It amazes me, I confess; for, certainly, there can be nothing so advantageous to them as instruction. But I will no longer importune my young cousin.” Then turning to Mr. Bennet, he offered himself as his antagonist at backgammon. Mr. Bennet accepted the challenge, observing that he acted very wisely in leaving the girls to their own trifling amusements. Mrs. Bennet and her daughters apologised most civilly for Lydia’s interruption, and promised that it should not occur again, if he would resume his book; but Mr. Collins, after assuring them that he bore his young cousin no ill-will, and should never resent her behaviour as any affront, seated himself at another table with Mr. Bennet, and prepared for backgammon. Chapter 15 Mr. Collins was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society; the greatest part of his life having been spent under the guidance of an illiterate and miserly father; and though he belonged to one of the universities, he had merely kept the necessary terms, without forming at it any useful acquaintance. The subjection in which his father had brought him up had given him originally great humility of manner; but it was now a good deal counteracted by the self-conceit of a weak head, living in retirement, and the consequential feelings of early and unexpected prosperity. A fortunate chance had recommended him to Lady Catherine de Bourgh when the living of Hunsford was vacant; and the respect which he felt for her high rank, and his veneration for her as his patroness, mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his authority as a clergyman, and his right as a rector, made him altogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility. Having now a good house and a very sufficient income, he intended to marry; and in seeking a reconciliation with the Longbourn family he had a wife in view, as he meant to choose one of the daughters, if he found them as handsome and amiable as they were represented by common report. This was his plan of amends—of atonement—for inheriting their father’s estate; and he thought it an excellent one, full of eligibility and suitableness, and excessively generous and disinterested on his own part. His plan did not vary on seeing them. Miss Bennet’s lovely face confirmed his views, and established all his strictest notions of what was due to seniority; and for the first evening _she_ was his settled choice. The next morning, however, made an alteration; for in a quarter of an hour’s _tête-à-tête_ with Mrs. Bennet before breakfast, a conversation beginning with his parsonage-house, and leading naturally to the avowal of his hopes, that a mistress might be found for it at Longbourn, produced from her, amid very complaisant smiles and general encouragement, a caution against the very Jane he had fixed on. “As to her _younger_ daughters, she could not take upon her to say—she could not positively answer—but she did not _know_ of any prepossession; her _eldest_ daughter, she must just mention—she felt it incumbent on her to hint, was likely to be very soon engaged.” Mr. Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth—and it was soon done—done while Mrs. Bennet was stirring the fire. Elizabeth, equally next to Jane in birth and beauty, succeeded her of course. Mrs. Bennet treasured up the hint, and trusted that she might soon have two daughters married; and the man whom she could not bear to speak of the day before was now high in her good graces. Lydia’s intention of walking to Meryton was not forgotten; every sister except Mary agreed to go with her; and Mr. Collins was to attend them, at the request of Mr. Bennet, who was most anxious to get rid of him, and have his library to himself; for thither Mr. Collins had followed him after breakfast; and there he would continue, nominally engaged with one of the largest folios in the collection, but really talking to Mr. Bennet, with little cessation, of his house and garden at Hunsford. Such doings discomposed Mr. Bennet exceedingly. In his library he had been always sure of leisure and tranquillity; and though prepared, as he told Elizabeth, to meet with folly and conceit in every other room of the house, he was used to be free from them there; his civility, therefore, was most prompt in inviting Mr. Collins to join his daughters in their walk; and Mr. Collins, being in fact much better fitted for a walker than a reader, was extremely pleased to close his large book, and go. In pompous nothings on his side, and civil assents on that of his cousins, their time passed till they entered Meryton. The attention of the younger ones was then no longer to be gained by _him_. Their eyes were immediately wandering up in the street in quest of the officers, and nothing less than a very smart bonnet indeed, or a really new muslin in a shop window, could recall them. But the attention of every lady was soon caught by a young man, whom they had never seen before, of most gentlemanlike appearance, walking with another officer on the other side of the way. The officer was the very Mr. Denny concerning whose return from London Lydia came to enquire, and he bowed as they passed. All were struck with the stranger’s air, all wondered who he could be; and Kitty and Lydia, determined if possible to find out, led the way across the street, under pretense of wanting something in an opposite shop, and fortunately had just gained the pavement when the two gentlemen, turning back, had reached the same spot. Mr. Denny addressed them directly, and entreated permission to introduce his friend, Mr. Wickham, who had returned with him the day before from town, and he was happy to say had accepted a commission in their corps. This was exactly as it should be; for the young man wanted only regimentals to make him completely charming. His appearance was greatly in his favour; he had all the best part of beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address. The introduction was followed up on his side by a happy readiness of conversation—a readiness at the same time perfectly correct and unassuming; and the whole party were still standing and talking together very agreeably, when the sound of horses drew their notice, and Darcy and Bingley were seen riding down the street. On distinguishing the ladies of the group, the two gentlemen came directly towards them, and began the usual civilities. Bingley was the principal spokesman, and Miss Bennet the principal object. He was then, he said, on his way to Longbourn on purpose to enquire after her. Mr. Darcy corroborated it with a bow, and was beginning to determine not to fix his eyes on Elizabeth, when they were suddenly arrested by the sight of the stranger, and Elizabeth happening to see the countenance of both as they looked at each other, was all astonishment at the effect of the meeting. Both changed colour, one looked white, the other red. Mr. Wickham, after a few moments, touched his hat—a salutation which Mr. Darcy just deigned to return. What could be the meaning of it? It was impossible to imagine; it was impossible not to long to know. In another minute, Mr. Bingley, but without seeming to have noticed what passed, took leave and rode on with his friend. Mr. Denny and Mr. Wickham walked with the young ladies to the door of Mr. Phillip’s house, and then made their bows, in spite of Miss Lydia’s pressing entreaties that they should come in, and even in spite of Mrs. Phillips’s throwing up the parlour window and loudly seconding the invitation. Mrs. Phillips was always glad to see her nieces; and the two eldest, from their recent absence, were particularly welcome, and she was eagerly expressing her surprise at their sudden return home, which, as their own carriage had not fetched them, she should have known nothing about, if she had not happened to see Mr. Jones’s shop-boy in the street, who had told her that they were not to send any more draughts to Netherfield because the Miss Bennets were come away, when her civility was claimed towards Mr. Collins by Jane’s introduction of him. She received him with her very best politeness, which he returned with as much more, apologising for his intrusion, without any previous acquaintance with her, which he could not help flattering himself, however, might be justified by his relationship to the young ladies who introduced him to her notice. Mrs. Phillips was quite awed by such an excess of good breeding; but her contemplation of one stranger was soon put to an end by exclamations and enquiries about the other; of whom, however, she could only tell her nieces what they already knew, that Mr. Denny had brought him from London, and that he was to have a lieutenant’s commission in the ——shire. She had been watching him the last hour, she said, as he walked up and down the street, and had Mr. Wickham appeared, Kitty and Lydia would certainly have continued the occupation, but unluckily no one passed windows now except a few of the officers, who, in comparison with the stranger, were become “stupid, disagreeable fellows.” Some of them were to dine with the Phillipses the next day, and their aunt promised to make her husband call on Mr. Wickham, and give him an invitation also, if the family from Longbourn would come in the evening. This was agreed to, and Mrs. Phillips protested that they would have a nice comfortable noisy game of lottery tickets, and a little bit of hot supper afterwards. The prospect of such delights was very cheering, and they parted in mutual good spirits. Mr. Collins repeated his apologies in quitting the room, and was assured with unwearying civility that they were perfectly needless. As they walked home, Elizabeth related to Jane what she had seen pass between the two gentlemen; but though Jane would have defended either or both, had they appeared to be in the wrong, she could no more explain such behaviour than her sister. Mr. Collins on his return highly gratified Mrs. Bennet by admiring Mrs. Phillips’s manners and politeness. He protested that, except Lady Catherine and her daughter, he had never seen a more elegant woman; for she had not only received him with the utmost civility, but even pointedly included him in her invitation for the next evening, although utterly unknown to her before. Something, he supposed, might be attributed to his connection with them, but yet he had never met with so much attention in the whole course of his life. Chapter 16 As no objection was made to the young people’s engagement with their aunt, and all Mr. Collins’s scruples of leaving Mr. and Mrs. Bennet for a single evening during his visit were most steadily resisted, the coach conveyed him and his five cousins at a suitable hour to Meryton; and the girls had the pleasure of hearing, as they entered the drawing-room, that Mr. Wickham had accepted their uncle’s invitation, and was then in the house. When this information was given, and they had all taken their seats, Mr. Collins was at leisure to look around him and admire, and he was so much struck with the size and furniture of the apartment, that he declared he might almost have supposed himself in the small summer breakfast parlour at Rosings; a comparison that did not at first convey much gratification; but when Mrs. Phillips understood from him what Rosings was, and who was its proprietor—when she had listened to the description of only one of Lady Catherine’s drawing-rooms, and found that the chimney-piece alone had cost eight hundred pounds, she felt all the force of the compliment, and would hardly have resented a comparison with the housekeeper’s room. In describing to her all the grandeur of Lady Catherine and her mansion, with occasional digressions in praise of his own humble abode, and the improvements it was receiving, he was happily employed until the gentlemen joined them; and he found in Mrs. Phillips a very attentive listener, whose opinion of his consequence increased with what she heard, and who was resolving to retail it all among her neighbours as soon as she could. To the girls, who could not listen to their cousin, and who had nothing to do but to wish for an instrument, and examine their own indifferent imitations of china on the mantelpiece, the interval of waiting appeared very long. It was over at last, however. The gentlemen did approach, and when Mr. Wickham walked into the room, Elizabeth felt that she had neither been seeing him before, nor thinking of him since, with the smallest degree of unreasonable admiration. The officers of the ——shire were in general a very creditable, gentlemanlike set, and the best of them were of the present party; but Mr. Wickham was as far beyond them all in person, countenance, air, and walk, as _they_ were superior to the broad-faced, stuffy uncle Phillips, breathing port wine, who followed them into the room. Mr. Wickham was the happy man towards whom almost every female eye was turned, and Elizabeth was the happy woman by whom he finally seated himself; and the agreeable manner in which he immediately fell into conversation, though it was only on its being a wet night, made her feel that the commonest, dullest, most threadbare topic might be rendered interesting by the skill of the speaker. With such rivals for the notice of the fair as Mr. Wickham and the officers, Mr. Collins seemed to sink into insignificance; to the young ladies he certainly was nothing; but he had still at intervals a kind listener in Mrs. Phillips, and was by her watchfulness, most abundantly supplied with coffee and muffin. When the card-tables were placed, he had the opportunity of obliging her in turn, by sitting down to whist. “I know little of the game at present,” said he, “but I shall be glad to improve myself, for in my situation in life—” Mrs. Phillips was very glad for his compliance, but could not wait for his reason. Mr. Wickham did not play at whist, and with ready delight was he received at the other table between Elizabeth and Lydia. At first there seemed danger of Lydia’s engrossing him entirely, for she was a most determined talker; but being likewise extremely fond of lottery tickets, she soon grew too much interested in the game, too eager in making bets and exclaiming after prizes to have attention for anyone in particular. Allowing for the common demands of the game, Mr. Wickham was therefore at leisure to talk to Elizabeth, and she was very willing to hear him, though what she chiefly wished to hear she could not hope to be told—the history of his acquaintance with Mr. Darcy. She dared not even mention that gentleman. Her curiosity, however, was unexpectedly relieved. Mr. Wickham began the subject himself. He enquired how far Netherfield was from Meryton; and, after receiving her answer, asked in a hesitating manner how long Mr. Darcy had been staying there. “About a month,” said Elizabeth; and then, unwilling to let the subject drop, added, “He is a man of very large property in Derbyshire, I understand.” “Yes,” replied Mr. Wickham; “his estate there is a noble one. A clear ten thousand per annum. You could not have met with a person more capable of giving you certain information on that head than myself, for I have been connected with his family in a particular manner from my infancy.” Elizabeth could not but look surprised. “You may well be surprised, Miss Bennet, at such an assertion, after seeing, as you probably might, the very cold manner of our meeting yesterday. Are you much acquainted with Mr. Darcy?” “As much as I ever wish to be,” cried Elizabeth very warmly. “I have spent four days in the same house with him, and I think him very disagreeable.” “I have no right to give _my_ opinion,” said Wickham, “as to his being agreeable or otherwise. I am not qualified to form one. I have known him too long and too well to be a fair judge. It is impossible for _me_ to be impartial. But I believe your opinion of him would in general astonish—and perhaps you would not express it quite so strongly anywhere else. Here you are in your own family.” “Upon my word, I say no more _here_ than I might say in any house in the neighbourhood, except Netherfield. He is not at all liked in Hertfordshire. Everybody is disgusted with his pride. You will not find him more favourably spoken of by anyone.” “I cannot pretend to be sorry,” said Wickham, after a short interruption, “that he or that any man should not be estimated beyond their deserts; but with _him_ I believe it does not often happen. The world is blinded by his fortune and consequence, or frightened by his high and imposing manners, and sees him only as he chooses to be seen.” “I should take him, even on _my_ slight acquaintance, to be an ill-tempered man.” Wickham only shook his head. “I wonder,” said he, at the next opportunity of speaking, “whether he is likely to be in this country much longer.” “I do not at all know; but I _heard_ nothing of his going away when I was at Netherfield. I hope your plans in favour of the ——shire will not be affected by his being in the neighbourhood.” “Oh! no—it is not for _me_ to be driven away by Mr. Darcy. If _he_ wishes to avoid seeing _me_, he must go. We are not on friendly terms, and it always gives me pain to meet him, but I have no reason for avoiding _him_ but what I might proclaim before all the world, a sense of very great ill-usage, and most painful regrets at his being what he is. His father, Miss Bennet, the late Mr. Darcy, was one of the best men that ever breathed, and the truest friend I ever had; and I can never be in company with this Mr. Darcy without being grieved to the soul by a thousand tender recollections. His behaviour to myself has been scandalous; but I verily believe I could forgive him anything and everything, rather than his disappointing the hopes and disgracing the memory of his father.” Elizabeth found the interest of the subject increase, and listened with all her heart; but the delicacy of it prevented further enquiry. Mr. Wickham began to speak on more general topics, Meryton, the neighbourhood, the society, appearing highly pleased with all that he had yet seen, and speaking of the latter with gentle but very intelligible gallantry. “It was the prospect of constant society, and good society,” he added, “which was my chief inducement to enter the ——shire. I knew it to be a most respectable, agreeable corps, and my friend Denny tempted me further by his account of their present quarters, and the very great attentions and excellent acquaintances Meryton had procured them. Society, I own, is necessary to me. I have been a disappointed man, and my spirits will not bear solitude. I _must_ have employment and society. A military life is not what I was intended for, but circumstances have now made it eligible. The church _ought_ to have been my profession—I was brought up for the church, and I should at this time have been in possession of a most valuable living, had it pleased the gentleman we were speaking of just now.” “Indeed!” “Yes—the late Mr. Darcy bequeathed me the next presentation of the best living in his gift. He was my godfather, and excessively attached to me. I cannot do justice to his kindness. He meant to provide for me amply, and thought he had done it; but when the living fell, it was given elsewhere.” “Good heavens!” cried Elizabeth; “but how could _that_ be? How could his will be disregarded? Why did you not seek legal redress?” “There was just such an informality in the terms of the bequest as to give me no hope from law. A man of honour could not have doubted the intention, but Mr. Darcy chose to doubt it—or to treat it as a merely conditional recommendation, and to assert that I had forfeited all claim to it by extravagance, imprudence—in short anything or nothing. Certain it is, that the living became vacant two years ago, exactly as I was of an age to hold it, and that it was given to another man; and no less certain is it, that I cannot accuse myself of having really done anything to deserve to lose it. I have a warm, unguarded temper, and I may have spoken my opinion _of_ him, and _to_ him, too freely. I can recall nothing worse. But the fact is, that we are very different sort of men, and that he hates me.” “This is quite shocking! He deserves to be publicly disgraced.” “Some time or other he _will_ be—but it shall not be by _me_. Till I can forget his father, I can never defy or expose _him_.” Elizabeth honoured him for such feelings, and thought him handsomer than ever as he expressed them. “But what,” said she, after a pause, “can have been his motive? What can have induced him to behave so cruelly?” “A thorough, determined dislike of me—a dislike which I cannot but attribute in some measure to jealousy. Had the late Mr. Darcy liked me less, his son might have borne with me better; but his father’s uncommon attachment to me irritated him, I believe, very early in life. He had not a temper to bear the sort of competition in which we stood—the sort of preference which was often given me.” “I had not thought Mr. Darcy so bad as this—though I have never liked him. I had not thought so very ill of him. I had supposed him to be despising his fellow-creatures in general, but did not suspect him of descending to such malicious revenge, such injustice, such inhumanity as this.” After a few minutes’ reflection, however, she continued, “I _do_ remember his boasting one day, at Netherfield, of the implacability of his resentments, of his having an unforgiving temper. His disposition must be dreadful.” “I will not trust myself on the subject,” replied Wickham; “_I_ can hardly be just to him.” Elizabeth was again deep in thought, and after a time exclaimed, “To treat in such a manner the godson, the friend, the favourite of his father!” She could have added, “A young man, too, like _you_, whose very countenance may vouch for your being amiable”—but she contented herself with, “and one, too, who had probably been his companion from childhood, connected together, as I think you said, in the closest manner!” “We were born in the same parish, within the same park; the greatest part of our youth was passed together; inmates of the same house, sharing the same amusements, objects of the same parental care. _My_ father began life in the profession which your uncle, Mr. Phillips, appears to do so much credit to—but he gave up everything to be of use to the late Mr. Darcy and devoted all his time to the care of the Pemberley property. He was most highly esteemed by Mr. Darcy, a most intimate, confidential friend. Mr. Darcy often acknowledged himself to be under the greatest obligations to my father’s active superintendence, and when, immediately before my father’s death, Mr. Darcy gave him a voluntary promise of providing for me, I am convinced that he felt it to be as much a debt of gratitude to _him_, as of his affection to myself.” “How strange!” cried Elizabeth. “How abominable! I wonder that the very pride of this Mr. Darcy has not made him just to you! If from no better motive, that he should not have been too proud to be dishonest—for dishonesty I must call it.” “It _is_ wonderful,” replied Wickham, “for almost all his actions may be traced to pride; and pride had often been his best friend. It has connected him nearer with virtue than with any other feeling. But we are none of us consistent, and in his behaviour to me there were stronger impulses even than pride.” “Can such abominable pride as his have ever done him good?” “Yes. It has often led him to be liberal and generous, to give his money freely, to display hospitality, to assist his tenants, and relieve the poor. Family pride, and _filial_ pride—for he is very proud of what his father was—have done this. Not to appear to disgrace his family, to degenerate from the popular qualities, or lose the influence of the Pemberley House, is a powerful motive. He has also _brotherly_ pride, which, with _some_ brotherly affection, makes him a very kind and careful guardian of his sister, and you will hear him generally cried up as the most attentive and best of brothers.” “What sort of girl is Miss Darcy?” He shook his head. “I wish I could call her amiable. It gives me pain to speak ill of a Darcy. But she is too much like her brother—very, very proud. As a child, she was affectionate and pleasing, and extremely fond of me; and I have devoted hours and hours to her amusement. But she is nothing to me now. She is a handsome girl, about fifteen or sixteen, and, I understand, highly accomplished. Since her father’s death, her home has been London, where a lady lives with her, and superintends her education.” After many pauses and many trials of other subjects, Elizabeth could not help reverting once more to the first, and saying: “I am astonished at his intimacy with Mr. Bingley! How can Mr. Bingley, who seems good humour itself, and is, I really believe, truly amiable, be in friendship with such a man? How can they suit each other? Do you know Mr. Bingley?” “Not at all.” “He is a sweet-tempered, amiable, charming man. He cannot know what Mr. Darcy is.” “Probably not; but Mr. Darcy can please where he chooses. He does not want abilities. He can be a conversible companion if he thinks it worth his while. Among those who are at all his equals in consequence, he is a very different man from what he is to the less prosperous. His pride never deserts him; but with the rich he is liberal-minded, just, sincere, rational, honourable, and perhaps agreeable—allowing something for fortune and figure.” The whist party soon afterwards breaking up, the players gathered round the other table and Mr. Collins took his station between his cousin Elizabeth and Mrs. Phillips. The usual enquiries as to his success were made by the latter. It had not been very great; he had lost every point; but when Mrs. Phillips began to express her concern thereupon, he assured her with much earnest gravity that it was not of the least importance, that he considered the money as a mere trifle, and begged that she would not make herself uneasy. “I know very well, madam,” said he, “that when persons sit down to a card-table, they must take their chances of these things, and happily I am not in such circumstances as to make five shillings any object. There are undoubtedly many who could not say the same, but thanks to Lady Catherine de Bourgh, I am removed far beyond the necessity of regarding little matters.” Mr. Wickham’s attention was caught; and after observing Mr. Collins for a few moments, he asked Elizabeth in a low voice whether her relation was very intimately acquainted with the family of de Bourgh. “Lady Catherine de Bourgh,” she replied, “has very lately given him a living. I hardly know how Mr. Collins was first introduced to her notice, but he certainly has not known her long.” “You know of course that Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Lady Anne Darcy were sisters; consequently that she is aunt to the present Mr. Darcy.” “No, indeed, I did not. I knew nothing at all of Lady Catherine’s connections. I never heard of her existence till the day before yesterday.” “Her daughter, Miss de Bourgh, will have a very large fortune, and it is believed that she and her cousin will unite the two estates.” This information made Elizabeth smile, as she thought of poor Miss Bingley. Vain indeed must be all her attentions, vain and useless her affection for his sister and her praise of himself, if he were already self-destined for another. “Mr. Collins,” said she, “speaks highly both of Lady Catherine and her daughter; but from some particulars that he has related of her ladyship, I suspect his gratitude misleads him, and that in spite of her being his patroness, she is an arrogant, conceited woman.” “I believe her to be both in a great degree,” replied Wickham; “I have not seen her for many years, but I very well remember that I never liked her, and that her manners were dictatorial and insolent. She has the reputation of being remarkably sensible and clever; but I rather believe she derives part of her abilities from her rank and fortune, part from her authoritative manner, and the rest from the pride of her nephew, who chooses that everyone connected with him should have an understanding of the first class.” Elizabeth allowed that he had given a very rational account of it, and they continued talking together, with mutual satisfaction till supper put an end to cards, and gave the rest of the ladies their share of Mr. Wickham’s attentions. There could be no conversation in the noise of Mrs. Phillips’s supper party, but his manners recommended him to everybody. Whatever he said, was said well; and whatever he did, done gracefully. Elizabeth went away with her head full of him. She could think of nothing but of Mr. Wickham, and of what he had told her, all the way home; but there was not time for her even to mention his name as they went, for neither Lydia nor Mr. Collins were once silent. Lydia talked incessantly of lottery tickets, of the fish she had lost and the fish she had won; and Mr. Collins in describing the civility of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips, protesting that he did not in the least regard his losses at whist, enumerating all the dishes at supper, and repeatedly fearing that he crowded his cousins, had more to say than he could well manage before the carriage stopped at Longbourn House. Chapter 17 Elizabeth related to Jane the next day what had passed between Mr. Wickham and herself. Jane listened with astonishment and concern; she knew not how to believe that Mr. Darcy could be so unworthy of Mr. Bingley’s regard; and yet, it was not in her nature to question the veracity of a young man of such amiable appearance as Wickham. The possibility of his having endured such unkindness, was enough to interest all her tender feelings; and nothing remained therefore to be done, but to think well of them both, to defend the conduct of each, and throw into the account of accident or mistake whatever could not be otherwise explained. “They have both,” said she, “been deceived, I dare say, in some way or other, of which we can form no idea. Interested people have perhaps misrepresented each to the other. It is, in short, impossible for us to conjecture the causes or circumstances which may have alienated them, without actual blame on either side.” “Very true, indeed; and now, my dear Jane, what have you got to say on behalf of the interested people who have probably been concerned in the business? Do clear _them_ too, or we shall be obliged to think ill of somebody.” “Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion. My dearest Lizzy, do but consider in what a disgraceful light it places Mr. Darcy, to be treating his father’s favourite in such a manner, one whom his father had promised to provide for. It is impossible. No man of common humanity, no man who had any value for his character, could be capable of it. Can his most intimate friends be so excessively deceived in him? Oh! no.” “I can much more easily believe Mr. Bingley’s being imposed on, than that Mr. Wickham should invent such a history of himself as he gave me last night; names, facts, everything mentioned without ceremony. If it be not so, let Mr. Darcy contradict it. Besides, there was truth in his looks.” “It is difficult indeed—it is distressing. One does not know what to think.” “I beg your pardon; one knows exactly what to think.” But Jane could think with certainty on only one point—that Mr. Bingley, if he _had been_ imposed on, would have much to suffer when the affair became public. The two young ladies were summoned from the shrubbery, where this conversation passed, by the arrival of the very persons of whom they had been speaking; Mr. Bingley and his sisters came to give their personal invitation for the long-expected ball at Netherfield, which was fixed for the following Tuesday. The two ladies were delighted to see their dear friend again, called it an age since they had met, and repeatedly asked what she had been doing with herself since their separation. To the rest of the family they paid little attention; avoiding Mrs. Bennet as much as possible, saying not much to Elizabeth, and nothing at all to the others. They were soon gone again, rising from their seats with an activity which took their brother by surprise, and hurrying off as if eager to escape from Mrs. Bennet’s civilities. The prospect of the Netherfield ball was extremely agreeable to every female of the family. Mrs. Bennet chose to consider it as given in compliment to her eldest daughter, and was particularly flattered by receiving the invitation from Mr. Bingley himself, instead of a ceremonious card. Jane pictured to herself a happy evening in the society of her two friends, and the attentions of their brother; and Elizabeth thought with pleasure of dancing a great deal with Mr. Wickham, and of seeing a confirmation of everything in Mr. Darcy’s look and behaviour. The happiness anticipated by Catherine and Lydia depended less on any single event, or any particular person, for though they each, like Elizabeth, meant to dance half the evening with Mr. Wickham, he was by no means the only partner who could satisfy them, and a ball was, at any rate, a ball. And even Mary could assure her family that she had no disinclination for it. “While I can have my mornings to myself,” said she, “it is enough—I think it is no sacrifice to join occasionally in evening engagements. Society has claims on us all; and I profess myself one of those who consider intervals of recreation and amusement as desirable for everybody.” Elizabeth’s spirits were so high on this occasion, that though she did not often speak unnecessarily to Mr. Collins, she could not help asking him whether he intended to accept Mr. Bingley’s invitation, and if he did, whether he would think it proper to join in the evening’s amusement; and she was rather surprised to find that he entertained no scruple whatever on that head, and was very far from dreading a rebuke either from the Archbishop, or Lady Catherine de Bourgh, by venturing to dance. “I am by no means of the opinion, I assure you,” said he, “that a ball of this kind, given by a young man of character, to respectable people, can have any evil tendency; and I am so far from objecting to dancing myself, that I shall hope to be honoured with the hands of all my fair cousins in the course of the evening; and I take this opportunity of soliciting yours, Miss Elizabeth, for the two first dances especially, a preference which I trust my cousin Jane will attribute to the right cause, and not to any disrespect for her.” Elizabeth felt herself completely taken in. She had fully proposed being engaged by Mr. Wickham for those very dances; and to have Mr. Collins instead! her liveliness had never been worse timed. There was no help for it, however. Mr. Wickham’s happiness and her own were perforce delayed a little longer, and Mr. Collins’s proposal accepted with as good a grace as she could. She was not the better pleased with his gallantry from the idea it suggested of something more. It now first struck her, that _she_ was selected from among her sisters as worthy of being mistress of Hunsford Parsonage, and of assisting to form a quadrille table at Rosings, in the absence of more eligible visitors. The idea soon reached to conviction, as she observed his increasing civilities toward herself, and heard his frequent attempt at a compliment on her wit and vivacity; and though more astonished than gratified herself by this effect of her charms, it was not long before her mother gave her to understand that the probability of their marriage was extremely agreeable to _her_. Elizabeth, however, did not choose to take the hint, being well aware that a serious dispute must be the consequence of any reply. Mr. Collins might never make the offer, and till he did, it was useless to quarrel about him. If there had not been a Netherfield ball to prepare for and talk of, the younger Miss Bennets would have been in a very pitiable state at this time, for from the day of the invitation, to the day of the ball, there was such a succession of rain as prevented their walking to Meryton once. No aunt, no officers, no news could be sought after—the very shoe-roses for Netherfield were got by proxy. Even Elizabeth might have found some trial of her patience in weather which totally suspended the improvement of her acquaintance with Mr. Wickham; and nothing less than a dance on Tuesday, could have made such a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday endurable to Kitty and Lydia. Chapter 18 Till Elizabeth entered the drawing-room at Netherfield, and looked in vain for Mr. Wickham among the cluster of red coats there assembled, a doubt of his being present had never occurred to her. The certainty of meeting him had not been checked by any of those recollections that might not unreasonably have alarmed her. She had dressed with more than usual care, and prepared in the highest spirits for the conquest of all that remained unsubdued of his heart, trusting that it was not more than might be won in the course of the evening. But in an instant arose the dreadful suspicion of his being purposely omitted for Mr. Darcy’s pleasure in the Bingleys’ invitation to the officers; and though this was not exactly the case, the absolute fact of his absence was pronounced by his friend Denny, to whom Lydia eagerly applied, and who told them that Wickham had been obliged to go to town on business the day before, and was not yet returned; adding, with a significant smile, “I do not imagine his business would have called him away just now, if he had not wanted to avoid a certain gentleman here.” This part of his intelligence, though unheard by Lydia, was caught by Elizabeth, and, as it assured her that Darcy was not less answerable for Wickham’s absence than if her first surmise had been just, every feeling of displeasure against the former was so sharpened by immediate disappointment, that she could hardly reply with tolerable civility to the polite enquiries which he directly afterwards approached to make. Attendance, forbearance, patience with Darcy, was injury to Wickham. She was resolved against any sort of conversation with him, and turned away with a degree of ill-humour which she could not wholly surmount even in speaking to Mr. Bingley, whose blind partiality provoked her. But Elizabeth was not formed for ill-humour; and though every prospect of her own was destroyed for the evening, it could not dwell long on her spirits; and having told all her griefs to Charlotte Lucas, whom she had not seen for a week, she was soon able to make a voluntary transition to the oddities of her cousin, and to point him out to her particular notice. The first two dances, however, brought a return of distress; they were dances of mortification. Mr. Collins, awkward and solemn, apologising instead of attending, and often moving wrong without being aware of it, gave her all the shame and misery which a disagreeable partner for a couple of dances can give. The moment of her release from him was ecstasy. She danced next with an officer, and had the refreshment of talking of Wickham, and of hearing that he was universally liked. When those dances were over, she returned to Charlotte Lucas, and was in conversation with her, when she found herself suddenly addressed by Mr. Darcy who took her so much by surprise in his application for her hand, that, without knowing what she did, she accepted him. He walked away again immediately, and she was left to fret over her own want of presence of mind; Charlotte tried to console her: “I dare say you will find him very agreeable.” “Heaven forbid! _That_ would be the greatest misfortune of all! To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate! Do not wish me such an evil.” When the dancing recommenced, however, and Darcy approached to claim her hand, Charlotte could not help cautioning her in a whisper, not to be a simpleton, and allow her fancy for Wickham to make her appear unpleasant in the eyes of a man ten times his consequence. Elizabeth made no answer, and took her place in the set, amazed at the dignity to which she was arrived in being allowed to stand opposite to Mr. Darcy, and reading in her neighbours’ looks, their equal amazement in beholding it. They stood for some time without speaking a word; and she began to imagine that their silence was to last through the two dances, and at first was resolved not to break it; till suddenly fancying that it would be the greater punishment to her partner to oblige him to talk, she made some slight observation on the dance. He replied, and was again silent. After a pause of some minutes, she addressed him a second time with:—“It is _your_ turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy. _I_ talked about the dance, and _you_ ought to make some sort of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples.” He smiled, and assured her that whatever she wished him to say should be said. “Very well. That reply will do for the present. Perhaps by and by I may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones. But _now_ we may be silent.” “Do you talk by rule, then, while you are dancing?” “Sometimes. One must speak a little, you know. It would look odd to be entirely silent for half an hour together; and yet for the advantage of _some_, conversation ought to be so arranged, as that they may have the trouble of saying as little as possible.” “Are you consulting your own feelings in the present case, or do you imagine that you are gratifying mine?” “Both,” replied Elizabeth archly; “for I have always seen a great similarity in the turn of our minds. We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room, and be handed down to posterity with all the _éclat_ of a proverb.” “This is no very striking resemblance of your own character, I am sure,” said he. “How near it may be to _mine_, I cannot pretend to say. _You_ think it a faithful portrait undoubtedly.” “I must not decide on my own performance.” He made no answer, and they were again silent till they had gone down the dance, when he asked her if she and her sisters did not very often walk to Meryton. She answered in the affirmative, and, unable to resist the temptation, added, “When you met us there the other day, we had just been forming a new acquaintance.” The effect was immediate. A deeper shade of _hauteur_ overspread his features, but he said not a word, and Elizabeth, though blaming herself for her own weakness, could not go on. At length Darcy spoke, and in a constrained manner said, “Mr. Wickham is blessed with such happy manners as may ensure his _making_ friends—whether he may be equally capable of _retaining_ them, is less certain.” “He has been so unlucky as to lose _your_ friendship,” replied Elizabeth with emphasis, “and in a manner which he is likely to suffer from all his life.” Darcy made no answer, and seemed desirous of changing the subject. At that moment, Sir William Lucas appeared close to them, meaning to pass through the set to the other side of the room; but on perceiving Mr. Darcy, he stopped with a bow of superior courtesy to compliment him on his dancing and his partner. “I have been most highly gratified indeed, my dear sir. Such very superior dancing is not often seen. It is evident that you belong to the first circles. Allow me to say, however, that your fair partner does not disgrace you, and that I must hope to have this pleasure often repeated, especially when a certain desirable event, my dear Eliza (glancing at her sister and Bingley) shall take place. What congratulations will then flow in! I appeal to Mr. Darcy:—but let me not interrupt you, sir. You will not thank me for detaining you from the bewitching converse of that young lady, whose bright eyes are also upbraiding me.” The latter part of this address was scarcely heard by Darcy; but Sir William’s allusion to his friend seemed to strike him forcibly, and his eyes were directed with a very serious expression towards Bingley and Jane, who were dancing together. Recovering himself, however, shortly, he turned to his partner, and said, “Sir William’s interruption has made me forget what we were talking of.” “I do not think we were speaking at all. Sir William could not have interrupted two people in the room who had less to say for themselves. We have tried two or three subjects already without success, and what we are to talk of next I cannot imagine.” “What think you of books?” said he, smiling. “Books—oh! no. I am sure we never read the same, or not with the same feelings.” “I am sorry you think so; but if that be the case, there can at least be no want of subject. We may compare our different opinions.” “No—I cannot talk of books in a ball-room; my head is always full of something else.” “The _present_ always occupies you in such scenes—does it?” said he, with a look of doubt. “Yes, always,” she replied, without knowing what she said, for her thoughts had wandered far from the subject, as soon afterwards appeared by her suddenly exclaiming, “I remember hearing you once say, Mr. Darcy, that you hardly ever forgave, that your resentment once created was unappeasable. You are very cautious, I suppose, as to its _being created?_” “I am,” said he, with a firm voice. “And never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?” “I hope not.” “It is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion, to be secure of judging properly at first.” “May I ask to what these questions tend?” “Merely to the illustration of _your_ character,” said she, endeavouring to shake off her gravity. “I am trying to make it out.” “And what is your success?” She shook her head. “I do not get on at all. I hear such different accounts of you as puzzle me exceedingly.” “I can readily believe,” answered he gravely, “that reports may vary greatly with respect to me; and I could wish, Miss Bennet, that you were not to sketch my character at the present moment, as there is reason to fear that the performance would reflect no credit on either.” “But if I do not take your likeness now, I may never have another opportunity.” “I would by no means suspend any pleasure of yours,” he coldly replied. She said no more, and they went down the other dance and parted in silence; and on each side dissatisfied, though not to an equal degree, for in Darcy’s breast there was a tolerably powerful feeling towards her, which soon procured her pardon, and directed all his anger against another. They had not long separated, when Miss Bingley came towards her, and with an expression of civil disdain accosted her: “So, Miss Eliza, I hear you are quite delighted with George Wickham! Your sister has been talking to me about him, and asking me a thousand questions; and I find that the young man quite forgot to tell you, among his other communication, that he was the son of old Wickham, the late Mr. Darcy’s steward. Let me recommend you, however, as a friend, not to give implicit confidence to all his assertions; for as to Mr. Darcy’s using him ill, it is perfectly false; for, on the contrary, he has always been remarkably kind to him, though George Wickham has treated Mr. Darcy in a most infamous manner. I do not know the particulars, but I know very well that Mr. Darcy is not in the least to blame, that he cannot bear to hear George Wickham mentioned, and that though my brother thought that he could not well avoid including him in his invitation to the officers, he was excessively glad to find that he had taken himself out of the way. His coming into the country at all is a most insolent thing, indeed, and I wonder how he could presume to do it. I pity you, Miss Eliza, for this discovery of your favourite’s guilt; but really, considering his descent, one could not expect much better.” “His guilt and his descent appear by your account to be the same,” said Elizabeth angrily; “for I have heard you accuse him of nothing worse than of being the son of Mr. Darcy’s steward, and of _that_, I can assure you, he informed me himself.” “I beg your pardon,” replied Miss Bingley, turning away with a sneer. “Excuse my interference—it was kindly meant.” “Insolent girl!” said Elizabeth to herself. “You are much mistaken if you expect to influence me by such a paltry attack as this. I see nothing in it but your own wilful ignorance and the malice of Mr. Darcy.” She then sought her eldest sister, who had undertaken to make enquiries on the same subject of Bingley. Jane met her with a smile of such sweet complacency, a glow of such happy expression, as sufficiently marked how well she was satisfied with the occurrences of the evening. Elizabeth instantly read her feelings, and at that moment solicitude for Wickham, resentment against his enemies, and everything else, gave way before the hope of Jane’s being in the fairest way for happiness. “I want to know,” said she, with a countenance no less smiling than her sister’s, “what you have learnt about Mr. Wickham. But perhaps you have been too pleasantly engaged to think of any third person; in which case you may be sure of my pardon.” “No,” replied Jane, “I have not forgotten him; but I have nothing satisfactory to tell you. Mr. Bingley does not know the whole of his history, and is quite ignorant of the circumstances which have principally offended Mr. Darcy; but he will vouch for the good conduct, the probity, and honour of his friend, and is perfectly convinced that Mr. Wickham has deserved much less attention from Mr. Darcy than he has received; and I am sorry to say by his account as well as his sister’s, Mr. Wickham is by no means a respectable young man. I am afraid he has been very imprudent, and has deserved to lose Mr. Darcy’s regard.” “Mr. Bingley does not know Mr. Wickham himself?” “No; he never saw him till the other morning at Meryton.” “This account then is what he has received from Mr. Darcy. I am satisfied. But what does he say of the living?” “He does not exactly recollect the circumstances, though he has heard them from Mr. Darcy more than once, but he believes that it was left to him _conditionally_ only.” “I have not a doubt of Mr. Bingley’s sincerity,” said Elizabeth warmly; “but you must excuse my not being convinced by assurances only. Mr. Bingley’s defense of his friend was a very able one, I dare say; but since he is unacquainted with several parts of the story, and has learnt the rest from that friend himself, I shall venture to still think of both gentlemen as I did before.” She then changed the discourse to one more gratifying to each, and on which there could be no difference of sentiment. Elizabeth listened with delight to the happy, though modest hopes which Jane entertained of Mr. Bingley’s regard, and said all in her power to heighten her confidence in it. On their being joined by Mr. Bingley himself, Elizabeth withdrew to Miss Lucas; to whose enquiry after the pleasantness of her last partner she had scarcely replied, before Mr. Collins came up to them, and told her with great exultation that he had just been so fortunate as to make a most important discovery. “I have found out,” said he, “by a singular accident, that there is now in the room a near relation of my patroness. I happened to overhear the gentleman himself mentioning to the young lady who does the honours of the house the names of his cousin Miss de Bourgh, and of her mother Lady Catherine. How wonderfully these sort of things occur! Who would have thought of my meeting with, perhaps, a nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh in this assembly! I am most thankful that the discovery is made in time for me to pay my respects to him, which I am now going to do, and trust he will excuse my not having done it before. My total ignorance of the connection must plead my apology.” “You are not going to introduce yourself to Mr. Darcy!” “Indeed I am. I shall entreat his pardon for not having done it earlier. I believe him to be Lady Catherine’s _nephew_. It will be in my power to assure him that her ladyship was quite well yesterday se’nnight.” Elizabeth tried hard to dissuade him from such a scheme, assuring him that Mr. Darcy would consider his addressing him without introduction as an impertinent freedom, rather than a compliment to his aunt; that it was not in the least necessary there should be any notice on either side; and that if it were, it must belong to Mr. Darcy, the superior in consequence, to begin the acquaintance. Mr. Collins listened to her with the determined air of following his own inclination, and, when she ceased speaking, replied thus: “My dear Miss Elizabeth, I have the highest opinion in the world in your excellent judgement in all matters within the scope of your understanding; but permit me to say, that there must be a wide difference between the established forms of ceremony amongst the laity, and those which regulate the clergy; for, give me leave to observe that I consider the clerical office as equal in point of dignity with the highest rank in the kingdom—provided that a proper humility of behaviour is at the same time maintained. You must therefore allow me to follow the dictates of my conscience on this occasion, which leads me to perform what I look on as a point of duty. Pardon me for neglecting to profit by your advice, which on every other subject shall be my constant guide, though in the case before us I consider myself more fitted by education and habitual study to decide on what is right than a young lady like yourself.” And with a low bow he left her to attack Mr. Darcy, whose reception of his advances she eagerly watched, and whose astonishment at being so addressed was very evident. Her cousin prefaced his speech with a solemn bow and though she could not hear a word of it, she felt as if hearing it all, and saw in the motion of his lips the words “apology,” “Hunsford,” and “Lady Catherine de Bourgh.” It vexed her to see him expose himself to such a man. Mr. Darcy was eyeing him with unrestrained wonder, and when at last Mr. Collins allowed him time to speak, replied with an air of distant civility. Mr. Collins, however, was not discouraged from speaking again, and Mr. Darcy’s contempt seemed abundantly increasing with the length of his second speech, and at the end of it he only made him a slight bow, and moved another way. Mr. Collins then returned to Elizabeth. “I have no reason, I assure you,” said he, “to be dissatisfied with my reception. Mr. Darcy seemed much pleased with the attention. He answered me with the utmost civility, and even paid me the compliment of saying that he was so well convinced of Lady Catherine’s discernment as to be certain she could never bestow a favour unworthily. It was really a very handsome thought. Upon the whole, I am much pleased with him.” As Elizabeth had no longer any interest of her own to pursue, she turned her attention almost entirely on her sister and Mr. Bingley; and the train of agreeable reflections which her observations gave birth to, made her perhaps almost as happy as Jane. She saw her in idea settled in that very house, in all the felicity which a marriage of true affection could bestow; and she felt capable, under such circumstances, of endeavouring even to like Bingley’s two sisters. Her mother’s thoughts she plainly saw were bent the same way, and she determined not to venture near her, lest she might hear too much. When they sat down to supper, therefore, she considered it a most unlucky perverseness which placed them within one of each other; and deeply was she vexed to find that her mother was talking to that one person (Lady Lucas) freely, openly, and of nothing else but her expectation that Jane would soon be married to Mr. Bingley. It was an animating subject, and Mrs. Bennet seemed incapable of fatigue while enumerating the advantages of the match. His being such a charming young man, and so rich, and living but three miles from them, were the first points of self-gratulation; and then it was such a comfort to think how fond the two sisters were of Jane, and to be certain that they must desire the connection as much as she could do. It was, moreover, such a promising thing for her younger daughters, as Jane’s marrying so greatly must throw them in the way of other rich men; and lastly, it was so pleasant at her time of life to be able to consign her single daughters to the care of their sister, that she might not be obliged to go into company more than she liked. It was necessary to make this circumstance a matter of pleasure, because on such occasions it is the etiquette; but no one was less likely than Mrs. Bennet to find comfort in staying home at any period of her life. She concluded with many good wishes that Lady Lucas might soon be equally fortunate, though evidently and triumphantly believing there was no chance of it. In vain did Elizabeth endeavour to check the rapidity of her mother’s words, or persuade her to describe her felicity in a less audible whisper; for, to her inexpressible vexation, she could perceive that the chief of it was overheard by Mr. Darcy, who sat opposite to them. Her mother only scolded her for being nonsensical. “What is Mr. Darcy to me, pray, that I should be afraid of him? I am sure we owe him no such particular civility as to be obliged to say nothing _he_ may not like to hear.” “For heaven’s sake, madam, speak lower. What advantage can it be for you to offend Mr. Darcy? You will never recommend yourself to his friend by so doing!” Nothing that she could say, however, had any influence. Her mother would talk of her views in the same intelligible tone. Elizabeth blushed and blushed again with shame and vexation. She could not help frequently glancing her eye at Mr. Darcy, though every glance convinced her of what she dreaded; for though he was not always looking at her mother, she was convinced that his attention was invariably fixed by her. The expression of his face changed gradually from indignant contempt to a composed and steady gravity. At length, however, Mrs. Bennet had no more to say; and Lady Lucas, who had been long yawning at the repetition of delights which she saw no likelihood of sharing, was left to the comforts of cold ham and chicken. Elizabeth now began to revive. But not long was the interval of tranquillity; for, when supper was over, singing was talked of, and she had the mortification of seeing Mary, after very little entreaty, preparing to oblige the company. By many significant looks and silent entreaties, did she endeavour to prevent such a proof of complaisance, but in vain; Mary would not understand them; such an opportunity of exhibiting was delightful to her, and she began her song. Elizabeth’s eyes were fixed on her with most painful sensations, and she watched her progress through the several stanzas with an impatience which was very ill rewarded at their close; for Mary, on receiving, amongst the thanks of the table, the hint of a hope that she might be prevailed on to favour them again, after the pause of half a minute began another. Mary’s powers were by no means fitted for such a display; her voice was weak, and her manner affected. Elizabeth was in agonies. She looked at Jane, to see how she bore it; but Jane was very composedly talking to Bingley. She looked at his two sisters, and saw them making signs of derision at each other, and at Darcy, who continued, however, imperturbably grave. She looked at her father to entreat his interference, lest Mary should be singing all night. He took the hint, and when Mary had finished her second song, said aloud, “That will do extremely well, child. You have delighted us long enough. Let the other young ladies have time to exhibit.” Mary, though pretending not to hear, was somewhat disconcerted; and Elizabeth, sorry for her, and sorry for her father’s speech, was afraid her anxiety had done no good. Others of the party were now applied to. “If I,” said Mr. Collins, “were so fortunate as to be able to sing, I should have great pleasure, I am sure, in obliging the company with an air; for I consider music as a very innocent diversion, and perfectly compatible with the profession of a clergyman. I do not mean, however, to assert that we can be justified in devoting too much of our time to music, for there are certainly other things to be attended to. The rector of a parish has much to do. In the first place, he must make such an agreement for tithes as may be beneficial to himself and not offensive to his patron. He must write his own sermons; and the time that remains will not be too much for his parish duties, and the care and improvement of his dwelling, which he cannot be excused from making as comfortable as possible. And I do not think it of light importance that he should have attentive and conciliatory manners towards everybody, especially towards those to whom he owes his preferment. I cannot acquit him of that duty; nor could I think well of the man who should omit an occasion of testifying his respect towards anybody connected with the family.” And with a bow to Mr. Darcy, he concluded his speech, which had been spoken so loud as to be heard by half the room. Many stared—many smiled; but no one looked more amused than Mr. Bennet himself, while his wife seriously commended Mr. Collins for having spoken so sensibly, and observed in a half-whisper to Lady Lucas, that he was a remarkably clever, good kind of young man. To Elizabeth it appeared that, had her family made an agreement to expose themselves as much as they could during the evening, it would have been impossible for them to play their parts with more spirit or finer success; and happy did she think it for Bingley and her sister that some of the exhibition had escaped his notice, and that his feelings were not of a sort to be much distressed by the folly which he must have witnessed. That his two sisters and Mr. Darcy, however, should have such an opportunity of ridiculing her relations, was bad enough, and she could not determine whether the silent contempt of the gentleman, or the insolent smiles of the ladies, were more intolerable. The rest of the evening brought her little amusement. She was teased by Mr. Collins, who continued most perseveringly by her side, and though he could not prevail on her to dance with him again, put it out of her power to dance with others. In vain did she entreat him to stand up with somebody else, and offer to introduce him to any young lady in the room. He assured her, that as to dancing, he was perfectly indifferent to it; that his chief object was by delicate attentions to recommend himself to her and that he should therefore make a point of remaining close to her the whole evening. There was no arguing upon such a project. She owed her greatest relief to her friend Miss Lucas, who often joined them, and good-naturedly engaged Mr. Collins’s conversation to herself. She was at least free from the offense of Mr. Darcy’s further notice; though often standing within a very short distance of her, quite disengaged, he never came near enough to speak. She felt it to be the probable consequence of her allusions to Mr. Wickham, and rejoiced in it. The Longbourn party were the last of all the company to depart, and, by a manoeuvre of Mrs. Bennet, had to wait for their carriage a quarter of an hour after everybody else was gone, which gave them time to see how heartily they were wished away by some of the family. Mrs. Hurst and her sister scarcely opened their mouths, except to complain of fatigue, and were evidently impatient to have the house to themselves. They repulsed every attempt of Mrs. Bennet at conversation, and by so doing threw a languor over the whole party, which was very little relieved by the long speeches of Mr. Collins, who was complimenting Mr. Bingley and his sisters on the elegance of their entertainment, and the hospitality and politeness which had marked their behaviour to their guests. Darcy said nothing at all. Mr. Bennet, in equal silence, was enjoying the scene. Mr. Bingley and Jane were standing together, a little detached from the rest, and talked only to each other. Elizabeth preserved as steady a silence as either Mrs. Hurst or Miss Bingley; and even Lydia was too much fatigued to utter more than the occasional exclamation of “Lord, how tired I am!” accompanied by a violent yawn. When at length they arose to take leave, Mrs. Bennet was most pressingly civil in her hope of seeing the whole family soon at Longbourn, and addressed herself especially to Mr. Bingley, to assure him how happy he would make them by eating a family dinner with them at any time, without the ceremony of a formal invitation. Bingley was all grateful pleasure, and he readily engaged for taking the earliest opportunity of waiting on her, after his return from London, whither he was obliged to go the next day for a short time. Mrs. Bennet was perfectly satisfied, and quitted the house under the delightful persuasion that, allowing for the necessary preparations of settlements, new carriages, and wedding clothes, she should undoubtedly see her daughter settled at Netherfield in the course of three or four months. Of having another daughter married to Mr. Collins, she thought with equal certainty, and with considerable, though not equal, pleasure. Elizabeth was the least dear to her of all her children; and though the man and the match were quite good enough for _her_, the worth of each was eclipsed by Mr. Bingley and Netherfield. Chapter 19 The next day opened a new scene at Longbourn. Mr. Collins made his declaration in form. Having resolved to do it without loss of time, as his leave of absence extended only to the following Saturday, and having no feelings of diffidence to make it distressing to himself even at the moment, he set about it in a very orderly manner, with all the observances, which he supposed a regular part of the business. On finding Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth, and one of the younger girls together, soon after breakfast, he addressed the mother in these words: “May I hope, madam, for your interest with your fair daughter Elizabeth, when I solicit for the honour of a private audience with her in the course of this morning?” Before Elizabeth had time for anything but a blush of surprise, Mrs. Bennet answered instantly, “Oh dear!—yes—certainly. I am sure Lizzy will be very happy—I am sure she can have no objection. Come, Kitty, I want you up stairs.” And, gathering her work together, she was hastening away, when Elizabeth called out: “Dear madam, do not go. I beg you will not go. Mr. Collins must excuse me. He can have nothing to say to me that anybody need not hear. I am going away myself.” “No, no, nonsense, Lizzy. I desire you to stay where you are.” And upon Elizabeth’s seeming really, with vexed and embarrassed looks, about to escape, she added: “Lizzy, I _insist_ upon your staying and hearing Mr. Collins.” Elizabeth would not oppose such an injunction—and a moment’s consideration making her also sensible that it would be wisest to get it over as soon and as quietly as possible, she sat down again and tried to conceal, by incessant employment the feelings which were divided between distress and diversion. Mrs. Bennet and Kitty walked off, and as soon as they were gone, Mr. Collins began. “Believe me, my dear Miss Elizabeth, that your modesty, so far from doing you any disservice, rather adds to your other perfections. You would have been less amiable in my eyes had there _not_ been this little unwillingness; but allow me to assure you, that I have your respected mother’s permission for this address. You can hardly doubt the purport of my discourse, however your natural delicacy may lead you to dissemble; my attentions have been too marked to be mistaken. Almost as soon as I entered the house, I singled you out as the companion of my future life. But before I am run away with by my feelings on this subject, perhaps it would be advisable for me to state my reasons for marrying—and, moreover, for coming into Hertfordshire with the design of selecting a wife, as I certainly did.” The idea of Mr. Collins, with all his solemn composure, being run away with by his feelings, made Elizabeth so near laughing, that she could not use the short pause he allowed in any attempt to stop him further, and he continued: “My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish; secondly, that I am convinced that it will add very greatly to my happiness; and thirdly—which perhaps I ought to have mentioned earlier, that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness. Twice has she condescended to give me her opinion (unasked too!) on this subject; and it was but the very Saturday night before I left Hunsford—between our pools at quadrille, while Mrs. Jenkinson was arranging Miss de Bourgh’s footstool, that she said, ‘Mr. Collins, you must marry. A clergyman like you must marry. Choose properly, choose a gentlewoman for _my_ sake; and for your _own_, let her be an active, useful sort of person, not brought up high, but able to make a small income go a good way. This is my advice. Find such a woman as soon as you can, bring her to Hunsford, and I will visit her.’ Allow me, by the way, to observe, my fair cousin, that I do not reckon the notice and kindness of Lady Catherine de Bourgh as among the least of the advantages in my power to offer. You will find her manners beyond anything I can describe; and your wit and vivacity, I think, must be acceptable to her, especially when tempered with the silence and respect which her rank will inevitably excite. Thus much for my general intention in favour of matrimony; it remains to be told why my views were directed towards Longbourn instead of my own neighbourhood, where I can assure you there are many amiable young women. But the fact is, that being, as I am, to inherit this estate after the death of your honoured father (who, however, may live many years longer), I could not satisfy myself without resolving to choose a wife from among his daughters, that the loss to them might be as little as possible, when the melancholy event takes place—which, however, as I have already said, may not be for several years. This has been my motive, my fair cousin, and I flatter myself it will not sink me in your esteem. And now nothing remains for me but to assure you in the most animated language of the violence of my affection. To fortune I am perfectly indifferent, and shall make no demand of that nature on your father, since I am well aware that it could not be complied with; and that one thousand pounds in the four per cents, which will not be yours till after your mother’s decease, is all that you may ever be entitled to. On that head, therefore, I shall be uniformly silent; and you may assure yourself that no ungenerous reproach shall ever pass my lips when we are married.” It was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now. “You are too hasty, sir,” she cried. “You forget that I have made no answer. Let me do it without further loss of time. Accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me. I am very sensible of the honour of your proposals, but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than to decline them.” “I am not now to learn,” replied Mr. Collins, with a formal wave of the hand, “that it is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he first applies for their favour; and that sometimes the refusal is repeated a second, or even a third time. I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere long.” “Upon my word, sir,” cried Elizabeth, “your hope is a rather extraordinary one after my declaration. I do assure you that I am not one of those young ladies (if such young ladies there are) who are so daring as to risk their happiness on the chance of being asked a second time. I am perfectly serious in my refusal. You could not make _me_ happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who could make you so. Nay, were your friend Lady Catherine to know me, I am persuaded she would find me in every respect ill qualified for the situation.” “Were it certain that Lady Catherine would think so,” said Mr. Collins very gravely—“but I cannot imagine that her ladyship would at all disapprove of you. And you may be certain when I have the honour of seeing her again, I shall speak in the very highest terms of your modesty, economy, and other amiable qualification.” “Indeed, Mr. Collins, all praise of me will be unnecessary. You must give me leave to judge for myself, and pay me the compliment of believing what I say. I wish you very happy and very rich, and by refusing your hand, do all in my power to prevent your being otherwise. In making me the offer, you must have satisfied the delicacy of your feelings with regard to my family, and may take possession of Longbourn estate whenever it falls, without any self-reproach. This matter may be considered, therefore, as finally settled.” And rising as she thus spoke, she would have quitted the room, had Mr. Collins not thus addressed her: “When I do myself the honour of speaking to you next on the subject, I shall hope to receive a more favourable answer than you have now given me; though I am far from accusing you of cruelty at present, because I know it to be the established custom of your sex to reject a man on the first application, and perhaps you have even now said as much to encourage my suit as would be consistent with the true delicacy of the female character.” “Really, Mr. Collins,” cried Elizabeth with some warmth, “you puzzle me exceedingly. If what I have hitherto said can appear to you in the form of encouragement, I know not how to express my refusal in such a way as to convince you of its being one.” “You must give me leave to flatter myself, my dear cousin, that your refusal of my addresses is merely words of course. My reasons for believing it are briefly these: It does not appear to me that my hand is unworthy of your acceptance, or that the establishment I can offer would be any other than highly desirable. My situation in life, my connections with the family of de Bourgh, and my relationship to your own, are circumstances highly in my favour; and you should take it into further consideration, that in spite of your manifold attractions, it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made you. Your portion is unhappily so small that it will in all likelihood undo the effects of your loveliness and amiable qualifications. As I must therefore conclude that you are not serious in your rejection of me, I shall choose to attribute it to your wish of increasing my love by suspense, according to the usual practice of elegant females.” “I do assure you, sir, that I have no pretensions whatever to that kind of elegance which consists in tormenting a respectable man. I would rather be paid the compliment of being believed sincere. I thank you again and again for the honour you have done me in your proposals, but to accept them is absolutely impossible. My feelings in every respect forbid it. Can I speak plainer? Do not consider me now as an elegant female, intending to plague you, but as a rational creature, speaking the truth from her heart.” “You are uniformly charming!” cried he, with an air of awkward gallantry; “and I am persuaded that when sanctioned by the express authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals will not fail of being acceptable.” To such perseverance in wilful self-deception Elizabeth would make no reply, and immediately and in silence withdrew; determined, if he persisted in considering her repeated refusals as flattering encouragement, to apply to her father, whose negative might be uttered in such a manner as to be decisive, and whose behaviour at least could not be mistaken for the affectation and coquetry of an elegant female. Chapter 20 Mr. Collins was not left long to the silent contemplation of his successful love; for Mrs. Bennet, having dawdled about in the vestibule to watch for the end of the conference, no sooner saw Elizabeth open the door and with quick step pass her towards the staircase, than she entered the breakfast-room, and congratulated both him and herself in warm terms on the happy prospect of their nearer connection. Mr. Collins received and returned these felicitations with equal pleasure, and then proceeded to relate the particulars of their interview, with the result of which he trusted he had every reason to be satisfied, since the refusal which his cousin had steadfastly given him would naturally flow from her bashful modesty and the genuine delicacy of her character. This information, however, startled Mrs. Bennet; she would have been glad to be equally satisfied that her daughter had meant to encourage him by protesting against his proposals, but she dared not believe it, and could not help saying so. “But, depend upon it, Mr. Collins,” she added, “that Lizzy shall be brought to reason. I will speak to her about it directly. She is a very headstrong, foolish girl, and does not know her own interest but I will _make_ her know it.” “Pardon me for interrupting you, madam,” cried Mr. Collins; “but if she is really headstrong and foolish, I know not whether she would altogether be a very desirable wife to a man in my situation, who naturally looks for happiness in the marriage state. If therefore she actually persists in rejecting my suit, perhaps it were better not to force her into accepting me, because if liable to such defects of temper, she could not contribute much to my felicity.” “Sir, you quite misunderstand me,” said Mrs. Bennet, alarmed. “Lizzy is only headstrong in such matters as these. In everything else she is as good-natured a girl as ever lived. I will go directly to Mr. Bennet, and we shall very soon settle it with her, I am sure.” She would not give him time to reply, but hurrying instantly to her husband, called out as she entered the library, “Oh! Mr. Bennet, you are wanted immediately; we are all in an uproar. You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr. Collins, for she vows she will not have him, and if you do not make haste he will change his mind and not have _her_.” Mr. Bennet raised his eyes from his book as she entered, and fixed them on her face with a calm unconcern which was not in the least altered by her communication. “I have not the pleasure of understanding you,” said he, when she had finished her speech. “Of what are you talking?” “Of Mr. Collins and Lizzy. Lizzy declares she will not have Mr. Collins, and Mr. Collins begins to say that he will not have Lizzy.” “And what am I to do on the occasion? It seems an hopeless business.” “Speak to Lizzy about it yourself. Tell her that you insist upon her marrying him.” “Let her be called down. She shall hear my opinion.” Mrs. Bennet rang the bell, and Miss Elizabeth was summoned to the library. “Come here, child,” cried her father as she appeared. “I have sent for you on an affair of importance. I understand that Mr. Collins has made you an offer of marriage. Is it true?” Elizabeth replied that it was. “Very well—and this offer of marriage you have refused?” “I have, sir.” “Very well. We now come to the point. Your mother insists upon your accepting it. Is it not so, Mrs. Bennet?” “Yes, or I will never see her again.” “An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do _not_ marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you _do_.” Elizabeth could not but smile at such a conclusion of such a beginning, but Mrs. Bennet, who had persuaded herself that her husband regarded the affair as she wished, was excessively disappointed. “What do you mean, Mr. Bennet, in talking this way? You promised me to _insist_ upon her marrying him.” “My dear,” replied her husband, “I have two small favours to request. First, that you will allow me the free use of my understanding on the present occasion; and secondly, of my room. I shall be glad to have the library to myself as soon as may be.” Not yet, however, in spite of her disappointment in her husband, did Mrs. Bennet give up the point. She talked to Elizabeth again and again; coaxed and threatened her by turns. She endeavoured to secure Jane in her interest; but Jane, with all possible mildness, declined interfering; and Elizabeth, sometimes with real earnestness, and sometimes with playful gaiety, replied to her attacks. Though her manner varied, however, her determination never did. Mr. Collins, meanwhile, was meditating in solitude on what had passed. He thought too well of himself to comprehend on what motives his cousin could refuse him; and though his pride was hurt, he suffered in no other way. His regard for her was quite imaginary; and the possibility of her deserving her mother’s reproach prevented his feeling any regret. While the family were in this confusion, Charlotte Lucas came to spend the day with them. She was met in the vestibule by Lydia, who, flying to her, cried in a half whisper, “I am glad you are come, for there is such fun here! What do you think has happened this morning? Mr. Collins has made an offer to Lizzy, and she will not have him.” Charlotte hardly had time to answer, before they were joined by Kitty, who came to tell the same news; and no sooner had they entered the breakfast-room, where Mrs. Bennet was alone, than she likewise began on the subject, calling on Miss Lucas for her compassion, and entreating her to persuade her friend Lizzy to comply with the wishes of all her family. “Pray do, my dear Miss Lucas,” she added in a melancholy tone, “for nobody is on my side, nobody takes part with me. I am cruelly used, nobody feels for my poor nerves.” Charlotte’s reply was spared by the entrance of Jane and Elizabeth. “Aye, there she comes,” continued Mrs. Bennet, “looking as unconcerned as may be, and caring no more for us than if we were at York, provided she can have her own way. But I tell you, Miss Lizzy—if you take it into your head to go on refusing every offer of marriage in this way, you will never get a husband at all—and I am sure I do not know who is to maintain you when your father is dead. _I_ shall not be able to keep you—and so I warn you. I have done with you from this very day. I told you in the library, you know, that I should never speak to you again, and you will find me as good as my word. I have no pleasure in talking to undutiful children. Not that I have much pleasure, indeed, in talking to anybody. People who suffer as I do from nervous complaints can have no great inclination for talking. Nobody can tell what I suffer! But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied.” Her daughters listened in silence to this effusion, sensible that any attempt to reason with her or soothe her would only increase the irritation. She talked on, therefore, without interruption from any of them, till they were joined by Mr. Collins, who entered the room with an air more stately than usual, and on perceiving whom, she said to the girls, “Now, I do insist upon it, that you, all of you, hold your tongues, and let me and Mr. Collins have a little conversation together.” Elizabeth passed quietly out of the room, Jane and Kitty followed, but Lydia stood her ground, determined to hear all she could; and Charlotte, detained first by the civility of Mr. Collins, whose enquiries after herself and all her family were very minute, and then by a little curiosity, satisfied herself with walking to the window and pretending not to hear. In a doleful voice Mrs. Bennet began the projected conversation: “Oh! Mr. Collins!” “My dear madam,” replied he, “let us be for ever silent on this point. Far be it from me,” he presently continued, in a voice that marked his displeasure, “to resent the behaviour of your daughter. Resignation to inevitable evils is the duty of us all; the peculiar duty of a young man who has been so fortunate as I have been in early preferment; and I trust I am resigned. Perhaps not the less so from feeling a doubt of my positive happiness had my fair cousin honoured me with her hand; for I have often observed that resignation is never so perfect as when the blessing denied begins to lose somewhat of its value in our estimation. You will not, I hope, consider me as showing any disrespect to your family, my dear madam, by thus withdrawing my pretensions to your daughter’s favour, without having paid yourself and Mr. Bennet the compliment of requesting you to interpose your authority in my behalf. My conduct may, I fear, be objectionable in having accepted my dismission from your daughter’s lips instead of your own. But we are all liable to error. I have certainly meant well through the whole affair. My object has been to secure an amiable companion for myself, with due consideration for the advantage of all your family, and if my _manner_ has been at all reprehensible, I here beg leave to apologise.” Chapter 21 The discussion of Mr. Collins’s offer was now nearly at an end, and Elizabeth had only to suffer from the uncomfortable feelings necessarily attending it, and occasionally from some peevish allusions of her mother. As for the gentleman himself, _his_ feelings were chiefly expressed, not by embarrassment or dejection, or by trying to avoid her, but by stiffness of manner and resentful silence. He scarcely ever spoke to her, and the assiduous attentions which he had been so sensible of himself were transferred for the rest of the day to Miss Lucas, whose civility in listening to him was a seasonable relief to them all, and especially to her friend. The morrow produced no abatement of Mrs. Bennet’s ill-humour or ill health. Mr. Collins was also in the same state of angry pride. Elizabeth had hoped that his resentment might shorten his visit, but his plan did not appear in the least affected by it. He was always to have gone on Saturday, and to Saturday he meant to stay. After breakfast, the girls walked to Meryton to enquire if Mr. Wickham were returned, and to lament over his absence from the Netherfield ball. He joined them on their entering the town, and attended them to their aunt’s where his regret and vexation, and the concern of everybody, was well talked over. To Elizabeth, however, he voluntarily acknowledged that the necessity of his absence _had_ been self-imposed. “I found,” said he, “as the time drew near that I had better not meet Mr. Darcy; that to be in the same room, the same party with him for so many hours together, might be more than I could bear, and that scenes might arise unpleasant to more than myself.” She highly approved his forbearance, and they had leisure for a full discussion of it, and for all the commendation which they civilly bestowed on each other, as Wickham and another officer walked back with them to Longbourn, and during the walk he particularly attended to her. His accompanying them was a double advantage; she felt all the compliment it offered to herself, and it was most acceptable as an occasion of introducing him to her father and mother. Soon after their return, a letter was delivered to Miss Bennet; it came from Netherfield. The envelope contained a sheet of elegant, little, hot-pressed paper, well covered with a lady’s fair, flowing hand; and Elizabeth saw her sister’s countenance change as she read it, and saw her dwelling intently on some particular passages. Jane recollected herself soon, and putting the letter away, tried to join with her usual cheerfulness in the general conversation; but Elizabeth felt an anxiety on the subject which drew off her attention even from Wickham; and no sooner had he and his companion taken leave, than a glance from Jane invited her to follow her up stairs. When they had gained their own room, Jane, taking out the letter, said: “This is from Caroline Bingley; what it contains has surprised me a good deal. The whole party have left Netherfield by this time, and are on their way to town—and without any intention of coming back again. You shall hear what she says.” She then read the first sentence aloud, which comprised the information of their having just resolved to follow their brother to town directly, and of their meaning to dine in Grosvenor Street, where Mr. Hurst had a house. The next was in these words: “I do not pretend to regret anything I shall leave in Hertfordshire, except your society, my dearest friend; but we will hope, at some future period, to enjoy many returns of that delightful intercourse we have known, and in the meanwhile may lessen the pain of separation by a very frequent and most unreserved correspondence. I depend on you for that.” To these highflown expressions Elizabeth listened with all the insensibility of distrust; and though the suddenness of their removal surprised her, she saw nothing in it really to lament; it was not to be supposed that their absence from Netherfield would prevent Mr. Bingley’s being there; and as to the loss of their society, she was persuaded that Jane must cease to regard it, in the enjoyment of his. “It is unlucky,” said she, after a short pause, “that you should not be able to see your friends before they leave the country. But may we not hope that the period of future happiness to which Miss Bingley looks forward may arrive earlier than she is aware, and that the delightful intercourse you have known as friends will be renewed with yet greater satisfaction as sisters? Mr. Bingley will not be detained in London by them.” “Caroline decidedly says that none of the party will return into Hertfordshire this winter. I will read it to you:” “When my brother left us yesterday, he imagined that the business which took him to London might be concluded in three or four days; but as we are certain it cannot be so, and at the same time convinced that when Charles gets to town he will be in no hurry to leave it again, we have determined on following him thither, that he may not be obliged to spend his vacant hours in a comfortless hotel. Many of my acquaintances are already there for the winter; I wish that I could hear that you, my dearest friend, had any intention of making one of the crowd—but of that I despair. I sincerely hope your Christmas in Hertfordshire may abound in the gaieties which that season generally brings, and that your beaux will be so numerous as to prevent your feeling the loss of the three of whom we shall deprive you.” “It is evident by this,” added Jane, “that he comes back no more this winter.” “It is only evident that Miss Bingley does not mean that he _should_.” “Why will you think so? It must be his own doing. He is his own master. But you do not know _all_. I _will_ read you the passage which particularly hurts me. I will have no reserves from _you_.” “Mr. Darcy is impatient to see his sister; and, to confess the truth, _we_ are scarcely less eager to meet her again. I really do not think Georgiana Darcy has her equal for beauty, elegance, and accomplishments; and the affection she inspires in Louisa and myself is heightened into something still more interesting, from the hope we dare entertain of her being hereafter our sister. I do not know whether I ever before mentioned to you my feelings on this subject; but I will not leave the country without confiding them, and I trust you will not esteem them unreasonable. My brother admires her greatly already; he will have frequent opportunity now of seeing her on the most intimate footing; her relations all wish the connection as much as his own; and a sister’s partiality is not misleading me, I think, when I call Charles most capable of engaging any woman’s heart. With all these circumstances to favour an attachment, and nothing to prevent it, am I wrong, my dearest Jane, in indulging the hope of an event which will secure the happiness of so many?” “What do you think of _this_ sentence, my dear Lizzy?” said Jane as she finished it. “Is it not clear enough? Does it not expressly declare that Caroline neither expects nor wishes me to be her sister; that she is perfectly convinced of her brother’s indifference; and that if she suspects the nature of my feelings for him, she means (most kindly!) to put me on my guard? Can there be any other opinion on the subject?” “Yes, there can; for mine is totally different. Will you hear it?” “Most willingly.” “You shall have it in a few words. Miss Bingley sees that her brother is in love with you, and wants him to marry Miss Darcy. She follows him to town in hope of keeping him there, and tries to persuade you that he does not care about you.” Jane shook her head. “Indeed, Jane, you ought to believe me. No one who has ever seen you together can doubt his affection. Miss Bingley, I am sure, cannot. She is not such a simpleton. Could she have seen half as much love in Mr. Darcy for herself, she would have ordered her wedding clothes. But the case is this: We are not rich enough or grand enough for them; and she is the more anxious to get Miss Darcy for her brother, from the notion that when there has been _one_ intermarriage, she may have less trouble in achieving a second; in which there is certainly some ingenuity, and I dare say it would succeed, if Miss de Bourgh were out of the way. But, my dearest Jane, you cannot seriously imagine that because Miss Bingley tells you her brother greatly admires Miss Darcy, he is in the smallest degree less sensible of _your_ merit than when he took leave of you on Tuesday, or that it will be in her power to persuade him that, instead of being in love with you, he is very much in love with her friend.” “If we thought alike of Miss Bingley,” replied Jane, “your representation of all this might make me quite easy. But I know the foundation is unjust. Caroline is incapable of wilfully deceiving anyone; and all that I can hope in this case is that she is deceiving herself.” “That is right. You could not have started a more happy idea, since you will not take comfort in mine. Believe her to be deceived, by all means. You have now done your duty by her, and must fret no longer.” “But, my dear sister, can I be happy, even supposing the best, in accepting a man whose sisters and friends are all wishing him to marry elsewhere?” “You must decide for yourself,” said Elizabeth; “and if, upon mature deliberation, you find that the misery of disobliging his two sisters is more than equivalent to the happiness of being his wife, I advise you by all means to refuse him.” “How can you talk so?” said Jane, faintly smiling. “You must know that though I should be exceedingly grieved at their disapprobation, I could not hesitate.” “I did not think you would; and that being the case, I cannot consider your situation with much compassion.” “But if he returns no more this winter, my choice will never be required. A thousand things may arise in six months!” The idea of his returning no more Elizabeth treated with the utmost contempt. It appeared to her merely the suggestion of Caroline’s interested wishes, and she could not for a moment suppose that those wishes, however openly or artfully spoken, could influence a young man so totally independent of everyone. She represented to her sister as forcibly as possible what she felt on the subject, and had soon the pleasure of seeing its happy effect. Jane’s temper was not desponding, and she was gradually led to hope, though the diffidence of affection sometimes overcame the hope, that Bingley would return to Netherfield and answer every wish of her heart. They agreed that Mrs. Bennet should only hear of the departure of the family, without being alarmed on the score of the gentleman’s conduct; but even this partial communication gave her a great deal of concern, and she bewailed it as exceedingly unlucky that the ladies should happen to go away just as they were all getting so intimate together. After lamenting it, however, at some length, she had the consolation that Mr. Bingley would be soon down again and soon dining at Longbourn, and the conclusion of all was the comfortable declaration, that though he had been invited only to a family dinner, she would take care to have two full courses. Chapter 22 The Bennets were engaged to dine with the Lucases and again during the chief of the day was Miss Lucas so kind as to listen to Mr. Collins. Elizabeth took an opportunity of thanking her. “It keeps him in good humour,” said she, “and I am more obliged to you than I can express.” Charlotte assured her friend of her satisfaction in being useful, and that it amply repaid her for the little sacrifice of her time. This was very amiable, but Charlotte’s kindness extended farther than Elizabeth had any conception of; its object was nothing else than to secure her from any return of Mr. Collins’s addresses, by engaging them towards herself. Such was Miss Lucas’s scheme; and appearances were so favourable, that when they parted at night, she would have felt almost secure of success if he had not been to leave Hertfordshire so very soon. But here she did injustice to the fire and independence of his character, for it led him to escape out of Longbourn House the next morning with admirable slyness, and hasten to Lucas Lodge to throw himself at her feet. He was anxious to avoid the notice of his cousins, from a conviction that if they saw him depart, they could not fail to conjecture his design, and he was not willing to have the attempt known till its success might be known likewise; for though feeling almost secure, and with reason, for Charlotte had been tolerably encouraging, he was comparatively diffident since the adventure of Wednesday. His reception, however, was of the most flattering kind. Miss Lucas perceived him from an upper window as he walked towards the house, and instantly set out to meet him accidentally in the lane. But little had she dared to hope that so much love and eloquence awaited her there. In as short a time as Mr. Collins’s long speeches would allow, everything was settled between them to the satisfaction of both; and as they entered the house he earnestly entreated her to name the day that was to make him the happiest of men; and though such a solicitation must be waived for the present, the lady felt no inclination to trifle with his happiness. The stupidity with which he was favoured by nature must guard his courtship from any charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance; and Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment were gained. Sir William and Lady Lucas were speedily applied to for their consent; and it was bestowed with a most joyful alacrity. Mr. Collins’s present circumstances made it a most eligible match for their daughter, to whom they could give little fortune; and his prospects of future wealth were exceedingly fair. Lady Lucas began directly to calculate, with more interest than the matter had ever excited before, how many years longer Mr. Bennet was likely to live; and Sir William gave it as his decided opinion, that whenever Mr. Collins should be in possession of the Longbourn estate, it would be highly expedient that both he and his wife should make their appearance at St. James’s. The whole family, in short, were properly overjoyed on the occasion. The younger girls formed hopes of _coming out_ a year or two sooner than they might otherwise have done; and the boys were relieved from their apprehension of Charlotte’s dying an old maid. Charlotte herself was tolerably composed. She had gained her point, and had time to consider of it. Her reflections were in general satisfactory. Mr. Collins, to be sure, was neither sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his attachment to her must be imaginary. But still he would be her husband. Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want. This preservative she had now obtained; and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome, she felt all the good luck of it. The least agreeable circumstance in the business was the surprise it must occasion to Elizabeth Bennet, whose friendship she valued beyond that of any other person. Elizabeth would wonder, and probably would blame her; and though her resolution was not to be shaken, her feelings must be hurt by such a disapprobation. She resolved to give her the information herself, and therefore charged Mr. Collins, when he returned to Longbourn to dinner, to drop no hint of what had passed before any of the family. A promise of secrecy was of course very dutifully given, but it could not be kept without difficulty; for the curiosity excited by his long absence burst forth in such very direct questions on his return as required some ingenuity to evade, and he was at the same time exercising great self-denial, for he was longing to publish his prosperous love. As he was to begin his journey too early on the morrow to see any of the family, the ceremony of leave-taking was performed when the ladies moved for the night; and Mrs. Bennet, with great politeness and cordiality, said how happy they should be to see him at Longbourn again, whenever his engagements might allow him to visit them. “My dear madam,” he replied, “this invitation is particularly gratifying, because it is what I have been hoping to receive; and you may be very certain that I shall avail myself of it as soon as possible.” They were all astonished; and Mr. Bennet, who could by no means wish for so speedy a return, immediately said: “But is there not danger of Lady Catherine’s disapprobation here, my good sir? You had better neglect your relations than run the risk of offending your patroness.” “My dear sir,” replied Mr. Collins, “I am particularly obliged to you for this friendly caution, and you may depend upon my not taking so material a step without her ladyship’s concurrence.” “You cannot be too much upon your guard. Risk anything rather than her displeasure; and if you find it likely to be raised by your coming to us again, which I should think exceedingly probable, stay quietly at home, and be satisfied that _we_ shall take no offence.” “Believe me, my dear sir, my gratitude is warmly excited by such affectionate attention; and depend upon it, you will speedily receive from me a letter of thanks for this, and for every other mark of your regard during my stay in Hertfordshire. As for my fair cousins, though my absence may not be long enough to render it necessary, I shall now take the liberty of wishing them health and happiness, not excepting my cousin Elizabeth.” With proper civilities the ladies then withdrew; all of them equally surprised that he meditated a quick return. Mrs. Bennet wished to understand by it that he thought of paying his addresses to one of her younger girls, and Mary might have been prevailed on to accept him. She rated his abilities much higher than any of the others; there was a solidity in his reflections which often struck her, and though by no means so clever as herself, she thought that if encouraged to read and improve himself by such an example as hers, he might become a very agreeable companion. But on the following morning, every hope of this kind was done away. Miss Lucas called soon after breakfast, and in a private conference with Elizabeth related the event of the day before. The possibility of Mr. Collins’s fancying himself in love with her friend had once occurred to Elizabeth within the last day or two; but that Charlotte could encourage him seemed almost as far from possibility as she could encourage him herself, and her astonishment was consequently so great as to overcome at first the bounds of decorum, and she could not help crying out: “Engaged to Mr. Collins! My dear Charlotte—impossible!” The steady countenance which Miss Lucas had commanded in telling her story, gave way to a momentary confusion here on receiving so direct a reproach; though, as it was no more than she expected, she soon regained her composure, and calmly replied: “Why should you be surprised, my dear Eliza? Do you think it incredible that Mr. Collins should be able to procure any woman’s good opinion, because he was not so happy as to succeed with you?” But Elizabeth had now recollected herself, and making a strong effort for it, was able to assure with tolerable firmness that the prospect of their relationship was highly grateful to her, and that she wished her all imaginable happiness. “I see what you are feeling,” replied Charlotte. “You must be surprised, very much surprised—so lately as Mr. Collins was wishing to marry you. But when you have had time to think it over, I hope you will be satisfied with what I have done. I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’s character, connection, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.” Elizabeth quietly answered “Undoubtedly;” and after an awkward pause, they returned to the rest of the family. Charlotte did not stay much longer, and Elizabeth was then left to reflect on what she had heard. It was a long time before she became at all reconciled to the idea of so unsuitable a match. The strangeness of Mr. Collins’s making two offers of marriage within three days was nothing in comparison of his being now accepted. She had always felt that Charlotte’s opinion of matrimony was not exactly like her own, but she had not supposed it to be possible that, when called into action, she would have sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage. Charlotte the wife of Mr. Collins was a most humiliating picture! And to the pang of a friend disgracing herself and sunk in her esteem, was added the distressing conviction that it was impossible for that friend to be tolerably happy in the lot she had chosen. Chapter 23 Elizabeth was sitting with her mother and sisters, reflecting on what she had heard, and doubting whether she was authorised to mention it, when Sir William Lucas himself appeared, sent by his daughter, to announce her engagement to the family. With many compliments to them, and much self-gratulation on the prospect of a connection between the houses, he unfolded the matter—to an audience not merely wondering, but incredulous; for Mrs. Bennet, with more perseverance than politeness, protested he must be entirely mistaken; and Lydia, always unguarded and often uncivil, boisterously exclaimed: “Good Lord! Sir William, how can you tell such a story? Do not you know that Mr. Collins wants to marry Lizzy?” Nothing less than the complaisance of a courtier could have borne without anger such treatment; but Sir William’s good breeding carried him through it all; and though he begged leave to be positive as to the truth of his information, he listened to all their impertinence with the most forbearing courtesy. Elizabeth, feeling it incumbent on her to relieve him from so unpleasant a situation, now put herself forward to confirm his account, by mentioning her prior knowledge of it from Charlotte herself; and endeavoured to put a stop to the exclamations of her mother and sisters by the earnestness of her congratulations to Sir William, in which she was readily joined by Jane, and by making a variety of remarks on the happiness that might be expected from the match, the excellent character of Mr. Collins, and the convenient distance of Hunsford from London. Mrs. Bennet was in fact too much overpowered to say a great deal while Sir William remained; but no sooner had he left them than her feelings found a rapid vent. In the first place, she persisted in disbelieving the whole of the matter; secondly, she was very sure that Mr. Collins had been taken in; thirdly, she trusted that they would never be happy together; and fourthly, that the match might be broken off. Two inferences, however, were plainly deduced from the whole: one, that Elizabeth was the real cause of the mischief; and the other that she herself had been barbarously misused by them all; and on these two points she principally dwelt during the rest of the day. Nothing could console and nothing could appease her. Nor did that day wear out her resentment. A week elapsed before she could see Elizabeth without scolding her, a month passed away before she could speak to Sir William or Lady Lucas without being rude, and many months were gone before she could at all forgive their daughter. Mr. Bennet’s emotions were much more tranquil on the occasion, and such as he did experience he pronounced to be of a most agreeable sort; for it gratified him, he said, to discover that Charlotte Lucas, whom he had been used to think tolerably sensible, was as foolish as his wife, and more foolish than his daughter! Jane confessed herself a little surprised at the match; but she said less of her astonishment than of her earnest desire for their happiness; nor could Elizabeth persuade her to consider it as improbable. Kitty and Lydia were far from envying Miss Lucas, for Mr. Collins was only a clergyman; and it affected them in no other way than as a piece of news to spread at Meryton. Lady Lucas could not be insensible of triumph on being able to retort on Mrs. Bennet the comfort of having a daughter well married; and she called at Longbourn rather oftener than usual to say how happy she was, though Mrs. Bennet’s sour looks and ill-natured remarks might have been enough to drive happiness away. Between Elizabeth and Charlotte there was a restraint which kept them mutually silent on the subject; and Elizabeth felt persuaded that no real confidence could ever subsist between them again. Her disappointment in Charlotte made her turn with fonder regard to her sister, of whose rectitude and delicacy she was sure her opinion could never be shaken, and for whose happiness she grew daily more anxious, as Bingley had now been gone a week and nothing more was heard of his return. Jane had sent Caroline an early answer to her letter, and was counting the days till she might reasonably hope to hear again. The promised letter of thanks from Mr. Collins arrived on Tuesday, addressed to their father, and written with all the solemnity of gratitude which a twelvemonth’s abode in the family might have prompted. After discharging his conscience on that head, he proceeded to inform them, with many rapturous expressions, of his happiness in having obtained the affection of their amiable neighbour, Miss Lucas, and then explained that it was merely with the view of enjoying her society that he had been so ready to close with their kind wish of seeing him again at Longbourn, whither he hoped to be able to return on Monday fortnight; for Lady Catherine, he added, so heartily approved his marriage, that she wished it to take place as soon as possible, which he trusted would be an unanswerable argument with his amiable Charlotte to name an early day for making him the happiest of men. Mr. Collins’s return into Hertfordshire was no longer a matter of pleasure to Mrs. Bennet. On the contrary, she was as much disposed to complain of it as her husband. It was very strange that he should come to Longbourn instead of to Lucas Lodge; it was also very inconvenient and exceedingly troublesome. She hated having visitors in the house while her health was so indifferent, and lovers were of all people the most disagreeable. Such were the gentle murmurs of Mrs. Bennet, and they gave way only to the greater distress of Mr. Bingley’s continued absence. Neither Jane nor Elizabeth were comfortable on this subject. Day after day passed away without bringing any other tidings of him than the report which shortly prevailed in Meryton of his coming no more to Netherfield the whole winter; a report which highly incensed Mrs. Bennet, and which she never failed to contradict as a most scandalous falsehood. Even Elizabeth began to fear—not that Bingley was indifferent—but that his sisters would be successful in keeping him away. Unwilling as she was to admit an idea so destructive of Jane’s happiness, and so dishonorable to the stability of her lover, she could not prevent its frequently occurring. The united efforts of his two unfeeling sisters and of his overpowering friend, assisted by the attractions of Miss Darcy and the amusements of London might be too much, she feared, for the strength of his attachment. As for Jane, _her_ anxiety under this suspense was, of course, more painful than Elizabeth’s, but whatever she felt she was desirous of concealing, and between herself and Elizabeth, therefore, the subject was never alluded to. But as no such delicacy restrained her mother, an hour seldom passed in which she did not talk of Bingley, express her impatience for his arrival, or even require Jane to confess that if he did not come back she would think herself very ill used. It needed all Jane’s steady mildness to bear these attacks with tolerable tranquillity. Mr. Collins returned most punctually on Monday fortnight, but his reception at Longbourn was not quite so gracious as it had been on his first introduction. He was too happy, however, to need much attention; and luckily for the others, the business of love-making relieved them from a great deal of his company. The chief of every day was spent by him at Lucas Lodge, and he sometimes returned to Longbourn only in time to make an apology for his absence before the family went to bed. Mrs. Bennet was really in a most pitiable state. The very mention of anything concerning the match threw her into an agony of ill-humour, and wherever she went she was sure of hearing it talked of. The sight of Miss Lucas was odious to her. As her successor in that house, she regarded her with jealous abhorrence. Whenever Charlotte came to see them, she concluded her to be anticipating the hour of possession; and whenever she spoke in a low voice to Mr. Collins, was convinced that they were talking of the Longbourn estate, and resolving to turn herself and her daughters out of the house, as soon as Mr. Bennet were dead. She complained bitterly of all this to her husband. “Indeed, Mr. Bennet,” said she, “it is very hard to think that Charlotte Lucas should ever be mistress of this house, that _I_ should be forced to make way for _her_, and live to see her take her place in it!” “My dear, do not give way to such gloomy thoughts. Let us hope for better things. Let us flatter ourselves that _I_ may be the survivor.” This was not very consoling to Mrs. Bennet, and therefore, instead of making any answer, she went on as before. “I cannot bear to think that they should have all this estate. If it was not for the entail, I should not mind it.” “What should not you mind?” “I should not mind anything at all.” “Let us be thankful that you are preserved from a state of such insensibility.” “I never can be thankful, Mr. Bennet, for anything about the entail. How anyone could have the conscience to entail away an estate from one’s own daughters, I cannot understand; and all for the sake of Mr. Collins too! Why should _he_ have it more than anybody else?” “I leave it to yourself to determine,” said Mr. Bennet. Chapter 24 Miss Bingley’s letter arrived, and put an end to doubt. The very first sentence conveyed the assurance of their being all settled in London for the winter, and concluded with her brother’s regret at not having had time to pay his respects to his friends in Hertfordshire before he left the country. Hope was over, entirely over; and when Jane could attend to the rest of the letter, she found little, except the professed affection of the writer, that could give her any comfort. Miss Darcy’s praise occupied the chief of it. Her many attractions were again dwelt on, and Caroline boasted joyfully of their increasing intimacy, and ventured to predict the accomplishment of the wishes which had been unfolded in her former letter. She wrote also with great pleasure of her brother’s being an inmate of Mr. Darcy’s house, and mentioned with raptures some plans of the latter with regard to new furniture. Elizabeth, to whom Jane very soon communicated the chief of all this, heard it in silent indignation. Her heart was divided between concern for her sister, and resentment against all others. To Caroline’s assertion of her brother’s being partial to Miss Darcy she paid no credit. That he was really fond of Jane, she doubted no more than she had ever done; and much as she had always been disposed to like him, she could not think without anger, hardly without contempt, on that easiness of temper, that want of proper resolution, which now made him the slave of his designing friends, and led him to sacrifice of his own happiness to the caprice of their inclination. Had his own happiness, however, been the only sacrifice, he might have been allowed to sport with it in whatever manner he thought best, but her sister’s was involved in it, as she thought he must be sensible himself. It was a subject, in short, on which reflection would be long indulged, and must be unavailing. She could think of nothing else; and yet whether Bingley’s regard had really died away, or were suppressed by his friends’ interference; whether he had been aware of Jane’s attachment, or whether it had escaped his observation; whatever were the case, though her opinion of him must be materially affected by the difference, her sister’s situation remained the same, her peace equally wounded. A day or two passed before Jane had courage to speak of her feelings to Elizabeth; but at last, on Mrs. Bennet’s leaving them together, after a longer irritation than usual about Netherfield and its master, she could not help saying: “Oh, that my dear mother had more command over herself! She can have no idea of the pain she gives me by her continual reflections on him. But I will not repine. It cannot last long. He will be forgot, and we shall all be as we were before.” Elizabeth looked at her sister with incredulous solicitude, but said nothing. “You doubt me,” cried Jane, slightly colouring; “indeed, you have no reason. He may live in my memory as the most amiable man of my acquaintance, but that is all. I have nothing either to hope or fear, and nothing to reproach him with. Thank God! I have not _that_ pain. A little time, therefore—I shall certainly try to get the better.” With a stronger voice she soon added, “I have this comfort immediately, that it has not been more than an error of fancy on my side, and that it has done no harm to anyone but myself.” “My dear Jane!” exclaimed Elizabeth, “you are too good. Your sweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic; I do not know what to say to you. I feel as if I had never done you justice, or loved you as you deserve.” Miss Bennet eagerly disclaimed all extraordinary merit, and threw back the praise on her sister’s warm affection. “Nay,” said Elizabeth, “this is not fair. _You_ wish to think all the world respectable, and are hurt if I speak ill of anybody. _I_ only want to think _you_ perfect, and you set yourself against it. Do not be afraid of my running into any excess, of my encroaching on your privilege of universal good-will. You need not. There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense. I have met with two instances lately, one I will not mention; the other is Charlotte’s marriage. It is unaccountable! In every view it is unaccountable!” “My dear Lizzy, do not give way to such feelings as these. They will ruin your happiness. You do not make allowance enough for difference of situation and temper. Consider Mr. Collins’s respectability, and Charlotte’s steady, prudent character. Remember that she is one of a large family; that as to fortune, it is a most eligible match; and be ready to believe, for everybody’s sake, that she may feel something like regard and esteem for our cousin.” “To oblige you, I would try to believe almost anything, but no one else could be benefited by such a belief as this; for were I persuaded that Charlotte had any regard for him, I should only think worse of her understanding than I now do of her heart. My dear Jane, Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man; you know he is, as well as I do; and you must feel, as well as I do, that the woman who married him cannot have a proper way of thinking. You shall not defend her, though it is Charlotte Lucas. You shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the meaning of principle and integrity, nor endeavour to persuade yourself or me, that selfishness is prudence, and insensibility of danger security for happiness.” “I must think your language too strong in speaking of both,” replied Jane; “and I hope you will be convinced of it by seeing them happy together. But enough of this. You alluded to something else. You mentioned _two_ instances. I cannot misunderstand you, but I entreat you, dear Lizzy, not to pain me by thinking _that person_ to blame, and saying your opinion of him is sunk. We must not be so ready to fancy ourselves intentionally injured. We must not expect a lively young man to be always so guarded and circumspect. It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us. Women fancy admiration means more than it does.” “And men take care that they should.” “If it is designedly done, they cannot be justified; but I have no idea of there being so much design in the world as some persons imagine.” “I am far from attributing any part of Mr. Bingley’s conduct to design,” said Elizabeth; “but without scheming to do wrong, or to make others unhappy, there may be error, and there may be misery. Thoughtlessness, want of attention to other people’s feelings, and want of resolution, will do the business.” “And do you impute it to either of those?” “Yes; to the last. But if I go on, I shall displease you by saying what I think of persons you esteem. Stop me whilst you can.” “You persist, then, in supposing his sisters influence him?” “Yes, in conjunction with his friend.” “I cannot believe it. Why should they try to influence him? They can only wish his happiness; and if he is attached to me, no other woman can secure it.” “Your first position is false. They may wish many things besides his happiness; they may wish his increase of wealth and consequence; they may wish him to marry a girl who has all the importance of money, great connections, and pride.” “Beyond a doubt, they do wish him to choose Miss Darcy,” replied Jane; “but this may be from better feelings than you are supposing. They have known her much longer than they have known me; no wonder if they love her better. But, whatever may be their own wishes, it is very unlikely they should have opposed their brother’s. What sister would think herself at liberty to do it, unless there were something very objectionable? If they believed him attached to me, they would not try to part us; if he were so, they could not succeed. By supposing such an affection, you make everybody acting unnaturally and wrong, and me most unhappy. Do not distress me by the idea. I am not ashamed of having been mistaken—or, at least, it is light, it is nothing in comparison of what I should feel in thinking ill of him or his sisters. Let me take it in the best light, in the light in which it may be understood.” Elizabeth could not oppose such a wish; and from this time Mr. Bingley’s name was scarcely ever mentioned between them. Mrs. Bennet still continued to wonder and repine at his returning no more, and though a day seldom passed in which Elizabeth did not account for it clearly, there was little chance of her ever considering it with less perplexity. Her daughter endeavoured to convince her of what she did not believe herself, that his attentions to Jane had been merely the effect of a common and transient liking, which ceased when he saw her no more; but though the probability of the statement was admitted at the time, she had the same story to repeat every day. Mrs. Bennet’s best comfort was that Mr. Bingley must be down again in the summer. Mr. Bennet treated the matter differently. “So, Lizzy,” said he one day, “your sister is crossed in love, I find. I congratulate her. Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed a little in love now and then. It is something to think of, and it gives her a sort of distinction among her companions. When is your turn to come? You will hardly bear to be long outdone by Jane. Now is your time. Here are officers enough in Meryton to disappoint all the young ladies in the country. Let Wickham be your man. He is a pleasant fellow, and would jilt you creditably.” “Thank you, sir, but a less agreeable man would satisfy me. We must not all expect Jane’s good fortune.” “True,” said Mr. Bennet, “but it is a comfort to think that whatever of that kind may befall you, you have an affectionate mother who will make the most of it.” Mr. Wickham’s society was of material service in dispelling the gloom which the late perverse occurrences had thrown on many of the Longbourn family. They saw him often, and to his other recommendations was now added that of general unreserve. The whole of what Elizabeth had already heard, his claims on Mr. Darcy, and all that he had suffered from him, was now openly acknowledged and publicly canvassed; and everybody was pleased to know how much they had always disliked Mr. Darcy before they had known anything of the matter. Miss Bennet was the only creature who could suppose there might be any extenuating circumstances in the case, unknown to the society of Hertfordshire; her mild and steady candour always pleaded for allowances, and urged the possibility of mistakes—but by everybody else Mr. Darcy was condemned as the worst of men. Chapter 25 After a week spent in professions of love and schemes of felicity, Mr. Collins was called from his amiable Charlotte by the arrival of Saturday. The pain of separation, however, might be alleviated on his side, by preparations for the reception of his bride; as he had reason to hope, that shortly after his return into Hertfordshire, the day would be fixed that was to make him the happiest of men. He took leave of his relations at Longbourn with as much solemnity as before; wished his fair cousins health and happiness again, and promised their father another letter of thanks. On the following Monday, Mrs. Bennet had the pleasure of receiving her brother and his wife, who came as usual to spend the Christmas at Longbourn. Mr. Gardiner was a sensible, gentlemanlike man, greatly superior to his sister, as well by nature as education. The Netherfield ladies would have had difficulty in believing that a man who lived by trade, and within view of his own warehouses, could have been so well-bred and agreeable. Mrs. Gardiner, who was several years younger than Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Phillips, was an amiable, intelligent, elegant woman, and a great favourite with all her Longbourn nieces. Between the two eldest and herself especially, there subsisted a particular regard. They had frequently been staying with her in town. The first part of Mrs. Gardiner’s business on her arrival was to distribute her presents and describe the newest fashions. When this was done she had a less active part to play. It became her turn to listen. Mrs. Bennet had many grievances to relate, and much to complain of. They had all been very ill-used since she last saw her sister. Two of her girls had been upon the point of marriage, and after all there was nothing in it. “I do not blame Jane,” she continued, “for Jane would have got Mr. Bingley if she could. But Lizzy! Oh, sister! It is very hard to think that she might have been Mr. Collins’s wife by this time, had it not been for her own perverseness. He made her an offer in this very room, and she refused him. The consequence of it is, that Lady Lucas will have a daughter married before I have, and that the Longbourn estate is just as much entailed as ever. The Lucases are very artful people indeed, sister. They are all for what they can get. I am sorry to say it of them, but so it is. It makes me very nervous and poorly, to be thwarted so in my own family, and to have neighbours who think of themselves before anybody else. However, your coming just at this time is the greatest of comforts, and I am very glad to hear what you tell us, of long sleeves.” Mrs. Gardiner, to whom the chief of this news had been given before, in the course of Jane and Elizabeth’s correspondence with her, made her sister a slight answer, and, in compassion to her nieces, turned the conversation. When alone with Elizabeth afterwards, she spoke more on the subject. “It seems likely to have been a desirable match for Jane,” said she. “I am sorry it went off. But these things happen so often! A young man, such as you describe Mr. Bingley, so easily falls in love with a pretty girl for a few weeks, and when accident separates them, so easily forgets her, that these sort of inconsistencies are very frequent.” “An excellent consolation in its way,” said Elizabeth, “but it will not do for _us_. We do not suffer by accident. It does not often happen that the interference of friends will persuade a young man of independent fortune to think no more of a girl whom he was violently in love with only a few days before.” “But that expression of ‘violently in love’ is so hackneyed, so doubtful, so indefinite, that it gives me very little idea. It is as often applied to feelings which arise from a half-hour’s acquaintance, as to a real, strong attachment. Pray, how _violent was_ Mr. Bingley’s love?” “I never saw a more promising inclination; he was growing quite inattentive to other people, and wholly engrossed by her. Every time they met, it was more decided and remarkable. At his own ball he offended two or three young ladies, by not asking them to dance; and I spoke to him twice myself, without receiving an answer. Could there be finer symptoms? Is not general incivility the very essence of love?” “Oh, yes!—of that kind of love which I suppose him to have felt. Poor Jane! I am sorry for her, because, with her disposition, she may not get over it immediately. It had better have happened to _you_, Lizzy; you would have laughed yourself out of it sooner. But do you think she would be prevailed upon to go back with us? Change of scene might be of service—and perhaps a little relief from home may be as useful as anything.” Elizabeth was exceedingly pleased with this proposal, and felt persuaded of her sister’s ready acquiescence. “I hope,” added Mrs. Gardiner, “that no consideration with regard to this young man will influence her. We live in so different a part of town, all our connections are so different, and, as you well know, we go out so little, that it is very improbable that they should meet at all, unless he really comes to see her.” “And _that_ is quite impossible; for he is now in the custody of his friend, and Mr. Darcy would no more suffer him to call on Jane in such a part of London! My dear aunt, how could you think of it? Mr. Darcy may perhaps have _heard_ of such a place as Gracechurch Street, but he would hardly think a month’s ablution enough to cleanse him from its impurities, were he once to enter it; and depend upon it, Mr. Bingley never stirs without him.” “So much the better. I hope they will not meet at all. But does not Jane correspond with his sister? _She_ will not be able to help calling.” “She will drop the acquaintance entirely.” But in spite of the certainty in which Elizabeth affected to place this point, as well as the still more interesting one of Bingley’s being withheld from seeing Jane, she felt a solicitude on the subject which convinced her, on examination, that she did not consider it entirely hopeless. It was possible, and sometimes she thought it probable, that his affection might be reanimated, and the influence of his friends successfully combated by the more natural influence of Jane’s attractions. Miss Bennet accepted her aunt’s invitation with pleasure; and the Bingleys were no otherwise in her thoughts at the same time, than as she hoped by Caroline’s not living in the same house with her brother, she might occasionally spend a morning with her, without any danger of seeing him. The Gardiners stayed a week at Longbourn; and what with the Phillipses, the Lucases, and the officers, there was not a day without its engagement. Mrs. Bennet had so carefully provided for the entertainment of her brother and sister, that they did not once sit down to a family dinner. When the engagement was for home, some of the officers always made part of it—of which officers Mr. Wickham was sure to be one; and on these occasions, Mrs. Gardiner, rendered suspicious by Elizabeth’s warm commendation, narrowly observed them both. Without supposing them, from what she saw, to be very seriously in love, their preference of each other was plain enough to make her a little uneasy; and she resolved to speak to Elizabeth on the subject before she left Hertfordshire, and represent to her the imprudence of encouraging such an attachment. To Mrs. Gardiner, Wickham had one means of affording pleasure, unconnected with his general powers. About ten or a dozen years ago, before her marriage, she had spent a considerable time in that very part of Derbyshire to which he belonged. They had, therefore, many acquaintances in common; and though Wickham had been little there since the death of Darcy’s father, it was yet in his power to give her fresher intelligence of her former friends than she had been in the way of procuring. Mrs. Gardiner had seen Pemberley, and known the late Mr. Darcy by character perfectly well. Here consequently was an inexhaustible subject of discourse. In comparing her recollection of Pemberley with the minute description which Wickham could give, and in bestowing her tribute of praise on the character of its late possessor, she was delighting both him and herself. On being made acquainted with the present Mr. Darcy’s treatment of him, she tried to remember some of that gentleman’s reputed disposition when quite a lad which might agree with it, and was confident at last that she recollected having heard Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy formerly spoken of as a very proud, ill-natured boy. Chapter 26 Mrs. Gardiner’s caution to Elizabeth was punctually and kindly given on the first favourable opportunity of speaking to her alone; after honestly telling her what she thought, she thus went on: “You are too sensible a girl, Lizzy, to fall in love merely because you are warned against it; and, therefore, I am not afraid of speaking openly. Seriously, I would have you be on your guard. Do not involve yourself or endeavour to involve him in an affection which the want of fortune would make so very imprudent. I have nothing to say against _him_; he is a most interesting young man; and if he had the fortune he ought to have, I should think you could not do better. But as it is, you must not let your fancy run away with you. You have sense, and we all expect you to use it. Your father would depend on _your_ resolution and good conduct, I am sure. You must not disappoint your father.” “My dear aunt, this is being serious indeed.” “Yes, and I hope to engage you to be serious likewise.” “Well, then, you need not be under any alarm. I will take care of myself, and of Mr. Wickham too. He shall not be in love with me, if I can prevent it.” “Elizabeth, you are not serious now.” “I beg your pardon, I will try again. At present I am not in love with Mr. Wickham; no, I certainly am not. But he is, beyond all comparison, the most agreeable man I ever saw—and if he becomes really attached to me—I believe it will be better that he should not. I see the imprudence of it. Oh! _that_ abominable Mr. Darcy! My father’s opinion of me does me the greatest honour, and I should be miserable to forfeit it. My father, however, is partial to Mr. Wickham. In short, my dear aunt, I should be very sorry to be the means of making any of you unhappy; but since we see every day that where there is affection, young people are seldom withheld by immediate want of fortune from entering into engagements with each other, how can I promise to be wiser than so many of my fellow-creatures if I am tempted, or how am I even to know that it would be wisdom to resist? All that I can promise you, therefore, is not to be in a hurry. I will not be in a hurry to believe myself his first object. When I am in company with him, I will not be wishing. In short, I will do my best.” “Perhaps it will be as well if you discourage his coming here so very often. At least, you should not _remind_ your mother of inviting him.” “As I did the other day,” said Elizabeth with a conscious smile: “very true, it will be wise in me to refrain from _that_. But do not imagine that he is always here so often. It is on your account that he has been so frequently invited this week. You know my mother’s ideas as to the necessity of constant company for her friends. But really, and upon my honour, I will try to do what I think to be the wisest; and now I hope you are satisfied.” Her aunt assured her that she was, and Elizabeth having thanked her for the kindness of her hints, they parted; a wonderful instance of advice being given on such a point, without being resented. Mr. Collins returned into Hertfordshire soon after it had been quitted by the Gardiners and Jane; but as he took up his abode with the Lucases, his arrival was no great inconvenience to Mrs. Bennet. His marriage was now fast approaching, and she was at length so far resigned as to think it inevitable, and even repeatedly to say, in an ill-natured tone, that she “_wished_ they might be happy.” Thursday was to be the wedding day, and on Wednesday Miss Lucas paid her farewell visit; and when she rose to take leave, Elizabeth, ashamed of her mother’s ungracious and reluctant good wishes, and sincerely affected herself, accompanied her out of the room. As they went downstairs together, Charlotte said: “I shall depend on hearing from you very often, Eliza.” “_That_ you certainly shall.” “And I have another favour to ask you. Will you come and see me?” “We shall often meet, I hope, in Hertfordshire.” “I am not likely to leave Kent for some time. Promise me, therefore, to come to Hunsford.” Elizabeth could not refuse, though she foresaw little pleasure in the visit. “My father and Maria are coming to me in March,” added Charlotte, “and I hope you will consent to be of the party. Indeed, Eliza, you will be as welcome as either of them.” The wedding took place; the bride and bridegroom set off for Kent from the church door, and everybody had as much to say, or to hear, on the subject as usual. Elizabeth soon heard from her friend; and their correspondence was as regular and frequent as it had ever been; that it should be equally unreserved was impossible. Elizabeth could never address her without feeling that all the comfort of intimacy was over, and though determined not to slacken as a correspondent, it was for the sake of what had been, rather than what was. Charlotte’s first letters were received with a good deal of eagerness; there could not but be curiosity to know how she would speak of her new home, how she would like Lady Catherine, and how happy she would dare pronounce herself to be; though, when the letters were read, Elizabeth felt that Charlotte expressed herself on every point exactly as she might have foreseen. She wrote cheerfully, seemed surrounded with comforts, and mentioned nothing which she could not praise. The house, furniture, neighbourhood, and roads, were all to her taste, and Lady Catherine’s behaviour was most friendly and obliging. It was Mr. Collins’s picture of Hunsford and Rosings rationally softened; and Elizabeth perceived that she must wait for her own visit there to know the rest. Jane had already written a few lines to her sister to announce their safe arrival in London; and when she wrote again, Elizabeth hoped it would be in her power to say something of the Bingleys. Her impatience for this second letter was as well rewarded as impatience generally is. Jane had been a week in town without either seeing or hearing from Caroline. She accounted for it, however, by supposing that her last letter to her friend from Longbourn had by some accident been lost. “My aunt,” she continued, “is going to-morrow into that part of the town, and I shall take the opportunity of calling in Grosvenor Street.” She wrote again when the visit was paid, and she had seen Miss Bingley. “I did not think Caroline in spirits,” were her words, “but she was very glad to see me, and reproached me for giving her no notice of my coming to London. I was right, therefore, my last letter had never reached her. I enquired after their brother, of course. He was well, but so much engaged with Mr. Darcy that they scarcely ever saw him. I found that Miss Darcy was expected to dinner. I wish I could see her. My visit was not long, as Caroline and Mrs. Hurst were going out. I dare say I shall see them soon here.” Elizabeth shook her head over this letter. It convinced her that accident only could discover to Mr. Bingley her sister’s being in town. Four weeks passed away, and Jane saw nothing of him. She endeavoured to persuade herself that she did not regret it; but she could no longer be blind to Miss Bingley’s inattention. After waiting at home every morning for a fortnight, and inventing every evening a fresh excuse for her, the visitor did at last appear; but the shortness of her stay, and yet more, the alteration of her manner would allow Jane to deceive herself no longer. The letter which she wrote on this occasion to her sister will prove what she felt. “My dearest Lizzy will, I am sure, be incapable of triumphing in her better judgement, at my expense, when I confess myself to have been entirely deceived in Miss Bingley’s regard for me. But, my dear sister, though the event has proved you right, do not think me obstinate if I still assert that, considering what her behaviour was, my confidence was as natural as your suspicion. I do not at all comprehend her reason for wishing to be intimate with me; but if the same circumstances were to happen again, I am sure I should be deceived again. Caroline did not return my visit till yesterday; and not a note, not a line, did I receive in the meantime. When she did come, it was very evident that she had no pleasure in it; she made a slight, formal apology, for not calling before, said not a word of wishing to see me again, and was in every respect so altered a creature, that when she went away I was perfectly resolved to continue the acquaintance no longer. I pity, though I cannot help blaming her. She was very wrong in singling me out as she did; I can safely say that every advance to intimacy began on her side. But I pity her, because she must feel that she has been acting wrong, and because I am very sure that anxiety for her brother is the cause of it. I need not explain myself farther; and though _we_ know this anxiety to be quite needless, yet if she feels it, it will easily account for her behaviour to me; and so deservedly dear as he is to his sister, whatever anxiety she must feel on his behalf is natural and amiable. I cannot but wonder, however, at her having any such fears now, because, if he had at all cared about me, we must have met, long ago. He knows of my being in town, I am certain, from something she said herself; and yet it would seem, by her manner of talking, as if she wanted to persuade herself that he is really partial to Miss Darcy. I cannot understand it. If I were not afraid of judging harshly, I should be almost tempted to say that there is a strong appearance of duplicity in all this. But I will endeavour to banish every painful thought, and think only of what will make me happy—your affection, and the invariable kindness of my dear uncle and aunt. Let me hear from you very soon. Miss Bingley said something of his never returning to Netherfield again, of giving up the house, but not with any certainty. We had better not mention it. I am extremely glad that you have such pleasant accounts from our friends at Hunsford. Pray go to see them, with Sir William and Maria. I am sure you will be very comfortable there.—Yours, etc.” This letter gave Elizabeth some pain; but her spirits returned as she considered that Jane would no longer be duped, by the sister at least. All expectation from the brother was now absolutely over. She would not even wish for a renewal of his attentions. His character sunk on every review of it; and as a punishment for him, as well as a possible advantage to Jane, she seriously hoped he might really soon marry Mr. Darcy’s sister, as by Wickham’s account, she would make him abundantly regret what he had thrown away. Mrs. Gardiner about this time reminded Elizabeth of her promise concerning that gentleman, and required information; and Elizabeth had such to send as might rather give contentment to her aunt than to herself. His apparent partiality had subsided, his attentions were over, he was the admirer of some one else. Elizabeth was watchful enough to see it all, but she could see it and write of it without material pain. Her heart had been but slightly touched, and her vanity was satisfied with believing that _she_ would have been his only choice, had fortune permitted it. The sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds was the most remarkable charm of the young lady to whom he was now rendering himself agreeable; but Elizabeth, less clear-sighted perhaps in this case than in Charlotte’s, did not quarrel with him for his wish of independence. Nothing, on the contrary, could be more natural; and while able to suppose that it cost him a few struggles to relinquish her, she was ready to allow it a wise and desirable measure for both, and could very sincerely wish him happy. All this was acknowledged to Mrs. Gardiner; and after relating the circumstances, she thus went on: “I am now convinced, my dear aunt, that I have never been much in love; for had I really experienced that pure and elevating passion, I should at present detest his very name, and wish him all manner of evil. But my feelings are not only cordial towards _him_; they are even impartial towards Miss King. I cannot find out that I hate her at all, or that I am in the least unwilling to think her a very good sort of girl. There can be no love in all this. My watchfulness has been effectual; and though I certainly should be a more interesting object to all my acquaintances were I distractedly in love with him, I cannot say that I regret my comparative insignificance. Importance may sometimes be purchased too dearly. Kitty and Lydia take his defection much more to heart than I do. They are young in the ways of the world, and not yet open to the mortifying conviction that handsome young men must have something to live on as well as the plain.” Chapter 27 With no greater events than these in the Longbourn family, and otherwise diversified by little beyond the walks to Meryton, sometimes dirty and sometimes cold, did January and February pass away. March was to take Elizabeth to Hunsford. She had not at first thought very seriously of going thither; but Charlotte, she soon found, was depending on the plan and she gradually learned to consider it herself with greater pleasure as well as greater certainty. Absence had increased her desire of seeing Charlotte again, and weakened her disgust of Mr. Collins. There was novelty in the scheme, and as, with such a mother and such uncompanionable sisters, home could not be faultless, a little change was not unwelcome for its own sake. The journey would moreover give her a peep at Jane; and, in short, as the time drew near, she would have been very sorry for any delay. Everything, however, went on smoothly, and was finally settled according to Charlotte’s first sketch. She was to accompany Sir William and his second daughter. The improvement of spending a night in London was added in time, and the plan became perfect as plan could be. The only pain was in leaving her father, who would certainly miss her, and who, when it came to the point, so little liked her going, that he told her to write to him, and almost promised to answer her letter. The farewell between herself and Mr. Wickham was perfectly friendly; on his side even more. His present pursuit could not make him forget that Elizabeth had been the first to excite and to deserve his attention, the first to listen and to pity, the first to be admired; and in his manner of bidding her adieu, wishing her every enjoyment, reminding her of what she was to expect in Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and trusting their opinion of her—their opinion of everybody—would always coincide, there was a solicitude, an interest which she felt must ever attach her to him with a most sincere regard; and she parted from him convinced that, whether married or single, he must always be her model of the amiable and pleasing. Her fellow-travellers the next day were not of a kind to make her think him less agreeable. Sir William Lucas, and his daughter Maria, a good-humoured girl, but as empty-headed as himself, had nothing to say that could be worth hearing, and were listened to with about as much delight as the rattle of the chaise. Elizabeth loved absurdities, but she had known Sir William’s too long. He could tell her nothing new of the wonders of his presentation and knighthood; and his civilities were worn out, like his information. It was a journey of only twenty-four miles, and they began it so early as to be in Gracechurch Street by noon. As they drove to Mr. Gardiner’s door, Jane was at a drawing-room window watching their arrival; when they entered the passage she was there to welcome them, and Elizabeth, looking earnestly in her face, was pleased to see it healthful and lovely as ever. On the stairs were a troop of little boys and girls, whose eagerness for their cousin’s appearance would not allow them to wait in the drawing-room, and whose shyness, as they had not seen her for a twelvemonth, prevented their coming lower. All was joy and kindness. The day passed most pleasantly away; the morning in bustle and shopping, and the evening at one of the theatres. Elizabeth then contrived to sit by her aunt. Their first object was her sister; and she was more grieved than astonished to hear, in reply to her minute enquiries, that though Jane always struggled to support her spirits, there were periods of dejection. It was reasonable, however, to hope that they would not continue long. Mrs. Gardiner gave her the particulars also of Miss Bingley’s visit in Gracechurch Street, and repeated conversations occurring at different times between Jane and herself, which proved that the former had, from her heart, given up the acquaintance. Mrs. Gardiner then rallied her niece on Wickham’s desertion, and complimented her on bearing it so well. “But my dear Elizabeth,” she added, “what sort of girl is Miss King? I should be sorry to think our friend mercenary.” “Pray, my dear aunt, what is the difference in matrimonial affairs, between the mercenary and the prudent motive? Where does discretion end, and avarice begin? Last Christmas you were afraid of his marrying me, because it would be imprudent; and now, because he is trying to get a girl with only ten thousand pounds, you want to find out that he is mercenary.” “If you will only tell me what sort of girl Miss King is, I shall know what to think.” “She is a very good kind of girl, I believe. I know no harm of her.” “But he paid her not the smallest attention till her grandfather’s death made her mistress of this fortune.” “No—why should he? If it were not allowable for him to gain _my_ affections because I had no money, what occasion could there be for making love to a girl whom he did not care about, and who was equally poor?” “But there seems an indelicacy in directing his attentions towards her so soon after this event.” “A man in distressed circumstances has not time for all those elegant decorums which other people may observe. If _she_ does not object to it, why should _we_?” “_Her_ not objecting does not justify _him_. It only shows her being deficient in something herself—sense or feeling.” “Well,” cried Elizabeth, “have it as you choose. _He_ shall be mercenary, and _she_ shall be foolish.” “No, Lizzy, that is what I do _not_ choose. I should be sorry, you know, to think ill of a young man who has lived so long in Derbyshire.” “Oh! if that is all, I have a very poor opinion of young men who live in Derbyshire; and their intimate friends who live in Hertfordshire are not much better. I am sick of them all. Thank Heaven! I am going to-morrow where I shall find a man who has not one agreeable quality, who has neither manner nor sense to recommend him. Stupid men are the only ones worth knowing, after all.” “Take care, Lizzy; that speech savours strongly of disappointment.” Before they were separated by the conclusion of the play, she had the unexpected happiness of an invitation to accompany her uncle and aunt in a tour of pleasure which they proposed taking in the summer. “We have not determined how far it shall carry us,” said Mrs. Gardiner, “but, perhaps, to the Lakes.” No scheme could have been more agreeable to Elizabeth, and her acceptance of the invitation was most ready and grateful. “Oh, my dear, dear aunt,” she rapturously cried, “what delight! what felicity! You give me fresh life and vigour. Adieu to disappointment and spleen. What are young men to rocks and mountains? Oh! what hours of transport we shall spend! And when we _do_ return, it shall not be like other travellers, without being able to give one accurate idea of anything. We _will_ know where we have gone—we _will_ recollect what we have seen. Lakes, mountains, and rivers shall not be jumbled together in our imaginations; nor when we attempt to describe any particular scene, will we begin quarreling about its relative situation. Let _our_ first effusions be less insupportable than those of the generality of travellers.” Chapter 28 Every object in the next day’s journey was new and interesting to Elizabeth; and her spirits were in a state of enjoyment; for she had seen her sister looking so well as to banish all fear for her health, and the prospect of her northern tour was a constant source of delight. When they left the high road for the lane to Hunsford, every eye was in search of the Parsonage, and every turning expected to bring it in view. The palings of Rosings Park was their boundary on one side. Elizabeth smiled at the recollection of all that she had heard of its inhabitants. At length the Parsonage was discernible. The garden sloping to the road, the house standing in it, the green pales, and the laurel hedge, everything declared they were arriving. Mr. Collins and Charlotte appeared at the door, and the carriage stopped at the small gate which led by a short gravel walk to the house, amidst the nods and smiles of the whole party. In a moment they were all out of the chaise, rejoicing at the sight of each other. Mrs. Collins welcomed her friend with the liveliest pleasure, and Elizabeth was more and more satisfied with coming when she found herself so affectionately received. She saw instantly that her cousin’s manners were not altered by his marriage; his formal civility was just what it had been, and he detained her some minutes at the gate to hear and satisfy his enquiries after all her family. They were then, with no other delay than his pointing out the neatness of the entrance, taken into the house; and as soon as they were in the parlour, he welcomed them a second time, with ostentatious formality to his humble abode, and punctually repeated all his wife’s offers of refreshment. Elizabeth was prepared to see him in his glory; and she could not help in fancying that in displaying the good proportion of the room, its aspect and its furniture, he addressed himself particularly to her, as if wishing to make her feel what she had lost in refusing him. But though everything seemed neat and comfortable, she was not able to gratify him by any sigh of repentance, and rather looked with wonder at her friend that she could have so cheerful an air with such a companion. When Mr. Collins said anything of which his wife might reasonably be ashamed, which certainly was not unseldom, she involuntarily turned her eye on Charlotte. Once or twice she could discern a faint blush; but in general Charlotte wisely did not hear. After sitting long enough to admire every article of furniture in the room, from the sideboard to the fender, to give an account of their journey, and of all that had happened in London, Mr. Collins invited them to take a stroll in the garden, which was large and well laid out, and to the cultivation of which he attended himself. To work in this garden was one of his most respectable pleasures; and Elizabeth admired the command of countenance with which Charlotte talked of the healthfulness of the exercise, and owned she encouraged it as much as possible. Here, leading the way through every walk and cross walk, and scarcely allowing them an interval to utter the praises he asked for, every view was pointed out with a minuteness which left beauty entirely behind. He could number the fields in every direction, and could tell how many trees there were in the most distant clump. But of all the views which his garden, or which the country or kingdom could boast, none were to be compared with the prospect of Rosings, afforded by an opening in the trees that bordered the park nearly opposite the front of his house. It was a handsome modern building, well situated on rising ground. From his garden, Mr. Collins would have led them round his two meadows; but the ladies, not having shoes to encounter the remains of a white frost, turned back; and while Sir William accompanied him, Charlotte took her sister and friend over the house, extremely well pleased, probably, to have the opportunity of showing it without her husband’s help. It was rather small, but well built and convenient; and everything was fitted up and arranged with a neatness and consistency of which Elizabeth gave Charlotte all the credit. When Mr. Collins could be forgotten, there was really an air of great comfort throughout, and by Charlotte’s evident enjoyment of it, Elizabeth supposed he must be often forgotten. She had already learnt that Lady Catherine was still in the country. It was spoken of again while they were at dinner, when Mr. Collins joining in, observed: “Yes, Miss Elizabeth, you will have the honour of seeing Lady Catherine de Bourgh on the ensuing Sunday at church, and I need not say you will be delighted with her. She is all affability and condescension, and I doubt not but you will be honoured with some portion of her notice when service is over. I have scarcely any hesitation in saying she will include you and my sister Maria in every invitation with which she honours us during your stay here. Her behaviour to my dear Charlotte is charming. We dine at Rosings twice every week, and are never allowed to walk home. Her ladyship’s carriage is regularly ordered for us. I _should_ say, one of her ladyship’s carriages, for she has several.” “Lady Catherine is a very respectable, sensible woman indeed,” added Charlotte, “and a most attentive neighbour.” “Very true, my dear, that is exactly what I say. She is the sort of woman whom one cannot regard with too much deference.” The evening was spent chiefly in talking over Hertfordshire news, and telling again what had already been written; and when it closed, Elizabeth, in the solitude of her chamber, had to meditate upon Charlotte’s degree of contentment, to understand her address in guiding, and composure in bearing with, her husband, and to acknowledge that it was all done very well. She had also to anticipate how her visit would pass, the quiet tenor of their usual employments, the vexatious interruptions of Mr. Collins, and the gaieties of their intercourse with Rosings. A lively imagination soon settled it all. About the middle of the next day, as she was in her room getting ready for a walk, a sudden noise below seemed to speak the whole house in confusion; and, after listening a moment, she heard somebody running up stairs in a violent hurry, and calling loudly after her. She opened the door and met Maria in the landing place, who, breathless with agitation, cried out— “Oh, my dear Eliza! pray make haste and come into the dining-room, for there is such a sight to be seen! I will not tell you what it is. Make haste, and come down this moment.” Elizabeth asked questions in vain; Maria would tell her nothing more, and down they ran into the dining-room, which fronted the lane, in quest of this wonder; It was two ladies stopping in a low phaeton at the garden gate. “And is this all?” cried Elizabeth. “I expected at least that the pigs were got into the garden, and here is nothing but Lady Catherine and her daughter.” “La! my dear,” said Maria, quite shocked at the mistake, “it is not Lady Catherine. The old lady is Mrs. Jenkinson, who lives with them; the other is Miss de Bourgh. Only look at her. She is quite a little creature. Who would have thought that she could be so thin and small?” “She is abominably rude to keep Charlotte out of doors in all this wind. Why does she not come in?” “Oh, Charlotte says she hardly ever does. It is the greatest of favours when Miss de Bourgh comes in.” “I like her appearance,” said Elizabeth, struck with other ideas. “She looks sickly and cross. Yes, she will do for him very well. She will make him a very proper wife.” Mr. Collins and Charlotte were both standing at the gate in conversation with the ladies; and Sir William, to Elizabeth’s high diversion, was stationed in the doorway, in earnest contemplation of the greatness before him, and constantly bowing whenever Miss de Bourgh looked that way. At length there was nothing more to be said; the ladies drove on, and the others returned into the house. Mr. Collins no sooner saw the two girls than he began to congratulate them on their good fortune, which Charlotte explained by letting them know that the whole party was asked to dine at Rosings the next day. Chapter 29 Mr. Collins’s triumph, in consequence of this invitation, was complete. The power of displaying the grandeur of his patroness to his wondering visitors, and of letting them see her civility towards himself and his wife, was exactly what he had wished for; and that an opportunity of doing it should be given so soon, was such an instance of Lady Catherine’s condescension, as he knew not how to admire enough. “I confess,” said he, “that I should not have been at all surprised by her ladyship’s asking us on Sunday to drink tea and spend the evening at Rosings. I rather expected, from my knowledge of her affability, that it would happen. But who could have foreseen such an attention as this? Who could have imagined that we should receive an invitation to dine there (an invitation, moreover, including the whole party) so immediately after your arrival!” “I am the less surprised at what has happened,” replied Sir William, “from that knowledge of what the manners of the great really are, which my situation in life has allowed me to acquire. About the court, such instances of elegant breeding are not uncommon.” Scarcely anything was talked of the whole day or next morning but their visit to Rosings. Mr. Collins was carefully instructing them in what they were to expect, that the sight of such rooms, so many servants, and so splendid a dinner, might not wholly overpower them. When the ladies were separating for the toilette, he said to Elizabeth— “Do not make yourself uneasy, my dear cousin, about your apparel. Lady Catherine is far from requiring that elegance of dress in us which becomes herself and her daughter. I would advise you merely to put on whatever of your clothes is superior to the rest—there is no occasion for anything more. Lady Catherine will not think the worse of you for being simply dressed. She likes to have the distinction of rank preserved.” While they were dressing, he came two or three times to their different doors, to recommend their being quick, as Lady Catherine very much objected to be kept waiting for her dinner. Such formidable accounts of her ladyship, and her manner of living, quite frightened Maria Lucas who had been little used to company, and she looked forward to her introduction at Rosings with as much apprehension as her father had done to his presentation at St. James’s. As the weather was fine, they had a pleasant walk of about half a mile across the park. Every park has its beauty and its prospects; and Elizabeth saw much to be pleased with, though she could not be in such raptures as Mr. Collins expected the scene to inspire, and was but slightly affected by his enumeration of the windows in front of the house, and his relation of what the glazing altogether had originally cost Sir Lewis de Bourgh. When they ascended the steps to the hall, Maria’s alarm was every moment increasing, and even Sir William did not look perfectly calm. Elizabeth’s courage did not fail her. She had heard nothing of Lady Catherine that spoke her awful from any extraordinary talents or miraculous virtue, and the mere stateliness of money or rank she thought she could witness without trepidation. From the entrance-hall, of which Mr. Collins pointed out, with a rapturous air, the fine proportion and the finished ornaments, they followed the servants through an ante-chamber, to the room where Lady Catherine, her daughter, and Mrs. Jenkinson were sitting. Her ladyship, with great condescension, arose to receive them; and as Mrs. Collins had settled it with her husband that the office of introduction should be hers, it was performed in a proper manner, without any of those apologies and thanks which he would have thought necessary. In spite of having been at St. James’s, Sir William was so completely awed by the grandeur surrounding him, that he had but just courage enough to make a very low bow, and take his seat without saying a word; and his daughter, frightened almost out of her senses, sat on the edge of her chair, not knowing which way to look. Elizabeth found herself quite equal to the scene, and could observe the three ladies before her composedly. Lady Catherine was a tall, large woman, with strongly-marked features, which might once have been handsome. Her air was not conciliating, nor was her manner of receiving them such as to make her visitors forget their inferior rank. She was not rendered formidable by silence; but whatever she said was spoken in so authoritative a tone, as marked her self-importance, and brought Mr. Wickham immediately to Elizabeth’s mind; and from the observation of the day altogether, she believed Lady Catherine to be exactly what he represented. When, after examining the mother, in whose countenance and deportment she soon found some resemblance of Mr. Darcy, she turned her eyes on the daughter, she could almost have joined in Maria’s astonishment at her being so thin and so small. There was neither in figure nor face any likeness between the ladies. Miss de Bourgh was pale and sickly; her features, though not plain, were insignificant; and she spoke very little, except in a low voice, to Mrs. Jenkinson, in whose appearance there was nothing remarkable, and who was entirely engaged in listening to what she said, and placing a screen in the proper direction before her eyes. After sitting a few minutes, they were all sent to one of the windows to admire the view, Mr. Collins attending them to point out its beauties, and Lady Catherine kindly informing them that it was much better worth looking at in the summer. The dinner was exceedingly handsome, and there were all the servants and all the articles of plate which Mr. Collins had promised; and, as he had likewise foretold, he took his seat at the bottom of the table, by her ladyship’s desire, and looked as if he felt that life could furnish nothing greater. He carved, and ate, and praised with delighted alacrity; and every dish was commended, first by him and then by Sir William, who was now enough recovered to echo whatever his son-in-law said, in a manner which Elizabeth wondered Lady Catherine could bear. But Lady Catherine seemed gratified by their excessive admiration, and gave most gracious smiles, especially when any dish on the table proved a novelty to them. The party did not supply much conversation. Elizabeth was ready to speak whenever there was an opening, but she was seated between Charlotte and Miss de Bourgh—the former of whom was engaged in listening to Lady Catherine, and the latter said not a word to her all dinner-time. Mrs. Jenkinson was chiefly employed in watching how little Miss de Bourgh ate, pressing her to try some other dish, and fearing she was indisposed. Maria thought speaking out of the question, and the gentlemen did nothing but eat and admire. When the ladies returned to the drawing-room, there was little to be done but to hear Lady Catherine talk, which she did without any intermission till coffee came in, delivering her opinion on every subject in so decisive a manner, as proved that she was not used to have her judgement controverted. She enquired into Charlotte’s domestic concerns familiarly and minutely, gave her a great deal of advice as to the management of them all; told her how everything ought to be regulated in so small a family as hers, and instructed her as to the care of her cows and her poultry. Elizabeth found that nothing was beneath this great lady’s attention, which could furnish her with an occasion of dictating to others. In the intervals of her discourse with Mrs. Collins, she addressed a variety of questions to Maria and Elizabeth, but especially to the latter, of whose connections she knew the least, and who she observed to Mrs. Collins was a very genteel, pretty kind of girl. She asked her, at different times, how many sisters she had, whether they were older or younger than herself, whether any of them were likely to be married, whether they were handsome, where they had been educated, what carriage her father kept, and what had been her mother’s maiden name? Elizabeth felt all the impertinence of her questions but answered them very composedly. Lady Catherine then observed, “Your father’s estate is entailed on Mr. Collins, I think. For your sake,” turning to Charlotte, “I am glad of it; but otherwise I see no occasion for entailing estates from the female line. It was not thought necessary in Sir Lewis de Bourgh’s family. Do you play and sing, Miss Bennet?” “A little.” “Oh! then—some time or other we shall be happy to hear you. Our instrument is a capital one, probably superior to——You shall try it some day. Do your sisters play and sing?” “One of them does.” “Why did not you all learn? You ought all to have learned. The Miss Webbs all play, and their father has not so good an income as yours. Do you draw?” “No, not at all.” “What, none of you?” “Not one.” “That is very strange. But I suppose you had no opportunity. Your mother should have taken you to town every spring for the benefit of masters.” “My mother would have had no objection, but my father hates London.” “Has your governess left you?” “We never had any governess.” “No governess! How was that possible? Five daughters brought up at home without a governess! I never heard of such a thing. Your mother must have been quite a slave to your education.” Elizabeth could hardly help smiling as she assured her that had not been the case. “Then, who taught you? who attended to you? Without a governess, you must have been neglected.” “Compared with some families, I believe we were; but such of us as wished to learn never wanted the means. We were always encouraged to read, and had all the masters that were necessary. Those who chose to be idle, certainly might.” “Aye, no doubt; but that is what a governess will prevent, and if I had known your mother, I should have advised her most strenuously to engage one. I always say that nothing is to be done in education without steady and regular instruction, and nobody but a governess can give it. It is wonderful how many families I have been the means of supplying in that way. I am always glad to get a young person well placed out. Four nieces of Mrs. Jenkinson are most delightfully situated through my means; and it was but the other day that I recommended another young person, who was merely accidentally mentioned to me, and the family are quite delighted with her. Mrs. Collins, did I tell you of Lady Metcalf’s calling yesterday to thank me? She finds Miss Pope a treasure. ‘Lady Catherine,’ said she, ‘you have given me a treasure.’ Are any of your younger sisters out, Miss Bennet?” “Yes, ma’am, all.” “All! What, all five out at once? Very odd! And you only the second. The younger ones out before the elder ones are married! Your younger sisters must be very young?” “Yes, my youngest is not sixteen. Perhaps _she_ is full young to be much in company. But really, ma’am, I think it would be very hard upon younger sisters, that they should not have their share of society and amusement, because the elder may not have the means or inclination to marry early. The last-born has as good a right to the pleasures of youth as the first. And to be kept back on _such_ a motive! I think it would not be very likely to promote sisterly affection or delicacy of mind.” “Upon my word,” said her ladyship, “you give your opinion very decidedly for so young a person. Pray, what is your age?” “With three younger sisters grown up,” replied Elizabeth, smiling, “your ladyship can hardly expect me to own it.” Lady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer; and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified impertinence. “You cannot be more than twenty, I am sure, therefore you need not conceal your age.” “I am not one-and-twenty.” When the gentlemen had joined them, and tea was over, the card-tables were placed. Lady Catherine, Sir William, and Mr. and Mrs. Collins sat down to quadrille; and as Miss de Bourgh chose to play at cassino, the two girls had the honour of assisting Mrs. Jenkinson to make up her party. Their table was superlatively stupid. Scarcely a syllable was uttered that did not relate to the game, except when Mrs. Jenkinson expressed her fears of Miss de Bourgh’s being too hot or too cold, or having too much or too little light. A great deal more passed at the other table. Lady Catherine was generally speaking—stating the mistakes of the three others, or relating some anecdote of herself. Mr. Collins was employed in agreeing to everything her ladyship said, thanking her for every fish he won, and apologising if he thought he won too many. Sir William did not say much. He was storing his memory with anecdotes and noble names. When Lady Catherine and her daughter had played as long as they chose, the tables were broken up, the carriage was offered to Mrs. Collins, gratefully accepted and immediately ordered. The party then gathered round the fire to hear Lady Catherine determine what weather they were to have on the morrow. From these instructions they were summoned by the arrival of the coach; and with many speeches of thankfulness on Mr. Collins’s side and as many bows on Sir William’s they departed. As soon as they had driven from the door, Elizabeth was called on by her cousin to give her opinion of all that she had seen at Rosings, which, for Charlotte’s sake, she made more favourable than it really was. But her commendation, though costing her some trouble, could by no means satisfy Mr. Collins, and he was very soon obliged to take her ladyship’s praise into his own hands. Chapter 30 Sir William stayed only a week at Hunsford, but his visit was long enough to convince him of his daughter’s being most comfortably settled, and of her possessing such a husband and such a neighbour as were not often met with. While Sir William was with them, Mr. Collins devoted his morning to driving him out in his gig, and showing him the country; but when he went away, the whole family returned to their usual employments, and Elizabeth was thankful to find that they did not see more of her cousin by the alteration, for the chief of the time between breakfast and dinner was now passed by him either at work in the garden or in reading and writing, and looking out of the window in his own book-room, which fronted the road. The room in which the ladies sat was backwards. Elizabeth had at first rather wondered that Charlotte should not prefer the dining-parlour for common use; it was a better sized room, and had a more pleasant aspect; but she soon saw that her friend had an excellent reason for what she did, for Mr. Collins would undoubtedly have been much less in his own apartment, had they sat in one equally lively; and she gave Charlotte credit for the arrangement. From the drawing-room they could distinguish nothing in the lane, and were indebted to Mr. Collins for the knowledge of what carriages went along, and how often especially Miss de Bourgh drove by in her phaeton, which he never failed coming to inform them of, though it happened almost every day. She not unfrequently stopped at the Parsonage, and had a few minutes’ conversation with Charlotte, but was scarcely ever prevailed upon to get out. Very few days passed in which Mr. Collins did not walk to Rosings, and not many in which his wife did not think it necessary to go likewise; and till Elizabeth recollected that there might be other family livings to be disposed of, she could not understand the sacrifice of so many hours. Now and then they were honoured with a call from her ladyship, and nothing escaped her observation that was passing in the room during these visits. She examined into their employments, looked at their work, and advised them to do it differently; found fault with the arrangement of the furniture; or detected the housemaid in negligence; and if she accepted any refreshment, seemed to do it only for the sake of finding out that Mrs. Collins’s joints of meat were too large for her family. Elizabeth soon perceived, that though this great lady was not in the commission of the peace of the county, she was a most active magistrate in her own parish, the minutest concerns of which were carried to her by Mr. Collins; and whenever any of the cottagers were disposed to be quarrelsome, discontented, or too poor, she sallied forth into the village to settle their differences, silence their complaints, and scold them into harmony and plenty. The entertainment of dining at Rosings was repeated about twice a week; and, allowing for the loss of Sir William, and there being only one card-table in the evening, every such entertainment was the counterpart of the first. Their other engagements were few, as the style of living in the neighbourhood in general was beyond Mr. Collins’s reach. This, however, was no evil to Elizabeth, and upon the whole she spent her time comfortably enough; there were half-hours of pleasant conversation with Charlotte, and the weather was so fine for the time of year that she had often great enjoyment out of doors. Her favourite walk, and where she frequently went while the others were calling on Lady Catherine, was along the open grove which edged that side of the park, where there was a nice sheltered path, which no one seemed to value but herself, and where she felt beyond the reach of Lady Catherine’s curiosity. In this quiet way, the first fortnight of her visit soon passed away. Easter was approaching, and the week preceding it was to bring an addition to the family at Rosings, which in so small a circle must be important. Elizabeth had heard soon after her arrival that Mr. Darcy was expected there in the course of a few weeks, and though there were not many of her acquaintances whom she did not prefer, his coming would furnish one comparatively new to look at in their Rosings parties, and she might be amused in seeing how hopeless Miss Bingley’s designs on him were, by his behaviour to his cousin, for whom he was evidently destined by Lady Catherine, who talked of his coming with the greatest satisfaction, spoke of him in terms of the highest admiration, and seemed almost angry to find that he had already been frequently seen by Miss Lucas and herself. His arrival was soon known at the Parsonage; for Mr. Collins was walking the whole morning within view of the lodges opening into Hunsford Lane, in order to have the earliest assurance of it, and after making his bow as the carriage turned into the Park, hurried home with the great intelligence. On the following morning he hastened to Rosings to pay his respects. There were two nephews of Lady Catherine to require them, for Mr. Darcy had brought with him a Colonel Fitzwilliam, the younger son of his uncle Lord ——, and, to the great surprise of all the party, when Mr. Collins returned, the gentlemen accompanied him. Charlotte had seen them from her husband’s room, crossing the road, and immediately running into the other, told the girls what an honour they might expect, adding: “I may thank you, Eliza, for this piece of civility. Mr. Darcy would never have come so soon to wait upon me.” Elizabeth had scarcely time to disclaim all right to the compliment, before their approach was announced by the door-bell, and shortly afterwards the three gentlemen entered the room. Colonel Fitzwilliam, who led the way, was about thirty, not handsome, but in person and address most truly the gentleman. Mr. Darcy looked just as he had been used to look in Hertfordshire—paid his compliments, with his usual reserve, to Mrs. Collins, and whatever might be his feelings toward her friend, met her with every appearance of composure. Elizabeth merely curtseyed to him without saying a word. Colonel Fitzwilliam entered into conversation directly with the readiness and ease of a well-bred man, and talked very pleasantly; but his cousin, after having addressed a slight observation on the house and garden to Mrs. Collins, sat for some time without speaking to anybody. At length, however, his civility was so far awakened as to enquire of Elizabeth after the health of her family. She answered him in the usual way, and after a moment’s pause, added: “My eldest sister has been in town these three months. Have you never happened to see her there?” She was perfectly sensible that he never had; but she wished to see whether he would betray any consciousness of what had passed between the Bingleys and Jane, and she thought he looked a little confused as he answered that he had never been so fortunate as to meet Miss Bennet. The subject was pursued no farther, and the gentlemen soon afterwards went away. Chapter 31 Colonel Fitzwilliam’s manners were very much admired at the Parsonage, and the ladies all felt that he must add considerably to the pleasures of their engagements at Rosings. It was some days, however, before they received any invitation thither—for while there were visitors in the house, they could not be necessary; and it was not till Easter-day, almost a week after the gentlemen’s arrival, that they were honoured by such an attention, and then they were merely asked on leaving church to come there in the evening. For the last week they had seen very little of Lady Catherine or her daughter. Colonel Fitzwilliam had called at the Parsonage more than once during the time, but Mr. Darcy they had seen only at church. The invitation was accepted of course, and at a proper hour they joined the party in Lady Catherine’s drawing-room. Her ladyship received them civilly, but it was plain that their company was by no means so acceptable as when she could get nobody else; and she was, in fact, almost engrossed by her nephews, speaking to them, especially to Darcy, much more than to any other person in the room. Colonel Fitzwilliam seemed really glad to see them; anything was a welcome relief to him at Rosings; and Mrs. Collins’s pretty friend had moreover caught his fancy very much. He now seated himself by her, and talked so agreeably of Kent and Hertfordshire, of travelling and staying at home, of new books and music, that Elizabeth had never been half so well entertained in that room before; and they conversed with so much spirit and flow, as to draw the attention of Lady Catherine herself, as well as of Mr. Darcy. _His_ eyes had been soon and repeatedly turned towards them with a look of curiosity; and that her ladyship, after a while, shared the feeling, was more openly acknowledged, for she did not scruple to call out: “What is that you are saying, Fitzwilliam? What is it you are talking of? What are you telling Miss Bennet? Let me hear what it is.” “We are speaking of music, madam,” said he, when no longer able to avoid a reply. “Of music! Then pray speak aloud. It is of all subjects my delight. I must have my share in the conversation if you are speaking of music. There are few people in England, I suppose, who have more true enjoyment of music than myself, or a better natural taste. If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient. And so would Anne, if her health had allowed her to apply. I am confident that she would have performed delightfully. How does Georgiana get on, Darcy?” Mr. Darcy spoke with affectionate praise of his sister’s proficiency. “I am very glad to hear such a good account of her,” said Lady Catherine; “and pray tell her from me, that she cannot expect to excel if she does not practice a good deal.” “I assure you, madam,” he replied, “that she does not need such advice. She practises very constantly.” “So much the better. It cannot be done too much; and when I next write to her, I shall charge her not to neglect it on any account. I often tell young ladies that no excellence in music is to be acquired without constant practice. I have told Miss Bennet several times, that she will never play really well unless she practises more; and though Mrs. Collins has no instrument, she is very welcome, as I have often told her, to come to Rosings every day, and play on the pianoforte in Mrs. Jenkinson’s room. She would be in nobody’s way, you know, in that part of the house.” Mr. Darcy looked a little ashamed of his aunt’s ill-breeding, and made no answer. When coffee was over, Colonel Fitzwilliam reminded Elizabeth of having promised to play to him; and she sat down directly to the instrument. He drew a chair near her. Lady Catherine listened to half a song, and then talked, as before, to her other nephew; till the latter walked away from her, and making with his usual deliberation towards the pianoforte stationed himself so as to command a full view of the fair performer’s countenance. Elizabeth saw what he was doing, and at the first convenient pause, turned to him with an arch smile, and said: “You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state to hear me? I will not be alarmed though your sister _does_ play so well. There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” “I shall not say you are mistaken,” he replied, “because you could not really believe me to entertain any design of alarming you; and I have had the pleasure of your acquaintance long enough to know that you find great enjoyment in occasionally professing opinions which in fact are not your own.” Elizabeth laughed heartily at this picture of herself, and said to Colonel Fitzwilliam, “Your cousin will give you a very pretty notion of me, and teach you not to believe a word I say. I am particularly unlucky in meeting with a person so able to expose my real character, in a part of the world where I had hoped to pass myself off with some degree of credit. Indeed, Mr. Darcy, it is very ungenerous in you to mention all that you knew to my disadvantage in Hertfordshire—and, give me leave to say, very impolitic too—for it is provoking me to retaliate, and such things may come out as will shock your relations to hear.” “I am not afraid of you,” said he, smilingly. “Pray let me hear what you have to accuse him of,” cried Colonel Fitzwilliam. “I should like to know how he behaves among strangers.” “You shall hear then—but prepare yourself for something very dreadful. The first time of my ever seeing him in Hertfordshire, you must know, was at a ball—and at this ball, what do you think he did? He danced only four dances, though gentlemen were scarce; and, to my certain knowledge, more than one young lady was sitting down in want of a partner. Mr. Darcy, you cannot deny the fact.” “I had not at that time the honour of knowing any lady in the assembly beyond my own party.” “True; and nobody can ever be introduced in a ball-room. Well, Colonel Fitzwilliam, what do I play next? My fingers wait your orders.” “Perhaps,” said Darcy, “I should have judged better, had I sought an introduction; but I am ill-qualified to recommend myself to strangers.” “Shall we ask your cousin the reason of this?” said Elizabeth, still addressing Colonel Fitzwilliam. “Shall we ask him why a man of sense and education, and who has lived in the world, is ill qualified to recommend himself to strangers?” “I can answer your question,” said Fitzwilliam, “without applying to him. It is because he will not give himself the trouble.” “I certainly have not the talent which some people possess,” said Darcy, “of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done.” “My fingers,” said Elizabeth, “do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women’s do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault—because I will not take the trouble of practising. It is not that I do not believe _my_ fingers as capable as any other woman’s of superior execution.” Darcy smiled and said, “You are perfectly right. You have employed your time much better. No one admitted to the privilege of hearing you can think anything wanting. We neither of us perform to strangers.” Here they were interrupted by Lady Catherine, who called out to know what they were talking of. Elizabeth immediately began playing again. Lady Catherine approached, and, after listening for a few minutes, said to Darcy: “Miss Bennet would not play at all amiss if she practised more, and could have the advantage of a London master. She has a very good notion of fingering, though her taste is not equal to Anne’s. Anne would have been a delightful performer, had her health allowed her to learn.” Elizabeth looked at Darcy to see how cordially he assented to his cousin’s praise; but neither at that moment nor at any other could she discern any symptom of love; and from the whole of his behaviour to Miss de Bourgh she derived this comfort for Miss Bingley, that he might have been just as likely to marry _her_, had she been his relation. Lady Catherine continued her remarks on Elizabeth’s performance, mixing with them many instructions on execution and taste. Elizabeth received them with all the forbearance of civility, and, at the request of the gentlemen, remained at the instrument till her ladyship’s carriage was ready to take them all home. Chapter 32 Elizabeth was sitting by herself the next morning, and writing to Jane while Mrs. Collins and Maria were gone on business into the village, when she was startled by a ring at the door, the certain signal of a visitor. As she had heard no carriage, she thought it not unlikely to be Lady Catherine, and under that apprehension was putting away her half-finished letter that she might escape all impertinent questions, when the door opened, and, to her very great surprise, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Darcy only, entered the room. He seemed astonished too on finding her alone, and apologised for his intrusion by letting her know that he had understood all the ladies were to be within. They then sat down, and when her enquiries after Rosings were made, seemed in danger of sinking into total silence. It was absolutely necessary, therefore, to think of something, and in this emergence recollecting _when_ she had seen him last in Hertfordshire, and feeling curious to know what he would say on the subject of their hasty departure, she observed: “How very suddenly you all quitted Netherfield last November, Mr. Darcy! It must have been a most agreeable surprise to Mr. Bingley to see you all after him so soon; for, if I recollect right, he went but the day before. He and his sisters were well, I hope, when you left London?” “Perfectly so, I thank you.” She found that she was to receive no other answer, and, after a short pause added: “I think I have understood that Mr. Bingley has not much idea of ever returning to Netherfield again?” “I have never heard him say so; but it is probable that he may spend very little of his time there in the future. He has many friends, and is at a time of life when friends and engagements are continually increasing.” “If he means to be but little at Netherfield, it would be better for the neighbourhood that he should give up the place entirely, for then we might possibly get a settled family there. But, perhaps, Mr. Bingley did not take the house so much for the convenience of the neighbourhood as for his own, and we must expect him to keep it or quit it on the same principle.” “I should not be surprised,” said Darcy, “if he were to give it up as soon as any eligible purchase offers.” Elizabeth made no answer. She was afraid of talking longer of his friend; and, having nothing else to say, was now determined to leave the trouble of finding a subject to him. He took the hint, and soon began with, “This seems a very comfortable house. Lady Catherine, I believe, did a great deal to it when Mr. Collins first came to Hunsford.” “I believe she did—and I am sure she could not have bestowed her kindness on a more grateful object.” “Mr. Collins appears to be very fortunate in his choice of a wife.” “Yes, indeed, his friends may well rejoice in his having met with one of the very few sensible women who would have accepted him, or have made him happy if they had. My friend has an excellent understanding—though I am not certain that I consider her marrying Mr. Collins as the wisest thing she ever did. She seems perfectly happy, however, and in a prudential light it is certainly a very good match for her.” “It must be very agreeable for her to be settled within so easy a distance of her own family and friends.” “An easy distance, do you call it? It is nearly fifty miles.” “And what is fifty miles of good road? Little more than half a day’s journey. Yes, I call it a very easy distance.” “I should never have considered the distance as one of the _advantages_ of the match,” cried Elizabeth. “I should never have said Mrs. Collins was settled _near_ her family.” “It is a proof of your own attachment to Hertfordshire. Anything beyond the very neighbourhood of Longbourn, I suppose, would appear far.” As he spoke there was a sort of smile which Elizabeth fancied she understood; he must be supposing her to be thinking of Jane and Netherfield, and she blushed as she answered: “I do not mean to say that a woman may not be settled too near her family. The far and the near must be relative, and depend on many varying circumstances. Where there is fortune to make the expenses of travelling unimportant, distance becomes no evil. But that is not the case _here_. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have a comfortable income, but not such a one as will allow of frequent journeys—and I am persuaded my friend would not call herself _near_ her family under less than _half_ the present distance.” Mr. Darcy drew his chair a little towards her, and said, “_You_ cannot have a right to such very strong local attachment. _You_ cannot have been always at Longbourn.” Elizabeth looked surprised. The gentleman experienced some change of feeling; he drew back his chair, took a newspaper from the table, and glancing over it, said, in a colder voice: “Are you pleased with Kent?” A short dialogue on the subject of the country ensued, on either side calm and concise—and soon put an end to by the entrance of Charlotte and her sister, just returned from her walk. The _tête-à-tête_ surprised them. Mr. Darcy related the mistake which had occasioned his intruding on Miss Bennet, and after sitting a few minutes longer without saying much to anybody, went away. “What can be the meaning of this?” said Charlotte, as soon as he was gone. “My dear, Eliza, he must be in love with you, or he would never have called on us in this familiar way.” But when Elizabeth told of his silence, it did not seem very likely, even to Charlotte’s wishes, to be the case; and after various conjectures, they could at last only suppose his visit to proceed from the difficulty of finding anything to do, which was the more probable from the time of year. All field sports were over. Within doors there was Lady Catherine, books, and a billiard-table, but gentlemen cannot always be within doors; and in the nearness of the Parsonage, or the pleasantness of the walk to it, or of the people who lived in it, the two cousins found a temptation from this period of walking thither almost every day. They called at various times of the morning, sometimes separately, sometimes together, and now and then accompanied by their aunt. It was plain to them all that Colonel Fitzwilliam came because he had pleasure in their society, a persuasion which of course recommended him still more; and Elizabeth was reminded by her own satisfaction in being with him, as well as by his evident admiration of her, of her former favourite George Wickham; and though, in comparing them, she saw there was less captivating softness in Colonel Fitzwilliam’s manners, she believed he might have the best informed mind. But why Mr. Darcy came so often to the Parsonage, it was more difficult to understand. It could not be for society, as he frequently sat there ten minutes together without opening his lips; and when he did speak, it seemed the effect of necessity rather than of choice—a sacrifice to propriety, not a pleasure to himself. He seldom appeared really animated. Mrs. Collins knew not what to make of him. Colonel Fitzwilliam’s occasionally laughing at his stupidity, proved that he was generally different, which her own knowledge of him could not have told her; and as she would liked to have believed this change the effect of love, and the object of that love her friend Eliza, she set herself seriously to work to find it out. She watched him whenever they were at Rosings, and whenever he came to Hunsford; but without much success. He certainly looked at her friend a great deal, but the expression of that look was disputable. It was an earnest, steadfast gaze, but she often doubted whether there were much admiration in it, and sometimes it seemed nothing but absence of mind. She had once or twice suggested to Elizabeth the possibility of his being partial to her, but Elizabeth always laughed at the idea; and Mrs. Collins did not think it right to press the subject, from the danger of raising expectations which might only end in disappointment; for in her opinion it admitted not of a doubt, that all her friend’s dislike would vanish, if she could suppose him to be in her power. In her kind schemes for Elizabeth, she sometimes planned her marrying Colonel Fitzwilliam. He was beyond comparison the most pleasant man; he certainly admired her, and his situation in life was most eligible; but, to counterbalance these advantages, Mr. Darcy had considerable patronage in the church, and his cousin could have none at all. Chapter 33 More than once did Elizabeth, in her ramble within the park, unexpectedly meet Mr. Darcy. She felt all the perverseness of the mischance that should bring him where no one else was brought, and, to prevent its ever happening again, took care to inform him at first that it was a favourite haunt of hers. How it could occur a second time, therefore, was very odd! Yet it did, and even a third. It seemed like wilful ill-nature, or a voluntary penance, for on these occasions it was not merely a few formal enquiries and an awkward pause and then away, but he actually thought it necessary to turn back and walk with her. He never said a great deal, nor did she give herself the trouble of talking or of listening much; but it struck her in the course of their third rencontre that he was asking some odd unconnected questions—about her pleasure in being at Hunsford, her love of solitary walks, and her opinion of Mr. and Mrs. Collins’s happiness; and that in speaking of Rosings and her not perfectly understanding the house, he seemed to expect that whenever she came into Kent again she would be staying _there_ too. His words seemed to imply it. Could he have Colonel Fitzwilliam in his thoughts? She supposed, if he meant anything, he must mean an allusion to what might arise in that quarter. It distressed her a little, and she was quite glad to find herself at the gate in the pales opposite the Parsonage. She was engaged one day as she walked, in perusing Jane’s last letter, and dwelling on some passages which proved that Jane had not written in spirits, when, instead of being again surprised by Mr. Darcy, she saw on looking up that Colonel Fitzwilliam was meeting her. Putting away the letter immediately and forcing a smile, she said: “I did not know before that you ever walked this way.” “I have been making the tour of the park,” he replied, “as I generally do every year, and intend to close it with a call at the Parsonage. Are you going much farther?” “No, I should have turned in a moment.” And accordingly she did turn, and they walked towards the Parsonage together. “Do you certainly leave Kent on Saturday?” said she. “Yes—if Darcy does not put it off again. But I am at his disposal. He arranges the business just as he pleases.” “And if not able to please himself in the arrangement, he has at least pleasure in the great power of choice. I do not know anybody who seems more to enjoy the power of doing what he likes than Mr. Darcy.” “He likes to have his own way very well,” replied Colonel Fitzwilliam. “But so we all do. It is only that he has better means of having it than many others, because he is rich, and many others are poor. I speak feelingly. A younger son, you know, must be inured to self-denial and dependence.” “In my opinion, the younger son of an earl can know very little of either. Now seriously, what have you ever known of self-denial and dependence? When have you been prevented by want of money from going wherever you chose, or procuring anything you had a fancy for?” “These are home questions—and perhaps I cannot say that I have experienced many hardships of that nature. But in matters of greater weight, I may suffer from want of money. Younger sons cannot marry where they like.” “Unless where they like women of fortune, which I think they very often do.” “Our habits of expense make us too dependent, and there are not many in my rank of life who can afford to marry without some attention to money.” “Is this,” thought Elizabeth, “meant for me?” and she coloured at the idea; but, recovering herself, said in a lively tone, “And pray, what is the usual price of an earl’s younger son? Unless the elder brother is very sickly, I suppose you would not ask above fifty thousand pounds.” He answered her in the same style, and the subject dropped. To interrupt a silence which might make him fancy her affected with what had passed, she soon afterwards said: “I imagine your cousin brought you down with him chiefly for the sake of having someone at his disposal. I wonder he does not marry, to secure a lasting convenience of that kind. But, perhaps, his sister does as well for the present, and, as she is under his sole care, he may do what he likes with her.” “No,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam, “that is an advantage which he must divide with me. I am joined with him in the guardianship of Miss Darcy.” “Are you indeed? And pray what sort of guardians do you make? Does your charge give you much trouble? Young ladies of her age are sometimes a little difficult to manage, and if she has the true Darcy spirit, she may like to have her own way.” As she spoke she observed him looking at her earnestly; and the manner in which he immediately asked her why she supposed Miss Darcy likely to give them any uneasiness, convinced her that she had somehow or other got pretty near the truth. She directly replied: “You need not be frightened. I never heard any harm of her; and I dare say she is one of the most tractable creatures in the world. She is a very great favourite with some ladies of my acquaintance, Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley. I think I have heard you say that you know them.” “I know them a little. Their brother is a pleasant gentlemanlike man—he is a great friend of Darcy’s.” “Oh! yes,” said Elizabeth drily; “Mr. Darcy is uncommonly kind to Mr. Bingley, and takes a prodigious deal of care of him.” “Care of him! Yes, I really believe Darcy _does_ take care of him in those points where he most wants care. From something that he told me in our journey hither, I have reason to think Bingley very much indebted to him. But I ought to beg his pardon, for I have no right to suppose that Bingley was the person meant. It was all conjecture.” “What is it you mean?” “It is a circumstance which Darcy could not wish to be generally known, because if it were to get round to the lady’s family, it would be an unpleasant thing.” “You may depend upon my not mentioning it.” “And remember that I have not much reason for supposing it to be Bingley. What he told me was merely this: that he congratulated himself on having lately saved a friend from the inconveniences of a most imprudent marriage, but without mentioning names or any other particulars, and I only suspected it to be Bingley from believing him the kind of young man to get into a scrape of that sort, and from knowing them to have been together the whole of last summer.” “Did Mr. Darcy give you reasons for this interference?” “I understood that there were some very strong objections against the lady.” “And what arts did he use to separate them?” “He did not talk to me of his own arts,” said Fitzwilliam, smiling. “He only told me what I have now told you.” Elizabeth made no answer, and walked on, her heart swelling with indignation. After watching her a little, Fitzwilliam asked her why she was so thoughtful. “I am thinking of what you have been telling me,” said she. “Your cousin’s conduct does not suit my feelings. Why was he to be the judge?” “You are rather disposed to call his interference officious?” “I do not see what right Mr. Darcy had to decide on the propriety of his friend’s inclination, or why, upon his own judgement alone, he was to determine and direct in what manner his friend was to be happy. But,” she continued, recollecting herself, “as we know none of the particulars, it is not fair to condemn him. It is not to be supposed that there was much affection in the case.” “That is not an unnatural surmise,” said Fitzwilliam, “but it is a lessening of the honour of my cousin’s triumph very sadly.” This was spoken jestingly; but it appeared to her so just a picture of Mr. Darcy, that she would not trust herself with an answer, and therefore, abruptly changing the conversation talked on indifferent matters until they reached the Parsonage. There, shut into her own room, as soon as their visitor left them, she could think without interruption of all that she had heard. It was not to be supposed that any other people could be meant than those with whom she was connected. There could not exist in the world _two_ men over whom Mr. Darcy could have such boundless influence. That he had been concerned in the measures taken to separate Bingley and Jane she had never doubted; but she had always attributed to Miss Bingley the principal design and arrangement of them. If his own vanity, however, did not mislead him, _he_ was the cause, his pride and caprice were the cause, of all that Jane had suffered, and still continued to suffer. He had ruined for a while every hope of happiness for the most affectionate, generous heart in the world; and no one could say how lasting an evil he might have inflicted. “There were some very strong objections against the lady,” were Colonel Fitzwilliam’s words; and those strong objections probably were, her having one uncle who was a country attorney, and another who was in business in London. “To Jane herself,” she exclaimed, “there could be no possibility of objection; all loveliness and goodness as she is!—her understanding excellent, her mind improved, and her manners captivating. Neither could anything be urged against my father, who, though with some peculiarities, has abilities Mr. Darcy himself need not disdain, and respectability which he will probably never reach.” When she thought of her mother, her confidence gave way a little; but she would not allow that any objections _there_ had material weight with Mr. Darcy, whose pride, she was convinced, would receive a deeper wound from the want of importance in his friend’s connections, than from their want of sense; and she was quite decided, at last, that he had been partly governed by this worst kind of pride, and partly by the wish of retaining Mr. Bingley for his sister. The agitation and tears which the subject occasioned, brought on a headache; and it grew so much worse towards the evening, that, added to her unwillingness to see Mr. Darcy, it determined her not to attend her cousins to Rosings, where they were engaged to drink tea. Mrs. Collins, seeing that she was really unwell, did not press her to go and as much as possible prevented her husband from pressing her; but Mr. Collins could not conceal his apprehension of Lady Catherine’s being rather displeased by her staying at home. Chapter 34 When they were gone, Elizabeth, as if intending to exasperate herself as much as possible against Mr. Darcy, chose for her employment the examination of all the letters which Jane had written to her since her being in Kent. They contained no actual complaint, nor was there any revival of past occurrences, or any communication of present suffering. But in all, and in almost every line of each, there was a want of that cheerfulness which had been used to characterise her style, and which, proceeding from the serenity of a mind at ease with itself and kindly disposed towards everyone, had been scarcely ever clouded. Elizabeth noticed every sentence conveying the idea of uneasiness, with an attention which it had hardly received on the first perusal. Mr. Darcy’s shameful boast of what misery he had been able to inflict, gave her a keener sense of her sister’s sufferings. It was some consolation to think that his visit to Rosings was to end on the day after the next—and, a still greater, that in less than a fortnight she should herself be with Jane again, and enabled to contribute to the recovery of her spirits, by all that affection could do. She could not think of Darcy’s leaving Kent without remembering that his cousin was to go with him; but Colonel Fitzwilliam had made it clear that he had no intentions at all, and agreeable as he was, she did not mean to be unhappy about him. While settling this point, she was suddenly roused by the sound of the door-bell, and her spirits were a little fluttered by the idea of its being Colonel Fitzwilliam himself, who had once before called late in the evening, and might now come to enquire particularly after her. But this idea was soon banished, and her spirits were very differently affected, when, to her utter amazement, she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room. In an hurried manner he immediately began an enquiry after her health, imputing his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better. She answered him with cold civility. He sat down for a few moments, and then getting up, walked about the room. Elizabeth was surprised, but said not a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began: “In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient encouragement; and the avowal of all that he felt, and had long felt for her, immediately followed. He spoke well; but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed; and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit. In spite of her deeply-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man’s affection, and though her intentions did not vary for an instant, she was at first sorry for the pain he was to receive; till, roused to resentment by his subsequent language, she lost all compassion in anger. She tried, however, to compose herself to answer him with patience, when he should have done. He concluded with representing to her the strength of that attachment which, in spite of all his endeavours, he had found impossible to conquer; and with expressing his hope that it would now be rewarded by her acceptance of his hand. As he said this, she could easily see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer. He _spoke_ of apprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real security. Such a circumstance could only exasperate farther, and, when he ceased, the colour rose into her cheeks, and she said: “In such cases as this, it is, I believe, the established mode to express a sense of obligation for the sentiments avowed, however unequally they may be returned. It is natural that obligation should be felt, and if I could _feel_ gratitude, I would now thank you. But I cannot—I have never desired your good opinion, and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly. I am sorry to have occasioned pain to anyone. It has been most unconsciously done, however, and I hope will be of short duration. The feelings which, you tell me, have long prevented the acknowledgment of your regard, can have little difficulty in overcoming it after this explanation.” Mr. Darcy, who was leaning against the mantelpiece with his eyes fixed on her face, seemed to catch her words with no less resentment than surprise. His complexion became pale with anger, and the disturbance of his mind was visible in every feature. He was struggling for the appearance of composure, and would not open his lips till he believed himself to have attained it. The pause was to Elizabeth’s feelings dreadful. At length, with a voice of forced calmness, he said: “And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of expecting! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so little _endeavour_ at civility, I am thus rejected. But it is of small importance.” “I might as well enquire,” replied she, “why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character? Was not this some excuse for incivility, if I _was_ uncivil? But I have other provocations. You know I have. Had not my feelings decided against you—had they been indifferent, or had they even been favourable, do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?” As she pronounced these words, Mr. Darcy changed colour; but the emotion was short, and he listened without attempting to interrupt her while she continued: “I have every reason in the world to think ill of you. No motive can excuse the unjust and ungenerous part you acted _there_. You dare not, you cannot deny, that you have been the principal, if not the only means of dividing them from each other—of exposing one to the censure of the world for caprice and instability, and the other to its derision for disappointed hopes, and involving them both in misery of the acutest kind.” She paused, and saw with no slight indignation that he was listening with an air which proved him wholly unmoved by any feeling of remorse. He even looked at her with a smile of affected incredulity. “Can you deny that you have done it?” she repeated. With assumed tranquillity he then replied: “I have no wish of denying that I did everything in my power to separate my friend from your sister, or that I rejoice in my success. Towards _him_ I have been kinder than towards myself.” Elizabeth disdained the appearance of noticing this civil reflection, but its meaning did not escape, nor was it likely to conciliate her. “But it is not merely this affair,” she continued, “on which my dislike is founded. Long before it had taken place my opinion of you was decided. Your character was unfolded in the recital which I received many months ago from Mr. Wickham. On this subject, what can you have to say? In what imaginary act of friendship can you here defend yourself? or under what misrepresentation can you here impose upon others?” “You take an eager interest in that gentleman’s concerns,” said Darcy, in a less tranquil tone, and with a heightened colour. “Who that knows what his misfortunes have been, can help feeling an interest in him?” “His misfortunes!” repeated Darcy contemptuously; “yes, his misfortunes have been great indeed.” “And of your infliction,” cried Elizabeth with energy. “You have reduced him to his present state of poverty—comparative poverty. You have withheld the advantages which you must know to have been designed for him. You have deprived the best years of his life of that independence which was no less his due than his desert. You have done all this! and yet you can treat the mention of his misfortune with contempt and ridicule.” “And this,” cried Darcy, as he walked with quick steps across the room, “is your opinion of me! This is the estimation in which you hold me! I thank you for explaining it so fully. My faults, according to this calculation, are heavy indeed! But perhaps,” added he, stopping in his walk, and turning towards her, “these offenses might have been overlooked, had not your pride been hurt by my honest confession of the scruples that had long prevented my forming any serious design. These bitter accusations might have been suppressed, had I, with greater policy, concealed my struggles, and flattered you into the belief of my being impelled by unqualified, unalloyed inclination; by reason, by reflection, by everything. But disguise of every sort is my abhorrence. Nor am I ashamed of the feelings I related. They were natural and just. Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections?—to congratulate myself on the hope of relations, whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?” Elizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment; yet she tried to the utmost to speak with composure when she said: “You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner.” She saw him start at this, but he said nothing, and she continued: “You could not have made the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it.” Again his astonishment was obvious; and he looked at her with an expression of mingled incredulity and mortification. She went on: “From the very beginning—from the first moment, I may almost say—of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.” “You have said quite enough, madam. I perfectly comprehend your feelings, and have now only to be ashamed of what my own have been. Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.” And with these words he hastily left the room, and Elizabeth heard him the next moment open the front door and quit the house. The tumult of her mind, was now painfully great. She knew not how to support herself, and from actual weakness sat down and cried for half-an-hour. Her astonishment, as she reflected on what had passed, was increased by every review of it. That she should receive an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy! That he should have been in love with her for so many months! So much in love as to wish to marry her in spite of all the objections which had made him prevent his friend’s marrying her sister, and which must appear at least with equal force in his own case—was almost incredible! It was gratifying to have inspired unconsciously so strong an affection. But his pride, his abominable pride—his shameless avowal of what he had done with respect to Jane—his unpardonable assurance in acknowledging, though he could not justify it, and the unfeeling manner in which he had mentioned Mr. Wickham, his cruelty towards whom he had not attempted to deny, soon overcame the pity which the consideration of his attachment had for a moment excited. She continued in very agitated reflections till the sound of Lady Catherine’s carriage made her feel how unequal she was to encounter Charlotte’s observation, and hurried her away to her room. Chapter 35 Elizabeth awoke the next morning to the same thoughts and meditations which had at length closed her eyes. She could not yet recover from the surprise of what had happened; it was impossible to think of anything else; and, totally indisposed for employment, she resolved, soon after breakfast, to indulge herself in air and exercise. She was proceeding directly to her favourite walk, when the recollection of Mr. Darcy’s sometimes coming there stopped her, and instead of entering the park, she turned up the lane, which led farther from the turnpike-road. The park paling was still the boundary on one side, and she soon passed one of the gates into the ground. After walking two or three times along that part of the lane, she was tempted, by the pleasantness of the morning, to stop at the gates and look into the park. The five weeks which she had now passed in Kent had made a great difference in the country, and every day was adding to the verdure of the early trees. She was on the point of continuing her walk, when she caught a glimpse of a gentleman within the sort of grove which edged the park; he was moving that way; and, fearful of its being Mr. Darcy, she was directly retreating. But the person who advanced was now near enough to see her, and stepping forward with eagerness, pronounced her name. She had turned away; but on hearing herself called, though in a voice which proved it to be Mr. Darcy, she moved again towards the gate. He had by that time reached it also, and, holding out a letter, which she instinctively took, said, with a look of haughty composure, “I have been walking in the grove some time in the hope of meeting you. Will you do me the honour of reading that letter?” And then, with a slight bow, turned again into the plantation, and was soon out of sight. With no expectation of pleasure, but with the strongest curiosity, Elizabeth opened the letter, and, to her still increasing wonder, perceived an envelope containing two sheets of letter-paper, written quite through, in a very close hand. The envelope itself was likewise full. Pursuing her way along the lane, she then began it. It was dated from Rosings, at eight o’clock in the morning, and was as follows:— “Be not alarmed, madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments or renewal of those offers which were last night so disgusting to you. I write without any intention of paining you, or humbling myself, by dwelling on wishes which, for the happiness of both, cannot be too soon forgotten; and the effort which the formation and the perusal of this letter must occasion, should have been spared, had not my character required it to be written and read. You must, therefore, pardon the freedom with which I demand your attention; your feelings, I know, will bestow it unwillingly, but I demand it of your justice. “Two offenses of a very different nature, and by no means of equal magnitude, you last night laid to my charge. The first mentioned was, that, regardless of the sentiments of either, I had detached Mr. Bingley from your sister, and the other, that I had, in defiance of various claims, in defiance of honour and humanity, ruined the immediate prosperity and blasted the prospects of Mr. Wickham. Wilfully and wantonly to have thrown off the companion of my youth, the acknowledged favourite of my father, a young man who had scarcely any other dependence than on our patronage, and who had been brought up to expect its exertion, would be a depravity, to which the separation of two young persons, whose affection could be the growth of only a few weeks, could bear no comparison. But from the severity of that blame which was last night so liberally bestowed, respecting each circumstance, I shall hope to be in the future secured, when the following account of my actions and their motives has been read. If, in the explanation of them, which is due to myself, I am under the necessity of relating feelings which may be offensive to yours, I can only say that I am sorry. The necessity must be obeyed, and further apology would be absurd. “I had not been long in Hertfordshire, before I saw, in common with others, that Bingley preferred your elder sister to any other young woman in the country. But it was not till the evening of the dance at Netherfield that I had any apprehension of his feeling a serious attachment. I had often seen him in love before. At that ball, while I had the honour of dancing with you, I was first made acquainted, by Sir William Lucas’s accidental information, that Bingley’s attentions to your sister had given rise to a general expectation of their marriage. He spoke of it as a certain event, of which the time alone could be undecided. From that moment I observed my friend’s behaviour attentively; and I could then perceive that his partiality for Miss Bennet was beyond what I had ever witnessed in him. Your sister I also watched. Her look and manners were open, cheerful, and engaging as ever, but without any symptom of peculiar regard, and I remained convinced from the evening’s scrutiny, that though she received his attentions with pleasure, she did not invite them by any participation of sentiment. If _you_ have not been mistaken here, _I_ must have been in error. Your superior knowledge of your sister must make the latter probable. If it be so, if I have been misled by such error to inflict pain on her, your resentment has not been unreasonable. But I shall not scruple to assert, that the serenity of your sister’s countenance and air was such as might have given the most acute observer a conviction that, however amiable her temper, her heart was not likely to be easily touched. That I was desirous of believing her indifferent is certain—but I will venture to say that my investigation and decisions are not usually influenced by my hopes or fears. I did not believe her to be indifferent because I wished it; I believed it on impartial conviction, as truly as I wished it in reason. My objections to the marriage were not merely those which I last night acknowledged to have required the utmost force of passion to put aside, in my own case; the want of connection could not be so great an evil to my friend as to me. But there were other causes of repugnance; causes which, though still existing, and existing to an equal degree in both instances, I had myself endeavoured to forget, because they were not immediately before me. These causes must be stated, though briefly. The situation of your mother’s family, though objectionable, was nothing in comparison to that total want of propriety so frequently, so almost uniformly betrayed by herself, by your three younger sisters, and occasionally even by your father. Pardon me. It pains me to offend you. But amidst your concern for the defects of your nearest relations, and your displeasure at this representation of them, let it give you consolation to consider that, to have conducted yourselves so as to avoid any share of the like censure, is praise no less generally bestowed on you and your elder sister, than it is honourable to the sense and disposition of both. I will only say farther that from what passed that evening, my opinion of all parties was confirmed, and every inducement heightened which could have led me before, to preserve my friend from what I esteemed a most unhappy connection. He left Netherfield for London, on the day following, as you, I am certain, remember, with the design of soon returning. “The part which I acted is now to be explained. His sisters’ uneasiness had been equally excited with my own; our coincidence of feeling was soon discovered, and, alike sensible that no time was to be lost in detaching their brother, we shortly resolved on joining him directly in London. We accordingly went—and there I readily engaged in the office of pointing out to my friend the certain evils of such a choice. I described, and enforced them earnestly. But, however this remonstrance might have staggered or delayed his determination, I do not suppose that it would ultimately have prevented the marriage, had it not been seconded by the assurance that I hesitated not in giving, of your sister’s indifference. He had before believed her to return his affection with sincere, if not with equal regard. But Bingley has great natural modesty, with a stronger dependence on my judgement than on his own. To convince him, therefore, that he had deceived himself, was no very difficult point. To persuade him against returning into Hertfordshire, when that conviction had been given, was scarcely the work of a moment. I cannot blame myself for having done thus much. There is but one part of my conduct in the whole affair on which I do not reflect with satisfaction; it is that I condescended to adopt the measures of art so far as to conceal from him your sister’s being in town. I knew it myself, as it was known to Miss Bingley; but her brother is even yet ignorant of it. That they might have met without ill consequence is perhaps probable; but his regard did not appear to me enough extinguished for him to see her without some danger. Perhaps this concealment, this disguise was beneath me; it is done, however, and it was done for the best. On this subject I have nothing more to say, no other apology to offer. If I have wounded your sister’s feelings, it was unknowingly done and though the motives which governed me may to you very naturally appear insufficient, I have not yet learnt to condemn them. “With respect to that other, more weighty accusation, of having injured Mr. Wickham, I can only refute it by laying before you the whole of his connection with my family. Of what he has _particularly_ accused me I am ignorant; but of the truth of what I shall relate, I can summon more than one witness of undoubted veracity. “Mr. Wickham is the son of a very respectable man, who had for many years the management of all the Pemberley estates, and whose good conduct in the discharge of his trust naturally inclined my father to be of service to him; and on George Wickham, who was his godson, his kindness was therefore liberally bestowed. My father supported him at school, and afterwards at Cambridge—most important assistance, as his own father, always poor from the extravagance of his wife, would have been unable to give him a gentleman’s education. My father was not only fond of this young man’s society, whose manners were always engaging; he had also the highest opinion of him, and hoping the church would be his profession, intended to provide for him in it. As for myself, it is many, many years since I first began to think of him in a very different manner. The vicious propensities—the want of principle, which he was careful to guard from the knowledge of his best friend, could not escape the observation of a young man of nearly the same age with himself, and who had opportunities of seeing him in unguarded moments, which Mr. Darcy could not have. Here again I shall give you pain—to what degree you only can tell. But whatever may be the sentiments which Mr. Wickham has created, a suspicion of their nature shall not prevent me from unfolding his real character—it adds even another motive. “My excellent father died about five years ago; and his attachment to Mr. Wickham was to the last so steady, that in his will he particularly recommended it to me, to promote his advancement in the best manner that his profession might allow—and if he took orders, desired that a valuable family living might be his as soon as it became vacant. There was also a legacy of one thousand pounds. His own father did not long survive mine, and within half a year from these events, Mr. Wickham wrote to inform me that, having finally resolved against taking orders, he hoped I should not think it unreasonable for him to expect some more immediate pecuniary advantage, in lieu of the preferment, by which he could not be benefited. He had some intention, he added, of studying law, and I must be aware that the interest of one thousand pounds would be a very insufficient support therein. I rather wished, than believed him to be sincere; but, at any rate, was perfectly ready to accede to his proposal. I knew that Mr. Wickham ought not to be a clergyman; the business was therefore soon settled—he resigned all claim to assistance in the church, were it possible that he could ever be in a situation to receive it, and accepted in return three thousand pounds. All connection between us seemed now dissolved. I thought too ill of him to invite him to Pemberley, or admit his society in town. In town I believe he chiefly lived, but his studying the law was a mere pretence, and being now free from all restraint, his life was a life of idleness and dissipation. For about three years I heard little of him; but on the decease of the incumbent of the living which had been designed for him, he applied to me again by letter for the presentation. His circumstances, he assured me, and I had no difficulty in believing it, were exceedingly bad. He had found the law a most unprofitable study, and was now absolutely resolved on being ordained, if I would present him to the living in question—of which he trusted there could be little doubt, as he was well assured that I had no other person to provide for, and I could not have forgotten my revered father’s intentions. You will hardly blame me for refusing to comply with this entreaty, or for resisting every repetition to it. His resentment was in proportion to the distress of his circumstances—and he was doubtless as violent in his abuse of me to others as in his reproaches to myself. After this period every appearance of acquaintance was dropped. How he lived I know not. But last summer he was again most painfully obtruded on my notice. “I must now mention a circumstance which I would wish to forget myself, and which no obligation less than the present should induce me to unfold to any human being. Having said thus much, I feel no doubt of your secrecy. My sister, who is more than ten years my junior, was left to the guardianship of my mother’s nephew, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and myself. About a year ago, she was taken from school, and an establishment formed for her in London; and last summer she went with the lady who presided over it, to Ramsgate; and thither also went Mr. Wickham, undoubtedly by design; for there proved to have been a prior acquaintance between him and Mrs. Younge, in whose character we were most unhappily deceived; and by her connivance and aid, he so far recommended himself to Georgiana, whose affectionate heart retained a strong impression of his kindness to her as a child, that she was persuaded to believe herself in love, and to consent to an elopement. She was then but fifteen, which must be her excuse; and after stating her imprudence, I am happy to add, that I owed the knowledge of it to herself. I joined them unexpectedly a day or two before the intended elopement, and then Georgiana, unable to support the idea of grieving and offending a brother whom she almost looked up to as a father, acknowledged the whole to me. You may imagine what I felt and how I acted. Regard for my sister’s credit and feelings prevented any public exposure; but I wrote to Mr. Wickham, who left the place immediately, and Mrs. Younge was of course removed from her charge. Mr. Wickham’s chief object was unquestionably my sister’s fortune, which is thirty thousand pounds; but I cannot help supposing that the hope of revenging himself on me was a strong inducement. His revenge would have been complete indeed. “This, madam, is a faithful narrative of every event in which we have been concerned together; and if you do not absolutely reject it as false, you will, I hope, acquit me henceforth of cruelty towards Mr. Wickham. I know not in what manner, under what form of falsehood he had imposed on you; but his success is not perhaps to be wondered at. Ignorant as you previously were of everything concerning either, detection could not be in your power, and suspicion certainly not in your inclination. “You may possibly wonder why all this was not told you last night; but I was not then master enough of myself to know what could or ought to be revealed. For the truth of everything here related, I can appeal more particularly to the testimony of Colonel Fitzwilliam, who, from our near relationship and constant intimacy, and, still more, as one of the executors of my father’s will, has been unavoidably acquainted with every particular of these transactions. If your abhorrence of _me_ should make _my_ assertions valueless, you cannot be prevented by the same cause from confiding in my cousin; and that there may be the possibility of consulting him, I shall endeavour to find some opportunity of putting this letter in your hands in the course of the morning. I will only add, God bless you. “FITZWILLIAM DARCY” Chapter 36 If Elizabeth, when Mr. Darcy gave her the letter, did not expect it to contain a renewal of his offers, she had formed no expectation at all of its contents. But such as they were, it may well be supposed how eagerly she went through them, and what a contrariety of emotion they excited. Her feelings as she read were scarcely to be defined. With amazement did she first understand that he believed any apology to be in his power; and steadfastly was she persuaded, that he could have no explanation to give, which a just sense of shame would not conceal. With a strong prejudice against everything he might say, she began his account of what had happened at Netherfield. She read with an eagerness which hardly left her power of comprehension, and from impatience of knowing what the next sentence might bring, was incapable of attending to the sense of the one before her eyes. His belief of her sister’s insensibility she instantly resolved to be false; and his account of the real, the worst objections to the match, made her too angry to have any wish of doing him justice. He expressed no regret for what he had done which satisfied her; his style was not penitent, but haughty. It was all pride and insolence. But when this subject was succeeded by his account of Mr. Wickham—when she read with somewhat clearer attention a relation of events which, if true, must overthrow every cherished opinion of his worth, and which bore so alarming an affinity to his own history of himself—her feelings were yet more acutely painful and more difficult of definition. Astonishment, apprehension, and even horror, oppressed her. She wished to discredit it entirely, repeatedly exclaiming, “This must be false! This cannot be! This must be the grossest falsehood!”—and when she had gone through the whole letter, though scarcely knowing anything of the last page or two, put it hastily away, protesting that she would not regard it, that she would never look in it again. In this perturbed state of mind, with thoughts that could rest on nothing, she walked on; but it would not do; in half a minute the letter was unfolded again, and collecting herself as well as she could, she again began the mortifying perusal of all that related to Wickham, and commanded herself so far as to examine the meaning of every sentence. The account of his connection with the Pemberley family was exactly what he had related himself; and the kindness of the late Mr. Darcy, though she had not before known its extent, agreed equally well with his own words. So far each recital confirmed the other; but when she came to the will, the difference was great. What Wickham had said of the living was fresh in her memory, and as she recalled his very words, it was impossible not to feel that there was gross duplicity on one side or the other; and, for a few moments, she flattered herself that her wishes did not err. But when she read and re-read with the closest attention, the particulars immediately following of Wickham’s resigning all pretensions to the living, of his receiving in lieu so considerable a sum as three thousand pounds, again was she forced to hesitate. She put down the letter, weighed every circumstance with what she meant to be impartiality—deliberated on the probability of each statement—but with little success. On both sides it was only assertion. Again she read on; but every line proved more clearly that the affair, which she had believed it impossible that any contrivance could so represent as to render Mr. Darcy’s conduct in it less than infamous, was capable of a turn which must make him entirely blameless throughout the whole. The extravagance and general profligacy which he scrupled not to lay at Mr. Wickham’s charge, exceedingly shocked her; the more so, as she could bring no proof of its injustice. She had never heard of him before his entrance into the ——shire Militia, in which he had engaged at the persuasion of the young man who, on meeting him accidentally in town, had there renewed a slight acquaintance. Of his former way of life nothing had been known in Hertfordshire but what he told himself. As to his real character, had information been in her power, she had never felt a wish of enquiring. His countenance, voice, and manner had established him at once in the possession of every virtue. She tried to recollect some instance of goodness, some distinguished trait of integrity or benevolence, that might rescue him from the attacks of Mr. Darcy; or at least, by the predominance of virtue, atone for those casual errors under which she would endeavour to class what Mr. Darcy had described as the idleness and vice of many years’ continuance. But no such recollection befriended her. She could see him instantly before her, in every charm of air and address; but she could remember no more substantial good than the general approbation of the neighbourhood, and the regard which his social powers had gained him in the mess. After pausing on this point a considerable while, she once more continued to read. But, alas! the story which followed, of his designs on Miss Darcy, received some confirmation from what had passed between Colonel Fitzwilliam and herself only the morning before; and at last she was referred for the truth of every particular to Colonel Fitzwilliam himself—from whom she had previously received the information of his near concern in all his cousin’s affairs, and whose character she had no reason to question. At one time she had almost resolved on applying to him, but the idea was checked by the awkwardness of the application, and at length wholly banished by the conviction that Mr. Darcy would never have hazarded such a proposal, if he had not been well assured of his cousin’s corroboration. She perfectly remembered everything that had passed in conversation between Wickham and herself, in their first evening at Mr. Phillips’s. Many of his expressions were still fresh in her memory. She was _now_ struck with the impropriety of such communications to a stranger, and wondered it had escaped her before. She saw the indelicacy of putting himself forward as he had done, and the inconsistency of his professions with his conduct. She remembered that he had boasted of having no fear of seeing Mr. Darcy—that Mr. Darcy might leave the country, but that _he_ should stand his ground; yet he had avoided the Netherfield ball the very next week. She remembered also that, till the Netherfield family had quitted the country, he had told his story to no one but herself; but that after their removal it had been everywhere discussed; that he had then no reserves, no scruples in sinking Mr. Darcy’s character, though he had assured her that respect for the father would always prevent his exposing the son. How differently did everything now appear in which he was concerned! His attentions to Miss King were now the consequence of views solely and hatefully mercenary; and the mediocrity of her fortune proved no longer the moderation of his wishes, but his eagerness to grasp at anything. His behaviour to herself could now have had no tolerable motive; he had either been deceived with regard to her fortune, or had been gratifying his vanity by encouraging the preference which she believed she had most incautiously shown. Every lingering struggle in his favour grew fainter and fainter; and in farther justification of Mr. Darcy, she could not but allow that Mr. Bingley, when questioned by Jane, had long ago asserted his blamelessness in the affair; that proud and repulsive as were his manners, she had never, in the whole course of their acquaintance—an acquaintance which had latterly brought them much together, and given her a sort of intimacy with his ways—seen anything that betrayed him to be unprincipled or unjust—anything that spoke him of irreligious or immoral habits; that among his own connections he was esteemed and valued—that even Wickham had allowed him merit as a brother, and that she had often heard him speak so affectionately of his sister as to prove him capable of some amiable feeling; that had his actions been what Mr. Wickham represented them, so gross a violation of everything right could hardly have been concealed from the world; and that friendship between a person capable of it, and such an amiable man as Mr. Bingley, was incomprehensible. She grew absolutely ashamed of herself. Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think without feeling she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd. “How despicably I have acted!” she cried; “I, who have prided myself on my discernment! I, who have valued myself on my abilities! who have often disdained the generous candour of my sister, and gratified my vanity in useless or blameable mistrust! How humiliating is this discovery! Yet, how just a humiliation! Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind! But vanity, not love, has been my folly. Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where either were concerned. Till this moment I never knew myself.” From herself to Jane—from Jane to Bingley, her thoughts were in a line which soon brought to her recollection that Mr. Darcy’s explanation _there_ had appeared very insufficient, and she read it again. Widely different was the effect of a second perusal. How could she deny that credit to his assertions in one instance, which she had been obliged to give in the other? He declared himself to be totally unsuspicious of her sister’s attachment; and she could not help remembering what Charlotte’s opinion had always been. Neither could she deny the justice of his description of Jane. She felt that Jane’s feelings, though fervent, were little displayed, and that there was a constant complacency in her air and manner not often united with great sensibility. When she came to that part of the letter in which her family were mentioned in terms of such mortifying, yet merited reproach, her sense of shame was severe. The justice of the charge struck her too forcibly for denial, and the circumstances to which he particularly alluded as having passed at the Netherfield ball, and as confirming all his first disapprobation, could not have made a stronger impression on his mind than on hers. The compliment to herself and her sister was not unfelt. It soothed, but it could not console her for the contempt which had thus been self-attracted by the rest of her family; and as she considered that Jane’s disappointment had in fact been the work of her nearest relations, and reflected how materially the credit of both must be hurt by such impropriety of conduct, she felt depressed beyond anything she had ever known before. After wandering along the lane for two hours, giving way to every variety of thought—re-considering events, determining probabilities, and reconciling herself, as well as she could, to a change so sudden and so important, fatigue, and a recollection of her long absence, made her at length return home; and she entered the house with the wish of appearing cheerful as usual, and the resolution of repressing such reflections as must make her unfit for conversation. She was immediately told that the two gentlemen from Rosings had each called during her absence; Mr. Darcy, only for a few minutes, to take leave—but that Colonel Fitzwilliam had been sitting with them at least an hour, hoping for her return, and almost resolving to walk after her till she could be found. Elizabeth could but just _affect_ concern in missing him; she really rejoiced at it. Colonel Fitzwilliam was no longer an object; she could think only of her letter. Chapter 37 The two gentlemen left Rosings the next morning, and Mr. Collins having been in waiting near the lodges, to make them his parting obeisance, was able to bring home the pleasing intelligence, of their appearing in very good health, and in as tolerable spirits as could be expected, after the melancholy scene so lately gone through at Rosings. To Rosings he then hastened, to console Lady Catherine and her daughter; and on his return brought back, with great satisfaction, a message from her ladyship, importing that she felt herself so dull as to make her very desirous of having them all to dine with her. Elizabeth could not see Lady Catherine without recollecting that, had she chosen it, she might by this time have been presented to her as her future niece; nor could she think, without a smile, of what her ladyship’s indignation would have been. “What would she have said? how would she have behaved?” were questions with which she amused herself. Their first subject was the diminution of the Rosings party. “I assure you, I feel it exceedingly,” said Lady Catherine; “I believe no one feels the loss of friends so much as I do. But I am particularly attached to these young men, and know them to be so much attached to me! They were excessively sorry to go! But so they always are. The dear Colonel rallied his spirits tolerably till just at last; but Darcy seemed to feel it most acutely, more, I think, than last year. His attachment to Rosings certainly increases.” Mr. Collins had a compliment, and an allusion to throw in here, which were kindly smiled on by the mother and daughter. Lady Catherine observed, after dinner, that Miss Bennet seemed out of spirits, and immediately accounting for it herself, by supposing that she did not like to go home again so soon, she added: “But if that is the case, you must write to your mother and beg that you may stay a little longer. Mrs. Collins will be very glad of your company, I am sure.” “I am much obliged to your ladyship for your kind invitation,” replied Elizabeth, “but it is not in my power to accept it. I must be in town next Saturday.” “Why, at that rate, you will have been here only six weeks. I expected you to stay two months. I told Mrs. Collins so before you came. There can be no occasion for your going so soon. Mrs. Bennet could certainly spare you for another fortnight.” “But my father cannot. He wrote last week to hurry my return.” “Oh! your father of course may spare you, if your mother can. Daughters are never of so much consequence to a father. And if you will stay another _month_ complete, it will be in my power to take one of you as far as London, for I am going there early in June, for a week; and as Dawson does not object to the barouche-box, there will be very good room for one of you—and indeed, if the weather should happen to be cool, I should not object to taking you both, as you are neither of you large.” “You are all kindness, madam; but I believe we must abide by our original plan.” Lady Catherine seemed resigned. “Mrs. Collins, you must send a servant with them. You know I always speak my mind, and I cannot bear the idea of two young women travelling post by themselves. It is highly improper. You must contrive to send somebody. I have the greatest dislike in the world to that sort of thing. Young women should always be properly guarded and attended, according to their situation in life. When my niece Georgiana went to Ramsgate last summer, I made a point of her having two men-servants go with her. Miss Darcy, the daughter of Mr. Darcy, of Pemberley, and Lady Anne, could not have appeared with propriety in a different manner. I am excessively attentive to all those things. You must send John with the young ladies, Mrs. Collins. I am glad it occurred to me to mention it; for it would really be discreditable to _you_ to let them go alone.” “My uncle is to send a servant for us.” “Oh! Your uncle! He keeps a man-servant, does he? I am very glad you have somebody who thinks of these things. Where shall you change horses? Oh! Bromley, of course. If you mention my name at the Bell, you will be attended to.” Lady Catherine had many other questions to ask respecting their journey, and as she did not answer them all herself, attention was necessary, which Elizabeth believed to be lucky for her; or, with a mind so occupied, she might have forgotten where she was. Reflection must be reserved for solitary hours; whenever she was alone, she gave way to it as the greatest relief; and not a day went by without a solitary walk, in which she might indulge in all the delight of unpleasant recollections. Mr. Darcy’s letter she was in a fair way of soon knowing by heart. She studied every sentence; and her feelings towards its writer were at times widely different. When she remembered the style of his address, she was still full of indignation; but when she considered how unjustly she had condemned and upbraided him, her anger was turned against herself; and his disappointed feelings became the object of compassion. His attachment excited gratitude, his general character respect; but she could not approve him; nor could she for a moment repent her refusal, or feel the slightest inclination ever to see him again. In her own past behaviour, there was a constant source of vexation and regret; and in the unhappy defects of her family, a subject of yet heavier chagrin. They were hopeless of remedy. Her father, contented with laughing at them, would never exert himself to restrain the wild giddiness of his youngest daughters; and her mother, with manners so far from right herself, was entirely insensible of the evil. Elizabeth had frequently united with Jane in an endeavour to check the imprudence of Catherine and Lydia; but while they were supported by their mother’s indulgence, what chance could there be of improvement? Catherine, weak-spirited, irritable, and completely under Lydia’s guidance, had been always affronted by their advice; and Lydia, self-willed and careless, would scarcely give them a hearing. They were ignorant, idle, and vain. While there was an officer in Meryton, they would flirt with him; and while Meryton was within a walk of Longbourn, they would be going there forever. Anxiety on Jane’s behalf was another prevailing concern; and Mr. Darcy’s explanation, by restoring Bingley to all her former good opinion, heightened the sense of what Jane had lost. His affection was proved to have been sincere, and his conduct cleared of all blame, unless any could attach to the implicitness of his confidence in his friend. How grievous then was the thought that, of a situation so desirable in every respect, so replete with advantage, so promising for happiness, Jane had been deprived, by the folly and indecorum of her own family! When to these recollections was added the development of Wickham’s character, it may be easily believed that the happy spirits which had seldom been depressed before, were now so much affected as to make it almost impossible for her to appear tolerably cheerful. Their engagements at Rosings were as frequent during the last week of her stay as they had been at first. The very last evening was spent there; and her ladyship again enquired minutely into the particulars of their journey, gave them directions as to the best method of packing, and was so urgent on the necessity of placing gowns in the only right way, that Maria thought herself obliged, on her return, to undo all the work of the morning, and pack her trunk afresh. When they parted, Lady Catherine, with great condescension, wished them a good journey, and invited them to come to Hunsford again next year; and Miss de Bourgh exerted herself so far as to curtsey and hold out her hand to both. Chapter 38 On Saturday morning Elizabeth and Mr. Collins met for breakfast a few minutes before the others appeared; and he took the opportunity of paying the parting civilities which he deemed indispensably necessary. “I know not, Miss Elizabeth,” said he, “whether Mrs. Collins has yet expressed her sense of your kindness in coming to us; but I am very certain you will not leave the house without receiving her thanks for it. The favour of your company has been much felt, I assure you. We know how little there is to tempt anyone to our humble abode. Our plain manner of living, our small rooms and few domestics, and the little we see of the world, must make Hunsford extremely dull to a young lady like yourself; but I hope you will believe us grateful for the condescension, and that we have done everything in our power to prevent your spending your time unpleasantly.” Elizabeth was eager with her thanks and assurances of happiness. She had spent six weeks with great enjoyment; and the pleasure of being with Charlotte, and the kind attentions she had received, must make _her_ feel the obliged. Mr. Collins was gratified, and with a more smiling solemnity replied: “It gives me great pleasure to hear that you have passed your time not disagreeably. We have certainly done our best; and most fortunately having it in our power to introduce you to very superior society, and, from our connection with Rosings, the frequent means of varying the humble home scene, I think we may flatter ourselves that your Hunsford visit cannot have been entirely irksome. Our situation with regard to Lady Catherine’s family is indeed the sort of extraordinary advantage and blessing which few can boast. You see on what a footing we are. You see how continually we are engaged there. In truth I must acknowledge that, with all the disadvantages of this humble parsonage, I should not think anyone abiding in it an object of compassion, while they are sharers of our intimacy at Rosings.” Words were insufficient for the elevation of his feelings; and he was obliged to walk about the room, while Elizabeth tried to unite civility and truth in a few short sentences. “You may, in fact, carry a very favourable report of us into Hertfordshire, my dear cousin. I flatter myself at least that you will be able to do so. Lady Catherine’s great attentions to Mrs. Collins you have been a daily witness of; and altogether I trust it does not appear that your friend has drawn an unfortunate—but on this point it will be as well to be silent. Only let me assure you, my dear Miss Elizabeth, that I can from my heart most cordially wish you equal felicity in marriage. My dear Charlotte and I have but one mind and one way of thinking. There is in everything a most remarkable resemblance of character and ideas between us. We seem to have been designed for each other.” Elizabeth could safely say that it was a great happiness where that was the case, and with equal sincerity could add, that she firmly believed and rejoiced in his domestic comforts. She was not sorry, however, to have the recital of them interrupted by the lady from whom they sprang. Poor Charlotte! it was melancholy to leave her to such society! But she had chosen it with her eyes open; and though evidently regretting that her visitors were to go, she did not seem to ask for compassion. Her home and her housekeeping, her parish and her poultry, and all their dependent concerns, had not yet lost their charms. At length the chaise arrived, the trunks were fastened on, the parcels placed within, and it was pronounced to be ready. After an affectionate parting between the friends, Elizabeth was attended to the carriage by Mr. Collins, and as they walked down the garden he was commissioning her with his best respects to all her family, not forgetting his thanks for the kindness he had received at Longbourn in the winter, and his compliments to Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, though unknown. He then handed her in, Maria followed, and the door was on the point of being closed, when he suddenly reminded them, with some consternation, that they had hitherto forgotten to leave any message for the ladies at Rosings. “But,” he added, “you will of course wish to have your humble respects delivered to them, with your grateful thanks for their kindness to you while you have been here.” Elizabeth made no objection; the door was then allowed to be shut, and the carriage drove off. “Good gracious!” cried Maria, after a few minutes’ silence, “it seems but a day or two since we first came! and yet how many things have happened!” “A great many indeed,” said her companion with a sigh. “We have dined nine times at Rosings, besides drinking tea there twice! How much I shall have to tell!” Elizabeth added privately, “And how much I shall have to conceal!” Their journey was performed without much conversation, or any alarm; and within four hours of their leaving Hunsford they reached Mr. Gardiner’s house, where they were to remain a few days. Jane looked well, and Elizabeth had little opportunity of studying her spirits, amidst the various engagements which the kindness of her aunt had reserved for them. But Jane was to go home with her, and at Longbourn there would be leisure enough for observation. It was not without an effort, meanwhile, that she could wait even for Longbourn, before she told her sister of Mr. Darcy’s proposals. To know that she had the power of revealing what would so exceedingly astonish Jane, and must, at the same time, so highly gratify whatever of her own vanity she had not yet been able to reason away, was such a temptation to openness as nothing could have conquered but the state of indecision in which she remained as to the extent of what she should communicate; and her fear, if she once entered on the subject, of being hurried into repeating something of Bingley which might only grieve her sister further. Chapter 39 It was the second week in May, in which the three young ladies set out together from Gracechurch Street for the town of ——, in Hertfordshire; and, as they drew near the appointed inn where Mr. Bennet’s carriage was to meet them, they quickly perceived, in token of the coachman’s punctuality, both Kitty and Lydia looking out of a dining-room up stairs. These two girls had been above an hour in the place, happily employed in visiting an opposite milliner, watching the sentinel on guard, and dressing a salad and cucumber. After welcoming their sisters, they triumphantly displayed a table set out with such cold meat as an inn larder usually affords, exclaiming, “Is not this nice? Is not this an agreeable surprise?” “And we mean to treat you all,” added Lydia, “but you must lend us the money, for we have just spent ours at the shop out there.” Then, showing her purchases—“Look here, I have bought this bonnet. I do not think it is very pretty; but I thought I might as well buy it as not. I shall pull it to pieces as soon as I get home, and see if I can make it up any better.” And when her sisters abused it as ugly, she added, with perfect unconcern, “Oh! but there were two or three much uglier in the shop; and when I have bought some prettier-coloured satin to trim it with fresh, I think it will be very tolerable. Besides, it will not much signify what one wears this summer, after the ——shire have left Meryton, and they are going in a fortnight.” “Are they indeed!” cried Elizabeth, with the greatest satisfaction. “They are going to be encamped near Brighton; and I do so want papa to take us all there for the summer! It would be such a delicious scheme; and I dare say would hardly cost anything at all. Mamma would like to go too of all things! Only think what a miserable summer else we shall have!” “Yes,” thought Elizabeth, “_that_ would be a delightful scheme indeed, and completely do for us at once. Good Heaven! Brighton, and a whole campful of soldiers, to us, who have been overset already by one poor regiment of militia, and the monthly balls of Meryton!” “Now I have got some news for you,” said Lydia, as they sat down at table. “What do you think? It is excellent news—capital news—and about a certain person we all like!” Jane and Elizabeth looked at each other, and the waiter was told he need not stay. Lydia laughed, and said: “Aye, that is just like your formality and discretion. You thought the waiter must not hear, as if he cared! I dare say he often hears worse things said than I am going to say. But he is an ugly fellow! I am glad he is gone. I never saw such a long chin in my life. Well, but now for my news; it is about dear Wickham; too good for the waiter, is it not? There is no danger of Wickham’s marrying Mary King. There’s for you! She is gone down to her uncle at Liverpool: gone to stay. Wickham is safe.” “And Mary King is safe!” added Elizabeth; “safe from a connection imprudent as to fortune.” “She is a great fool for going away, if she liked him.” “But I hope there is no strong attachment on either side,” said Jane. “I am sure there is not on _his_. I will answer for it, he never cared three straws about her—who _could_ about such a nasty little freckled thing?” Elizabeth was shocked to think that, however incapable of such coarseness of _expression_ herself, the coarseness of the _sentiment_ was little other than her own breast had harboured and fancied liberal! As soon as all had ate, and the elder ones paid, the carriage was ordered; and after some contrivance, the whole party, with all their boxes, work-bags, and parcels, and the unwelcome addition of Kitty’s and Lydia’s purchases, were seated in it. “How nicely we are all crammed in,” cried Lydia. “I am glad I bought my bonnet, if it is only for the fun of having another bandbox! Well, now let us be quite comfortable and snug, and talk and laugh all the way home. And in the first place, let us hear what has happened to you all since you went away. Have you seen any pleasant men? Have you had any flirting? I was in great hopes that one of you would have got a husband before you came back. Jane will be quite an old maid soon, I declare. She is almost three-and-twenty! Lord, how ashamed I should be of not being married before three-and-twenty! My aunt Phillips wants you so to get husbands, you can’t think. She says Lizzy had better have taken Mr. Collins; but _I_ do not think there would have been any fun in it. Lord! how I should like to be married before any of you; and then I would _chaperon_ you about to all the balls. Dear me! we had such a good piece of fun the other day at Colonel Forster’s. Kitty and me were to spend the day there, and Mrs. Forster promised to have a little dance in the evening; (by the bye, Mrs. Forster and me are _such_ friends!) and so she asked the two Harringtons to come, but Harriet was ill, and so Pen was forced to come by herself; and then, what do you think we did? We dressed up Chamberlayne in woman’s clothes on purpose to pass for a lady, only think what fun! Not a soul knew of it, but Colonel and Mrs. Forster, and Kitty and me, except my aunt, for we were forced to borrow one of her gowns; and you cannot imagine how well he looked! When Denny, and Wickham, and Pratt, and two or three more of the men came in, they did not know him in the least. Lord! how I laughed! and so did Mrs. Forster. I thought I should have died. And _that_ made the men suspect something, and then they soon found out what was the matter.” With such kinds of histories of their parties and good jokes, did Lydia, assisted by Kitty’s hints and additions, endeavour to amuse her companions all the way to Longbourn. Elizabeth listened as little as she could, but there was no escaping the frequent mention of Wickham’s name. Their reception at home was most kind. Mrs. Bennet rejoiced to see Jane in undiminished beauty; and more than once during dinner did Mr. Bennet say voluntarily to Elizabeth: “I am glad you are come back, Lizzy.” Their party in the dining-room was large, for almost all the Lucases came to meet Maria and hear the news; and various were the subjects that occupied them: Lady Lucas was enquiring of Maria, after the welfare and poultry of her eldest daughter; Mrs. Bennet was doubly engaged, on one hand collecting an account of the present fashions from Jane, who sat some way below her, and, on the other, retailing them all to the younger Lucases; and Lydia, in a voice rather louder than any other person’s, was enumerating the various pleasures of the morning to anybody who would hear her. “Oh! Mary,” said she, “I wish you had gone with us, for we had such fun! As we went along, Kitty and I drew up the blinds, and pretended there was nobody in the coach; and I should have gone so all the way, if Kitty had not been sick; and when we got to the George, I do think we behaved very handsomely, for we treated the other three with the nicest cold luncheon in the world, and if you would have gone, we would have treated you too. And then when we came away it was such fun! I thought we never should have got into the coach. I was ready to die of laughter. And then we were so merry all the way home! we talked and laughed so loud, that anybody might have heard us ten miles off!” To this Mary very gravely replied, “Far be it from me, my dear sister, to depreciate such pleasures! They would doubtless be congenial with the generality of female minds. But I confess they would have no charms for _me_—I should infinitely prefer a book.” But of this answer Lydia heard not a word. She seldom listened to anybody for more than half a minute, and never attended to Mary at all. In the afternoon Lydia was urgent with the rest of the girls to walk to Meryton, and to see how everybody went on; but Elizabeth steadily opposed the scheme. It should not be said that the Miss Bennets could not be at home half a day before they were in pursuit of the officers. There was another reason too for her opposition. She dreaded seeing Mr. Wickham again, and was resolved to avoid it as long as possible. The comfort to _her_ of the regiment’s approaching removal was indeed beyond expression. In a fortnight they were to go—and once gone, she hoped there could be nothing more to plague her on his account. She had not been many hours at home before she found that the Brighton scheme, of which Lydia had given them a hint at the inn, was under frequent discussion between her parents. Elizabeth saw directly that her father had not the smallest intention of yielding; but his answers were at the same time so vague and equivocal, that her mother, though often disheartened, had never yet despaired of succeeding at last. Chapter 40 Elizabeth’s impatience to acquaint Jane with what had happened could no longer be overcome; and at length, resolving to suppress every particular in which her sister was concerned, and preparing her to be surprised, she related to her the next morning the chief of the scene between Mr. Darcy and herself. Miss Bennet’s astonishment was soon lessened by the strong sisterly partiality which made any admiration of Elizabeth appear perfectly natural; and all surprise was shortly lost in other feelings. She was sorry that Mr. Darcy should have delivered his sentiments in a manner so little suited to recommend them; but still more was she grieved for the unhappiness which her sister’s refusal must have given him. “His being so sure of succeeding was wrong,” said she, “and certainly ought not to have appeared; but consider how much it must increase his disappointment!” “Indeed,” replied Elizabeth, “I am heartily sorry for him; but he has other feelings, which will probably soon drive away his regard for me. You do not blame me, however, for refusing him?” “Blame you! Oh, no.” “But you blame me for having spoken so warmly of Wickham?” “No—I do not know that you were wrong in saying what you did.” “But you _will_ know it, when I tell you what happened the very next day.” She then spoke of the letter, repeating the whole of its contents as far as they concerned George Wickham. What a stroke was this for poor Jane! who would willingly have gone through the world without believing that so much wickedness existed in the whole race of mankind, as was here collected in one individual. Nor was Darcy’s vindication, though grateful to her feelings, capable of consoling her for such discovery. Most earnestly did she labour to prove the probability of error, and seek to clear the one without involving the other. “This will not do,” said Elizabeth; “you never will be able to make both of them good for anything. Take your choice, but you must be satisfied with only one. There is but such a quantity of merit between them; just enough to make one good sort of man; and of late it has been shifting about pretty much. For my part, I am inclined to believe it all Darcy’s; but you shall do as you choose.” It was some time, however, before a smile could be extorted from Jane. “I do not know when I have been more shocked,” said she. “Wickham so very bad! It is almost past belief. And poor Mr. Darcy! Dear Lizzy, only consider what he must have suffered. Such a disappointment! and with the knowledge of your ill opinion, too! and having to relate such a thing of his sister! It is really too distressing. I am sure you must feel it so.” “Oh! no, my regret and compassion are all done away by seeing you so full of both. I know you will do him such ample justice, that I am growing every moment more unconcerned and indifferent. Your profusion makes me saving; and if you lament over him much longer, my heart will be as light as a feather.” “Poor Wickham! there is such an expression of goodness in his countenance! such an openness and gentleness in his manner!” “There certainly was some great mismanagement in the education of those two young men. One has got all the goodness, and the other all the appearance of it.” “I never thought Mr. Darcy so deficient in the _appearance_ of it as you used to do.” “And yet I meant to be uncommonly clever in taking so decided a dislike to him, without any reason. It is such a spur to one’s genius, such an opening for wit, to have a dislike of that kind. One may be continually abusive without saying anything just; but one cannot always be laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty.” “Lizzy, when you first read that letter, I am sure you could not treat the matter as you do now.” “Indeed, I could not. I was uncomfortable enough, I may say unhappy. And with no one to speak to about what I felt, no Jane to comfort me and say that I had not been so very weak and vain and nonsensical as I knew I had! Oh! how I wanted you!” “How unfortunate that you should have used such very strong expressions in speaking of Wickham to Mr. Darcy, for now they _do_ appear wholly undeserved.” “Certainly. But the misfortune of speaking with bitterness is a most natural consequence of the prejudices I had been encouraging. There is one point on which I want your advice. I want to be told whether I ought, or ought not, to make our acquaintances in general understand Wickham’s character.” Miss Bennet paused a little, and then replied, “Surely there can be no occasion for exposing him so dreadfully. What is your opinion?” “That it ought not to be attempted. Mr. Darcy has not authorised me to make his communication public. On the contrary, every particular relative to his sister was meant to be kept as much as possible to myself; and if I endeavour to undeceive people as to the rest of his conduct, who will believe me? The general prejudice against Mr. Darcy is so violent, that it would be the death of half the good people in Meryton to attempt to place him in an amiable light. I am not equal to it. Wickham will soon be gone; and therefore it will not signify to anyone here what he really is. Some time hence it will be all found out, and then we may laugh at their stupidity in not knowing it before. At present I will say nothing about it.” “You are quite right. To have his errors made public might ruin him for ever. He is now, perhaps, sorry for what he has done, and anxious to re-establish a character. We must not make him desperate.” The tumult of Elizabeth’s mind was allayed by this conversation. She had got rid of two of the secrets which had weighed on her for a fortnight, and was certain of a willing listener in Jane, whenever she might wish to talk again of either. But there was still something lurking behind, of which prudence forbade the disclosure. She dared not relate the other half of Mr. Darcy’s letter, nor explain to her sister how sincerely she had been valued by her friend. Here was knowledge in which no one could partake; and she was sensible that nothing less than a perfect understanding between the parties could justify her in throwing off this last encumbrance of mystery. “And then,” said she, “if that very improbable event should ever take place, I shall merely be able to tell what Bingley may tell in a much more agreeable manner himself. The liberty of communication cannot be mine till it has lost all its value!” She was now, on being settled at home, at leisure to observe the real state of her sister’s spirits. Jane was not happy. She still cherished a very tender affection for Bingley. Having never even fancied herself in love before, her regard had all the warmth of first attachment, and, from her age and disposition, greater steadiness than most first attachments often boast; and so fervently did she value his remembrance, and prefer him to every other man, that all her good sense, and all her attention to the feelings of her friends, were requisite to check the indulgence of those regrets which must have been injurious to her own health and their tranquillity. “Well, Lizzy,” said Mrs. Bennet one day, “what is your opinion _now_ of this sad business of Jane’s? For my part, I am determined never to speak of it again to anybody. I told my sister Phillips so the other day. But I cannot find out that Jane saw anything of him in London. Well, he is a very undeserving young man—and I do not suppose there’s the least chance in the world of her ever getting him now. There is no talk of his coming to Netherfield again in the summer; and I have enquired of everybody, too, who is likely to know.” “I do not believe he will ever live at Netherfield any more.” “Oh well! it is just as he chooses. Nobody wants him to come. Though I shall always say he used my daughter extremely ill; and if I was her, I would not have put up with it. Well, my comfort is, I am sure Jane will die of a broken heart; and then he will be sorry for what he has done.” But as Elizabeth could not receive comfort from any such expectation, she made no answer. “Well, Lizzy,” continued her mother, soon afterwards, “and so the Collinses live very comfortable, do they? Well, well, I only hope it will last. And what sort of table do they keep? Charlotte is an excellent manager, I dare say. If she is half as sharp as her mother, she is saving enough. There is nothing extravagant in _their_ housekeeping, I dare say.” “No, nothing at all.” “A great deal of good management, depend upon it. Yes, yes. _They_ will take care not to outrun their income. _They_ will never be distressed for money. Well, much good may it do them! And so, I suppose, they often talk of having Longbourn when your father is dead. They look upon it as quite their own, I dare say, whenever that happens.” “It was a subject which they could not mention before me.” “No; it would have been strange if they had; but I make no doubt they often talk of it between themselves. Well, if they can be easy with an estate that is not lawfully their own, so much the better. _I_ should be ashamed of having one that was only entailed on me.” Chapter 41 The first week of their return was soon gone. The second began. It was the last of the regiment’s stay in Meryton, and all the young ladies in the neighbourhood were drooping apace. The dejection was almost universal. The elder Miss Bennets alone were still able to eat, drink, and sleep, and pursue the usual course of their employments. Very frequently were they reproached for this insensibility by Kitty and Lydia, whose own misery was extreme, and who could not comprehend such hard-heartedness in any of the family. “Good Heaven! what is to become of us? What are we to do?” would they often exclaim in the bitterness of woe. “How can you be smiling so, Lizzy?” Their affectionate mother shared all their grief; she remembered what she had herself endured on a similar occasion, five-and-twenty years ago. “I am sure,” said she, “I cried for two days together when Colonel Miller’s regiment went away. I thought I should have broken my heart.” “I am sure I shall break _mine_,” said Lydia. “If one could but go to Brighton!” observed Mrs. Bennet. “Oh, yes!—if one could but go to Brighton! But papa is so disagreeable.” “A little sea-bathing would set me up forever.” “And my aunt Phillips is sure it would do _me_ a great deal of good,” added Kitty. Such were the kind of lamentations resounding perpetually through Longbourn House. Elizabeth tried to be diverted by them; but all sense of pleasure was lost in shame. She felt anew the justice of Mr. Darcy’s objections; and never had she been so much disposed to pardon his interference in the views of his friend. But the gloom of Lydia’s prospect was shortly cleared away; for she received an invitation from Mrs. Forster, the wife of the colonel of the regiment, to accompany her to Brighton. This invaluable friend was a very young woman, and very lately married. A resemblance in good humour and good spirits had recommended her and Lydia to each other, and out of their _three_ months’ acquaintance they had been intimate _two_. The rapture of Lydia on this occasion, her adoration of Mrs. Forster, the delight of Mrs. Bennet, and the mortification of Kitty, are scarcely to be described. Wholly inattentive to her sister’s feelings, Lydia flew about the house in restless ecstasy, calling for everyone’s congratulations, and laughing and talking with more violence than ever; whilst the luckless Kitty continued in the parlour repining at her fate in terms as unreasonable as her accent was peevish. “I cannot see why Mrs. Forster should not ask _me_ as well as Lydia,” said she, “Though I am _not_ her particular friend. I have just as much right to be asked as she has, and more too, for I am two years older.” In vain did Elizabeth attempt to make her reasonable, and Jane to make her resigned. As for Elizabeth herself, this invitation was so far from exciting in her the same feelings as in her mother and Lydia, that she considered it as the death warrant of all possibility of common sense for the latter; and detestable as such a step must make her were it known, she could not help secretly advising her father not to let her go. She represented to him all the improprieties of Lydia’s general behaviour, the little advantage she could derive from the friendship of such a woman as Mrs. Forster, and the probability of her being yet more imprudent with such a companion at Brighton, where the temptations must be greater than at home. He heard her attentively, and then said: “Lydia will never be easy until she has exposed herself in some public place or other, and we can never expect her to do it with so little expense or inconvenience to her family as under the present circumstances.” “If you were aware,” said Elizabeth, “of the very great disadvantage to us all which must arise from the public notice of Lydia’s unguarded and imprudent manner—nay, which has already arisen from it, I am sure you would judge differently in the affair.” “Already arisen?” repeated Mr. Bennet. “What, has she frightened away some of your lovers? Poor little Lizzy! But do not be cast down. Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret. Come, let me see the list of pitiful fellows who have been kept aloof by Lydia’s folly.” “Indeed you are mistaken. I have no such injuries to resent. It is not of particular, but of general evils, which I am now complaining. Our importance, our respectability in the world must be affected by the wild volatility, the assurance and disdain of all restraint which mark Lydia’s character. Excuse me, for I must speak plainly. If you, my dear father, will not take the trouble of checking her exuberant spirits, and of teaching her that her present pursuits are not to be the business of her life, she will soon be beyond the reach of amendment. Her character will be fixed, and she will, at sixteen, be the most determined flirt that ever made herself or her family ridiculous; a flirt, too, in the worst and meanest degree of flirtation; without any attraction beyond youth and a tolerable person; and, from the ignorance and emptiness of her mind, wholly unable to ward off any portion of that universal contempt which her rage for admiration will excite. In this danger Kitty also is comprehended. She will follow wherever Lydia leads. Vain, ignorant, idle, and absolutely uncontrolled! Oh! my dear father, can you suppose it possible that they will not be censured and despised wherever they are known, and that their sisters will not be often involved in the disgrace?” Mr. Bennet saw that her whole heart was in the subject, and affectionately taking her hand said in reply: “Do not make yourself uneasy, my love. Wherever you and Jane are known you must be respected and valued; and you will not appear to less advantage for having a couple of—or I may say, three—very silly sisters. We shall have no peace at Longbourn if Lydia does not go to Brighton. Let her go, then. Colonel Forster is a sensible man, and will keep her out of any real mischief; and she is luckily too poor to be an object of prey to anybody. At Brighton she will be of less importance even as a common flirt than she has been here. The officers will find women better worth their notice. Let us hope, therefore, that her being there may teach her her own insignificance. At any rate, she cannot grow many degrees worse, without authorising us to lock her up for the rest of her life.” With this answer Elizabeth was forced to be content; but her own opinion continued the same, and she left him disappointed and sorry. It was not in her nature, however, to increase her vexations by dwelling on them. She was confident of having performed her duty, and to fret over unavoidable evils, or augment them by anxiety, was no part of her disposition. Had Lydia and her mother known the substance of her conference with her father, their indignation would hardly have found expression in their united volubility. In Lydia’s imagination, a visit to Brighton comprised every possibility of earthly happiness. She saw, with the creative eye of fancy, the streets of that gay bathing-place covered with officers. She saw herself the object of attention, to tens and to scores of them at present unknown. She saw all the glories of the camp—its tents stretched forth in beauteous uniformity of lines, crowded with the young and the gay, and dazzling with scarlet; and, to complete the view, she saw herself seated beneath a tent, tenderly flirting with at least six officers at once. Had she known her sister sought to tear her from such prospects and such realities as these, what would have been her sensations? They could have been understood only by her mother, who might have felt nearly the same. Lydia’s going to Brighton was all that consoled her for her melancholy conviction of her husband’s never intending to go there himself. But they were entirely ignorant of what had passed; and their raptures continued, with little intermission, to the very day of Lydia’s leaving home. Elizabeth was now to see Mr. Wickham for the last time. Having been frequently in company with him since her return, agitation was pretty well over; the agitations of former partiality entirely so. She had even learnt to detect, in the very gentleness which had first delighted her, an affectation and a sameness to disgust and weary. In his present behaviour to herself, moreover, she had a fresh source of displeasure, for the inclination he soon testified of renewing those intentions which had marked the early part of their acquaintance could only serve, after what had since passed, to provoke her. She lost all concern for him in finding herself thus selected as the object of such idle and frivolous gallantry; and while she steadily repressed it, could not but feel the reproof contained in his believing, that however long, and for whatever cause, his attentions had been withdrawn, her vanity would be gratified, and her preference secured at any time by their renewal. On the very last day of the regiment’s remaining at Meryton, he dined, with others of the officers, at Longbourn; and so little was Elizabeth disposed to part from him in good humour, that on his making some enquiry as to the manner in which her time had passed at Hunsford, she mentioned Colonel Fitzwilliam’s and Mr. Darcy’s having both spent three weeks at Rosings, and asked him, if he was acquainted with the former. He looked surprised, displeased, alarmed; but with a moment’s recollection and a returning smile, replied, that he had formerly seen him often; and, after observing that he was a very gentlemanlike man, asked her how she had liked him. Her answer was warmly in his favour. With an air of indifference he soon afterwards added: “How long did you say he was at Rosings?” “Nearly three weeks.” “And you saw him frequently?” “Yes, almost every day.” “His manners are very different from his cousin’s.” “Yes, very different. But I think Mr. Darcy improves upon acquaintance.” “Indeed!” cried Mr. Wickham with a look which did not escape her. “And pray, may I ask?—” But checking himself, he added, in a gayer tone, “Is it in address that he improves? Has he deigned to add aught of civility to his ordinary style?—for I dare not hope,” he continued in a lower and more serious tone, “that he is improved in essentials.” “Oh, no!” said Elizabeth. “In essentials, I believe, he is very much what he ever was.” While she spoke, Wickham looked as if scarcely knowing whether to rejoice over her words, or to distrust their meaning. There was a something in her countenance which made him listen with an apprehensive and anxious attention, while she added: “When I said that he improved on acquaintance, I did not mean that his mind or his manners were in a state of improvement, but that, from knowing him better, his disposition was better understood.” Wickham’s alarm now appeared in a heightened complexion and agitated look; for a few minutes he was silent, till, shaking off his embarrassment, he turned to her again, and said in the gentlest of accents: “You, who so well know my feeling towards Mr. Darcy, will readily comprehend how sincerely I must rejoice that he is wise enough to assume even the _appearance_ of what is right. His pride, in that direction, may be of service, if not to himself, to many others, for it must only deter him from such foul misconduct as I have suffered by. I only fear that the sort of cautiousness to which you, I imagine, have been alluding, is merely adopted on his visits to his aunt, of whose good opinion and judgement he stands much in awe. His fear of her has always operated, I know, when they were together; and a good deal is to be imputed to his wish of forwarding the match with Miss de Bourgh, which I am certain he has very much at heart.” Elizabeth could not repress a smile at this, but she answered only by a slight inclination of the head. She saw that he wanted to engage her on the old subject of his grievances, and she was in no humour to indulge him. The rest of the evening passed with the _appearance_, on his side, of usual cheerfulness, but with no further attempt to distinguish Elizabeth; and they parted at last with mutual civility, and possibly a mutual desire of never meeting again. When the party broke up, Lydia returned with Mrs. Forster to Meryton, from whence they were to set out early the next morning. The separation between her and her family was rather noisy than pathetic. Kitty was the only one who shed tears; but she did weep from vexation and envy. Mrs. Bennet was diffuse in her good wishes for the felicity of her daughter, and impressive in her injunctions that she should not miss the opportunity of enjoying herself as much as possible—advice which there was every reason to believe would be well attended to; and in the clamorous happiness of Lydia herself in bidding farewell, the more gentle adieus of her sisters were uttered without being heard. Chapter 42 Had Elizabeth’s opinion been all drawn from her own family, she could not have formed a very pleasing opinion of conjugal felicity or domestic comfort. Her father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her. Respect, esteem, and confidence had vanished for ever; and all his views of domestic happiness were overthrown. But Mr. Bennet was not of a disposition to seek comfort for the disappointment which his own imprudence had brought on, in any of those pleasures which too often console the unfortunate for their folly or their vice. He was fond of the country and of books; and from these tastes had arisen his principal enjoyments. To his wife he was very little otherwise indebted, than as her ignorance and folly had contributed to his amusement. This is not the sort of happiness which a man would in general wish to owe to his wife; but where other powers of entertainment are wanting, the true philosopher will derive benefit from such as are given. Elizabeth, however, had never been blind to the impropriety of her father’s behaviour as a husband. She had always seen it with pain; but respecting his abilities, and grateful for his affectionate treatment of herself, she endeavoured to forget what she could not overlook, and to banish from her thoughts that continual breach of conjugal obligation and decorum which, in exposing his wife to the contempt of her own children, was so highly reprehensible. But she had never felt so strongly as now the disadvantages which must attend the children of so unsuitable a marriage, nor ever been so fully aware of the evils arising from so ill-judged a direction of talents; talents, which, rightly used, might at least have preserved the respectability of his daughters, even if incapable of enlarging the mind of his wife. When Elizabeth had rejoiced over Wickham’s departure she found little other cause for satisfaction in the loss of the regiment. Their parties abroad were less varied than before, and at home she had a mother and sister whose constant repinings at the dullness of everything around them threw a real gloom over their domestic circle; and, though Kitty might in time regain her natural degree of sense, since the disturbers of her brain were removed, her other sister, from whose disposition greater evil might be apprehended, was likely to be hardened in all her folly and assurance by a situation of such double danger as a watering-place and a camp. Upon the whole, therefore, she found, what has been sometimes found before, that an event to which she had looked forward with impatient desire did not, in taking place, bring all the satisfaction she had promised herself. It was consequently necessary to name some other period for the commencement of actual felicity—to have some other point on which her wishes and hopes might be fixed, and by again enjoying the pleasure of anticipation, console herself for the present, and prepare for another disappointment. Her tour to the Lakes was now the object of her happiest thoughts; it was her best consolation for all the uncomfortable hours which the discontentedness of her mother and Kitty made inevitable; and could she have included Jane in the scheme, every part of it would have been perfect. “But it is fortunate,” thought she, “that I have something to wish for. Were the whole arrangement complete, my disappointment would be certain. But here, by carrying with me one ceaseless source of regret in my sister’s absence, I may reasonably hope to have all my expectations of pleasure realised. A scheme of which every part promises delight can never be successful; and general disappointment is only warded off by the defence of some little peculiar vexation.” When Lydia went away she promised to write very often and very minutely to her mother and Kitty; but her letters were always long expected, and always very short. Those to her mother contained little else than that they were just returned from the library, where such and such officers had attended them, and where she had seen such beautiful ornaments as made her quite wild; that she had a new gown, or a new parasol, which she would have described more fully, but was obliged to leave off in a violent hurry, as Mrs. Forster called her, and they were going off to the camp; and from her correspondence with her sister, there was still less to be learnt—for her letters to Kitty, though rather longer, were much too full of lines under the words to be made public. After the first fortnight or three weeks of her absence, health, good humour, and cheerfulness began to reappear at Longbourn. Everything wore a happier aspect. The families who had been in town for the winter came back again, and summer finery and summer engagements arose. Mrs. Bennet was restored to her usual querulous serenity; and, by the middle of June, Kitty was so much recovered as to be able to enter Meryton without tears; an event of such happy promise as to make Elizabeth hope that by the following Christmas she might be so tolerably reasonable as not to mention an officer above once a day, unless, by some cruel and malicious arrangement at the War Office, another regiment should be quartered in Meryton. The time fixed for the beginning of their northern tour was now fast approaching, and a fortnight only was wanting of it, when a letter arrived from Mrs. Gardiner, which at once delayed its commencement and curtailed its extent. Mr. Gardiner would be prevented by business from setting out till a fortnight later in July, and must be in London again within a month, and as that left too short a period for them to go so far, and see so much as they had proposed, or at least to see it with the leisure and comfort they had built on, they were obliged to give up the Lakes, and substitute a more contracted tour, and, according to the present plan, were to go no farther northwards than Derbyshire. In that county there was enough to be seen to occupy the chief of their three weeks; and to Mrs. Gardiner it had a peculiarly strong attraction. The town where she had formerly passed some years of her life, and where they were now to spend a few days, was probably as great an object of her curiosity as all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, Dovedale, or the Peak. Elizabeth was excessively disappointed; she had set her heart on seeing the Lakes, and still thought there might have been time enough. But it was her business to be satisfied—and certainly her temper to be happy; and all was soon right again. With the mention of Derbyshire there were many ideas connected. It was impossible for her to see the word without thinking of Pemberley and its owner. “But surely,” said she, “I may enter his county with impunity, and rob it of a few petrified spars without his perceiving me.” The period of expectation was now doubled. Four weeks were to pass away before her uncle and aunt’s arrival. But they did pass away, and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, with their four children, did at length appear at Longbourn. The children, two girls of six and eight years old, and two younger boys, were to be left under the particular care of their cousin Jane, who was the general favourite, and whose steady sense and sweetness of temper exactly adapted her for attending to them in every way—teaching them, playing with them, and loving them. The Gardiners stayed only one night at Longbourn, and set off the next morning with Elizabeth in pursuit of novelty and amusement. One enjoyment was certain—that of suitableness of companions; a suitableness which comprehended health and temper to bear inconveniences—cheerfulness to enhance every pleasure—and affection and intelligence, which might supply it among themselves if there were disappointments abroad. It is not the object of this work to give a description of Derbyshire, nor of any of the remarkable places through which their route thither lay; Oxford, Blenheim, Warwick, Kenilworth, Birmingham, etc. are sufficiently known. A small part of Derbyshire is all the present concern. To the little town of Lambton, the scene of Mrs. Gardiner’s former residence, and where she had lately learned some acquaintance still remained, they bent their steps, after having seen all the principal wonders of the country; and within five miles of Lambton, Elizabeth found from her aunt that Pemberley was situated. It was not in their direct road, nor more than a mile or two out of it. In talking over their route the evening before, Mrs. Gardiner expressed an inclination to see the place again. Mr. Gardiner declared his willingness, and Elizabeth was applied to for her approbation. “My love, should not you like to see a place of which you have heard so much?” said her aunt; “a place, too, with which so many of your acquaintances are connected. Wickham passed all his youth there, you know.” Elizabeth was distressed. She felt that she had no business at Pemberley, and was obliged to assume a disinclination for seeing it. She must own that she was tired of seeing great houses; after going over so many, she really had no pleasure in fine carpets or satin curtains. Mrs. Gardiner abused her stupidity. “If it were merely a fine house richly furnished,” said she, “I should not care about it myself; but the grounds are delightful. They have some of the finest woods in the country.” Elizabeth said no more—but her mind could not acquiesce. The possibility of meeting Mr. Darcy, while viewing the place, instantly occurred. It would be dreadful! She blushed at the very idea, and thought it would be better to speak openly to her aunt than to run such a risk. But against this there were objections; and she finally resolved that it could be the last resource, if her private enquiries to the absence of the family were unfavourably answered. Accordingly, when she retired at night, she asked the chambermaid whether Pemberley were not a very fine place? what was the name of its proprietor? and, with no little alarm, whether the family were down for the summer? A most welcome negative followed the last question—and her alarms now being removed, she was at leisure to feel a great deal of curiosity to see the house herself; and when the subject was revived the next morning, and she was again applied to, could readily answer, and with a proper air of indifference, that she had not really any dislike to the scheme. To Pemberley, therefore, they were to go. Chapter 43 Elizabeth, as they drove along, watched for the first appearance of Pemberley Woods with some perturbation; and when at length they turned in at the lodge, her spirits were in a high flutter. The park was very large, and contained great variety of ground. They entered it in one of its lowest points, and drove for some time through a beautiful wood stretching over a wide extent. Elizabeth’s mind was too full for conversation, but she saw and admired every remarkable spot and point of view. They gradually ascended for half-a-mile, and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of a valley, into which the road with some abruptness wound. It was a large, handsome stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; and in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste. They were all of them warm in their admiration; and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something! They descended the hill, crossed the bridge, and drove to the door; and, while examining the nearer aspect of the house, all her apprehension of meeting its owner returned. She dreaded lest the chambermaid had been mistaken. On applying to see the place, they were admitted into the hall; and Elizabeth, as they waited for the housekeeper, had leisure to wonder at her being where she was. The housekeeper came; a respectable-looking elderly woman, much less fine, and more civil, than she had any notion of finding her. They followed her into the dining-parlour. It was a large, well proportioned room, handsomely fitted up. Elizabeth, after slightly surveying it, went to a window to enjoy its prospect. The hill, crowned with wood, which they had descended, receiving increased abruptness from the distance, was a beautiful object. Every disposition of the ground was good; and she looked on the whole scene, the river, the trees scattered on its banks and the winding of the valley, as far as she could trace it, with delight. As they passed into other rooms these objects were taking different positions; but from every window there were beauties to be seen. The rooms were lofty and handsome, and their furniture suitable to the fortune of its proprietor; but Elizabeth saw, with admiration of his taste, that it was neither gaudy nor uselessly fine; with less of splendour, and more real elegance, than the furniture of Rosings. “And of this place,” thought she, “I might have been mistress! With these rooms I might now have been familiarly acquainted! Instead of viewing them as a stranger, I might have rejoiced in them as my own, and welcomed to them as visitors my uncle and aunt. But no,”—recollecting herself—“that could never be; my uncle and aunt would have been lost to me; I should not have been allowed to invite them.” This was a lucky recollection—it saved her from something very like regret. She longed to enquire of the housekeeper whether her master was really absent, but had not the courage for it. At length however, the question was asked by her uncle; and she turned away with alarm, while Mrs. Reynolds replied that he was, adding, “But we expect him to-morrow, with a large party of friends.” How rejoiced was Elizabeth that their own journey had not by any circumstance been delayed a day! Her aunt now called her to look at a picture. She approached and saw the likeness of Mr. Wickham, suspended, amongst several other miniatures, over the mantelpiece. Her aunt asked her, smilingly, how she liked it. The housekeeper came forward, and told them it was a picture of a young gentleman, the son of her late master’s steward, who had been brought up by him at his own expense. “He is now gone into the army,” she added; “but I am afraid he has turned out very wild.” Mrs. Gardiner looked at her niece with a smile, but Elizabeth could not return it. “And that,” said Mrs. Reynolds, pointing to another of the miniatures, “is my master—and very like him. It was drawn at the same time as the other—about eight years ago.” “I have heard much of your master’s fine person,” said Mrs. Gardiner, looking at the picture; “it is a handsome face. But, Lizzy, you can tell us whether it is like or not.” Mrs. Reynolds respect for Elizabeth seemed to increase on this intimation of her knowing her master. “Does that young lady know Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth coloured, and said: “A little.” “And do not you think him a very handsome gentleman, ma’am?” “Yes, very handsome.” “I am sure _I_ know none so handsome; but in the gallery up stairs you will see a finer, larger picture of him than this. This room was my late master’s favourite room, and these miniatures are just as they used to be then. He was very fond of them.” This accounted to Elizabeth for Mr. Wickham’s being among them. Mrs. Reynolds then directed their attention to one of Miss Darcy, drawn when she was only eight years old. “And is Miss Darcy as handsome as her brother?” said Mrs. Gardiner. “Oh! yes—the handsomest young lady that ever was seen; and so accomplished!—She plays and sings all day long. In the next room is a new instrument just come down for her—a present from my master; she comes here to-morrow with him.” Mr. Gardiner, whose manners were very easy and pleasant, encouraged her communicativeness by his questions and remarks; Mrs. Reynolds, either by pride or attachment, had evidently great pleasure in talking of her master and his sister. “Is your master much at Pemberley in the course of the year?” “Not so much as I could wish, sir; but I dare say he may spend half his time here; and Miss Darcy is always down for the summer months.” “Except,” thought Elizabeth, “when she goes to Ramsgate.” “If your master would marry, you might see more of him.” “Yes, sir; but I do not know when _that_ will be. I do not know who is good enough for him.” Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner smiled. Elizabeth could not help saying, “It is very much to his credit, I am sure, that you should think so.” “I say no more than the truth, and everybody will say that knows him,” replied the other. Elizabeth thought this was going pretty far; and she listened with increasing astonishment as the housekeeper added, “I have never known a cross word from him in my life, and I have known him ever since he was four years old.” This was praise, of all others most extraordinary, most opposite to her ideas. That he was not a good-tempered man had been her firmest opinion. Her keenest attention was awakened; she longed to hear more, and was grateful to her uncle for saying: “There are very few people of whom so much can be said. You are lucky in having such a master.” “Yes, sir, I know I am. If I were to go through the world, I could not meet with a better. But I have always observed, that they who are good-natured when children, are good-natured when they grow up; and he was always the sweetest-tempered, most generous-hearted boy in the world.” Elizabeth almost stared at her. “Can this be Mr. Darcy?” thought she. “His father was an excellent man,” said Mrs. Gardiner. “Yes, ma’am, that he was indeed; and his son will be just like him—just as affable to the poor.” Elizabeth listened, wondered, doubted, and was impatient for more. Mrs. Reynolds could interest her on no other point. She related the subjects of the pictures, the dimensions of the rooms, and the price of the furniture, in vain. Mr. Gardiner, highly amused by the kind of family prejudice to which he attributed her excessive commendation of her master, soon led again to the subject; and she dwelt with energy on his many merits as they proceeded together up the great staircase. “He is the best landlord, and the best master,” said she, “that ever lived; not like the wild young men nowadays, who think of nothing but themselves. There is not one of his tenants or servants but will give him a good name. Some people call him proud; but I am sure I never saw anything of it. To my fancy, it is only because he does not rattle away like other young men.” “In what an amiable light does this place him!” thought Elizabeth. “This fine account of him,” whispered her aunt as they walked, “is not quite consistent with his behaviour to our poor friend.” “Perhaps we might be deceived.” “That is not very likely; our authority was too good.” On reaching the spacious lobby above they were shown into a very pretty sitting-room, lately fitted up with greater elegance and lightness than the apartments below; and were informed that it was but just done to give pleasure to Miss Darcy, who had taken a liking to the room when last at Pemberley. “He is certainly a good brother,” said Elizabeth, as she walked towards one of the windows. Mrs. Reynolds anticipated Miss Darcy’s delight, when she should enter the room. “And this is always the way with him,” she added. “Whatever can give his sister any pleasure is sure to be done in a moment. There is nothing he would not do for her.” The picture-gallery, and two or three of the principal bedrooms, were all that remained to be shown. In the former were many good paintings; but Elizabeth knew nothing of the art; and from such as had been already visible below, she had willingly turned to look at some drawings of Miss Darcy’s, in crayons, whose subjects were usually more interesting, and also more intelligible. In the gallery there were many family portraits, but they could have little to fix the attention of a stranger. Elizabeth walked in quest of the only face whose features would be known to her. At last it arrested her—and she beheld a striking resemblance to Mr. Darcy, with such a smile over the face as she remembered to have sometimes seen when he looked at her. She stood several minutes before the picture, in earnest contemplation, and returned to it again before they quitted the gallery. Mrs. Reynolds informed them that it had been taken in his father’s lifetime. There was certainly at this moment, in Elizabeth’s mind, a more gentle sensation towards the original than she had ever felt at the height of their acquaintance. The commendation bestowed on him by Mrs. Reynolds was of no trifling nature. What praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant? As a brother, a landlord, a master, she considered how many people’s happiness were in his guardianship!—how much of pleasure or pain was it in his power to bestow!—how much of good or evil must be done by him! Every idea that had been brought forward by the housekeeper was favourable to his character, and as she stood before the canvas on which he was represented, and fixed his eyes upon herself, she thought of his regard with a deeper sentiment of gratitude than it had ever raised before; she remembered its warmth, and softened its impropriety of expression. When all of the house that was open to general inspection had been seen, they returned downstairs, and, taking leave of the housekeeper, were consigned over to the gardener, who met them at the hall-door. As they walked across the hall towards the river, Elizabeth turned back to look again; her uncle and aunt stopped also, and while the former was conjecturing as to the date of the building, the owner of it himself suddenly came forward from the road, which led behind it to the stables. They were within twenty yards of each other, and so abrupt was his appearance, that it was impossible to avoid his sight. Their eyes instantly met, and the cheeks of both were overspread with the deepest blush. He absolutely started, and for a moment seemed immovable from surprise; but shortly recovering himself, advanced towards the party, and spoke to Elizabeth, if not in terms of perfect composure, at least of perfect civility. She had instinctively turned away; but stopping on his approach, received his compliments with an embarrassment impossible to be overcome. Had his first appearance, or his resemblance to the picture they had just been examining, been insufficient to assure the other two that they now saw Mr. Darcy, the gardener’s expression of surprise, on beholding his master, must immediately have told it. They stood a little aloof while he was talking to their niece, who, astonished and confused, scarcely dared lift her eyes to his face, and knew not what answer she returned to his civil enquiries after her family. Amazed at the alteration of his manner since they last parted, every sentence that he uttered was increasing her embarrassment; and every idea of the impropriety of her being found there recurring to her mind, the few minutes in which they continued were some of the most uncomfortable in her life. Nor did he seem much more at ease; when he spoke, his accent had none of its usual sedateness; and he repeated his enquiries as to the time of her having left Longbourn, and of her stay in Derbyshire, so often, and in so hurried a way, as plainly spoke the distraction of his thoughts. At length every idea seemed to fail him; and, after standing a few moments without saying a word, he suddenly recollected himself, and took leave. The others then joined her, and expressed admiration of his figure; but Elizabeth heard not a word, and wholly engrossed by her own feelings, followed them in silence. She was overpowered by shame and vexation. Her coming there was the most unfortunate, the most ill-judged thing in the world! How strange it must appear to him! In what a disgraceful light might it not strike so vain a man! It might seem as if she had purposely thrown herself in his way again! Oh! why did she come? Or, why did he thus come a day before he was expected? Had they been only ten minutes sooner, they should have been beyond the reach of his discrimination; for it was plain that he was that moment arrived—that moment alighted from his horse or his carriage. She blushed again and again over the perverseness of the meeting. And his behaviour, so strikingly altered—what could it mean? That he should even speak to her was amazing!—but to speak with such civility, to enquire after her family! Never in her life had she seen his manners so little dignified, never had he spoken with such gentleness as on this unexpected meeting. What a contrast did it offer to his last address in Rosings Park, when he put his letter into her hand! She knew not what to think, or how to account for it. They had now entered a beautiful walk by the side of the water, and every step was bringing forward a nobler fall of ground, or a finer reach of the woods to which they were approaching; but it was some time before Elizabeth was sensible of any of it; and, though she answered mechanically to the repeated appeals of her uncle and aunt, and seemed to direct her eyes to such objects as they pointed out, she distinguished no part of the scene. Her thoughts were all fixed on that one spot of Pemberley House, whichever it might be, where Mr. Darcy then was. She longed to know what at the moment was passing in his mind—in what manner he thought of her, and whether, in defiance of everything, she was still dear to him. Perhaps he had been civil only because he felt himself at ease; yet there had been _that_ in his voice which was not like ease. Whether he had felt more of pain or of pleasure in seeing her she could not tell, but he certainly had not seen her with composure. At length, however, the remarks of her companions on her absence of mind aroused her, and she felt the necessity of appearing more like herself. They entered the woods, and bidding adieu to the river for a while, ascended some of the higher grounds; when, in spots where the opening of the trees gave the eye power to wander, were many charming views of the valley, the opposite hills, with the long range of woods overspreading many, and occasionally part of the stream. Mr. Gardiner expressed a wish of going round the whole park, but feared it might be beyond a walk. With a triumphant smile they were told that it was ten miles round. It settled the matter; and they pursued the accustomed circuit; which brought them again, after some time, in a descent among hanging woods, to the edge of the water, and one of its narrowest parts. They crossed it by a simple bridge, in character with the general air of the scene; it was a spot less adorned than any they had yet visited; and the valley, here contracted into a glen, allowed room only for the stream, and a narrow walk amidst the rough coppice-wood which bordered it. Elizabeth longed to explore its windings; but when they had crossed the bridge, and perceived their distance from the house, Mrs. Gardiner, who was not a great walker, could go no farther, and thought only of returning to the carriage as quickly as possible. Her niece was, therefore, obliged to submit, and they took their way towards the house on the opposite side of the river, in the nearest direction; but their progress was slow, for Mr. Gardiner, though seldom able to indulge the taste, was very fond of fishing, and was so much engaged in watching the occasional appearance of some trout in the water, and talking to the man about them, that he advanced but little. Whilst wandering on in this slow manner, they were again surprised, and Elizabeth’s astonishment was quite equal to what it had been at first, by the sight of Mr. Darcy approaching them, and at no great distance. The walk being here less sheltered than on the other side, allowed them to see him before they met. Elizabeth, however astonished, was at least more prepared for an interview than before, and resolved to appear and to speak with calmness, if he really intended to meet them. For a few moments, indeed, she felt that he would probably strike into some other path. The idea lasted while a turning in the walk concealed him from their view; the turning past, he was immediately before them. With a glance, she saw that he had lost none of his recent civility; and, to imitate his politeness, she began, as they met, to admire the beauty of the place; but she had not got beyond the words “delightful,” and “charming,” when some unlucky recollections obtruded, and she fancied that praise of Pemberley from her might be mischievously construed. Her colour changed, and she said no more. Mrs. Gardiner was standing a little behind; and on her pausing, he asked her if she would do him the honour of introducing him to her friends. This was a stroke of civility for which she was quite unprepared; and she could hardly suppress a smile at his being now seeking the acquaintance of some of those very people against whom his pride had revolted in his offer to herself. “What will be his surprise,” thought she, “when he knows who they are? He takes them now for people of fashion.” The introduction, however, was immediately made; and as she named their relationship to herself, she stole a sly look at him, to see how he bore it, and was not without the expectation of his decamping as fast as he could from such disgraceful companions. That he was _surprised_ by the connection was evident; he sustained it, however, with fortitude, and so far from going away, turned back with them, and entered into conversation with Mr. Gardiner. Elizabeth could not but be pleased, could not but triumph. It was consoling that he should know she had some relations for whom there was no need to blush. She listened most attentively to all that passed between them, and gloried in every expression, every sentence of her uncle, which marked his intelligence, his taste, or his good manners. The conversation soon turned upon fishing; and she heard Mr. Darcy invite him, with the greatest civility, to fish there as often as he chose while he continued in the neighbourhood, offering at the same time to supply him with fishing tackle, and pointing out those parts of the stream where there was usually most sport. Mrs. Gardiner, who was walking arm-in-arm with Elizabeth, gave her a look expressive of wonder. Elizabeth said nothing, but it gratified her exceedingly; the compliment must be all for herself. Her astonishment, however, was extreme, and continually was she repeating, “Why is he so altered? From what can it proceed? It cannot be for _me_—it cannot be for _my_ sake that his manners are thus softened. My reproofs at Hunsford could not work such a change as this. It is impossible that he should still love me.” After walking some time in this way, the two ladies in front, the two gentlemen behind, on resuming their places, after descending to the brink of the river for the better inspection of some curious water-plant, there chanced to be a little alteration. It originated in Mrs. Gardiner, who, fatigued by the exercise of the morning, found Elizabeth’s arm inadequate to her support, and consequently preferred her husband’s. Mr. Darcy took her place by her niece, and they walked on together. After a short silence, the lady first spoke. She wished him to know that she had been assured of his absence before she came to the place, and accordingly began by observing, that his arrival had been very unexpected—“for your housekeeper,” she added, “informed us that you would certainly not be here till to-morrow; and indeed, before we left Bakewell, we understood that you were not immediately expected in the country.” He acknowledged the truth of it all, and said that business with his steward had occasioned his coming forward a few hours before the rest of the party with whom he had been travelling. “They will join me early to-morrow,” he continued, “and among them are some who will claim an acquaintance with you—Mr. Bingley and his sisters.” Elizabeth answered only by a slight bow. Her thoughts were instantly driven back to the time when Mr. Bingley’s name had been the last mentioned between them; and, if she might judge by his complexion, _his_ mind was not very differently engaged. “There is also one other person in the party,” he continued after a pause, “who more particularly wishes to be known to you. Will you allow me, or do I ask too much, to introduce my sister to your acquaintance during your stay at Lambton?” The surprise of such an application was great indeed; it was too great for her to know in what manner she acceded to it. She immediately felt that whatever desire Miss Darcy might have of being acquainted with her must be the work of her brother, and, without looking farther, it was satisfactory; it was gratifying to know that his resentment had not made him think really ill of her. They now walked on in silence, each of them deep in thought. Elizabeth was not comfortable; that was impossible; but she was flattered and pleased. His wish of introducing his sister to her was a compliment of the highest kind. They soon outstripped the others, and when they had reached the carriage, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were half a quarter of a mile behind. He then asked her to walk into the house—but she declared herself not tired, and they stood together on the lawn. At such a time much might have been said, and silence was very awkward. She wanted to talk, but there seemed to be an embargo on every subject. At last she recollected that she had been travelling, and they talked of Matlock and Dove Dale with great perseverance. Yet time and her aunt moved slowly—and her patience and her ideas were nearly worn out before the _tête-à-tête_ was over. On Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner’s coming up they were all pressed to go into the house and take some refreshment; but this was declined, and they parted on each side with utmost politeness. Mr. Darcy handed the ladies into the carriage; and when it drove off, Elizabeth saw him walking slowly towards the house. The observations of her uncle and aunt now began; and each of them pronounced him to be infinitely superior to anything they had expected. “He is perfectly well behaved, polite, and unassuming,” said her uncle. “There _is_ something a little stately in him, to be sure,” replied her aunt, “but it is confined to his air, and is not unbecoming. I can now say with the housekeeper, that though some people may call him proud, _I_ have seen nothing of it.” “I was never more surprised than by his behaviour to us. It was more than civil; it was really attentive; and there was no necessity for such attention. His acquaintance with Elizabeth was very trifling.” “To be sure, Lizzy,” said her aunt, “he is not so handsome as Wickham; or, rather, he has not Wickham’s countenance, for his features are perfectly good. But how came you to tell me that he was so disagreeable?” Elizabeth excused herself as well as she could; said that she had liked him better when they had met in Kent than before, and that she had never seen him so pleasant as this morning. “But perhaps he may be a little whimsical in his civilities,” replied her uncle. “Your great men often are; and therefore I shall not take him at his word, as he might change his mind another day, and warn me off his grounds.” Elizabeth felt that they had entirely misunderstood his character, but said nothing. “From what we have seen of him,” continued Mrs. Gardiner, “I really should not have thought that he could have behaved in so cruel a way by anybody as he has done by poor Wickham. He has not an ill-natured look. On the contrary, there is something pleasing about his mouth when he speaks. And there is something of dignity in his countenance that would not give one an unfavourable idea of his heart. But, to be sure, the good lady who showed us his house did give him a most flaming character! I could hardly help laughing aloud sometimes. But he is a liberal master, I suppose, and _that_ in the eye of a servant comprehends every virtue.” Elizabeth here felt herself called on to say something in vindication of his behaviour to Wickham; and therefore gave them to understand, in as guarded a manner as she could, that by what she had heard from his relations in Kent, his actions were capable of a very different construction; and that his character was by no means so faulty, nor Wickham’s so amiable, as they had been considered in Hertfordshire. In confirmation of this, she related the particulars of all the pecuniary transactions in which they had been connected, without actually naming her authority, but stating it to be such as might be relied on. Mrs. Gardiner was surprised and concerned; but as they were now approaching the scene of her former pleasures, every idea gave way to the charm of recollection; and she was too much engaged in pointing out to her husband all the interesting spots in its environs to think of anything else. Fatigued as she had been by the morning’s walk they had no sooner dined than she set off again in quest of her former acquaintance, and the evening was spent in the satisfactions of an intercourse renewed after many years’ discontinuance. The occurrences of the day were too full of interest to leave Elizabeth much attention for any of these new friends; and she could do nothing but think, and think with wonder, of Mr. Darcy’s civility, and, above all, of his wishing her to be acquainted with his sister. Chapter 44 Elizabeth had settled it that Mr. Darcy would bring his sister to visit her the very day after her reaching Pemberley; and was consequently resolved not to be out of sight of the inn the whole of that morning. But her conclusion was false; for on the very morning after their arrival at Lambton, these visitors came. They had been walking about the place with some of their new friends, and were just returning to the inn to dress themselves for dining with the same family, when the sound of a carriage drew them to a window, and they saw a gentleman and a lady in a curricle driving up the street. Elizabeth immediately recognizing the livery, guessed what it meant, and imparted no small degree of her surprise to her relations by acquainting them with the honour which she expected. Her uncle and aunt were all amazement; and the embarrassment of her manner as she spoke, joined to the circumstance itself, and many of the circumstances of the preceding day, opened to them a new idea on the business. Nothing had ever suggested it before, but they felt that there was no other way of accounting for such attentions from such a quarter than by supposing a partiality for their niece. While these newly-born notions were passing in their heads, the perturbation of Elizabeth’s feelings was at every moment increasing. She was quite amazed at her own discomposure; but amongst other causes of disquiet, she dreaded lest the partiality of the brother should have said too much in her favour; and, more than commonly anxious to please, she naturally suspected that every power of pleasing would fail her. She retreated from the window, fearful of being seen; and as she walked up and down the room, endeavouring to compose herself, saw such looks of enquiring surprise in her uncle and aunt as made everything worse. Miss Darcy and her brother appeared, and this formidable introduction took place. With astonishment did Elizabeth see that her new acquaintance was at least as much embarrassed as herself. Since her being at Lambton, she had heard that Miss Darcy was exceedingly proud; but the observation of a very few minutes convinced her that she was only exceedingly shy. She found it difficult to obtain even a word from her beyond a monosyllable. Miss Darcy was tall, and on a larger scale than Elizabeth; and, though little more than sixteen, her figure was formed, and her appearance womanly and graceful. She was less handsome than her brother; but there was sense and good humour in her face, and her manners were perfectly unassuming and gentle. Elizabeth, who had expected to find in her as acute and unembarrassed an observer as ever Mr. Darcy had been, was much relieved by discerning such different feelings. They had not long been together before Mr. Darcy told her that Bingley was also coming to wait on her; and she had barely time to express her satisfaction, and prepare for such a visitor, when Bingley’s quick step was heard on the stairs, and in a moment he entered the room. All Elizabeth’s anger against him had been long done away; but had she still felt any, it could hardly have stood its ground against the unaffected cordiality with which he expressed himself on seeing her again. He enquired in a friendly, though general way, after her family, and looked and spoke with the same good-humoured ease that he had ever done. To Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner he was scarcely a less interesting personage than to herself. They had long wished to see him. The whole party before them, indeed, excited a lively attention. The suspicions which had just arisen of Mr. Darcy and their niece directed their observation towards each with an earnest though guarded enquiry; and they soon drew from those enquiries the full conviction that one of them at least knew what it was to love. Of the lady’s sensations they remained a little in doubt; but that the gentleman was overflowing with admiration was evident enough. Elizabeth, on her side, had much to do. She wanted to ascertain the feelings of each of her visitors; she wanted to compose her own, and to make herself agreeable to all; and in the latter object, where she feared most to fail, she was most sure of success, for those to whom she endeavoured to give pleasure were prepossessed in her favour. Bingley was ready, Georgiana was eager, and Darcy determined, to be pleased. In seeing Bingley, her thoughts naturally flew to her sister; and, oh! how ardently did she long to know whether any of his were directed in a like manner. Sometimes she could fancy that he talked less than on former occasions, and once or twice pleased herself with the notion that, as he looked at her, he was trying to trace a resemblance. But, though this might be imaginary, she could not be deceived as to his behaviour to Miss Darcy, who had been set up as a rival to Jane. No look appeared on either side that spoke particular regard. Nothing occurred between them that could justify the hopes of his sister. On this point she was soon satisfied; and two or three little circumstances occurred ere they parted, which, in her anxious interpretation, denoted a recollection of Jane not untinctured by tenderness, and a wish of saying more that might lead to the mention of her, had he dared. He observed to her, at a moment when the others were talking together, and in a tone which had something of real regret, that it “was a very long time since he had had the pleasure of seeing her;” and, before she could reply, he added, “It is above eight months. We have not met since the 26th of November, when we were all dancing together at Netherfield.” Elizabeth was pleased to find his memory so exact; and he afterwards took occasion to ask her, when unattended to by any of the rest, whether _all_ her sisters were at Longbourn. There was not much in the question, nor in the preceding remark; but there was a look and a manner which gave them meaning. It was not often that she could turn her eyes on Mr. Darcy himself; but, whenever she did catch a glimpse, she saw an expression of general complaisance, and in all that he said she heard an accent so removed from _hauteur_ or disdain of his companions, as convinced her that the improvement of manners which she had yesterday witnessed however temporary its existence might prove, had at least outlived one day. When she saw him thus seeking the acquaintance and courting the good opinion of people with whom any intercourse a few months ago would have been a disgrace—when she saw him thus civil, not only to herself, but to the very relations whom he had openly disdained, and recollected their last lively scene in Hunsford Parsonage—the difference, the change was so great, and struck so forcibly on her mind, that she could hardly restrain her astonishment from being visible. Never, even in the company of his dear friends at Netherfield, or his dignified relations at Rosings, had she seen him so desirous to please, so free from self-consequence or unbending reserve, as now, when no importance could result from the success of his endeavours, and when even the acquaintance of those to whom his attentions were addressed would draw down the ridicule and censure of the ladies both of Netherfield and Rosings. Their visitors stayed with them above half-an-hour; and when they arose to depart, Mr. Darcy called on his sister to join him in expressing their wish of seeing Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, and Miss Bennet, to dinner at Pemberley, before they left the country. Miss Darcy, though with a diffidence which marked her little in the habit of giving invitations, readily obeyed. Mrs. Gardiner looked at her niece, desirous of knowing how _she_, whom the invitation most concerned, felt disposed as to its acceptance, but Elizabeth had turned away her head. Presuming however, that this studied avoidance spoke rather a momentary embarrassment than any dislike of the proposal, and seeing in her husband, who was fond of society, a perfect willingness to accept it, she ventured to engage for her attendance, and the day after the next was fixed on. Bingley expressed great pleasure in the certainty of seeing Elizabeth again, having still a great deal to say to her, and many enquiries to make after all their Hertfordshire friends. Elizabeth, construing all this into a wish of hearing her speak of her sister, was pleased, and on this account, as well as some others, found herself, when their visitors left them, capable of considering the last half-hour with some satisfaction, though while it was passing, the enjoyment of it had been little. Eager to be alone, and fearful of enquiries or hints from her uncle and aunt, she stayed with them only long enough to hear their favourable opinion of Bingley, and then hurried away to dress. But she had no reason to fear Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner’s curiosity; it was not their wish to force her communication. It was evident that she was much better acquainted with Mr. Darcy than they had before any idea of; it was evident that he was very much in love with her. They saw much to interest, but nothing to justify enquiry. Of Mr. Darcy it was now a matter of anxiety to think well; and, as far as their acquaintance reached, there was no fault to find. They could not be untouched by his politeness; and had they drawn his character from their own feelings and his servant’s report, without any reference to any other account, the circle in Hertfordshire to which he was known would not have recognized it for Mr. Darcy. There was now an interest, however, in believing the housekeeper; and they soon became sensible that the authority of a servant who had known him since he was four years old, and whose own manners indicated respectability, was not to be hastily rejected. Neither had anything occurred in the intelligence of their Lambton friends that could materially lessen its weight. They had nothing to accuse him of but pride; pride he probably had, and if not, it would certainly be imputed by the inhabitants of a small market-town where the family did not visit. It was acknowledged, however, that he was a liberal man, and did much good among the poor. With respect to Wickham, the travellers soon found that he was not held there in much estimation; for though the chief of his concerns with the son of his patron were imperfectly understood, it was yet a well-known fact that, on his quitting Derbyshire, he had left many debts behind him, which Mr. Darcy afterwards discharged. As for Elizabeth, her thoughts were at Pemberley this evening more than the last; and the evening, though as it passed it seemed long, was not long enough to determine her feelings towards _one_ in that mansion; and she lay awake two whole hours endeavouring to make them out. She certainly did not hate him. No; hatred had vanished long ago, and she had almost as long been ashamed of ever feeling a dislike against him, that could be so called. The respect created by the conviction of his valuable qualities, though at first unwillingly admitted, had for some time ceased to be repugnant to her feeling; and it was now heightened into somewhat of a friendlier nature, by the testimony so highly in his favour, and bringing forward his disposition in so amiable a light, which yesterday had produced. But above all, above respect and esteem, there was a motive within her of goodwill which could not be overlooked. It was gratitude; gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection. He who, she had been persuaded, would avoid her as his greatest enemy, seemed, on this accidental meeting, most eager to preserve the acquaintance, and without any indelicate display of regard, or any peculiarity of manner, where their two selves only were concerned, was soliciting the good opinion of her friends, and bent on making her known to his sister. Such a change in a man of so much pride exciting not only astonishment but gratitude—for to love, ardent love, it must be attributed; and as such its impression on her was of a sort to be encouraged, as by no means unpleasing, though it could not be exactly defined. She respected, she esteemed, she was grateful to him, she felt a real interest in his welfare; and she only wanted to know how far she wished that welfare to depend upon herself, and how far it would be for the happiness of both that she should employ the power, which her fancy told her she still possessed, of bringing on her the renewal of his addresses. It had been settled in the evening between the aunt and the niece, that such a striking civility as Miss Darcy’s in coming to see them on the very day of her arrival at Pemberley, for she had reached it only to a late breakfast, ought to be imitated, though it could not be equalled, by some exertion of politeness on their side; and, consequently, that it would be highly expedient to wait on her at Pemberley the following morning. They were, therefore, to go. Elizabeth was pleased; though when she asked herself the reason, she had very little to say in reply. Mr. Gardiner left them soon after breakfast. The fishing scheme had been renewed the day before, and a positive engagement made of his meeting some of the gentlemen at Pemberley before noon. Chapter 45 Convinced as Elizabeth now was that Miss Bingley’s dislike of her had originated in jealousy, she could not help feeling how unwelcome her appearance at Pemberley must be to her, and was curious to know with how much civility on that lady’s side the acquaintance would now be renewed. On reaching the house, they were shown through the hall into the saloon, whose northern aspect rendered it delightful for summer. Its windows opening to the ground, admitted a most refreshing view of the high woody hills behind the house, and of the beautiful oaks and Spanish chestnuts which were scattered over the intermediate lawn. In this house they were received by Miss Darcy, who was sitting there with Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, and the lady with whom she lived in London. Georgiana’s reception of them was very civil, but attended with all the embarrassment which, though proceeding from shyness and the fear of doing wrong, would easily give to those who felt themselves inferior the belief of her being proud and reserved. Mrs. Gardiner and her niece, however, did her justice, and pitied her. By Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley they were noticed only by a curtsey; and, on their being seated, a pause, awkward as such pauses must always be, succeeded for a few moments. It was first broken by Mrs. Annesley, a genteel, agreeable-looking woman, whose endeavour to introduce some kind of discourse proved her to be more truly well-bred than either of the others; and between her and Mrs. Gardiner, with occasional help from Elizabeth, the conversation was carried on. Miss Darcy looked as if she wished for courage enough to join in it; and sometimes did venture a short sentence when there was least danger of its being heard. Elizabeth soon saw that she was herself closely watched by Miss Bingley, and that she could not speak a word, especially to Miss Darcy, without calling her attention. This observation would not have prevented her from trying to talk to the latter, had they not been seated at an inconvenient distance; but she was not sorry to be spared the necessity of saying much. Her own thoughts were employing her. She expected every moment that some of the gentlemen would enter the room. She wished, she feared that the master of the house might be amongst them; and whether she wished or feared it most, she could scarcely determine. After sitting in this manner a quarter of an hour without hearing Miss Bingley’s voice, Elizabeth was roused by receiving from her a cold enquiry after the health of her family. She answered with equal indifference and brevity, and the other said no more. The next variation which their visit afforded was produced by the entrance of servants with cold meat, cake, and a variety of all the finest fruits in season; but this did not take place till after many a significant look and smile from Mrs. Annesley to Miss Darcy had been given, to remind her of her post. There was now employment for the whole party—for though they could not all talk, they could all eat; and the beautiful pyramids of grapes, nectarines, and peaches soon collected them round the table. While thus engaged, Elizabeth had a fair opportunity of deciding whether she most feared or wished for the appearance of Mr. Darcy, by the feelings which prevailed on his entering the room; and then, though but a moment before she had believed her wishes to predominate, she began to regret that he came. He had been some time with Mr. Gardiner, who, with two or three other gentlemen from the house, was engaged by the river, and had left him only on learning that the ladies of the family intended a visit to Georgiana that morning. No sooner did he appear than Elizabeth wisely resolved to be perfectly easy and unembarrassed; a resolution the more necessary to be made, but perhaps not the more easily kept, because she saw that the suspicions of the whole party were awakened against them, and that there was scarcely an eye which did not watch his behaviour when he first came into the room. In no countenance was attentive curiosity so strongly marked as in Miss Bingley’s, in spite of the smiles which overspread her face whenever she spoke to one of its objects; for jealousy had not yet made her desperate, and her attentions to Mr. Darcy were by no means over. Miss Darcy, on her brother’s entrance, exerted herself much more to talk, and Elizabeth saw that he was anxious for his sister and herself to get acquainted, and forwarded as much as possible, every attempt at conversation on either side. Miss Bingley saw all this likewise; and, in the imprudence of anger, took the first opportunity of saying, with sneering civility: “Pray, Miss Eliza, are not the ——shire Militia removed from Meryton? They must be a great loss to _your_ family.” In Darcy’s presence she dared not mention Wickham’s name; but Elizabeth instantly comprehended that he was uppermost in her thoughts; and the various recollections connected with him gave her a moment’s distress; but exerting herself vigorously to repel the ill-natured attack, she presently answered the question in a tolerably detached tone. While she spoke, an involuntary glance showed her Darcy, with a heightened complexion, earnestly looking at her, and his sister overcome with confusion, and unable to lift up her eyes. Had Miss Bingley known what pain she was then giving her beloved friend, she undoubtedly would have refrained from the hint; but she had merely intended to discompose Elizabeth by bringing forward the idea of a man to whom she believed her partial, to make her betray a sensibility which might injure her in Darcy’s opinion, and, perhaps, to remind the latter of all the follies and absurdities by which some part of her family were connected with that corps. Not a syllable had ever reached her of Miss Darcy’s meditated elopement. To no creature had it been revealed, where secrecy was possible, except to Elizabeth; and from all Bingley’s connections her brother was particularly anxious to conceal it, from the very wish which Elizabeth had long ago attributed to him, of their becoming hereafter her own. He had certainly formed such a plan, and without meaning that it should affect his endeavour to separate him from Miss Bennet, it is probable that it might add something to his lively concern for the welfare of his friend. Elizabeth’s collected behaviour, however, soon quieted his emotion; and as Miss Bingley, vexed and disappointed, dared not approach nearer to Wickham, Georgiana also recovered in time, though not enough to be able to speak any more. Her brother, whose eye she feared to meet, scarcely recollected her interest in the affair, and the very circumstance which had been designed to turn his thoughts from Elizabeth seemed to have fixed them on her more and more cheerfully. Their visit did not continue long after the question and answer above mentioned; and while Mr. Darcy was attending them to their carriage Miss Bingley was venting her feelings in criticisms on Elizabeth’s person, behaviour, and dress. But Georgiana would not join her. Her brother’s recommendation was enough to ensure her favour; his judgement could not err. And he had spoken in such terms of Elizabeth as to leave Georgiana without the power of finding her otherwise than lovely and amiable. When Darcy returned to the saloon, Miss Bingley could not help repeating to him some part of what she had been saying to his sister. “How very ill Miss Eliza Bennet looks this morning, Mr. Darcy,” she cried; “I never in my life saw anyone so much altered as she is since the winter. She is grown so brown and coarse! Louisa and I were agreeing that we should not have known her again.” However little Mr. Darcy might have liked such an address, he contented himself with coolly replying that he perceived no other alteration than her being rather tanned, no miraculous consequence of travelling in the summer. “For my own part,” she rejoined, “I must confess that I never could see any beauty in her. Her face is too thin; her complexion has no brilliancy; and her features are not at all handsome. Her nose wants character—there is nothing marked in its lines. Her teeth are tolerable, but not out of the common way; and as for her eyes, which have sometimes been called so fine, I could never see anything extraordinary in them. They have a sharp, shrewish look, which I do not like at all; and in her air altogether there is a self-sufficiency without fashion, which is intolerable.” Persuaded as Miss Bingley was that Darcy admired Elizabeth, this was not the best method of recommending herself; but angry people are not always wise; and in seeing him at last look somewhat nettled, she had all the success she expected. He was resolutely silent, however, and, from a determination of making him speak, she continued: “I remember, when we first knew her in Hertfordshire, how amazed we all were to find that she was a reputed beauty; and I particularly recollect your saying one night, after they had been dining at Netherfield, ‘_She_ a beauty!—I should as soon call her mother a wit.’ But afterwards she seemed to improve on you, and I believe you thought her rather pretty at one time.” “Yes,” replied Darcy, who could contain himself no longer, “but _that_ was only when I first saw her, for it is many months since I have considered her as one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance.” He then went away, and Miss Bingley was left to all the satisfaction of having forced him to say what gave no one any pain but herself. Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth talked of all that had occurred during their visit, as they returned, except what had particularly interested them both. The look and behaviour of everybody they had seen were discussed, except of the person who had mostly engaged their attention. They talked of his sister, his friends, his house, his fruit—of everything but himself; yet Elizabeth was longing to know what Mrs. Gardiner thought of him, and Mrs. Gardiner would have been highly gratified by her niece’s beginning the subject. Chapter 46 Elizabeth had been a good deal disappointed in not finding a letter from Jane on their first arrival at Lambton; and this disappointment had been renewed on each of the mornings that had now been spent there; but on the third her repining was over, and her sister justified, by the receipt of two letters from her at once, on one of which was marked that it had been missent elsewhere. Elizabeth was not surprised at it, as Jane had written the direction remarkably ill. They had just been preparing to walk as the letters came in; and her uncle and aunt, leaving her to enjoy them in quiet, set off by themselves. The one missent must first be attended to; it had been written five days ago. The beginning contained an account of all their little parties and engagements, with such news as the country afforded; but the latter half, which was dated a day later, and written in evident agitation, gave more important intelligence. It was to this effect: “Since writing the above, dearest Lizzy, something has occurred of a most unexpected and serious nature; but I am afraid of alarming you—be assured that we are all well. What I have to say relates to poor Lydia. An express came at twelve last night, just as we were all gone to bed, from Colonel Forster, to inform us that she was gone off to Scotland with one of his officers; to own the truth, with Wickham! Imagine our surprise. To Kitty, however, it does not seem so wholly unexpected. I am very, very sorry. So imprudent a match on both sides! But I am willing to hope the best, and that his character has been misunderstood. Thoughtless and indiscreet I can easily believe him, but this step (and let us rejoice over it) marks nothing bad at heart. His choice is disinterested at least, for he must know my father can give her nothing. Our poor mother is sadly grieved. My father bears it better. How thankful am I that we never let them know what has been said against him; we must forget it ourselves. They were off Saturday night about twelve, as is conjectured, but were not missed till yesterday morning at eight. The express was sent off directly. My dear Lizzy, they must have passed within ten miles of us. Colonel Forster gives us reason to expect him here soon. Lydia left a few lines for his wife, informing her of their intention. I must conclude, for I cannot be long from my poor mother. I am afraid you will not be able to make it out, but I hardly know what I have written.” Without allowing herself time for consideration, and scarcely knowing what she felt, Elizabeth on finishing this letter instantly seized the other, and opening it with the utmost impatience, read as follows: it had been written a day later than the conclusion of the first. “By this time, my dearest sister, you have received my hurried letter; I wish this may be more intelligible, but though not confined for time, my head is so bewildered that I cannot answer for being coherent. Dearest Lizzy, I hardly know what I would write, but I have bad news for you, and it cannot be delayed. Imprudent as the marriage between Mr. Wickham and our poor Lydia would be, we are now anxious to be assured it has taken place, for there is but too much reason to fear they are not gone to Scotland. Colonel Forster came yesterday, having left Brighton the day before, not many hours after the express. Though Lydia’s short letter to Mrs. F. gave them to understand that they were going to Gretna Green, something was dropped by Denny expressing his belief that W. never intended to go there, or to marry Lydia at all, which was repeated to Colonel F., who, instantly taking the alarm, set off from B. intending to trace their route. He did trace them easily to Clapham, but no further; for on entering that place, they removed into a hackney coach, and dismissed the chaise that brought them from Epsom. All that is known after this is, that they were seen to continue the London road. I know not what to think. After making every possible enquiry on that side London, Colonel F. came on into Hertfordshire, anxiously renewing them at all the turnpikes, and at the inns in Barnet and Hatfield, but without any success—no such people had been seen to pass through. With the kindest concern he came on to Longbourn, and broke his apprehensions to us in a manner most creditable to his heart. I am sincerely grieved for him and Mrs. F., but no one can throw any blame on them. Our distress, my dear Lizzy, is very great. My father and mother believe the worst, but I cannot think so ill of him. Many circumstances might make it more eligible for them to be married privately in town than to pursue their first plan; and even if _he_ could form such a design against a young woman of Lydia’s connections, which is not likely, can I suppose her so lost to everything? Impossible! I grieve to find, however, that Colonel F. is not disposed to depend upon their marriage; he shook his head when I expressed my hopes, and said he feared W. was not a man to be trusted. My poor mother is really ill, and keeps her room. Could she exert herself, it would be better; but this is not to be expected. And as to my father, I never in my life saw him so affected. Poor Kitty has anger for having concealed their attachment; but as it was a matter of confidence, one cannot wonder. I am truly glad, dearest Lizzy, that you have been spared something of these distressing scenes; but now, as the first shock is over, shall I own that I long for your return? I am not so selfish, however, as to press for it, if inconvenient. Adieu! I take up my pen again to do what I have just told you I would not; but circumstances are such that I cannot help earnestly begging you all to come here as soon as possible. I know my dear uncle and aunt so well, that I am not afraid of requesting it, though I have still something more to ask of the former. My father is going to London with Colonel Forster instantly, to try to discover her. What he means to do I am sure I know not; but his excessive distress will not allow him to pursue any measure in the best and safest way, and Colonel Forster is obliged to be at Brighton again to-morrow evening. In such an exigence, my uncle’s advice and assistance would be everything in the world; he will immediately comprehend what I must feel, and I rely upon his goodness.” “Oh! where, where is my uncle?” cried Elizabeth, darting from her seat as she finished the letter, in eagerness to follow him, without losing a moment of the time so precious; but as she reached the door it was opened by a servant, and Mr. Darcy appeared. Her pale face and impetuous manner made him start, and before he could recover himself to speak, she, in whose mind every idea was superseded by Lydia’s situation, hastily exclaimed, “I beg your pardon, but I must leave you. I must find Mr. Gardiner this moment, on business that cannot be delayed; I have not an instant to lose.” “Good God! what is the matter?” cried he, with more feeling than politeness; then recollecting himself, “I will not detain you a minute; but let me, or let the servant go after Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. You are not well enough; you cannot go yourself.” Elizabeth hesitated, but her knees trembled under her and she felt how little would be gained by her attempting to pursue them. Calling back the servant, therefore, she commissioned him, though in so breathless an accent as made her almost unintelligible, to fetch his master and mistress home instantly. On his quitting the room she sat down, unable to support herself, and looking so miserably ill, that it was impossible for Darcy to leave her, or to refrain from saying, in a tone of gentleness and commiseration, “Let me call your maid. Is there nothing you could take to give you present relief? A glass of wine; shall I get you one? You are very ill.” “No, I thank you,” she replied, endeavouring to recover herself. “There is nothing the matter with me. I am quite well; I am only distressed by some dreadful news which I have just received from Longbourn.” She burst into tears as she alluded to it, and for a few minutes could not speak another word. Darcy, in wretched suspense, could only say something indistinctly of his concern, and observe her in compassionate silence. At length she spoke again. “I have just had a letter from Jane, with such dreadful news. It cannot be concealed from anyone. My younger sister has left all her friends—has eloped; has thrown herself into the power of—of Mr. Wickham. They are gone off together from Brighton. _You_ know him too well to doubt the rest. She has no money, no connections, nothing that can tempt him to—she is lost for ever.” Darcy was fixed in astonishment. “When I consider,” she added in a yet more agitated voice, “that _I_ might have prevented it! _I_ who knew what he was. Had I but explained some part of it only—some part of what I learnt, to my own family! Had his character been known, this could not have happened. But it is all—all too late now.” “I am grieved indeed,” cried Darcy; “grieved—shocked. But is it certain—absolutely certain?” “Oh, yes! They left Brighton together on Sunday night, and were traced almost to London, but not beyond; they are certainly not gone to Scotland.” “And what has been done, what has been attempted, to recover her?” “My father is gone to London, and Jane has written to beg my uncle’s immediate assistance; and we shall be off, I hope, in half-an-hour. But nothing can be done—I know very well that nothing can be done. How is such a man to be worked on? How are they even to be discovered? I have not the smallest hope. It is every way horrible!” Darcy shook his head in silent acquiescence. “When _my_ eyes were opened to his real character—Oh! had I known what I ought, what I dared to do! But I knew not—I was afraid of doing too much. Wretched, wretched mistake!” Darcy made no answer. He seemed scarcely to hear her, and was walking up and down the room in earnest meditation, his brow contracted, his air gloomy. Elizabeth soon observed, and instantly understood it. Her power was sinking; everything _must_ sink under such a proof of family weakness, such an assurance of the deepest disgrace. She could neither wonder nor condemn, but the belief of his self-conquest brought nothing consolatory to her bosom, afforded no palliation of her distress. It was, on the contrary, exactly calculated to make her understand her own wishes; and never had she so honestly felt that she could have loved him, as now, when all love must be vain. But self, though it would intrude, could not engross her. Lydia—the humiliation, the misery she was bringing on them all, soon swallowed up every private care; and covering her face with her handkerchief, Elizabeth was soon lost to everything else; and, after a pause of several minutes, was only recalled to a sense of her situation by the voice of her companion, who, in a manner which, though it spoke compassion, spoke likewise restraint, said, “I am afraid you have been long desiring my absence, nor have I anything to plead in excuse of my stay, but real, though unavailing concern. Would to Heaven that anything could be either said or done on my part that might offer consolation to such distress! But I will not torment you with vain wishes, which may seem purposely to ask for your thanks. This unfortunate affair will, I fear, prevent my sister’s having the pleasure of seeing you at Pemberley to-day.” “Oh, yes. Be so kind as to apologise for us to Miss Darcy. Say that urgent business calls us home immediately. Conceal the unhappy truth as long as it is possible, I know it cannot be long.” He readily assured her of his secrecy; again expressed his sorrow for her distress, wished it a happier conclusion than there was at present reason to hope, and leaving his compliments for her relations, with only one serious, parting look, went away. As he quitted the room, Elizabeth felt how improbable it was that they should ever see each other again on such terms of cordiality as had marked their several meetings in Derbyshire; and as she threw a retrospective glance over the whole of their acquaintance, so full of contradictions and varieties, sighed at the perverseness of those feelings which would now have promoted its continuance, and would formerly have rejoiced in its termination. If gratitude and esteem are good foundations of affection, Elizabeth’s change of sentiment will be neither improbable nor faulty. But if otherwise—if regard springing from such sources is unreasonable or unnatural, in comparison of what is so often described as arising on a first interview with its object, and even before two words have been exchanged, nothing can be said in her defence, except that she had given somewhat of a trial to the latter method in her partiality for Wickham, and that its ill success might, perhaps, authorise her to seek the other less interesting mode of attachment. Be that as it may, she saw him go with regret; and in this early example of what Lydia’s infamy must produce, found additional anguish as she reflected on that wretched business. Never, since reading Jane’s second letter, had she entertained a hope of Wickham’s meaning to marry her. No one but Jane, she thought, could flatter herself with such an expectation. Surprise was the least of her feelings on this development. While the contents of the first letter remained in her mind, she was all surprise—all astonishment that Wickham should marry a girl whom it was impossible he could marry for money; and how Lydia could ever have attached him had appeared incomprehensible. But now it was all too natural. For such an attachment as this she might have sufficient charms; and though she did not suppose Lydia to be deliberately engaging in an elopement without the intention of marriage, she had no difficulty in believing that neither her virtue nor her understanding would preserve her from falling an easy prey. She had never perceived, while the regiment was in Hertfordshire, that Lydia had any partiality for him; but she was convinced that Lydia wanted only encouragement to attach herself to anybody. Sometimes one officer, sometimes another, had been her favourite, as their attentions raised them in her opinion. Her affections had continually been fluctuating but never without an object. The mischief of neglect and mistaken indulgence towards such a girl—oh! how acutely did she now feel it! She was wild to be at home—to hear, to see, to be upon the spot to share with Jane in the cares that must now fall wholly upon her, in a family so deranged, a father absent, a mother incapable of exertion, and requiring constant attendance; and though almost persuaded that nothing could be done for Lydia, her uncle’s interference seemed of the utmost importance, and till he entered the room her impatience was severe. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner had hurried back in alarm, supposing by the servant’s account that their niece was taken suddenly ill; but satisfying them instantly on that head, she eagerly communicated the cause of their summons, reading the two letters aloud, and dwelling on the postscript of the last with trembling energy.— Though Lydia had never been a favourite with them, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner could not but be deeply afflicted. Not Lydia only, but all were concerned in it; and after the first exclamations of surprise and horror, Mr. Gardiner promised every assistance in his power. Elizabeth, though expecting no less, thanked him with tears of gratitude; and all three being actuated by one spirit, everything relating to their journey was speedily settled. They were to be off as soon as possible. “But what is to be done about Pemberley?” cried Mrs. Gardiner. “John told us Mr. Darcy was here when you sent for us; was it so?” “Yes; and I told him we should not be able to keep our engagement. _That_ is all settled.” “That is all settled;” repeated the other, as she ran into her room to prepare. “And are they upon such terms as for her to disclose the real truth? Oh, that I knew how it was!” But wishes were vain, or at least could only serve to amuse her in the hurry and confusion of the following hour. Had Elizabeth been at leisure to be idle, she would have remained certain that all employment was impossible to one so wretched as herself; but she had her share of business as well as her aunt, and amongst the rest there were notes to be written to all their friends at Lambton, with false excuses for their sudden departure. An hour, however, saw the whole completed; and Mr. Gardiner meanwhile having settled his account at the inn, nothing remained to be done but to go; and Elizabeth, after all the misery of the morning, found herself, in a shorter space of time than she could have supposed, seated in the carriage, and on the road to Longbourn. Chapter 47 “I have been thinking it over again, Elizabeth,” said her uncle, as they drove from the town; “and really, upon serious consideration, I am much more inclined than I was to judge as your eldest sister does on the matter. It appears to me so very unlikely that any young man should form such a design against a girl who is by no means unprotected or friendless, and who was actually staying in his colonel’s family, that I am strongly inclined to hope the best. Could he expect that her friends would not step forward? Could he expect to be noticed again by the regiment, after such an affront to Colonel Forster? His temptation is not adequate to the risk!” “Do you really think so?” cried Elizabeth, brightening up for a moment. “Upon my word,” said Mrs. Gardiner, “I begin to be of your uncle’s opinion. It is really too great a violation of decency, honour, and interest, for him to be guilty of. I cannot think so very ill of Wickham. Can you yourself, Lizzy, so wholly give him up, as to believe him capable of it?” “Not, perhaps, of neglecting his own interest; but of every other neglect I can believe him capable. If, indeed, it should be so! But I dare not hope it. Why should they not go on to Scotland if that had been the case?” “In the first place,” replied Mr. Gardiner, “there is no absolute proof that they are not gone to Scotland.” “Oh! but their removing from the chaise into a hackney coach is such a presumption! And, besides, no traces of them were to be found on the Barnet road.” “Well, then—supposing them to be in London. They may be there, though for the purpose of concealment, for no more exceptional purpose. It is not likely that money should be very abundant on either side; and it might strike them that they could be more economically, though less expeditiously, married in London than in Scotland.” “But why all this secrecy? Why any fear of detection? Why must their marriage be private? Oh, no, no—this is not likely. His most particular friend, you see by Jane’s account, was persuaded of his never intending to marry her. Wickham will never marry a woman without some money. He cannot afford it. And what claims has Lydia—what attraction has she beyond youth, health, and good humour that could make him, for her sake, forego every chance of benefiting himself by marrying well? As to what restraint the apprehensions of disgrace in the corps might throw on a dishonourable elopement with her, I am not able to judge; for I know nothing of the effects that such a step might produce. But as to your other objection, I am afraid it will hardly hold good. Lydia has no brothers to step forward; and he might imagine, from my father’s behaviour, from his indolence and the little attention he has ever seemed to give to what was going forward in his family, that _he_ would do as little, and think as little about it, as any father could do, in such a matter.” “But can you think that Lydia is so lost to everything but love of him as to consent to live with him on any terms other than marriage?” “It does seem, and it is most shocking indeed,” replied Elizabeth, with tears in her eyes, “that a sister’s sense of decency and virtue in such a point should admit of doubt. But, really, I know not what to say. Perhaps I am not doing her justice. But she is very young; she has never been taught to think on serious subjects; and for the last half-year, nay, for a twelvemonth—she has been given up to nothing but amusement and vanity. She has been allowed to dispose of her time in the most idle and frivolous manner, and to adopt any opinions that came in her way. Since the ——shire were first quartered in Meryton, nothing but love, flirtation, and officers have been in her head. She has been doing everything in her power by thinking and talking on the subject, to give greater—what shall I call it? susceptibility to her feelings; which are naturally lively enough. And we all know that Wickham has every charm of person and address that can captivate a woman.” “But you see that Jane,” said her aunt, “does not think so very ill of Wickham as to believe him capable of the attempt.” “Of whom does Jane ever think ill? And who is there, whatever might be their former conduct, that she would think capable of such an attempt, till it were proved against them? But Jane knows, as well as I do, what Wickham really is. We both know that he has been profligate in every sense of the word; that he has neither integrity nor honour; that he is as false and deceitful as he is insinuating.” “And do you really know all this?” cried Mrs. Gardiner, whose curiosity as to the mode of her intelligence was all alive. “I do indeed,” replied Elizabeth, colouring. “I told you, the other day, of his infamous behaviour to Mr. Darcy; and you yourself, when last at Longbourn, heard in what manner he spoke of the man who had behaved with such forbearance and liberality towards him. And there are other circumstances which I am not at liberty—which it is not worth while to relate; but his lies about the whole Pemberley family are endless. From what he said of Miss Darcy I was thoroughly prepared to see a proud, reserved, disagreeable girl. Yet he knew to the contrary himself. He must know that she was as amiable and unpretending as we have found her.” “But does Lydia know nothing of this? can she be ignorant of what you and Jane seem so well to understand?” “Oh, yes!—that, that is the worst of all. Till I was in Kent, and saw so much both of Mr. Darcy and his relation Colonel Fitzwilliam, I was ignorant of the truth myself. And when I returned home, the ——shire was to leave Meryton in a week or fortnight’s time. As that was the case, neither Jane, to whom I related the whole, nor I, thought it necessary to make our knowledge public; for of what use could it apparently be to any one, that the good opinion which all the neighbourhood had of him should then be overthrown? And even when it was settled that Lydia should go with Mrs. Forster, the necessity of opening her eyes to his character never occurred to me. That _she_ could be in any danger from the deception never entered my head. That such a consequence as _this_ could ensue, you may easily believe, was far enough from my thoughts.” “When they all removed to Brighton, therefore, you had no reason, I suppose, to believe them fond of each other?” “Not the slightest. I can remember no symptom of affection on either side; and had anything of the kind been perceptible, you must be aware that ours is not a family on which it could be thrown away. When first he entered the corps, she was ready enough to admire him; but so we all were. Every girl in or near Meryton was out of her senses about him for the first two months; but he never distinguished _her_ by any particular attention; and, consequently, after a moderate period of extravagant and wild admiration, her fancy for him gave way, and others of the regiment, who treated her with more distinction, again became her favourites.” It may be easily believed, that however little of novelty could be added to their fears, hopes, and conjectures, on this interesting subject, by its repeated discussion, no other could detain them from it long, during the whole of the journey. From Elizabeth’s thoughts it was never absent. Fixed there by the keenest of all anguish, self-reproach, she could find no interval of ease or forgetfulness. They travelled as expeditiously as possible, and, sleeping one night on the road, reached Longbourn by dinner time the next day. It was a comfort to Elizabeth to consider that Jane could not have been wearied by long expectations. The little Gardiners, attracted by the sight of a chaise, were standing on the steps of the house as they entered the paddock; and, when the carriage drove up to the door, the joyful surprise that lighted up their faces, and displayed itself over their whole bodies, in a variety of capers and frisks, was the first pleasing earnest of their welcome. Elizabeth jumped out; and, after giving each of them a hasty kiss, hurried into the vestibule, where Jane, who came running down from her mother’s apartment, immediately met her. Elizabeth, as she affectionately embraced her, whilst tears filled the eyes of both, lost not a moment in asking whether anything had been heard of the fugitives. “Not yet,” replied Jane. “But now that my dear uncle is come, I hope everything will be well.” “Is my father in town?” “Yes, he went on Tuesday, as I wrote you word.” “And have you heard from him often?” “We have heard only twice. He wrote me a few lines on Wednesday to say that he had arrived in safety, and to give me his directions, which I particularly begged him to do. He merely added that he should not write again till he had something of importance to mention.” “And my mother—how is she? How are you all?” “My mother is tolerably well, I trust; though her spirits are greatly shaken. She is up stairs and will have great satisfaction in seeing you all. She does not yet leave her dressing-room. Mary and Kitty, thank Heaven, are quite well.” “But you—how are you?” cried Elizabeth. “You look pale. How much you must have gone through!” Her sister, however, assured her of her being perfectly well; and their conversation, which had been passing while Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were engaged with their children, was now put an end to by the approach of the whole party. Jane ran to her uncle and aunt, and welcomed and thanked them both, with alternate smiles and tears. When they were all in the drawing-room, the questions which Elizabeth had already asked were of course repeated by the others, and they soon found that Jane had no intelligence to give. The sanguine hope of good, however, which the benevolence of her heart suggested had not yet deserted her; she still expected that it would all end well, and that every morning would bring some letter, either from Lydia or her father, to explain their proceedings, and, perhaps, announce their marriage. Mrs. Bennet, to whose apartment they all repaired, after a few minutes’ conversation together, received them exactly as might be expected; with tears and lamentations of regret, invectives against the villainous conduct of Wickham, and complaints of her own sufferings and ill-usage; blaming everybody but the person to whose ill-judging indulgence the errors of her daughter must principally be owing. “If I had been able,” said she, “to carry my point in going to Brighton, with all my family, _this_ would not have happened; but poor dear Lydia had nobody to take care of her. Why did the Forsters ever let her go out of their sight? I am sure there was some great neglect or other on their side, for she is not the kind of girl to do such a thing if she had been well looked after. I always thought they were very unfit to have the charge of her; but I was overruled, as I always am. Poor dear child! And now here’s Mr. Bennet gone away, and I know he will fight Wickham, wherever he meets him and then he will be killed, and what is to become of us all? The Collinses will turn us out before he is cold in his grave, and if you are not kind to us, brother, I do not know what we shall do.” They all exclaimed against such terrific ideas; and Mr. Gardiner, after general assurances of his affection for her and all her family, told her that he meant to be in London the very next day, and would assist Mr. Bennet in every endeavour for recovering Lydia. “Do not give way to useless alarm,” added he; “though it is right to be prepared for the worst, there is no occasion to look on it as certain. It is not quite a week since they left Brighton. In a few days more we may gain some news of them; and till we know that they are not married, and have no design of marrying, do not let us give the matter over as lost. As soon as I get to town I shall go to my brother, and make him come home with me to Gracechurch Street; and then we may consult together as to what is to be done.” “Oh! my dear brother,” replied Mrs. Bennet, “that is exactly what I could most wish for. And now do, when you get to town, find them out, wherever they may be; and if they are not married already, _make_ them marry. And as for wedding clothes, do not let them wait for that, but tell Lydia she shall have as much money as she chooses to buy them, after they are married. And, above all, keep Mr. Bennet from fighting. Tell him what a dreadful state I am in, that I am frighted out of my wits—and have such tremblings, such flutterings, all over me—such spasms in my side and pains in my head, and such beatings at heart, that I can get no rest by night nor by day. And tell my dear Lydia not to give any directions about her clothes till she has seen me, for she does not know which are the best warehouses. Oh, brother, how kind you are! I know you will contrive it all.” But Mr. Gardiner, though he assured her again of his earnest endeavours in the cause, could not avoid recommending moderation to her, as well in her hopes as her fear; and after talking with her in this manner till dinner was on the table, they all left her to vent all her feelings on the housekeeper, who attended in the absence of her daughters. Though her brother and sister were persuaded that there was no real occasion for such a seclusion from the family, they did not attempt to oppose it, for they knew that she had not prudence enough to hold her tongue before the servants, while they waited at table, and judged it better that _one_ only of the household, and the one whom they could most trust should comprehend all her fears and solicitude on the subject. In the dining-room they were soon joined by Mary and Kitty, who had been too busily engaged in their separate apartments to make their appearance before. One came from her books, and the other from her toilette. The faces of both, however, were tolerably calm; and no change was visible in either, except that the loss of her favourite sister, or the anger which she had herself incurred in this business, had given more of fretfulness than usual to the accents of Kitty. As for Mary, she was mistress enough of herself to whisper to Elizabeth, with a countenance of grave reflection, soon after they were seated at table: “This is a most unfortunate affair, and will probably be much talked of. But we must stem the tide of malice, and pour into the wounded bosoms of each other the balm of sisterly consolation.” Then, perceiving in Elizabeth no inclination of replying, she added, “Unhappy as the event must be for Lydia, we may draw from it this useful lesson: that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin; that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful; and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the undeserving of the other sex.” Elizabeth lifted up her eyes in amazement, but was too much oppressed to make any reply. Mary, however, continued to console herself with such kind of moral extractions from the evil before them. In the afternoon, the two elder Miss Bennets were able to be for half-an-hour by themselves; and Elizabeth instantly availed herself of the opportunity of making many enquiries, which Jane was equally eager to satisfy. After joining in general lamentations over the dreadful sequel of this event, which Elizabeth considered as all but certain, and Miss Bennet could not assert to be wholly impossible, the former continued the subject, by saying, “But tell me all and everything about it which I have not already heard. Give me further particulars. What did Colonel Forster say? Had they no apprehension of anything before the elopement took place? They must have seen them together for ever.” “Colonel Forster did own that he had often suspected some partiality, especially on Lydia’s side, but nothing to give him any alarm. I am so grieved for him! His behaviour was attentive and kind to the utmost. He _was_ coming to us, in order to assure us of his concern, before he had any idea of their not being gone to Scotland: when that apprehension first got abroad, it hastened his journey.” “And was Denny convinced that Wickham would not marry? Did he know of their intending to go off? Had Colonel Forster seen Denny himself?” “Yes; but, when questioned by _him_, Denny denied knowing anything of their plans, and would not give his real opinion about it. He did not repeat his persuasion of their not marrying—and from _that_, I am inclined to hope, he might have been misunderstood before.” “And till Colonel Forster came himself, not one of you entertained a doubt, I suppose, of their being really married?” “How was it possible that such an idea should enter our brains? I felt a little uneasy—a little fearful of my sister’s happiness with him in marriage, because I knew that his conduct had not been always quite right. My father and mother knew nothing of that; they only felt how imprudent a match it must be. Kitty then owned, with a very natural triumph on knowing more than the rest of us, that in Lydia’s last letter she had prepared her for such a step. She had known, it seems, of their being in love with each other, many weeks.” “But not before they went to Brighton?” “No, I believe not.” “And did Colonel Forster appear to think well of Wickham himself? Does he know his real character?” “I must confess that he did not speak so well of Wickham as he formerly did. He believed him to be imprudent and extravagant. And since this sad affair has taken place, it is said that he left Meryton greatly in debt; but I hope this may be false.” “Oh, Jane, had we been less secret, had we told what we knew of him, this could not have happened!” “Perhaps it would have been better,” replied her sister. “But to expose the former faults of any person without knowing what their present feelings were, seemed unjustifiable. We acted with the best intentions.” “Could Colonel Forster repeat the particulars of Lydia’s note to his wife?” “He brought it with him for us to see.” Jane then took it from her pocket-book, and gave it to Elizabeth. These were the contents: “My dear Harriet, “You will laugh when you know where I am gone, and I cannot help laughing myself at your surprise to-morrow morning, as soon as I am missed. I am going to Gretna Green, and if you cannot guess with who, I shall think you a simpleton, for there is but one man in the world I love, and he is an angel. I should never be happy without him, so think it no harm to be off. You need not send them word at Longbourn of my going, if you do not like it, for it will make the surprise the greater, when I write to them and sign my name ‘Lydia Wickham.’ What a good joke it will be! I can hardly write for laughing. Pray make my excuses to Pratt for not keeping my engagement, and dancing with him to-night. Tell him I hope he will excuse me when he knows all; and tell him I will dance with him at the next ball we meet, with great pleasure. I shall send for my clothes when I get to Longbourn; but I wish you would tell Sally to mend a great slit in my worked muslin gown before they are packed up. Good-bye. Give my love to Colonel Forster. I hope you will drink to our good journey. “Your affectionate friend, “LYDIA BENNET.” “Oh! thoughtless, thoughtless Lydia!” cried Elizabeth when she had finished it. “What a letter is this, to be written at such a moment! But at least it shows that _she_ was serious on the subject of their journey. Whatever he might afterwards persuade her to, it was not on her side a _scheme_ of infamy. My poor father! how he must have felt it!” “I never saw anyone so shocked. He could not speak a word for full ten minutes. My mother was taken ill immediately, and the whole house in such confusion!” “Oh! Jane,” cried Elizabeth, “was there a servant belonging to it who did not know the whole story before the end of the day?” “I do not know. I hope there was. But to be guarded at such a time is very difficult. My mother was in hysterics, and though I endeavoured to give her every assistance in my power, I am afraid I did not do so much as I might have done! But the horror of what might possibly happen almost took from me my faculties.” “Your attendance upon her has been too much for you. You do not look well. Oh that I had been with you! you have had every care and anxiety upon yourself alone.” “Mary and Kitty have been very kind, and would have shared in every fatigue, I am sure; but I did not think it right for either of them. Kitty is slight and delicate; and Mary studies so much, that her hours of repose should not be broken in on. My aunt Phillips came to Longbourn on Tuesday, after my father went away; and was so good as to stay till Thursday with me. She was of great use and comfort to us all. And Lady Lucas has been very kind; she walked here on Wednesday morning to condole with us, and offered her services, or any of her daughters’, if they should be of use to us.” “She had better have stayed at home,” cried Elizabeth; “perhaps she _meant_ well, but, under such a misfortune as this, one cannot see too little of one’s neighbours. Assistance is impossible; condolence insufferable. Let them triumph over us at a distance, and be satisfied.” She then proceeded to enquire into the measures which her father had intended to pursue, while in town, for the recovery of his daughter. “He meant I believe,” replied Jane, “to go to Epsom, the place where they last changed horses, see the postilions and try if anything could be made out from them. His principal object must be to discover the number of the hackney coach which took them from Clapham. It had come with a fare from London; and as he thought that the circumstance of a gentleman and lady’s removing from one carriage into another might be remarked he meant to make enquiries at Clapham. If he could anyhow discover at what house the coachman had before set down his fare, he determined to make enquiries there, and hoped it might not be impossible to find out the stand and number of the coach. I do not know of any other designs that he had formed; but he was in such a hurry to be gone, and his spirits so greatly discomposed, that I had difficulty in finding out even so much as this.” Chapter 48 The whole party were in hopes of a letter from Mr. Bennet the next morning, but the post came in without bringing a single line from him. His family knew him to be, on all common occasions, a most negligent and dilatory correspondent; but at such a time they had hoped for exertion. They were forced to conclude that he had no pleasing intelligence to send; but even of _that_ they would have been glad to be certain. Mr. Gardiner had waited only for the letters before he set off. When he was gone, they were certain at least of receiving constant information of what was going on, and their uncle promised, at parting, to prevail on Mr. Bennet to return to Longbourn, as soon as he could, to the great consolation of his sister, who considered it as the only security for her husband’s not being killed in a duel. Mrs. Gardiner and the children were to remain in Hertfordshire a few days longer, as the former thought her presence might be serviceable to her nieces. She shared in their attendance on Mrs. Bennet, and was a great comfort to them in their hours of freedom. Their other aunt also visited them frequently, and always, as she said, with the design of cheering and heartening them up—though, as she never came without reporting some fresh instance of Wickham’s extravagance or irregularity, she seldom went away without leaving them more dispirited than she found them. All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who, but three months before, had been almost an angel of light. He was declared to be in debt to every tradesman in the place, and his intrigues, all honoured with the title of seduction, had been extended into every tradesman’s family. Everybody declared that he was the wickedest young man in the world; and everybody began to find out that they had always distrusted the appearance of his goodness. Elizabeth, though she did not credit above half of what was said, believed enough to make her former assurance of her sister’s ruin more certain; and even Jane, who believed still less of it, became almost hopeless, more especially as the time was now come when, if they had gone to Scotland, which she had never before entirely despaired of, they must in all probability have gained some news of them. Mr. Gardiner left Longbourn on Sunday; on Tuesday his wife received a letter from him; it told them that, on his arrival, he had immediately found out his brother, and persuaded him to come to Gracechurch Street; that Mr. Bennet had been to Epsom and Clapham, before his arrival, but without gaining any satisfactory information; and that he was now determined to enquire at all the principal hotels in town, as Mr. Bennet thought it possible they might have gone to one of them, on their first coming to London, before they procured lodgings. Mr. Gardiner himself did not expect any success from this measure, but as his brother was eager in it, he meant to assist him in pursuing it. He added that Mr. Bennet seemed wholly disinclined at present to leave London and promised to write again very soon. There was also a postscript to this effect: “I have written to Colonel Forster to desire him to find out, if possible, from some of the young man’s intimates in the regiment, whether Wickham has any relations or connections who would be likely to know in what part of town he has now concealed himself. If there were anyone that one could apply to with a probability of gaining such a clue as that, it might be of essential consequence. At present we have nothing to guide us. Colonel Forster will, I dare say, do everything in his power to satisfy us on this head. But, on second thoughts, perhaps, Lizzy could tell us what relations he has now living, better than any other person.” Elizabeth was at no loss to understand from whence this deference to her authority proceeded; but it was not in her power to give any information of so satisfactory a nature as the compliment deserved. She had never heard of his having had any relations, except a father and mother, both of whom had been dead many years. It was possible, however, that some of his companions in the ——shire might be able to give more information; and though she was not very sanguine in expecting it, the application was a something to look forward to. Every day at Longbourn was now a day of anxiety; but the most anxious part of each was when the post was expected. The arrival of letters was the grand object of every morning’s impatience. Through letters, whatever of good or bad was to be told would be communicated, and every succeeding day was expected to bring some news of importance. But before they heard again from Mr. Gardiner, a letter arrived for their father, from a different quarter, from Mr. Collins; which, as Jane had received directions to open all that came for him in his absence, she accordingly read; and Elizabeth, who knew what curiosities his letters always were, looked over her, and read it likewise. It was as follows: “My dear Sir, “I feel myself called upon, by our relationship, and my situation in life, to condole with you on the grievous affliction you are now suffering under, of which we were yesterday informed by a letter from Hertfordshire. Be assured, my dear sir, that Mrs. Collins and myself sincerely sympathise with you and all your respectable family, in your present distress, which must be of the bitterest kind, because proceeding from a cause which no time can remove. No arguments shall be wanting on my part that can alleviate so severe a misfortune—or that may comfort you, under a circumstance that must be of all others the most afflicting to a parent’s mind. The death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison of this. And it is the more to be lamented, because there is reason to suppose as my dear Charlotte informs me, that this licentiousness of behaviour in your daughter has proceeded from a faulty degree of indulgence; though, at the same time, for the consolation of yourself and Mrs. Bennet, I am inclined to think that her own disposition must be naturally bad, or she could not be guilty of such an enormity, at so early an age. Howsoever that may be, you are grievously to be pitied; in which opinion I am not only joined by Mrs. Collins, but likewise by Lady Catherine and her daughter, to whom I have related the affair. They agree with me in apprehending that this false step in one daughter will be injurious to the fortunes of all the others; for who, as Lady Catherine herself condescendingly says, will connect themselves with such a family? And this consideration leads me moreover to reflect, with augmented satisfaction, on a certain event of last November; for had it been otherwise, I must have been involved in all your sorrow and disgrace. Let me then advise you, dear sir, to console yourself as much as possible, to throw off your unworthy child from your affection for ever, and leave her to reap the fruits of her own heinous offense. “I am, dear sir, etc., etc.” Mr. Gardiner did not write again till he had received an answer from Colonel Forster; and then he had nothing of a pleasant nature to send. It was not known that Wickham had a single relationship with whom he kept up any connection, and it was certain that he had no near one living. His former acquaintances had been numerous; but since he had been in the militia, it did not appear that he was on terms of particular friendship with any of them. There was no one, therefore, who could be pointed out as likely to give any news of him. And in the wretched state of his own finances, there was a very powerful motive for secrecy, in addition to his fear of discovery by Lydia’s relations, for it had just transpired that he had left gaming debts behind him to a very considerable amount. Colonel Forster believed that more than a thousand pounds would be necessary to clear his expenses at Brighton. He owed a good deal in town, but his debts of honour were still more formidable. Mr. Gardiner did not attempt to conceal these particulars from the Longbourn family. Jane heard them with horror. “A gamester!” she cried. “This is wholly unexpected. I had not an idea of it.” Mr. Gardiner added in his letter, that they might expect to see their father at home on the following day, which was Saturday. Rendered spiritless by the ill-success of all their endeavours, he had yielded to his brother-in-law’s entreaty that he would return to his family, and leave it to him to do whatever occasion might suggest to be advisable for continuing their pursuit. When Mrs. Bennet was told of this, she did not express so much satisfaction as her children expected, considering what her anxiety for his life had been before. “What, is he coming home, and without poor Lydia?” she cried. “Sure he will not leave London before he has found them. Who is to fight Wickham, and make him marry her, if he comes away?” As Mrs. Gardiner began to wish to be at home, it was settled that she and the children should go to London, at the same time that Mr. Bennet came from it. The coach, therefore, took them the first stage of their journey, and brought its master back to Longbourn. Mrs. Gardiner went away in all the perplexity about Elizabeth and her Derbyshire friend that had attended her from that part of the world. His name had never been voluntarily mentioned before them by her niece; and the kind of half-expectation which Mrs. Gardiner had formed, of their being followed by a letter from him, had ended in nothing. Elizabeth had received none since her return that could come from Pemberley. The present unhappy state of the family rendered any other excuse for the lowness of her spirits unnecessary; nothing, therefore, could be fairly conjectured from _that_, though Elizabeth, who was by this time tolerably well acquainted with her own feelings, was perfectly aware that, had she known nothing of Darcy, she could have borne the dread of Lydia’s infamy somewhat better. It would have spared her, she thought, one sleepless night out of two. When Mr. Bennet arrived, he had all the appearance of his usual philosophic composure. He said as little as he had ever been in the habit of saying; made no mention of the business that had taken him away, and it was some time before his daughters had courage to speak of it. It was not till the afternoon, when he had joined them at tea, that Elizabeth ventured to introduce the subject; and then, on her briefly expressing her sorrow for what he must have endured, he replied, “Say nothing of that. Who should suffer but myself? It has been my own doing, and I ought to feel it.” “You must not be too severe upon yourself,” replied Elizabeth. “You may well warn me against such an evil. Human nature is so prone to fall into it! No, Lizzy, let me once in my life feel how much I have been to blame. I am not afraid of being overpowered by the impression. It will pass away soon enough.” “Do you suppose them to be in London?” “Yes; where else can they be so well concealed?” “And Lydia used to want to go to London,” added Kitty. “She is happy then,” said her father drily; “and her residence there will probably be of some duration.” Then after a short silence he continued: “Lizzy, I bear you no ill-will for being justified in your advice to me last May, which, considering the event, shows some greatness of mind.” They were interrupted by Miss Bennet, who came to fetch her mother’s tea. “This is a parade,” he cried, “which does one good; it gives such an elegance to misfortune! Another day I will do the same; I will sit in my library, in my nightcap and powdering gown, and give as much trouble as I can; or, perhaps, I may defer it till Kitty runs away.” “I am not going to run away, papa,” said Kitty fretfully. “If _I_ should ever go to Brighton, I would behave better than Lydia.” “_You_ go to Brighton. I would not trust you so near it as Eastbourne for fifty pounds! No, Kitty, I have at last learnt to be cautious, and you will feel the effects of it. No officer is ever to enter into my house again, nor even to pass through the village. Balls will be absolutely prohibited, unless you stand up with one of your sisters. And you are never to stir out of doors till you can prove that you have spent ten minutes of every day in a rational manner.” Kitty, who took all these threats in a serious light, began to cry. “Well, well,” said he, “do not make yourself unhappy. If you are a good girl for the next ten years, I will take you to a review at the end of them.” Chapter 49 Two days after Mr. Bennet’s return, as Jane and Elizabeth were walking together in the shrubbery behind the house, they saw the housekeeper coming towards them, and, concluding that she came to call them to their mother, went forward to meet her; but, instead of the expected summons, when they approached her, she said to Miss Bennet, “I beg your pardon, madam, for interrupting you, but I was in hopes you might have got some good news from town, so I took the liberty of coming to ask.” “What do you mean, Hill? We have heard nothing from town.” “Dear madam,” cried Mrs. Hill, in great astonishment, “don’t you know there is an express come for master from Mr. Gardiner? He has been here this half-hour, and master has had a letter.” Away ran the girls, too eager to get in to have time for speech. They ran through the vestibule into the breakfast-room; from thence to the library; their father was in neither; and they were on the point of seeking him up stairs with their mother, when they were met by the butler, who said: “If you are looking for my master, ma’am, he is walking towards the little copse.” Upon this information, they instantly passed through the hall once more, and ran across the lawn after their father, who was deliberately pursuing his way towards a small wood on one side of the paddock. Jane, who was not so light nor so much in the habit of running as Elizabeth, soon lagged behind, while her sister, panting for breath, came up with him, and eagerly cried out: “Oh, papa, what news—what news? Have you heard from my uncle?” “Yes I have had a letter from him by express.” “Well, and what news does it bring—good or bad?” “What is there of good to be expected?” said he, taking the letter from his pocket. “But perhaps you would like to read it.” Elizabeth impatiently caught it from his hand. Jane now came up. “Read it aloud,” said their father, “for I hardly know myself what it is about.” “Gracechurch Street, _Monday, August_ 2. “My dear Brother, “At last I am able to send you some tidings of my niece, and such as, upon the whole, I hope it will give you satisfaction. Soon after you left me on Saturday, I was fortunate enough to find out in what part of London they were. The particulars I reserve till we meet; it is enough to know they are discovered. I have seen them both—” “Then it is as I always hoped,” cried Jane; “they are married!” Elizabeth read on: “I have seen them both. They are not married, nor can I find there was any intention of being so; but if you are willing to perform the engagements which I have ventured to make on your side, I hope it will not be long before they are. All that is required of you is, to assure to your daughter, by settlement, her equal share of the five thousand pounds secured among your children after the decease of yourself and my sister; and, moreover, to enter into an engagement of allowing her, during your life, one hundred pounds per annum. These are conditions which, considering everything, I had no hesitation in complying with, as far as I thought myself privileged, for you. I shall send this by express, that no time may be lost in bringing me your answer. You will easily comprehend, from these particulars, that Mr. Wickham’s circumstances are not so hopeless as they are generally believed to be. The world has been deceived in that respect; and I am happy to say there will be some little money, even when all his debts are discharged, to settle on my niece, in addition to her own fortune. If, as I conclude will be the case, you send me full powers to act in your name throughout the whole of this business, I will immediately give directions to Haggerston for preparing a proper settlement. There will not be the smallest occasion for your coming to town again; therefore stay quiet at Longbourn, and depend on my diligence and care. Send back your answer as fast as you can, and be careful to write explicitly. We have judged it best that my niece should be married from this house, of which I hope you will approve. She comes to us to-day. I shall write again as soon as anything more is determined on. Yours, etc., “EDW. GARDINER.” “Is it possible?” cried Elizabeth, when she had finished. “Can it be possible that he will marry her?” “Wickham is not so undeserving, then, as we thought him,” said her sister. “My dear father, I congratulate you.” “And have you answered the letter?” cried Elizabeth. “No; but it must be done soon.” Most earnestly did she then entreat him to lose no more time before he wrote. “Oh! my dear father,” she cried, “come back and write immediately. Consider how important every moment is in such a case.” “Let me write for you,” said Jane, “if you dislike the trouble yourself.” “I dislike it very much,” he replied; “but it must be done.” And so saying, he turned back with them, and walked towards the house. “And may I ask—” said Elizabeth; “but the terms, I suppose, must be complied with.” “Complied with! I am only ashamed of his asking so little.” “And they _must_ marry! Yet he is _such_ a man!” “Yes, yes, they must marry. There is nothing else to be done. But there are two things that I want very much to know; one is, how much money your uncle has laid down to bring it about; and the other, how am I ever to pay him.” “Money! My uncle!” cried Jane, “what do you mean, sir?” “I mean, that no man in his senses would marry Lydia on so slight a temptation as one hundred a year during my life, and fifty after I am gone.” “That is very true,” said Elizabeth; “though it had not occurred to me before. His debts to be discharged, and something still to remain! Oh! it must be my uncle’s doings! Generous, good man, I am afraid he has distressed himself. A small sum could not do all this.” “No,” said her father; “Wickham’s a fool if he takes her with a farthing less than ten thousand pounds. I should be sorry to think so ill of him, in the very beginning of our relationship.” “Ten thousand pounds! Heaven forbid! How is half such a sum to be repaid?” Mr. Bennet made no answer, and each of them, deep in thought, continued silent till they reached the house. Their father then went on to the library to write, and the girls walked into the breakfast-room. “And they are really to be married!” cried Elizabeth, as soon as they were by themselves. “How strange this is! And for _this_ we are to be thankful. That they should marry, small as is their chance of happiness, and wretched as is his character, we are forced to rejoice. Oh, Lydia!” “I comfort myself with thinking,” replied Jane, “that he certainly would not marry Lydia if he had not a real regard for her. Though our kind uncle has done something towards clearing him, I cannot believe that ten thousand pounds, or anything like it, has been advanced. He has children of his own, and may have more. How could he spare half ten thousand pounds?” “If he were ever able to learn what Wickham’s debts have been,” said Elizabeth, “and how much is settled on his side on our sister, we shall exactly know what Mr. Gardiner has done for them, because Wickham has not sixpence of his own. The kindness of my uncle and aunt can never be requited. Their taking her home, and affording her their personal protection and countenance, is such a sacrifice to her advantage as years of gratitude cannot enough acknowledge. By this time she is actually with them! If such goodness does not make her miserable now, she will never deserve to be happy! What a meeting for her, when she first sees my aunt!” “We must endeavour to forget all that has passed on either side,” said Jane: “I hope and trust they will yet be happy. His consenting to marry her is a proof, I will believe, that he is come to a right way of thinking. Their mutual affection will steady them; and I flatter myself they will settle so quietly, and live in so rational a manner, as may in time make their past imprudence forgotten.” “Their conduct has been such,” replied Elizabeth, “as neither you, nor I, nor anybody can ever forget. It is useless to talk of it.” It now occurred to the girls that their mother was in all likelihood perfectly ignorant of what had happened. They went to the library, therefore, and asked their father whether he would not wish them to make it known to her. He was writing and, without raising his head, coolly replied: “Just as you please.” “May we take my uncle’s letter to read to her?” “Take whatever you like, and get away.” Elizabeth took the letter from his writing-table, and they went up stairs together. Mary and Kitty were both with Mrs. Bennet: one communication would, therefore, do for all. After a slight preparation for good news, the letter was read aloud. Mrs. Bennet could hardly contain herself. As soon as Jane had read Mr. Gardiner’s hope of Lydia’s being soon married, her joy burst forth, and every following sentence added to its exuberance. She was now in an irritation as violent from delight, as she had ever been fidgety from alarm and vexation. To know that her daughter would be married was enough. She was disturbed by no fear for her felicity, nor humbled by any remembrance of her misconduct. “My dear, dear Lydia!” she cried. “This is delightful indeed! She will be married! I shall see her again! She will be married at sixteen! My good, kind brother! I knew how it would be. I knew he would manage everything! How I long to see her! and to see dear Wickham too! But the clothes, the wedding clothes! I will write to my sister Gardiner about them directly. Lizzy, my dear, run down to your father, and ask him how much he will give her. Stay, stay, I will go myself. Ring the bell, Kitty, for Hill. I will put on my things in a moment. My dear, dear Lydia! How merry we shall be together when we meet!” Her eldest daughter endeavoured to give some relief to the violence of these transports, by leading her thoughts to the obligations which Mr. Gardiner’s behaviour laid them all under. “For we must attribute this happy conclusion,” she added, “in a great measure to his kindness. We are persuaded that he has pledged himself to assist Mr. Wickham with money.” “Well,” cried her mother, “it is all very right; who should do it but her own uncle? If he had not had a family of his own, I and my children must have had all his money, you know; and it is the first time we have ever had anything from him, except a few presents. Well! I am so happy! In a short time I shall have a daughter married. Mrs. Wickham! How well it sounds! And she was only sixteen last June. My dear Jane, I am in such a flutter, that I am sure I can’t write; so I will dictate, and you write for me. We will settle with your father about the money afterwards; but the things should be ordered immediately.” She was then proceeding to all the particulars of calico, muslin, and cambric, and would shortly have dictated some very plentiful orders, had not Jane, though with some difficulty, persuaded her to wait till her father was at leisure to be consulted. One day’s delay, she observed, would be of small importance; and her mother was too happy to be quite so obstinate as usual. Other schemes, too, came into her head. “I will go to Meryton,” said she, “as soon as I am dressed, and tell the good, good news to my sister Philips. And as I come back, I can call on Lady Lucas and Mrs. Long. Kitty, run down and order the carriage. An airing would do me a great deal of good, I am sure. Girls, can I do anything for you in Meryton? Oh! Here comes Hill! My dear Hill, have you heard the good news? Miss Lydia is going to be married; and you shall all have a bowl of punch to make merry at her wedding.” Mrs. Hill began instantly to express her joy. Elizabeth received her congratulations amongst the rest, and then, sick of this folly, took refuge in her own room, that she might think with freedom. Poor Lydia’s situation must, at best, be bad enough; but that it was no worse, she had need to be thankful. She felt it so; and though, in looking forward, neither rational happiness nor worldly prosperity could be justly expected for her sister, in looking back to what they had feared, only two hours ago, she felt all the advantages of what they had gained. Chapter 50 Mr. Bennet had very often wished before this period of his life that, instead of spending his whole income, he had laid by an annual sum for the better provision of his children, and of his wife, if she survived him. He now wished it more than ever. Had he done his duty in that respect, Lydia need not have been indebted to her uncle for whatever of honour or credit could now be purchased for her. The satisfaction of prevailing on one of the most worthless young men in Great Britain to be her husband might then have rested in its proper place. He was seriously concerned that a cause of so little advantage to anyone should be forwarded at the sole expense of his brother-in-law, and he was determined, if possible, to find out the extent of his assistance, and to discharge the obligation as soon as he could. When first Mr. Bennet had married, economy was held to be perfectly useless, for, of course, they were to have a son. The son was to join in cutting off the entail, as soon as he should be of age, and the widow and younger children would by that means be provided for. Five daughters successively entered the world, but yet the son was to come; and Mrs. Bennet, for many years after Lydia’s birth, had been certain that he would. This event had at last been despaired of, but it was then too late to be saving. Mrs. Bennet had no turn for economy, and her husband’s love of independence had alone prevented their exceeding their income. Five thousand pounds was settled by marriage articles on Mrs. Bennet and the children. But in what proportions it should be divided amongst the latter depended on the will of the parents. This was one point, with regard to Lydia, at least, which was now to be settled, and Mr. Bennet could have no hesitation in acceding to the proposal before him. In terms of grateful acknowledgment for the kindness of his brother, though expressed most concisely, he then delivered on paper his perfect approbation of all that was done, and his willingness to fulfil the engagements that had been made for him. He had never before supposed that, could Wickham be prevailed on to marry his daughter, it would be done with so little inconvenience to himself as by the present arrangement. He would scarcely be ten pounds a year the loser by the hundred that was to be paid them; for, what with her board and pocket allowance, and the continual presents in money which passed to her through her mother’s hands, Lydia’s expenses had been very little within that sum. That it would be done with such trifling exertion on his side, too, was another very welcome surprise; for his wish at present was to have as little trouble in the business as possible. When the first transports of rage which had produced his activity in seeking her were over, he naturally returned to all his former indolence. His letter was soon dispatched; for, though dilatory in undertaking business, he was quick in its execution. He begged to know further particulars of what he was indebted to his brother, but was too angry with Lydia to send any message to her. The good news spread quickly through the house, and with proportionate speed through the neighbourhood. It was borne in the latter with decent philosophy. To be sure, it would have been more for the advantage of conversation had Miss Lydia Bennet come upon the town; or, as the happiest alternative, been secluded from the world, in some distant farmhouse. But there was much to be talked of in marrying her; and the good-natured wishes for her well-doing which had proceeded before from all the spiteful old ladies in Meryton lost but a little of their spirit in this change of circumstances, because with such an husband her misery was considered certain. It was a fortnight since Mrs. Bennet had been downstairs; but on this happy day she again took her seat at the head of her table, and in spirits oppressively high. No sentiment of shame gave a damp to her triumph. The marriage of a daughter, which had been the first object of her wishes since Jane was sixteen, was now on the point of accomplishment, and her thoughts and her words ran wholly on those attendants of elegant nuptials, fine muslins, new carriages, and servants. She was busily searching through the neighbourhood for a proper situation for her daughter, and, without knowing or considering what their income might be, rejected many as deficient in size and importance. “Haye Park might do,” said she, “if the Gouldings could quit it—or the great house at Stoke, if the drawing-room were larger; but Ashworth is too far off! I could not bear to have her ten miles from me; and as for Pulvis Lodge, the attics are dreadful.” Her husband allowed her to talk on without interruption while the servants remained. But when they had withdrawn, he said to her: “Mrs. Bennet, before you take any or all of these houses for your son and daughter, let us come to a right understanding. Into _one_ house in this neighbourhood they shall never have admittance. I will not encourage the impudence of either, by receiving them at Longbourn.” A long dispute followed this declaration; but Mr. Bennet was firm. It soon led to another; and Mrs. Bennet found, with amazement and horror, that her husband would not advance a guinea to buy clothes for his daughter. He protested that she should receive from him no mark of affection whatever on the occasion. Mrs. Bennet could hardly comprehend it. That his anger could be carried to such a point of inconceivable resentment as to refuse his daughter a privilege without which her marriage would scarcely seem valid, exceeded all she could believe possible. She was more alive to the disgrace which her want of new clothes must reflect on her daughter’s nuptials, than to any sense of shame at her eloping and living with Wickham a fortnight before they took place. Elizabeth was now most heartily sorry that she had, from the distress of the moment, been led to make Mr. Darcy acquainted with their fears for her sister; for since her marriage would so shortly give the proper termination to the elopement, they might hope to conceal its unfavourable beginning from all those who were not immediately on the spot. She had no fear of its spreading farther through his means. There were few people on whose secrecy she would have more confidently depended; but, at the same time, there was no one whose knowledge of a sister’s frailty would have mortified her so much—not, however, from any fear of disadvantage from it individually to herself, for, at any rate, there seemed a gulf impassable between them. Had Lydia’s marriage been concluded on the most honourable terms, it was not to be supposed that Mr. Darcy would connect himself with a family where, to every other objection, would now be added an alliance and relationship of the nearest kind with a man whom he so justly scorned. From such a connection she could not wonder that he would shrink. The wish of procuring her regard, which she had assured herself of his feeling in Derbyshire, could not in rational expectation survive such a blow as this. She was humbled, she was grieved; she repented, though she hardly knew of what. She became jealous of his esteem, when she could no longer hope to be benefited by it. She wanted to hear of him, when there seemed the least chance of gaining intelligence. She was convinced that she could have been happy with him, when it was no longer likely they should meet. What a triumph for him, as she often thought, could he know that the proposals which she had proudly spurned only four months ago, would now have been most gladly and gratefully received! He was as generous, she doubted not, as the most generous of his sex; but while he was mortal, there must be a triumph. She began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes. It was an union that must have been to the advantage of both; by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been softened, his manners improved; and from his judgement, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received benefit of greater importance. But no such happy marriage could now teach the admiring multitude what connubial felicity really was. An union of a different tendency, and precluding the possibility of the other, was soon to be formed in their family. How Wickham and Lydia were to be supported in tolerable independence, she could not imagine. But how little of permanent happiness could belong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions were stronger than their virtue, she could easily conjecture. Mr. Gardiner soon wrote again to his brother. To Mr. Bennet’s acknowledgments he briefly replied, with assurance of his eagerness to promote the welfare of any of his family; and concluded with entreaties that the subject might never be mentioned to him again. The principal purport of his letter was to inform them that Mr. Wickham had resolved on quitting the militia. “It was greatly my wish that he should do so,” he added, “as soon as his marriage was fixed on. And I think you will agree with me, in considering the removal from that corps as highly advisable, both on his account and my niece’s. It is Mr. Wickham’s intention to go into the regulars; and among his former friends, there are still some who are able and willing to assist him in the army. He has the promise of an ensigncy in General ——’s regiment, now quartered in the North. It is an advantage to have it so far from this part of the kingdom. He promises fairly; and I hope among different people, where they may each have a character to preserve, they will both be more prudent. I have written to Colonel Forster, to inform him of our present arrangements, and to request that he will satisfy the various creditors of Mr. Wickham in and near Brighton, with assurances of speedy payment, for which I have pledged myself. And will you give yourself the trouble of carrying similar assurances to his creditors in Meryton, of whom I shall subjoin a list according to his information? He has given in all his debts; I hope at least he has not deceived us. Haggerston has our directions, and all will be completed in a week. They will then join his regiment, unless they are first invited to Longbourn; and I understand from Mrs. Gardiner, that my niece is very desirous of seeing you all before she leaves the South. She is well, and begs to be dutifully remembered to you and her mother.—Yours, etc., “E. GARDINER.” Mr. Bennet and his daughters saw all the advantages of Wickham’s removal from the ——shire as clearly as Mr. Gardiner could do. But Mrs. Bennet was not so well pleased with it. Lydia’s being settled in the North, just when she had expected most pleasure and pride in her company, for she had by no means given up her plan of their residing in Hertfordshire, was a severe disappointment; and, besides, it was such a pity that Lydia should be taken from a regiment where she was acquainted with everybody, and had so many favourites. “She is so fond of Mrs. Forster,” said she, “it will be quite shocking to send her away! And there are several of the young men, too, that she likes very much. The officers may not be so pleasant in General ——’s regiment.” His daughter’s request, for such it might be considered, of being admitted into her family again before she set off for the North, received at first an absolute negative. But Jane and Elizabeth, who agreed in wishing, for the sake of their sister’s feelings and consequence, that she should be noticed on her marriage by her parents, urged him so earnestly yet so rationally and so mildly, to receive her and her husband at Longbourn, as soon as they were married, that he was prevailed on to think as they thought, and act as they wished. And their mother had the satisfaction of knowing that she would be able to show her married daughter in the neighbourhood before she was banished to the North. When Mr. Bennet wrote again to his brother, therefore, he sent his permission for them to come; and it was settled, that as soon as the ceremony was over, they should proceed to Longbourn. Elizabeth was surprised, however, that Wickham should consent to such a scheme, and had she consulted only her own inclination, any meeting with him would have been the last object of her wishes. Chapter 51 Their sister’s wedding day arrived; and Jane and Elizabeth felt for her probably more than she felt for herself. The carriage was sent to meet them at ——, and they were to return in it by dinner-time. Their arrival was dreaded by the elder Miss Bennets, and Jane more especially, who gave Lydia the feelings which would have attended herself, had _she_ been the culprit, and was wretched in the thought of what her sister must endure. They came. The family were assembled in the breakfast room to receive them. Smiles decked the face of Mrs. Bennet as the carriage drove up to the door; her husband looked impenetrably grave; her daughters, alarmed, anxious, uneasy. Lydia’s voice was heard in the vestibule; the door was thrown open, and she ran into the room. Her mother stepped forwards, embraced her, and welcomed her with rapture; gave her hand, with an affectionate smile, to Wickham, who followed his lady; and wished them both joy with an alacrity which shewed no doubt of their happiness. Their reception from Mr. Bennet, to whom they then turned, was not quite so cordial. His countenance rather gained in austerity; and he scarcely opened his lips. The easy assurance of the young couple, indeed, was enough to provoke him. Elizabeth was disgusted, and even Miss Bennet was shocked. Lydia was Lydia still; untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless. She turned from sister to sister, demanding their congratulations; and when at length they all sat down, looked eagerly round the room, took notice of some little alteration in it, and observed, with a laugh, that it was a great while since she had been there. Wickham was not at all more distressed than herself, but his manners were always so pleasing, that had his character and his marriage been exactly what they ought, his smiles and his easy address, while he claimed their relationship, would have delighted them all. Elizabeth had not before believed him quite equal to such assurance; but she sat down, resolving within herself to draw no limits in future to the impudence of an impudent man. _She_ blushed, and Jane blushed; but the cheeks of the two who caused their confusion suffered no variation of colour. There was no want of discourse. The bride and her mother could neither of them talk fast enough; and Wickham, who happened to sit near Elizabeth, began enquiring after his acquaintance in that neighbourhood, with a good humoured ease which she felt very unable to equal in her replies. They seemed each of them to have the happiest memories in the world. Nothing of the past was recollected with pain; and Lydia led voluntarily to subjects which her sisters would not have alluded to for the world. “Only think of its being three months,” she cried, “since I went away; it seems but a fortnight I declare; and yet there have been things enough happened in the time. Good gracious! when I went away, I am sure I had no more idea of being married till I came back again! though I thought it would be very good fun if I was.” Her father lifted up his eyes. Jane was distressed. Elizabeth looked expressively at Lydia; but she, who never heard nor saw anything of which she chose to be insensible, gaily continued, “Oh! mamma, do the people hereabouts know I am married to-day? I was afraid they might not; and we overtook William Goulding in his curricle, so I was determined he should know it, and so I let down the side-glass next to him, and took off my glove, and let my hand just rest upon the window frame, so that he might see the ring, and then I bowed and smiled like anything.” Elizabeth could bear it no longer. She got up, and ran out of the room; and returned no more, till she heard them passing through the hall to the dining parlour. She then joined them soon enough to see Lydia, with anxious parade, walk up to her mother’s right hand, and hear her say to her eldest sister, “Ah! Jane, I take your place now, and you must go lower, because I am a married woman.” It was not to be supposed that time would give Lydia that embarrassment from which she had been so wholly free at first. Her ease and good spirits increased. She longed to see Mrs. Phillips, the Lucases, and all their other neighbours, and to hear herself called “Mrs. Wickham” by each of them; and in the mean time, she went after dinner to show her ring, and boast of being married, to Mrs. Hill and the two housemaids. “Well, mamma,” said she, when they were all returned to the breakfast room, “and what do you think of my husband? Is not he a charming man? I am sure my sisters must all envy me. I only hope they may have half my good luck. They must all go to Brighton. That is the place to get husbands. What a pity it is, mamma, we did not all go.” “Very true; and if I had my will, we should. But my dear Lydia, I don’t at all like your going such a way off. Must it be so?” “Oh, lord! yes;—there is nothing in that. I shall like it of all things. You and papa, and my sisters, must come down and see us. We shall be at Newcastle all the winter, and I dare say there will be some balls, and I will take care to get good partners for them all.” “I should like it beyond anything!” said her mother. “And then when you go away, you may leave one or two of my sisters behind you; and I dare say I shall get husbands for them before the winter is over.” “I thank you for my share of the favour,” said Elizabeth; “but I do not particularly like your way of getting husbands.” Their visitors were not to remain above ten days with them. Mr. Wickham had received his commission before he left London, and he was to join his regiment at the end of a fortnight. No one but Mrs. Bennet regretted that their stay would be so short; and she made the most of the time by visiting about with her daughter, and having very frequent parties at home. These parties were acceptable to all; to avoid a family circle was even more desirable to such as did think, than such as did not. Wickham’s affection for Lydia was just what Elizabeth had expected to find it; not equal to Lydia’s for him. She had scarcely needed her present observation to be satisfied, from the reason of things, that their elopement had been brought on by the strength of her love, rather than by his; and she would have wondered why, without violently caring for her, he chose to elope with her at all, had she not felt certain that his flight was rendered necessary by distress of circumstances; and if that were the case, he was not the young man to resist an opportunity of having a companion. Lydia was exceedingly fond of him. He was her dear Wickham on every occasion; no one was to be put in competition with him. He did every thing best in the world; and she was sure he would kill more birds on the first of September, than any body else in the country. One morning, soon after their arrival, as she was sitting with her two elder sisters, she said to Elizabeth: “Lizzy, I never gave _you_ an account of my wedding, I believe. You were not by, when I told mamma and the others all about it. Are not you curious to hear how it was managed?” “No really,” replied Elizabeth; “I think there cannot be too little said on the subject.” “La! You are so strange! But I must tell you how it went off. We were married, you know, at St. Clement’s, because Wickham’s lodgings were in that parish. And it was settled that we should all be there by eleven o’clock. My uncle and aunt and I were to go together; and the others were to meet us at the church. Well, Monday morning came, and I was in such a fuss! I was so afraid, you know, that something would happen to put it off, and then I should have gone quite distracted. And there was my aunt, all the time I was dressing, preaching and talking away just as if she was reading a sermon. However, I did not hear above one word in ten, for I was thinking, you may suppose, of my dear Wickham. I longed to know whether he would be married in his blue coat.” “Well, and so we breakfasted at ten as usual; I thought it would never be over; for, by the bye, you are to understand, that my uncle and aunt were horrid unpleasant all the time I was with them. If you’ll believe me, I did not once put my foot out of doors, though I was there a fortnight. Not one party, or scheme, or anything. To be sure London was rather thin, but, however, the Little Theatre was open. Well, and so just as the carriage came to the door, my uncle was called away upon business to that horrid man Mr. Stone. And then, you know, when once they get together, there is no end of it. Well, I was so frightened I did not know what to do, for my uncle was to give me away; and if we were beyond the hour, we could not be married all day. But, luckily, he came back again in ten minutes’ time, and then we all set out. However, I recollected afterwards that if he _had_ been prevented going, the wedding need not be put off, for Mr. Darcy might have done as well.” “Mr. Darcy!” repeated Elizabeth, in utter amazement. “Oh, yes!—he was to come there with Wickham, you know. But gracious me! I quite forgot! I ought not to have said a word about it. I promised them so faithfully! What will Wickham say? It was to be such a secret!” “If it was to be secret,” said Jane, “say not another word on the subject. You may depend upon my seeking no further.” “Oh! certainly,” said Elizabeth, though burning with curiosity; “we will ask you no questions.” “Thank you,” said Lydia, “for if you did, I should certainly tell you all, and then Wickham would be angry.” On such encouragement to ask, Elizabeth was forced to put it out of her power, by running away. But to live in ignorance on such a point was impossible; or at least it was impossible not to try for information. Mr. Darcy had been at her sister’s wedding. It was exactly a scene, and exactly among people, where he had apparently least to do, and least temptation to go. Conjectures as to the meaning of it, rapid and wild, hurried into her brain; but she was satisfied with none. Those that best pleased her, as placing his conduct in the noblest light, seemed most improbable. She could not bear such suspense; and hastily seizing a sheet of paper, wrote a short letter to her aunt, to request an explanation of what Lydia had dropt, if it were compatible with the secrecy which had been intended. “You may readily comprehend,” she added, “what my curiosity must be to know how a person unconnected with any of us, and (comparatively speaking) a stranger to our family, should have been amongst you at such a time. Pray write instantly, and let me understand it—unless it is, for very cogent reasons, to remain in the secrecy which Lydia seems to think necessary; and then I must endeavour to be satisfied with ignorance.” “Not that I _shall_, though,” she added to herself, as she finished the letter; “and my dear aunt, if you do not tell me in an honourable manner, I shall certainly be reduced to tricks and stratagems to find it out.” Jane’s delicate sense of honour would not allow her to speak to Elizabeth privately of what Lydia had let fall; Elizabeth was glad of it;—till it appeared whether her enquiries would receive any satisfaction, she had rather be without a confidante. Chapter 52 Elizabeth had the satisfaction of receiving an answer to her letter as soon as she possibly could. She was no sooner in possession of it than, hurrying into the little copse, where she was least likely to be interrupted, she sat down on one of the benches and prepared to be happy; for the length of the letter convinced her that it did not contain a denial. “Gracechurch Street, _Sept_. 6. “My dear Niece, “I have just received your letter, and shall devote this whole morning to answering it, as I foresee that a _little_ writing will not comprise what I have to tell you. I must confess myself surprised by your application; I did not expect it from _you_. Don’t think me angry, however, for I only mean to let you know that I had not imagined such enquiries to be necessary on _your_ side. If you do not choose to understand me, forgive my impertinence. Your uncle is as much surprised as I am—and nothing but the belief of your being a party concerned would have allowed him to act as he has done. But if you are really innocent and ignorant, I must be more explicit. “On the very day of my coming home from Longbourn, your uncle had a most unexpected visitor. Mr. Darcy called, and was shut up with him several hours. It was all over before I arrived; so my curiosity was not so dreadfully racked as _yours_ seems to have been. He came to tell Mr. Gardiner that he had found out where your sister and Mr. Wickham were, and that he had seen and talked with them both; Wickham repeatedly, Lydia once. From what I can collect, he left Derbyshire only one day after ourselves, and came to town with the resolution of hunting for them. The motive professed was his conviction of its being owing to himself that Wickham’s worthlessness had not been so well known as to make it impossible for any young woman of character to love or confide in him. He generously imputed the whole to his mistaken pride, and confessed that he had before thought it beneath him to lay his private actions open to the world. His character was to speak for itself. He called it, therefore, his duty to step forward, and endeavour to remedy an evil which had been brought on by himself. If he _had another_ motive, I am sure it would never disgrace him. He had been some days in town, before he was able to discover them; but he had something to direct his search, which was more than _we_ had; and the consciousness of this was another reason for his resolving to follow us. “There is a lady, it seems, a Mrs. Younge, who was some time ago governess to Miss Darcy, and was dismissed from her charge on some cause of disapprobation, though he did not say what. She then took a large house in Edward-street, and has since maintained herself by letting lodgings. This Mrs. Younge was, he knew, intimately acquainted with Wickham; and he went to her for intelligence of him as soon as he got to town. But it was two or three days before he could get from her what he wanted. She would not betray her trust, I suppose, without bribery and corruption, for she really did know where her friend was to be found. Wickham indeed had gone to her on their first arrival in London, and had she been able to receive them into her house, they would have taken up their abode with her. At length, however, our kind friend procured the wished-for direction. They were in —— street. He saw Wickham, and afterwards insisted on seeing Lydia. His first object with her, he acknowledged, had been to persuade her to quit her present disgraceful situation, and return to her friends as soon as they could be prevailed on to receive her, offering his assistance, as far as it would go. But he found Lydia absolutely resolved on remaining where she was. She cared for none of her friends; she wanted no help of his; she would not hear of leaving Wickham. She was sure they should be married some time or other, and it did not much signify when. Since such were her feelings, it only remained, he thought, to secure and expedite a marriage, which, in his very first conversation with Wickham, he easily learnt had never been _his_ design. He confessed himself obliged to leave the regiment, on account of some debts of honour, which were very pressing; and scrupled not to lay all the ill-consequences of Lydia’s flight on her own folly alone. He meant to resign his commission immediately; and as to his future situation, he could conjecture very little about it. He must go somewhere, but he did not know where, and he knew he should have nothing to live on. “Mr. Darcy asked him why he had not married your sister at once. Though Mr. Bennet was not imagined to be very rich, he would have been able to do something for him, and his situation must have been benefited by marriage. But he found, in reply to this question, that Wickham still cherished the hope of more effectually making his fortune by marriage in some other country. Under such circumstances, however, he was not likely to be proof against the temptation of immediate relief. “They met several times, for there was much to be discussed. Wickham of course wanted more than he could get; but at length was reduced to be reasonable. “Everything being settled between _them_, Mr. Darcy’s next step was to make your uncle acquainted with it, and he first called in Gracechurch street the evening before I came home. But Mr. Gardiner could not be seen, and Mr. Darcy found, on further enquiry, that your father was still with him, but would quit town the next morning. He did not judge your father to be a person whom he could so properly consult as your uncle, and therefore readily postponed seeing him till after the departure of the former. He did not leave his name, and till the next day it was only known that a gentleman had called on business. “On Saturday he came again. Your father was gone, your uncle at home, and, as I said before, they had a great deal of talk together. “They met again on Sunday, and then _I_ saw him too. It was not all settled before Monday: as soon as it was, the express was sent off to Longbourn. But our visitor was very obstinate. I fancy, Lizzy, that obstinacy is the real defect of his character, after all. He has been accused of many faults at different times, but _this_ is the true one. Nothing was to be done that he did not do himself; though I am sure (and I do not speak it to be thanked, therefore say nothing about it), your uncle would most readily have settled the whole. “They battled it together for a long time, which was more than either the gentleman or lady concerned in it deserved. But at last your uncle was forced to yield, and instead of being allowed to be of use to his niece, was forced to put up with only having the probable credit of it, which went sorely against the grain; and I really believe your letter this morning gave him great pleasure, because it required an explanation that would rob him of his borrowed feathers, and give the praise where it was due. But, Lizzy, this must go no farther than yourself, or Jane at most. “You know pretty well, I suppose, what has been done for the young people. His debts are to be paid, amounting, I believe, to considerably more than a thousand pounds, another thousand in addition to her own settled upon _her_, and his commission purchased. The reason why all this was to be done by him alone, was such as I have given above. It was owing to him, to his reserve and want of proper consideration, that Wickham’s character had been so misunderstood, and consequently that he had been received and noticed as he was. Perhaps there was some truth in _this_; though I doubt whether _his_ reserve, or _anybody’s_ reserve, can be answerable for the event. But in spite of all this fine talking, my dear Lizzy, you may rest perfectly assured that your uncle would never have yielded, if we had not given him credit for _another interest_ in the affair. “When all this was resolved on, he returned again to his friends, who were still staying at Pemberley; but it was agreed that he should be in London once more when the wedding took place, and all money matters were then to receive the last finish. “I believe I have now told you every thing. It is a relation which you tell me is to give you great surprise; I hope at least it will not afford you any displeasure. Lydia came to us; and Wickham had constant admission to the house. _He_ was exactly what he had been, when I knew him in Hertfordshire; but I would not tell you how little I was satisfied with _her_ behaviour while she staid with us, if I had not perceived, by Jane’s letter last Wednesday, that her conduct on coming home was exactly of a piece with it, and therefore what I now tell you can give you no fresh pain. I talked to her repeatedly in the most serious manner, representing to her all the wickedness of what she had done, and all the unhappiness she had brought on her family. If she heard me, it was by good luck, for I am sure she did not listen. I was sometimes quite provoked, but then I recollected my dear Elizabeth and Jane, and for their sakes had patience with her. “Mr. Darcy was punctual in his return, and as Lydia informed you, attended the wedding. He dined with us the next day, and was to leave town again on Wednesday or Thursday. Will you be very angry with me, my dear Lizzy, if I take this opportunity of saying (what I was never bold enough to say before) how much I like him. His behaviour to us has, in every respect, been as pleasing as when we were in Derbyshire. His understanding and opinions all please me; he wants nothing but a little more liveliness, and _that_, if he marry _prudently_, his wife may teach him. I thought him very sly;—he hardly ever mentioned your name. But slyness seems the fashion. “Pray forgive me if I have been very presuming, or at least do not punish me so far as to exclude me from P. I shall never be quite happy till I have been all round the park. A low phaeton, with a nice little pair of ponies, would be the very thing. “But I must write no more. The children have been wanting me this half hour. “Yours, very sincerely, “M. GARDINER.” The contents of this letter threw Elizabeth into a flutter of spirits, in which it was difficult to determine whether pleasure or pain bore the greatest share. The vague and unsettled suspicions which uncertainty had produced of what Mr. Darcy might have been doing to forward her sister’s match, which she had feared to encourage as an exertion of goodness too great to be probable, and at the same time dreaded to be just, from the pain of obligation, were proved beyond their greatest extent to be true! He had followed them purposely to town, he had taken on himself all the trouble and mortification attendant on such a research; in which supplication had been necessary to a woman whom he must abominate and despise, and where he was reduced to meet, frequently meet, reason with, persuade, and finally bribe, the man whom he always most wished to avoid, and whose very name it was punishment to him to pronounce. He had done all this for a girl whom he could neither regard nor esteem. Her heart did whisper that he had done it for her. But it was a hope shortly checked by other considerations, and she soon felt that even her vanity was insufficient, when required to depend on his affection for her—for a woman who had already refused him—as able to overcome a sentiment so natural as abhorrence against relationship with Wickham. Brother-in-law of Wickham! Every kind of pride must revolt from the connection. He had, to be sure, done much. She was ashamed to think how much. But he had given a reason for his interference, which asked no extraordinary stretch of belief. It was reasonable that he should feel he had been wrong; he had liberality, and he had the means of exercising it; and though she would not place herself as his principal inducement, she could, perhaps, believe that remaining partiality for her might assist his endeavours in a cause where her peace of mind must be materially concerned. It was painful, exceedingly painful, to know that they were under obligations to a person who could never receive a return. They owed the restoration of Lydia, her character, every thing, to him. Oh! how heartily did she grieve over every ungracious sensation she had ever encouraged, every saucy speech she had ever directed towards him. For herself she was humbled; but she was proud of him. Proud that in a cause of compassion and honour, he had been able to get the better of himself. She read over her aunt’s commendation of him again and again. It was hardly enough; but it pleased her. She was even sensible of some pleasure, though mixed with regret, on finding how steadfastly both she and her uncle had been persuaded that affection and confidence subsisted between Mr. Darcy and herself. She was roused from her seat, and her reflections, by some one’s approach; and before she could strike into another path, she was overtaken by Wickham. “I am afraid I interrupt your solitary ramble, my dear sister?” said he, as he joined her. “You certainly do,” she replied with a smile; “but it does not follow that the interruption must be unwelcome.” “I should be sorry indeed, if it were. _We_ were always good friends; and now we are better.” “True. Are the others coming out?” “I do not know. Mrs. Bennet and Lydia are going in the carriage to Meryton. And so, my dear sister, I find, from our uncle and aunt, that you have actually seen Pemberley.” She replied in the affirmative. “I almost envy you the pleasure, and yet I believe it would be too much for me, or else I could take it in my way to Newcastle. And you saw the old housekeeper, I suppose? Poor Reynolds, she was always very fond of me. But of course she did not mention my name to you.” “Yes, she did.” “And what did she say?” “That you were gone into the army, and she was afraid had—not turned out well. At such a distance as _that_, you know, things are strangely misrepresented.” “Certainly,” he replied, biting his lips. Elizabeth hoped she had silenced him; but he soon afterwards said: “I was surprised to see Darcy in town last month. We passed each other several times. I wonder what he can be doing there.” “Perhaps preparing for his marriage with Miss de Bourgh,” said Elizabeth. “It must be something particular, to take him there at this time of year.” “Undoubtedly. Did you see him while you were at Lambton? I thought I understood from the Gardiners that you had.” “Yes; he introduced us to his sister.” “And do you like her?” “Very much.” “I have heard, indeed, that she is uncommonly improved within this year or two. When I last saw her, she was not very promising. I am very glad you liked her. I hope she will turn out well.” “I dare say she will; she has got over the most trying age.” “Did you go by the village of Kympton?” “I do not recollect that we did.” “I mention it, because it is the living which I ought to have had. A most delightful place!—Excellent Parsonage House! It would have suited me in every respect.” “How should you have liked making sermons?” “Exceedingly well. I should have considered it as part of my duty, and the exertion would soon have been nothing. One ought not to repine;—but, to be sure, it would have been such a thing for me! The quiet, the retirement of such a life would have answered all my ideas of happiness! But it was not to be. Did you ever hear Darcy mention the circumstance, when you were in Kent?” “I _have_ heard from authority, which I thought _as good_, that it was left you conditionally only, and at the will of the present patron.” “You have. Yes, there was something in _that_; I told you so from the first, you may remember.” “I _did_ hear, too, that there was a time, when sermon-making was not so palatable to you as it seems to be at present; that you actually declared your resolution of never taking orders, and that the business had been compromised accordingly.” “You did! and it was not wholly without foundation. You may remember what I told you on that point, when first we talked of it.” They were now almost at the door of the house, for she had walked fast to get rid of him; and unwilling, for her sister’s sake, to provoke him, she only said in reply, with a good-humoured smile: “Come, Mr. Wickham, we are brother and sister, you know. Do not let us quarrel about the past. In future, I hope we shall be always of one mind.” She held out her hand; he kissed it with affectionate gallantry, though he hardly knew how to look, and they entered the house. Chapter 53 Mr. Wickham was so perfectly satisfied with this conversation that he never again distressed himself, or provoked his dear sister Elizabeth, by introducing the subject of it; and she was pleased to find that she had said enough to keep him quiet. The day of his and Lydia’s departure soon came, and Mrs. Bennet was forced to submit to a separation, which, as her husband by no means entered into her scheme of their all going to Newcastle, was likely to continue at least a twelvemonth. “Oh! my dear Lydia,” she cried, “when shall we meet again?” “Oh, lord! I don’t know. Not these two or three years, perhaps.” “Write to me very often, my dear.” “As often as I can. But you know married women have never much time for writing. My sisters may write to _me_. They will have nothing else to do.” Mr. Wickham’s adieus were much more affectionate than his wife’s. He smiled, looked handsome, and said many pretty things. “He is as fine a fellow,” said Mr. Bennet, as soon as they were out of the house, “as ever I saw. He simpers, and smirks, and makes love to us all. I am prodigiously proud of him. I defy even Sir William Lucas himself to produce a more valuable son-in-law.” The loss of her daughter made Mrs. Bennet very dull for several days. “I often think,” said she, “that there is nothing so bad as parting with one’s friends. One seems so forlorn without them.” “This is the consequence, you see, Madam, of marrying a daughter,” said Elizabeth. “It must make you better satisfied that your other four are single.” “It is no such thing. Lydia does not leave me because she is married, but only because her husband’s regiment happens to be so far off. If that had been nearer, she would not have gone so soon.” But the spiritless condition which this event threw her into was shortly relieved, and her mind opened again to the agitation of hope, by an article of news which then began to be in circulation. The housekeeper at Netherfield had received orders to prepare for the arrival of her master, who was coming down in a day or two, to shoot there for several weeks. Mrs. Bennet was quite in the fidgets. She looked at Jane, and smiled and shook her head by turns. “Well, well, and so Mr. Bingley is coming down, sister,” (for Mrs. Phillips first brought her the news). “Well, so much the better. Not that I care about it, though. He is nothing to us, you know, and I am sure I never want to see him again. But, however, he is very welcome to come to Netherfield, if he likes it. And who knows what _may_ happen? But that is nothing to us. You know, sister, we agreed long ago never to mention a word about it. And so, is it quite certain he is coming?” “You may depend on it,” replied the other, “for Mrs. Nicholls was in Meryton last night; I saw her passing by, and went out myself on purpose to know the truth of it; and she told me that it was certain true. He comes down on Thursday at the latest, very likely on Wednesday. She was going to the butcher’s, she told me, on purpose to order in some meat on Wednesday, and she has got three couple of ducks just fit to be killed.” Miss Bennet had not been able to hear of his coming without changing colour. It was many months since she had mentioned his name to Elizabeth; but now, as soon as they were alone together, she said: “I saw you look at me to-day, Lizzy, when my aunt told us of the present report; and I know I appeared distressed. But don’t imagine it was from any silly cause. I was only confused for the moment, because I felt that I _should_ be looked at. I do assure you that the news does not affect me either with pleasure or pain. I am glad of one thing, that he comes alone; because we shall see the less of him. Not that I am afraid of _myself_, but I dread other people’s remarks.” Elizabeth did not know what to make of it. Had she not seen him in Derbyshire, she might have supposed him capable of coming there with no other view than what was acknowledged; but she still thought him partial to Jane, and she wavered as to the greater probability of his coming there _with_ his friend’s permission, or being bold enough to come without it. “Yet it is hard,” she sometimes thought, “that this poor man cannot come to a house which he has legally hired, without raising all this speculation! I _will_ leave him to himself.” In spite of what her sister declared, and really believed to be her feelings in the expectation of his arrival, Elizabeth could easily perceive that her spirits were affected by it. They were more disturbed, more unequal, than she had often seen them. The subject which had been so warmly canvassed between their parents, about a twelvemonth ago, was now brought forward again. “As soon as ever Mr. Bingley comes, my dear,” said Mrs. Bennet, “you will wait on him of course.” “No, no. You forced me into visiting him last year, and promised, if I went to see him, he should marry one of my daughters. But it ended in nothing, and I will not be sent on a fool’s errand again.” His wife represented to him how absolutely necessary such an attention would be from all the neighbouring gentlemen, on his returning to Netherfield. “’Tis an _etiquette_ I despise,” said he. “If he wants our society, let him seek it. He knows where we live. I will not spend _my_ hours in running after my neighbours every time they go away and come back again.” “Well, all I know is, that it will be abominably rude if you do not wait on him. But, however, that shan’t prevent my asking him to dine here, I am determined. We must have Mrs. Long and the Gouldings soon. That will make thirteen with ourselves, so there will be just room at table for him.” Consoled by this resolution, she was the better able to bear her husband’s incivility; though it was very mortifying to know that her neighbours might all see Mr. Bingley, in consequence of it, before _they_ did. As the day of his arrival drew near,— “I begin to be sorry that he comes at all,” said Jane to her sister. “It would be nothing; I could see him with perfect indifference, but I can hardly bear to hear it thus perpetually talked of. My mother means well; but she does not know, no one can know, how much I suffer from what she says. Happy shall I be, when his stay at Netherfield is over!” “I wish I could say anything to comfort you,” replied Elizabeth; “but it is wholly out of my power. You must feel it; and the usual satisfaction of preaching patience to a sufferer is denied me, because you have always so much.” Mr. Bingley arrived. Mrs. Bennet, through the assistance of servants, contrived to have the earliest tidings of it, that the period of anxiety and fretfulness on her side might be as long as it could. She counted the days that must intervene before their invitation could be sent; hopeless of seeing him before. But on the third morning after his arrival in Hertfordshire, she saw him, from her dressing-room window, enter the paddock and ride towards the house. Her daughters were eagerly called to partake of her joy. Jane resolutely kept her place at the table; but Elizabeth, to satisfy her mother, went to the window—she looked,—she saw Mr. Darcy with him, and sat down again by her sister. “There is a gentleman with him, mamma,” said Kitty; “who can it be?” “Some acquaintance or other, my dear, I suppose; I am sure I do not know.” “La!” replied Kitty, “it looks just like that man that used to be with him before. Mr. what’s-his-name. That tall, proud man.” “Good gracious! Mr. Darcy!—and so it does, I vow. Well, any friend of Mr. Bingley’s will always be welcome here, to be sure; but else I must say that I hate the very sight of him.” Jane looked at Elizabeth with surprise and concern. She knew but little of their meeting in Derbyshire, and therefore felt for the awkwardness which must attend her sister, in seeing him almost for the first time after receiving his explanatory letter. Both sisters were uncomfortable enough. Each felt for the other, and of course for themselves; and their mother talked on, of her dislike of Mr. Darcy, and her resolution to be civil to him only as Mr. Bingley’s friend, without being heard by either of them. But Elizabeth had sources of uneasiness which could not be suspected by Jane, to whom she had never yet had courage to shew Mrs. Gardiner’s letter, or to relate her own change of sentiment towards him. To Jane, he could be only a man whose proposals she had refused, and whose merit she had undervalued; but to her own more extensive information, he was the person to whom the whole family were indebted for the first of benefits, and whom she regarded herself with an interest, if not quite so tender, at least as reasonable and just as what Jane felt for Bingley. Her astonishment at his coming—at his coming to Netherfield, to Longbourn, and voluntarily seeking her again, was almost equal to what she had known on first witnessing his altered behaviour in Derbyshire. The colour which had been driven from her face, returned for half a minute with an additional glow, and a smile of delight added lustre to her eyes, as she thought for that space of time that his affection and wishes must still be unshaken. But she would not be secure. “Let me first see how he behaves,” said she; “it will then be early enough for expectation.” She sat intently at work, striving to be composed, and without daring to lift up her eyes, till anxious curiosity carried them to the face of her sister as the servant was approaching the door. Jane looked a little paler than usual, but more sedate than Elizabeth had expected. On the gentlemen’s appearing, her colour increased; yet she received them with tolerable ease, and with a propriety of behaviour equally free from any symptom of resentment or any unnecessary complaisance. Elizabeth said as little to either as civility would allow, and sat down again to her work, with an eagerness which it did not often command. She had ventured only one glance at Darcy. He looked serious, as usual; and, she thought, more as he had been used to look in Hertfordshire, than as she had seen him at Pemberley. But, perhaps he could not in her mother’s presence be what he was before her uncle and aunt. It was a painful, but not an improbable, conjecture. Bingley, she had likewise seen for an instant, and in that short period saw him looking both pleased and embarrassed. He was received by Mrs. Bennet with a degree of civility which made her two daughters ashamed, especially when contrasted with the cold and ceremonious politeness of her curtsey and address to his friend. Elizabeth, particularly, who knew that her mother owed to the latter the preservation of her favourite daughter from irremediable infamy, was hurt and distressed to a most painful degree by a distinction so ill applied. Darcy, after enquiring of her how Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner did, a question which she could not answer without confusion, said scarcely anything. He was not seated by her; perhaps that was the reason of his silence; but it had not been so in Derbyshire. There he had talked to her friends, when he could not to herself. But now several minutes elapsed without bringing the sound of his voice; and when occasionally, unable to resist the impulse of curiosity, she raised her eyes to his face, she as often found him looking at Jane as at herself, and frequently on no object but the ground. More thoughtfulness and less anxiety to please, than when they last met, were plainly expressed. She was disappointed, and angry with herself for being so. “Could I expect it to be otherwise!” said she. “Yet why did he come?” She was in no humour for conversation with anyone but himself; and to him she had hardly courage to speak. She enquired after his sister, but could do no more. “It is a long time, Mr. Bingley, since you went away,” said Mrs. Bennet. He readily agreed to it. “I began to be afraid you would never come back again. People _did_ say you meant to quit the place entirely at Michaelmas; but, however, I hope it is not true. A great many changes have happened in the neighbourhood, since you went away. Miss Lucas is married and settled. And one of my own daughters. I suppose you have heard of it; indeed, you must have seen it in the papers. It was in The Times and The Courier, I know; though it was not put in as it ought to be. It was only said, ‘Lately, George Wickham, Esq. to Miss Lydia Bennet,’ without there being a syllable said of her father, or the place where she lived, or anything. It was my brother Gardiner’s drawing up too, and I wonder how he came to make such an awkward business of it. Did you see it?” Bingley replied that he did, and made his congratulations. Elizabeth dared not lift up her eyes. How Mr. Darcy looked, therefore, she could not tell. “It is a delightful thing, to be sure, to have a daughter well married,” continued her mother, “but at the same time, Mr. Bingley, it is very hard to have her taken such a way from me. They are gone down to Newcastle, a place quite northward, it seems, and there they are to stay I do not know how long. His regiment is there; for I suppose you have heard of his leaving the ——shire, and of his being gone into the regulars. Thank Heaven! he has _some_ friends, though perhaps not so many as he deserves.” Elizabeth, who knew this to be levelled at Mr. Darcy, was in such misery of shame, that she could hardly keep her seat. It drew from her, however, the exertion of speaking, which nothing else had so effectually done before; and she asked Bingley whether he meant to make any stay in the country at present. A few weeks, he believed. “When you have killed all your own birds, Mr. Bingley,” said her mother, “I beg you will come here, and shoot as many as you please on Mr. Bennet’s manor. I am sure he will be vastly happy to oblige you, and will save all the best of the covies for you.” Elizabeth’s misery increased, at such unnecessary, such officious attention! Were the same fair prospect to arise at present as had flattered them a year ago, every thing, she was persuaded, would be hastening to the same vexatious conclusion. At that instant, she felt that years of happiness could not make Jane or herself amends for moments of such painful confusion. “The first wish of my heart,” said she to herself, “is never more to be in company with either of them. Their society can afford no pleasure that will atone for such wretchedness as this! Let me never see either one or the other again!” Yet the misery, for which years of happiness were to offer no compensation, received soon afterwards material relief, from observing how much the beauty of her sister re-kindled the admiration of her former lover. When first he came in, he had spoken to her but little; but every five minutes seemed to be giving her more of his attention. He found her as handsome as she had been last year; as good natured, and as unaffected, though not quite so chatty. Jane was anxious that no difference should be perceived in her at all, and was really persuaded that she talked as much as ever. But her mind was so busily engaged, that she did not always know when she was silent. When the gentlemen rose to go away, Mrs. Bennet was mindful of her intended civility, and they were invited and engaged to dine at Longbourn in a few days time. “You are quite a visit in my debt, Mr. Bingley,” she added, “for when you went to town last winter, you promised to take a family dinner with us, as soon as you returned. I have not forgot, you see; and I assure you, I was very much disappointed that you did not come back and keep your engagement.” Bingley looked a little silly at this reflection, and said something of his concern at having been prevented by business. They then went away. Mrs. Bennet had been strongly inclined to ask them to stay and dine there that day; but, though she alway'
In [4]:
# Book 2 is The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes stored in string T2
book_two_path = "E:/The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.txt"
T2 = txt_file_to_string(book_two_path)
T2
Out[4]:
'The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Author: Arthur Conan Doyle Release Date: November 29, 2002 [eBook #1661] [Most recently updated: May 20, 2019] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 Produced by: an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer and Jose Menendez *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES *** cover The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle Contents I. A Scandal in Bohemia II. The Red-Headed League III. A Case of Identity IV. The Boscombe Valley Mystery V. The Five Orange Pips VI. The Man with the Twisted Lip VII. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle VIII. The Adventure of the Speckled Band IX. The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb X. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor XI. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet XII. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches I. A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA I. To Sherlock Holmes she is always _the_ woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer—excellent for drawing the veil from men’s motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results. Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his. And yet there was but one woman to him, and that woman was the late Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable memory. I had seen little of Holmes lately. My marriage had drifted us away from each other. My own complete happiness, and the home-centred interests which rise up around the man who first finds himself master of his own establishment, were sufficient to absorb all my attention, while Holmes, who loathed every form of society with his whole Bohemian soul, remained in our lodgings in Baker Street, buried among his old books, and alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature. He was still, as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his immense faculties and extraordinary powers of observation in following out those clues, and clearing up those mysteries which had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police. From time to time I heard some vague account of his doings: of his summons to Odessa in the case of the Trepoff murder, of his clearing up of the singular tragedy of the Atkinson brothers at Trincomalee, and finally of the mission which he had accomplished so delicately and successfully for the reigning family of Holland. Beyond these signs of his activity, however, which I merely shared with all the readers of the daily press, I knew little of my former friend and companion. One night—it was on the twentieth of March, 1888—I was returning from a journey to a patient (for I had now returned to civil practice), when my way led me through Baker Street. As I passed the well-remembered door, which must always be associated in my mind with my wooing, and with the dark incidents of the Study in Scarlet, I was seized with a keen desire to see Holmes again, and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers. His rooms were brilliantly lit, and, even as I looked up, I saw his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind. He was pacing the room swiftly, eagerly, with his head sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him. To me, who knew his every mood and habit, his attitude and manner told their own story. He was at work again. He had risen out of his drug-created dreams and was hot upon the scent of some new problem. I rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which had formerly been in part my own. His manner was not effusive. It seldom was; but he was glad, I think, to see me. With hardly a word spoken, but with a kindly eye, he waved me to an armchair, threw across his case of cigars, and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner. Then he stood before the fire and looked me over in his singular introspective fashion. “Wedlock suits you,” he remarked. “I think, Watson, that you have put on seven and a half pounds since I saw you.” “Seven!” I answered. “Indeed, I should have thought a little more. Just a trifle more, I fancy, Watson. And in practice again, I observe. You did not tell me that you intended to go into harness.” “Then, how do you know?” “I see it, I deduce it. How do I know that you have been getting yourself very wet lately, and that you have a most clumsy and careless servant girl?” “My dear Holmes,” said I, “this is too much. You would certainly have been burned, had you lived a few centuries ago. It is true that I had a country walk on Thursday and came home in a dreadful mess, but as I have changed my clothes I can’t imagine how you deduce it. As to Mary Jane, she is incorrigible, and my wife has given her notice, but there, again, I fail to see how you work it out.” He chuckled to himself and rubbed his long, nervous hands together. “It is simplicity itself,” said he; “my eyes tell me that on the inside of your left shoe, just where the firelight strikes it, the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts. Obviously they have been caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it. Hence, you see, my double deduction that you had been out in vile weather, and that you had a particularly malignant boot-slitting specimen of the London slavey. As to your practice, if a gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of iodoform, with a black mark of nitrate of silver upon his right forefinger, and a bulge on the right side of his top-hat to show where he has secreted his stethoscope, I must be dull, indeed, if I do not pronounce him to be an active member of the medical profession.” I could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained his process of deduction. “When I hear you give your reasons,” I remarked, “the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously simple that I could easily do it myself, though at each successive instance of your reasoning I am baffled until you explain your process. And yet I believe that my eyes are as good as yours.” “Quite so,” he answered, lighting a cigarette, and throwing himself down into an armchair. “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.” “Frequently.” “How often?” “Well, some hundreds of times.” “Then how many are there?” “How many? I don’t know.” “Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed. By the way, since you are interested in these little problems, and since you are good enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences, you may be interested in this.” He threw over a sheet of thick, pink-tinted notepaper which had been lying open upon the table. “It came by the last post,” said he. “Read it aloud.” The note was undated, and without either signature or address. “There will call upon you to-night, at a quarter to eight o’clock,” it said, “a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a matter of the very deepest moment. Your recent services to one of the royal houses of Europe have shown that you are one who may safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which can hardly be exaggerated. This account of you we have from all quarters received. Be in your chamber then at that hour, and do not take it amiss if your visitor wear a mask.” “This is indeed a mystery,” I remarked. “What do you imagine that it means?” “I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts. But the note itself. What do you deduce from it?” I carefully examined the writing, and the paper upon which it was written. “The man who wrote it was presumably well to do,” I remarked, endeavouring to imitate my companion’s processes. “Such paper could not be bought under half a crown a packet. It is peculiarly strong and stiff.” “Peculiar—that is the very word,” said Holmes. “It is not an English paper at all. Hold it up to the light.” I did so, and saw a large “E” with a small “g,” a “P,” and a large “G” with a small “t” woven into the texture of the paper. “What do you make of that?” asked Holmes. “The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather.” “Not at all. The ‘G’ with the small ‘t’ stands for ‘Gesellschaft,’ which is the German for ‘Company.’ It is a customary contraction like our ‘Co.’ ‘P,’ of course, stands for ‘Papier.’ Now for the ‘Eg.’ Let us glance at our Continental Gazetteer.” He took down a heavy brown volume from his shelves. “Eglow, Eglonitz—here we are, Egria. It is in a German-speaking country—in Bohemia, not far from Carlsbad. ‘Remarkable as being the scene of the death of Wallenstein, and for its numerous glass-factories and paper-mills.’ Ha, ha, my boy, what do you make of that?” His eyes sparkled, and he sent up a great blue triumphant cloud from his cigarette. “The paper was made in Bohemia,” I said. “Precisely. And the man who wrote the note is a German. Do you note the peculiar construction of the sentence—‘This account of you we have from all quarters received.’ A Frenchman or Russian could not have written that. It is the German who is so uncourteous to his verbs. It only remains, therefore, to discover what is wanted by this German who writes upon Bohemian paper and prefers wearing a mask to showing his face. And here he comes, if I am not mistaken, to resolve all our doubts.” As he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses’ hoofs and grating wheels against the curb, followed by a sharp pull at the bell. Holmes whistled. “A pair, by the sound,” said he. “Yes,” he continued, glancing out of the window. “A nice little brougham and a pair of beauties. A hundred and fifty guineas apiece. There’s money in this case, Watson, if there is nothing else.” “I think that I had better go, Holmes.” “Not a bit, Doctor. Stay where you are. I am lost without my Boswell. And this promises to be interesting. It would be a pity to miss it.” “But your client—” “Never mind him. I may want your help, and so may he. Here he comes. Sit down in that armchair, Doctor, and give us your best attention.” A slow and heavy step, which had been heard upon the stairs and in the passage, paused immediately outside the door. Then there was a loud and authoritative tap. “Come in!” said Holmes. A man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet six inches in height, with the chest and limbs of a Hercules. His dress was rich with a richness which would, in England, be looked upon as akin to bad taste. Heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed across the sleeves and fronts of his double-breasted coat, while the deep blue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined with flame-coloured silk and secured at the neck with a brooch which consisted of a single flaming beryl. Boots which extended halfway up his calves, and which were trimmed at the tops with rich brown fur, completed the impression of barbaric opulence which was suggested by his whole appearance. He carried a broad-brimmed hat in his hand, while he wore across the upper part of his face, extending down past the cheekbones, a black vizard mask, which he had apparently adjusted that very moment, for his hand was still raised to it as he entered. From the lower part of the face he appeared to be a man of strong character, with a thick, hanging lip, and a long, straight chin suggestive of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy. “You had my note?” he asked with a deep harsh voice and a strongly marked German accent. “I told you that I would call.” He looked from one to the other of us, as if uncertain which to address. “Pray take a seat,” said Holmes. “This is my friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, who is occasionally good enough to help me in my cases. Whom have I the honour to address?” “You may address me as the Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman. I understand that this gentleman, your friend, is a man of honour and discretion, whom I may trust with a matter of the most extreme importance. If not, I should much prefer to communicate with you alone.” I rose to go, but Holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me back into my chair. “It is both, or none,” said he. “You may say before this gentleman anything which you may say to me.” The Count shrugged his broad shoulders. “Then I must begin,” said he, “by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years; at the end of that time the matter will be of no importance. At present it is not too much to say that it is of such weight it may have an influence upon European history.” “I promise,” said Holmes. “And I.” “You will excuse this mask,” continued our strange visitor. “The august person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to you, and I may confess at once that the title by which I have just called myself is not exactly my own.” “I was aware of it,” said Holmes dryly. “The circumstances are of great delicacy, and every precaution has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense scandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning families of Europe. To speak plainly, the matter implicates the great House of Ormstein, hereditary kings of Bohemia.” “I was also aware of that,” murmured Holmes, settling himself down in his armchair and closing his eyes. Our visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at the languid, lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him as the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in Europe. Holmes slowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his gigantic client. “If your Majesty would condescend to state your case,” he remarked, “I should be better able to advise you.” The man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room in uncontrollable agitation. Then, with a gesture of desperation, he tore the mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground. “You are right,” he cried; “I am the King. Why should I attempt to conceal it?” “Why, indeed?” murmured Holmes. “Your Majesty had not spoken before I was aware that I was addressing Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, and hereditary King of Bohemia.” “But you can understand,” said our strange visitor, sitting down once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead, “you can understand that I am not accustomed to doing such business in my own person. Yet the matter was so delicate that I could not confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power. I have come _incognito_ from Prague for the purpose of consulting you.” “Then, pray consult,” said Holmes, shutting his eyes once more. “The facts are briefly these: Some five years ago, during a lengthy visit to Warsaw, I made the acquaintance of the well-known adventuress, Irene Adler. The name is no doubt familiar to you.” “Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor,” murmured Holmes without opening his eyes. For many years he had adopted a system of docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things, so that it was difficult to name a subject or a person on which he could not at once furnish information. In this case I found her biography sandwiched in between that of a Hebrew rabbi and that of a staff-commander who had written a monograph upon the deep-sea fishes. “Let me see!” said Holmes. “Hum! Born in New Jersey in the year 1858. Contralto—hum! La Scala, hum! Prima donna Imperial Opera of Warsaw—yes! Retired from operatic stage—ha! Living in London—quite so! Your Majesty, as I understand, became entangled with this young person, wrote her some compromising letters, and is now desirous of getting those letters back.” “Precisely so. But how—” “Was there a secret marriage?” “None.” “No legal papers or certificates?” “None.” “Then I fail to follow your Majesty. If this young person should produce her letters for blackmailing or other purposes, how is she to prove their authenticity?” “There is the writing.” “Pooh, pooh! Forgery.” “My private note-paper.” “Stolen.” “My own seal.” “Imitated.” “My photograph.” “Bought.” “We were both in the photograph.” “Oh, dear! That is very bad! Your Majesty has indeed committed an indiscretion.” “I was mad—insane.” “You have compromised yourself seriously.” “I was only Crown Prince then. I was young. I am but thirty now.” “It must be recovered.” “We have tried and failed.” “Your Majesty must pay. It must be bought.” “She will not sell.” “Stolen, then.” “Five attempts have been made. Twice burglars in my pay ransacked her house. Once we diverted her luggage when she travelled. Twice she has been waylaid. There has been no result.” “No sign of it?” “Absolutely none.” Holmes laughed. “It is quite a pretty little problem,” said he. “But a very serious one to me,” returned the King reproachfully. “Very, indeed. And what does she propose to do with the photograph?” “To ruin me.” “But how?” “I am about to be married.” “So I have heard.” “To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the King of Scandinavia. You may know the strict principles of her family. She is herself the very soul of delicacy. A shadow of a doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end.” “And Irene Adler?” “Threatens to send them the photograph. And she will do it. I know that she will do it. You do not know her, but she has a soul of steel. She has the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of the most resolute of men. Rather than I should marry another woman, there are no lengths to which she would not go—none.” “You are sure that she has not sent it yet?” “I am sure.” “And why?” “Because she has said that she would send it on the day when the betrothal was publicly proclaimed. That will be next Monday.” “Oh, then we have three days yet,” said Holmes with a yawn. “That is very fortunate, as I have one or two matters of importance to look into just at present. Your Majesty will, of course, stay in London for the present?” “Certainly. You will find me at the Langham under the name of the Count Von Kramm.” “Then I shall drop you a line to let you know how we progress.” “Pray do so. I shall be all anxiety.” “Then, as to money?” “You have _carte blanche_.” “Absolutely?” “I tell you that I would give one of the provinces of my kingdom to have that photograph.” “And for present expenses?” The King took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak and laid it on the table. “There are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in notes,” he said. Holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his note-book and handed it to him. “And Mademoiselle’s address?” he asked. “Is Briony Lodge, Serpentine Avenue, St. John’s Wood.” Holmes took a note of it. “One other question,” said he. “Was the photograph a cabinet?” “It was.” “Then, good-night, your Majesty, and I trust that we shall soon have some good news for you. And good-night, Watson,” he added, as the wheels of the royal brougham rolled down the street. “If you will be good enough to call to-morrow afternoon at three o’clock I should like to chat this little matter over with you.” II. At three o’clock precisely I was at Baker Street, but Holmes had not yet returned. The landlady informed me that he had left the house shortly after eight o’clock in the morning. I sat down beside the fire, however, with the intention of awaiting him, however long he might be. I was already deeply interested in his inquiry, for, though it was surrounded by none of the grim and strange features which were associated with the two crimes which I have already recorded, still, the nature of the case and the exalted station of his client gave it a character of its own. Indeed, apart from the nature of the investigation which my friend had on hand, there was something in his masterly grasp of a situation, and his keen, incisive reasoning, which made it a pleasure to me to study his system of work, and to follow the quick, subtle methods by which he disentangled the most inextricable mysteries. So accustomed was I to his invariable success that the very possibility of his failing had ceased to enter into my head. It was close upon four before the door opened, and a drunken-looking groom, ill-kempt and side-whiskered, with an inflamed face and disreputable clothes, walked into the room. Accustomed as I was to my friend’s amazing powers in the use of disguises, I had to look three times before I was certain that it was indeed he. With a nod he vanished into the bedroom, whence he emerged in five minutes tweed-suited and respectable, as of old. Putting his hands into his pockets, he stretched out his legs in front of the fire and laughed heartily for some minutes. “Well, really!” he cried, and then he choked and laughed again until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the chair. “What is it?” “It’s quite too funny. I am sure you could never guess how I employed my morning, or what I ended by doing.” “I can’t imagine. I suppose that you have been watching the habits, and perhaps the house, of Miss Irene Adler.” “Quite so; but the sequel was rather unusual. I will tell you, however. I left the house a little after eight o’clock this morning in the character of a groom out of work. There is a wonderful sympathy and freemasonry among horsey men. Be one of them, and you will know all that there is to know. I soon found Briony Lodge. It is a _bijou_ villa, with a garden at the back, but built out in front right up to the road, two stories. Chubb lock to the door. Large sitting-room on the right side, well furnished, with long windows almost to the floor, and those preposterous English window fasteners which a child could open. Behind there was nothing remarkable, save that the passage window could be reached from the top of the coach-house. I walked round it and examined it closely from every point of view, but without noting anything else of interest. “I then lounged down the street and found, as I expected, that there was a mews in a lane which runs down by one wall of the garden. I lent the ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses, and received in exchange twopence, a glass of half-and-half, two fills of shag tobacco, and as much information as I could desire about Miss Adler, to say nothing of half a dozen other people in the neighbourhood in whom I was not in the least interested, but whose biographies I was compelled to listen to.” “And what of Irene Adler?” I asked. “Oh, she has turned all the men’s heads down in that part. She is the daintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet. So say the Serpentine-mews, to a man. She lives quietly, sings at concerts, drives out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for dinner. Seldom goes out at other times, except when she sings. Has only one male visitor, but a good deal of him. He is dark, handsome, and dashing, never calls less than once a day, and often twice. He is a Mr. Godfrey Norton, of the Inner Temple. See the advantages of a cabman as a confidant. They had driven him home a dozen times from Serpentine-mews, and knew all about him. When I had listened to all they had to tell, I began to walk up and down near Briony Lodge once more, and to think over my plan of campaign. “This Godfrey Norton was evidently an important factor in the matter. He was a lawyer. That sounded ominous. What was the relation between them, and what the object of his repeated visits? Was she his client, his friend, or his mistress? If the former, she had probably transferred the photograph to his keeping. If the latter, it was less likely. On the issue of this question depended whether I should continue my work at Briony Lodge, or turn my attention to the gentleman’s chambers in the Temple. It was a delicate point, and it widened the field of my inquiry. I fear that I bore you with these details, but I have to let you see my little difficulties, if you are to understand the situation.” “I am following you closely,” I answered. “I was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab drove up to Briony Lodge, and a gentleman sprang out. He was a remarkably handsome man, dark, aquiline, and moustached—evidently the man of whom I had heard. He appeared to be in a great hurry, shouted to the cabman to wait, and brushed past the maid who opened the door with the air of a man who was thoroughly at home. “He was in the house about half an hour, and I could catch glimpses of him in the windows of the sitting-room, pacing up and down, talking excitedly, and waving his arms. Of her I could see nothing. Presently he emerged, looking even more flurried than before. As he stepped up to the cab, he pulled a gold watch from his pocket and looked at it earnestly, ‘Drive like the devil,’ he shouted, ‘first to Gross & Hankey’s in Regent Street, and then to the Church of St. Monica in the Edgeware Road. Half a guinea if you do it in twenty minutes!’ “Away they went, and I was just wondering whether I should not do well to follow them when up the lane came a neat little landau, the coachman with his coat only half-buttoned, and his tie under his ear, while all the tags of his harness were sticking out of the buckles. It hadn’t pulled up before she shot out of the hall door and into it. I only caught a glimpse of her at the moment, but she was a lovely woman, with a face that a man might die for. “‘The Church of St. Monica, John,’ she cried, ‘and half a sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes.’ “This was quite too good to lose, Watson. I was just balancing whether I should run for it, or whether I should perch behind her landau when a cab came through the street. The driver looked twice at such a shabby fare, but I jumped in before he could object. ‘The Church of St. Monica,’ said I, ‘and half a sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes.’ It was twenty-five minutes to twelve, and of course it was clear enough what was in the wind. “My cabby drove fast. I don’t think I ever drove faster, but the others were there before us. The cab and the landau with their steaming horses were in front of the door when I arrived. I paid the man and hurried into the church. There was not a soul there save the two whom I had followed and a surpliced clergyman, who seemed to be expostulating with them. They were all three standing in a knot in front of the altar. I lounged up the side aisle like any other idler who has dropped into a church. Suddenly, to my surprise, the three at the altar faced round to me, and Godfrey Norton came running as hard as he could towards me. “‘Thank God,’ he cried. ‘You’ll do. Come! Come!’ “‘What then?’ I asked. “‘Come, man, come, only three minutes, or it won’t be legal.’ “I was half-dragged up to the altar, and before I knew where I was I found myself mumbling responses which were whispered in my ear, and vouching for things of which I knew nothing, and generally assisting in the secure tying up of Irene Adler, spinster, to Godfrey Norton, bachelor. It was all done in an instant, and there was the gentleman thanking me on the one side and the lady on the other, while the clergyman beamed on me in front. It was the most preposterous position in which I ever found myself in my life, and it was the thought of it that started me laughing just now. It seems that there had been some informality about their license, that the clergyman absolutely refused to marry them without a witness of some sort, and that my lucky appearance saved the bridegroom from having to sally out into the streets in search of a best man. The bride gave me a sovereign, and I mean to wear it on my watch chain in memory of the occasion.” “This is a very unexpected turn of affairs,” said I; “and what then?” “Well, I found my plans very seriously menaced. It looked as if the pair might take an immediate departure, and so necessitate very prompt and energetic measures on my part. At the church door, however, they separated, he driving back to the Temple, and she to her own house. ‘I shall drive out in the park at five as usual,’ she said as she left him. I heard no more. They drove away in different directions, and I went off to make my own arrangements.” “Which are?” “Some cold beef and a glass of beer,” he answered, ringing the bell. “I have been too busy to think of food, and I am likely to be busier still this evening. By the way, Doctor, I shall want your co-operation.” “I shall be delighted.” “You don’t mind breaking the law?” “Not in the least.” “Nor running a chance of arrest?” “Not in a good cause.” “Oh, the cause is excellent!” “Then I am your man.” “I was sure that I might rely on you.” “But what is it you wish?” “When Mrs. Turner has brought in the tray I will make it clear to you. Now,” he said as he turned hungrily on the simple fare that our landlady had provided, “I must discuss it while I eat, for I have not much time. It is nearly five now. In two hours we must be on the scene of action. Miss Irene, or Madame, rather, returns from her drive at seven. We must be at Briony Lodge to meet her.” “And what then?” “You must leave that to me. I have already arranged what is to occur. There is only one point on which I must insist. You must not interfere, come what may. You understand?” “I am to be neutral?” “To do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small unpleasantness. Do not join in it. It will end in my being conveyed into the house. Four or five minutes afterwards the sitting-room window will open. You are to station yourself close to that open window.” “Yes.” “You are to watch me, for I will be visible to you.” “Yes.” “And when I raise my hand—so—you will throw into the room what I give you to throw, and will, at the same time, raise the cry of fire. You quite follow me?” “Entirely.” “It is nothing very formidable,” he said, taking a long cigar-shaped roll from his pocket. “It is an ordinary plumber’s smoke-rocket, fitted with a cap at either end to make it self-lighting. Your task is confined to that. When you raise your cry of fire, it will be taken up by quite a number of people. You may then walk to the end of the street, and I will rejoin you in ten minutes. I hope that I have made myself clear?” “I am to remain neutral, to get near the window, to watch you, and at the signal to throw in this object, then to raise the cry of fire, and to wait you at the corner of the street.” “Precisely.” “Then you may entirely rely on me.” “That is excellent. I think, perhaps, it is almost time that I prepare for the new role I have to play.” He disappeared into his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in the character of an amiable and simple-minded Nonconformist clergyman. His broad black hat, his baggy trousers, his white tie, his sympathetic smile, and general look of peering and benevolent curiosity were such as Mr. John Hare alone could have equalled. It was not merely that Holmes changed his costume. His expression, his manner, his very soul seemed to vary with every fresh part that he assumed. The stage lost a fine actor, even as science lost an acute reasoner, when he became a specialist in crime. It was a quarter past six when we left Baker Street, and it still wanted ten minutes to the hour when we found ourselves in Serpentine Avenue. It was already dusk, and the lamps were just being lighted as we paced up and down in front of Briony Lodge, waiting for the coming of its occupant. The house was just such as I had pictured it from Sherlock Holmes’ succinct description, but the locality appeared to be less private than I expected. On the contrary, for a small street in a quiet neighbourhood, it was remarkably animated. There was a group of shabbily dressed men smoking and laughing in a corner, a scissors-grinder with his wheel, two guardsmen who were flirting with a nurse-girl, and several well-dressed young men who were lounging up and down with cigars in their mouths. “You see,” remarked Holmes, as we paced to and fro in front of the house, “this marriage rather simplifies matters. The photograph becomes a double-edged weapon now. The chances are that she would be as averse to its being seen by Mr. Godfrey Norton, as our client is to its coming to the eyes of his princess. Now the question is, Where are we to find the photograph?” “Where, indeed?” “It is most unlikely that she carries it about with her. It is cabinet size. Too large for easy concealment about a woman’s dress. She knows that the King is capable of having her waylaid and searched. Two attempts of the sort have already been made. We may take it, then, that she does not carry it about with her.” “Where, then?” “Her banker or her lawyer. There is that double possibility. But I am inclined to think neither. Women are naturally secretive, and they like to do their own secreting. Why should she hand it over to anyone else? She could trust her own guardianship, but she could not tell what indirect or political influence might be brought to bear upon a business man. Besides, remember that she had resolved to use it within a few days. It must be where she can lay her hands upon it. It must be in her own house.” “But it has twice been burgled.” “Pshaw! They did not know how to look.” “But how will you look?” “I will not look.” “What then?” “I will get her to show me.” “But she will refuse.” “She will not be able to. But I hear the rumble of wheels. It is her carriage. Now carry out my orders to the letter.” As he spoke the gleam of the sidelights of a carriage came round the curve of the avenue. It was a smart little landau which rattled up to the door of Briony Lodge. As it pulled up, one of the loafing men at the corner dashed forward to open the door in the hope of earning a copper, but was elbowed away by another loafer, who had rushed up with the same intention. A fierce quarrel broke out, which was increased by the two guardsmen, who took sides with one of the loungers, and by the scissors-grinder, who was equally hot upon the other side. A blow was struck, and in an instant the lady, who had stepped from her carriage, was the centre of a little knot of flushed and struggling men, who struck savagely at each other with their fists and sticks. Holmes dashed into the crowd to protect the lady; but, just as he reached her, he gave a cry and dropped to the ground, with the blood running freely down his face. At his fall the guardsmen took to their heels in one direction and the loungers in the other, while a number of better dressed people, who had watched the scuffle without taking part in it, crowded in to help the lady and to attend to the injured man. Irene Adler, as I will still call her, had hurried up the steps; but she stood at the top with her superb figure outlined against the lights of the hall, looking back into the street. “Is the poor gentleman much hurt?” she asked. “He is dead,” cried several voices. “No, no, there’s life in him!” shouted another. “But he’ll be gone before you can get him to hospital.” “He’s a brave fellow,” said a woman. “They would have had the lady’s purse and watch if it hadn’t been for him. They were a gang, and a rough one, too. Ah, he’s breathing now.” “He can’t lie in the street. May we bring him in, marm?” “Surely. Bring him into the sitting-room. There is a comfortable sofa. This way, please!” Slowly and solemnly he was borne into Briony Lodge and laid out in the principal room, while I still observed the proceedings from my post by the window. The lamps had been lit, but the blinds had not been drawn, so that I could see Holmes as he lay upon the couch. I do not know whether he was seized with compunction at that moment for the part he was playing, but I know that I never felt more heartily ashamed of myself in my life than when I saw the beautiful creature against whom I was conspiring, or the grace and kindliness with which she waited upon the injured man. And yet it would be the blackest treachery to Holmes to draw back now from the part which he had intrusted to me. I hardened my heart, and took the smoke-rocket from under my ulster. After all, I thought, we are not injuring her. We are but preventing her from injuring another. Holmes had sat up upon the couch, and I saw him motion like a man who is in need of air. A maid rushed across and threw open the window. At the same instant I saw him raise his hand and at the signal I tossed my rocket into the room with a cry of “Fire!” The word was no sooner out of my mouth than the whole crowd of spectators, well dressed and ill—gentlemen, ostlers, and servant maids—joined in a general shriek of “Fire!” Thick clouds of smoke curled through the room and out at the open window. I caught a glimpse of rushing figures, and a moment later the voice of Holmes from within assuring them that it was a false alarm. Slipping through the shouting crowd I made my way to the corner of the street, and in ten minutes was rejoiced to find my friend’s arm in mine, and to get away from the scene of uproar. He walked swiftly and in silence for some few minutes until we had turned down one of the quiet streets which lead towards the Edgeware Road. “You did it very nicely, Doctor,” he remarked. “Nothing could have been better. It is all right.” “You have the photograph?” “I know where it is.” “And how did you find out?” “She showed me, as I told you she would.” “I am still in the dark.” “I do not wish to make a mystery,” said he, laughing. “The matter was perfectly simple. You, of course, saw that everyone in the street was an accomplice. They were all engaged for the evening.” “I guessed as much.” “Then, when the row broke out, I had a little moist red paint in the palm of my hand. I rushed forward, fell down, clapped my hand to my face, and became a piteous spectacle. It is an old trick.” “That also I could fathom.” “Then they carried me in. She was bound to have me in. What else could she do? And into her sitting-room, which was the very room which I suspected. It lay between that and her bedroom, and I was determined to see which. They laid me on a couch, I motioned for air, they were compelled to open the window, and you had your chance.” “How did that help you?” “It was all-important. When a woman thinks that her house is on fire, her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she values most. It is a perfectly overpowering impulse, and I have more than once taken advantage of it. In the case of the Darlington Substitution Scandal it was of use to me, and also in the Arnsworth Castle business. A married woman grabs at her baby; an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box. Now it was clear to me that our lady of to-day had nothing in the house more precious to her than what we are in quest of. She would rush to secure it. The alarm of fire was admirably done. The smoke and shouting were enough to shake nerves of steel. She responded beautifully. The photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the right bell-pull. She was there in an instant, and I caught a glimpse of it as she half drew it out. When I cried out that it was a false alarm, she replaced it, glanced at the rocket, rushed from the room, and I have not seen her since. I rose, and, making my excuses, escaped from the house. I hesitated whether to attempt to secure the photograph at once; but the coachman had come in, and as he was watching me narrowly, it seemed safer to wait. A little over-precipitance may ruin all.” “And now?” I asked. “Our quest is practically finished. I shall call with the King to-morrow, and with you, if you care to come with us. We will be shown into the sitting-room to wait for the lady, but it is probable that when she comes she may find neither us nor the photograph. It might be a satisfaction to his Majesty to regain it with his own hands.” “And when will you call?” “At eight in the morning. She will not be up, so that we shall have a clear field. Besides, we must be prompt, for this marriage may mean a complete change in her life and habits. I must wire to the King without delay.” We had reached Baker Street and had stopped at the door. He was searching his pockets for the key when someone passing said: “Good-night, Mister Sherlock Holmes.” There were several people on the pavement at the time, but the greeting appeared to come from a slim youth in an ulster who had hurried by. “I’ve heard that voice before,” said Holmes, staring down the dimly lit street. “Now, I wonder who the deuce that could have been.” III. I slept at Baker Street that night, and we were engaged upon our toast and coffee in the morning when the King of Bohemia rushed into the room. “You have really got it!” he cried, grasping Sherlock Holmes by either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face. “Not yet.” “But you have hopes?” “I have hopes.” “Then, come. I am all impatience to be gone.” “We must have a cab.” “No, my brougham is waiting.” “Then that will simplify matters.” We descended and started off once more for Briony Lodge. “Irene Adler is married,” remarked Holmes. “Married! When?” “Yesterday.” “But to whom?” “To an English lawyer named Norton.” “But she could not love him.” “I am in hopes that she does.” “And why in hopes?” “Because it would spare your Majesty all fear of future annoyance. If the lady loves her husband, she does not love your Majesty. If she does not love your Majesty, there is no reason why she should interfere with your Majesty’s plan.” “It is true. And yet—! Well! I wish she had been of my own station! What a queen she would have made!” He relapsed into a moody silence, which was not broken until we drew up in Serpentine Avenue. The door of Briony Lodge was open, and an elderly woman stood upon the steps. She watched us with a sardonic eye as we stepped from the brougham. “Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I believe?” said she. “I am Mr. Holmes,” answered my companion, looking at her with a questioning and rather startled gaze. “Indeed! My mistress told me that you were likely to call. She left this morning with her husband by the 5:15 train from Charing Cross for the Continent.” “What!” Sherlock Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and surprise. “Do you mean that she has left England?” “Never to return.” “And the papers?” asked the King hoarsely. “All is lost.” “We shall see.” He pushed past the servant and rushed into the drawing-room, followed by the King and myself. The furniture was scattered about in every direction, with dismantled shelves and open drawers, as if the lady had hurriedly ransacked them before her flight. Holmes rushed at the bell-pull, tore back a small sliding shutter, and, plunging in his hand, pulled out a photograph and a letter. The photograph was of Irene Adler herself in evening dress, the letter was superscribed to “Sherlock Holmes, Esq. To be left till called for.” My friend tore it open, and we all three read it together. It was dated at midnight of the preceding night and ran in this way: “MY DEAR MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES,—You really did it very well. You took me in completely. Until after the alarm of fire, I had not a suspicion. But then, when I found how I had betrayed myself, I began to think. I had been warned against you months ago. I had been told that, if the King employed an agent, it would certainly be you. And your address had been given me. Yet, with all this, you made me reveal what you wanted to know. Even after I became suspicious, I found it hard to think evil of such a dear, kind old clergyman. But, you know, I have been trained as an actress myself. Male costume is nothing new to me. I often take advantage of the freedom which it gives. I sent John, the coachman, to watch you, ran upstairs, got into my walking clothes, as I call them, and came down just as you departed. “Well, I followed you to your door, and so made sure that I was really an object of interest to the celebrated Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Then I, rather imprudently, wished you good-night, and started for the Temple to see my husband. “We both thought the best resource was flight, when pursued by so formidable an antagonist; so you will find the nest empty when you call to-morrow. As to the photograph, your client may rest in peace. I love and am loved by a better man than he. The King may do what he will without hindrance from one whom he has cruelly wronged. I keep it only to safeguard myself, and to preserve a weapon which will always secure me from any steps which he might take in the future. I leave a photograph which he might care to possess; and I remain, dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes, “Very truly yours, “IRENE NORTON, _née_ ADLER.” “What a woman—oh, what a woman!” cried the King of Bohemia, when we had all three read this epistle. “Did I not tell you how quick and resolute she was? Would she not have made an admirable queen? Is it not a pity that she was not on my level?” “From what I have seen of the lady, she seems, indeed, to be on a very different level to your Majesty,” said Holmes coldly. “I am sorry that I have not been able to bring your Majesty’s business to a more successful conclusion.” “On the contrary, my dear sir,” cried the King; “nothing could be more successful. I know that her word is inviolate. The photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire.” “I am glad to hear your Majesty say so.” “I am immensely indebted to you. Pray tell me in what way I can reward you. This ring—” He slipped an emerald snake ring from his finger and held it out upon the palm of his hand. “Your Majesty has something which I should value even more highly,” said Holmes. “You have but to name it.” “This photograph!” The King stared at him in amazement. “Irene’s photograph!” he cried. “Certainly, if you wish it.” “I thank your Majesty. Then there is no more to be done in the matter. I have the honour to wish you a very good morning.” He bowed, and, turning away without observing the hand which the King had stretched out to him, he set off in my company for his chambers. And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom of Bohemia, and how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were beaten by a woman’s wit. He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. And when he speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her photograph, it is always under the honourable title of _the_ woman. II. THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair. With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door behind me. “You could not possibly have come at a better time, my dear Watson,” he said cordially. “I was afraid that you were engaged.” “So I am. Very much so.” “Then I can wait in the next room.” “Not at all. This gentleman, Mr. Wilson, has been my partner and helper in many of my most successful cases, and I have no doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also.” The stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of greeting, with a quick little questioning glance from his small fat-encircled eyes. “Try the settee,” said Holmes, relapsing into his armchair and putting his fingertips together, as was his custom when in judicial moods. “I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of everyday life. You have shown your relish for it by the enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle, and, if you will excuse my saying so, somewhat to embellish so many of my own little adventures.” “Your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me,” I observed. “You will remember that I remarked the other day, just before we went into the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland, that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself, which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.” “A proposition which I took the liberty of doubting.” “You did, Doctor, but none the less you must come round to my view, for otherwise I shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you until your reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to be right. Now, Mr. Jabez Wilson here has been good enough to call upon me this morning, and to begin a narrative which promises to be one of the most singular which I have listened to for some time. You have heard me remark that the strangest and most unique things are very often connected not with the larger but with the smaller crimes, and occasionally, indeed, where there is room for doubt whether any positive crime has been committed. As far as I have heard, it is impossible for me to say whether the present case is an instance of crime or not, but the course of events is certainly among the most singular that I have ever listened to. Perhaps, Mr. Wilson, you would have the great kindness to recommence your narrative. I ask you not merely because my friend Dr. Watson has not heard the opening part but also because the peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to have every possible detail from your lips. As a rule, when I have heard some slight indication of the course of events, I am able to guide myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my memory. In the present instance I am forced to admit that the facts are, to the best of my belief, unique.” The portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some little pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the inside pocket of his greatcoat. As he glanced down the advertisement column, with his head thrust forward and the paper flattened out upon his knee, I took a good look at the man and endeavoured, after the fashion of my companion, to read the indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance. I did not gain very much, however, by my inspection. Our visitor bore every mark of being an average commonplace British tradesman, obese, pompous, and slow. He wore rather baggy grey shepherd’s check trousers, a not over-clean black frock-coat, unbuttoned in the front, and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain, and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as an ornament. A frayed top-hat and a faded brown overcoat with a wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him. Altogether, look as I would, there was nothing remarkable about the man save his blazing red head, and the expression of extreme chagrin and discontent upon his features. Sherlock Holmes’ quick eye took in my occupation, and he shook his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances. “Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else.” Mr. Jabez Wilson started up in his chair, with his forefinger upon the paper, but his eyes upon my companion. “How, in the name of good-fortune, did you know all that, Mr. Holmes?” he asked. “How did you know, for example, that I did manual labour. It’s as true as gospel, for I began as a ship’s carpenter.” “Your hands, my dear sir. Your right hand is quite a size larger than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more developed.” “Well, the snuff, then, and the Freemasonry?” “I won’t insult your intelligence by telling you how I read that, especially as, rather against the strict rules of your order, you use an arc-and-compass breastpin.” “Ah, of course, I forgot that. But the writing?” “What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the elbow where you rest it upon the desk?” “Well, but China?” “The fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right wrist could only have been done in China. I have made a small study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature of the subject. That trick of staining the fishes’ scales of a delicate pink is quite peculiar to China. When, in addition, I see a Chinese coin hanging from your watch-chain, the matter becomes even more simple.” Mr. Jabez Wilson laughed heavily. “Well, I never!” said he. “I thought at first that you had done something clever, but I see that there was nothing in it after all.” “I begin to think, Watson,” said Holmes, “that I make a mistake in explaining. ‘_Omne ignotum pro magnifico_,’ you know, and my poor little reputation, such as it is, will suffer shipwreck if I am so candid. Can you not find the advertisement, Mr. Wilson?” “Yes, I have got it now,” he answered with his thick red finger planted halfway down the column. “Here it is. This is what began it all. You just read it for yourself, sir.” I took the paper from him and read as follows: “TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE: On account of the bequest of the late Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., there is now another vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a salary of £ 4 a week for purely nominal services. All red-headed men who are sound in body and mind and above the age of twenty-one years, are eligible. Apply in person on Monday, at eleven o’clock, to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the League, 7 Pope’s Court, Fleet Street.” “What on earth does this mean?” I ejaculated after I had twice read over the extraordinary announcement. Holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair, as was his habit when in high spirits. “It is a little off the beaten track, isn’t it?” said he. “And now, Mr. Wilson, off you go at scratch and tell us all about yourself, your household, and the effect which this advertisement had upon your fortunes. You will first make a note, Doctor, of the paper and the date.” “It is _The Morning Chronicle_ of April 27, 1890. Just two months ago.” “Very good. Now, Mr. Wilson?” “Well, it is just as I have been telling you, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,” said Jabez Wilson, mopping his forehead; “I have a small pawnbroker’s business at Coburg Square, near the City. It’s not a very large affair, and of late years it has not done more than just give me a living. I used to be able to keep two assistants, but now I only keep one; and I would have a job to pay him but that he is willing to come for half wages so as to learn the business.” “What is the name of this obliging youth?” asked Sherlock Holmes. “His name is Vincent Spaulding, and he’s not such a youth, either. It’s hard to say his age. I should not wish a smarter assistant, Mr. Holmes; and I know very well that he could better himself and earn twice what I am able to give him. But, after all, if he is satisfied, why should I put ideas in his head?” “Why, indeed? You seem most fortunate in having an _employé_ who comes under the full market price. It is not a common experience among employers in this age. I don’t know that your assistant is not as remarkable as your advertisement.” “Oh, he has his faults, too,” said Mr. Wilson. “Never was such a fellow for photography. Snapping away with a camera when he ought to be improving his mind, and then diving down into the cellar like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures. That is his main fault, but on the whole he’s a good worker. There’s no vice in him.” “He is still with you, I presume?” “Yes, sir. He and a girl of fourteen, who does a bit of simple cooking and keeps the place clean—that’s all I have in the house, for I am a widower and never had any family. We live very quietly, sir, the three of us; and we keep a roof over our heads and pay our debts, if we do nothing more. “The first thing that put us out was that advertisement. Spaulding, he came down into the office just this day eight weeks, with this very paper in his hand, and he says: “‘I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.’ “‘Why that?’ I asks. “‘Why,’ says he, ‘here’s another vacancy on the League of the Red-headed Men. It’s worth quite a little fortune to any man who gets it, and I understand that there are more vacancies than there are men, so that the trustees are at their wits’ end what to do with the money. If my hair would only change colour, here’s a nice little crib all ready for me to step into.’ “‘Why, what is it, then?’ I asked. You see, Mr. Holmes, I am a very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of my having to go to it, I was often weeks on end without putting my foot over the door-mat. In that way I didn’t know much of what was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news. “‘Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?’ he asked with his eyes open. “‘Never.’ “‘Why, I wonder at that, for you are eligible yourself for one of the vacancies.’ “‘And what are they worth?’ I asked. “‘Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight, and it need not interfere very much with one’s other occupations.’ “Well, you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears, for the business has not been over good for some years, and an extra couple of hundred would have been very handy. “‘Tell me all about it,’ said I. “‘Well,’ said he, showing me the advertisement, ‘you can see for yourself that the League has a vacancy, and there is the address where you should apply for particulars. As far as I can make out, the League was founded by an American millionaire, Ezekiah Hopkins, who was very peculiar in his ways. He was himself red-headed, and he had a great sympathy for all red-headed men; so, when he died, it was found that he had left his enormous fortune in the hands of trustees, with instructions to apply the interest to the providing of easy berths to men whose hair is of that colour. From all I hear it is splendid pay and very little to do.’ “‘But,’ said I, ‘there would be millions of red-headed men who would apply.’ “‘Not so many as you might think,’ he answered. ‘You see it is really confined to Londoners, and to grown men. This American had started from London when he was young, and he wanted to do the old town a good turn. Then, again, I have heard it is no use your applying if your hair is light red, or dark red, or anything but real bright, blazing, fiery red. Now, if you cared to apply, Mr. Wilson, you would just walk in; but perhaps it would hardly be worth your while to put yourself out of the way for the sake of a few hundred pounds.’ “Now, it is a fact, gentlemen, as you may see for yourselves, that my hair is of a very full and rich tint, so that it seemed to me that if there was to be any competition in the matter I stood as good a chance as any man that I had ever met. Vincent Spaulding seemed to know so much about it that I thought he might prove useful, so I just ordered him to put up the shutters for the day and to come right away with me. He was very willing to have a holiday, so we shut the business up and started off for the address that was given us in the advertisement. “I never hope to see such a sight as that again, Mr. Holmes. From north, south, east, and west every man who had a shade of red in his hair had tramped into the city to answer the advertisement. Fleet Street was choked with red-headed folk, and Pope’s Court looked like a coster’s orange barrow. I should not have thought there were so many in the whole country as were brought together by that single advertisement. Every shade of colour they were—straw, lemon, orange, brick, Irish-setter, liver, clay; but, as Spaulding said, there were not many who had the real vivid flame-coloured tint. When I saw how many were waiting, I would have given it up in despair; but Spaulding would not hear of it. How he did it I could not imagine, but he pushed and pulled and butted until he got me through the crowd, and right up to the steps which led to the office. There was a double stream upon the stair, some going up in hope, and some coming back dejected; but we wedged in as well as we could and soon found ourselves in the office.” “Your experience has been a most entertaining one,” remarked Holmes as his client paused and refreshed his memory with a huge pinch of snuff. “Pray continue your very interesting statement.” “There was nothing in the office but a couple of wooden chairs and a deal table, behind which sat a small man with a head that was even redder than mine. He said a few words to each candidate as he came up, and then he always managed to find some fault in them which would disqualify them. Getting a vacancy did not seem to be such a very easy matter, after all. However, when our turn came the little man was much more favourable to me than to any of the others, and he closed the door as we entered, so that he might have a private word with us. “‘This is Mr. Jabez Wilson,’ said my assistant, ‘and he is willing to fill a vacancy in the League.’ “‘And he is admirably suited for it,’ the other answered. ‘He has every requirement. I cannot recall when I have seen anything so fine.’ He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side, and gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful. Then suddenly he plunged forward, wrung my hand, and congratulated me warmly on my success. “‘It would be injustice to hesitate,’ said he. ‘You will, however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.’ With that he seized my hair in both his hands, and tugged until I yelled with the pain. ‘There is water in your eyes,’ said he as he released me. ‘I perceive that all is as it should be. But we have to be careful, for we have twice been deceived by wigs and once by paint. I could tell you tales of cobbler’s wax which would disgust you with human nature.’ He stepped over to the window and shouted through it at the top of his voice that the vacancy was filled. A groan of disappointment came up from below, and the folk all trooped away in different directions until there was not a red-head to be seen except my own and that of the manager. “‘My name,’ said he, ‘is Mr. Duncan Ross, and I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. Are you a married man, Mr. Wilson? Have you a family?’ “I answered that I had not. “His face fell immediately. “‘Dear me!’ he said gravely, ‘that is very serious indeed! I am sorry to hear you say that. The fund was, of course, for the propagation and spread of the red-heads as well as for their maintenance. It is exceedingly unfortunate that you should be a bachelor.’ “My face lengthened at this, Mr. Holmes, for I thought that I was not to have the vacancy after all; but after thinking it over for a few minutes he said that it would be all right. “‘In the case of another,’ said he, ‘the objection might be fatal, but we must stretch a point in favour of a man with such a head of hair as yours. When shall you be able to enter upon your new duties?’ “‘Well, it is a little awkward, for I have a business already,’ said I. “‘Oh, never mind about that, Mr. Wilson!’ said Vincent Spaulding. ‘I should be able to look after that for you.’ “‘What would be the hours?’ I asked. “‘Ten to two.’ “Now a pawnbroker’s business is mostly done of an evening, Mr. Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just before pay-day; so it would suit me very well to earn a little in the mornings. Besides, I knew that my assistant was a good man, and that he would see to anything that turned up. “‘That would suit me very well,’ said I. ‘And the pay?’ “‘Is £ 4 a week.’ “‘And the work?’ “‘Is purely nominal.’ “‘What do you call purely nominal?’ “‘Well, you have to be in the office, or at least in the building, the whole time. If you leave, you forfeit your whole position forever. The will is very clear upon that point. You don’t comply with the conditions if you budge from the office during that time.’ “‘It’s only four hours a day, and I should not think of leaving,’ said I. “‘No excuse will avail,’ said Mr. Duncan Ross; ‘neither sickness nor business nor anything else. There you must stay, or you lose your billet.’ “‘And the work?’ “‘Is to copy out the _Encyclopædia Britannica_. There is the first volume of it in that press. You must find your own ink, pens, and blotting-paper, but we provide this table and chair. Will you be ready to-morrow?’ “‘Certainly,’ I answered. “‘Then, good-bye, Mr. Jabez Wilson, and let me congratulate you once more on the important position which you have been fortunate enough to gain.’ He bowed me out of the room and I went home with my assistant, hardly knowing what to say or do, I was so pleased at my own good fortune. “Well, I thought over the matter all day, and by evening I was in low spirits again; for I had quite persuaded myself that the whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud, though what its object might be I could not imagine. It seemed altogether past belief that anyone could make such a will, or that they would pay such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying out the _Encyclopædia Britannica_. Vincent Spaulding did what he could to cheer me up, but by bedtime I had reasoned myself out of the whole thing. However, in the morning I determined to have a look at it anyhow, so I bought a penny bottle of ink, and with a quill-pen, and seven sheets of foolscap paper, I started off for Pope’s Court. “Well, to my surprise and delight, everything was as right as possible. The table was set out ready for me, and Mr. Duncan Ross was there to see that I got fairly to work. He started me off upon the letter A, and then he left me; but he would drop in from time to time to see that all was right with me. At two o’clock he bade me good-day, complimented me upon the amount that I had written, and locked the door of the office after me. “This went on day after day, Mr. Holmes, and on Saturday the manager came in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my week’s work. It was the same next week, and the same the week after. Every morning I was there at ten, and every afternoon I left at two. By degrees Mr. Duncan Ross took to coming in only once of a morning, and then, after a time, he did not come in at all. Still, of course, I never dared to leave the room for an instant, for I was not sure when he might come, and the billet was such a good one, and suited me so well, that I would not risk the loss of it. “Eight weeks passed away like this, and I had written about Abbots and Archery and Armour and Architecture and Attica, and hoped with diligence that I might get on to the B’s before very long. It cost me something in foolscap, and I had pretty nearly filled a shelf with my writings. And then suddenly the whole business came to an end.” “To an end?” “Yes, sir. And no later than this morning. I went to my work as usual at ten o’clock, but the door was shut and locked, with a little square of cardboard hammered on to the middle of the panel with a tack. Here it is, and you can read for yourself.” He held up a piece of white cardboard about the size of a sheet of note-paper. It read in this fashion: “THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE IS DISSOLVED. October 9, 1890.” Sherlock Holmes and I surveyed this curt announcement and the rueful face behind it, until the comical side of the affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both burst out into a roar of laughter. “I cannot see that there is anything very funny,” cried our client, flushing up to the roots of his flaming head. “If you can do nothing better than laugh at me, I can go elsewhere.” “No, no,” cried Holmes, shoving him back into the chair from which he had half risen. “I really wouldn’t miss your case for the world. It is most refreshingly unusual. But there is, if you will excuse my saying so, something just a little funny about it. Pray what steps did you take when you found the card upon the door?” “I was staggered, sir. I did not know what to do. Then I called at the offices round, but none of them seemed to know anything about it. Finally, I went to the landlord, who is an accountant living on the ground floor, and I asked him if he could tell me what had become of the Red-headed League. He said that he had never heard of any such body. Then I asked him who Mr. Duncan Ross was. He answered that the name was new to him. “‘Well,’ said I, ‘the gentleman at No. 4.’ “‘What, the red-headed man?’ “‘Yes.’ “‘Oh,’ said he, ‘his name was William Morris. He was a solicitor and was using my room as a temporary convenience until his new premises were ready. He moved out yesterday.’ “‘Where could I find him?’ “‘Oh, at his new offices. He did tell me the address. Yes, 17 King Edward Street, near St. Paul’s.’ “I started off, Mr. Holmes, but when I got to that address it was a manufactory of artificial knee-caps, and no one in it had ever heard of either Mr. William Morris or Mr. Duncan Ross.” “And what did you do then?” asked Holmes. “I went home to Saxe-Coburg Square, and I took the advice of my assistant. But he could not help me in any way. He could only say that if I waited I should hear by post. But that was not quite good enough, Mr. Holmes. I did not wish to lose such a place without a struggle, so, as I had heard that you were good enough to give advice to poor folk who were in need of it, I came right away to you.” “And you did very wisely,” said Holmes. “Your case is an exceedingly remarkable one, and I shall be happy to look into it. From what you have told me I think that it is possible that graver issues hang from it than might at first sight appear.” “Grave enough!” said Mr. Jabez Wilson. “Why, I have lost four pound a week.” “As far as you are personally concerned,” remarked Holmes, “I do not see that you have any grievance against this extraordinary league. On the contrary, you are, as I understand, richer by some £ 30, to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you have gained on every subject which comes under the letter A. You have lost nothing by them.” “No, sir. But I want to find out about them, and who they are, and what their object was in playing this prank—if it was a prank—upon me. It was a pretty expensive joke for them, for it cost them two and thirty pounds.” “We shall endeavour to clear up these points for you. And, first, one or two questions, Mr. Wilson. This assistant of yours who first called your attention to the advertisement—how long had he been with you?” “About a month then.” “How did he come?” “In answer to an advertisement.” “Was he the only applicant?” “No, I had a dozen.” “Why did you pick him?” “Because he was handy and would come cheap.” “At half wages, in fact.” “Yes.” “What is he like, this Vincent Spaulding?” “Small, stout-built, very quick in his ways, no hair on his face, though he’s not short of thirty. Has a white splash of acid upon his forehead.” Holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement. “I thought as much,” said he. “Have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for earrings?” “Yes, sir. He told me that a gipsy had done it for him when he was a lad.” “Hum!” said Holmes, sinking back in deep thought. “He is still with you?” “Oh, yes, sir; I have only just left him.” “And has your business been attended to in your absence?” “Nothing to complain of, sir. There’s never very much to do of a morning.” “That will do, Mr. Wilson. I shall be happy to give you an opinion upon the subject in the course of a day or two. To-day is Saturday, and I hope that by Monday we may come to a conclusion.” “Well, Watson,” said Holmes when our visitor had left us, “what do you make of it all?” “I make nothing of it,” I answered frankly. “It is a most mysterious business.” “As a rule,” said Holmes, “the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be. It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify. But I must be prompt over this matter.” “What are you going to do, then?” I asked. “To smoke,” he answered. “It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won’t speak to me for fifty minutes.” He curled himself up in his chair, with his thin knees drawn up to his hawk-like nose, and there he sat with his eyes closed and his black clay pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird. I had come to the conclusion that he had dropped asleep, and indeed was nodding myself, when he suddenly sprang out of his chair with the gesture of a man who has made up his mind and put his pipe down upon the mantelpiece. “Sarasate plays at the St. James’s Hall this afternoon,” he remarked. “What do you think, Watson? Could your patients spare you for a few hours?” “I have nothing to do to-day. My practice is never very absorbing.” “Then put on your hat and come. I am going through the City first, and we can have some lunch on the way. I observe that there is a good deal of German music on the programme, which is rather more to my taste than Italian or French. It is introspective, and I want to introspect. Come along!” We travelled by the Underground as far as Aldersgate; and a short walk took us to Saxe-Coburg Square, the scene of the singular story which we had listened to in the morning. It was a poky, little, shabby-genteel place, where four lines of dingy two-storied brick houses looked out into a small railed-in enclosure, where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made a hard fight against a smoke-laden and uncongenial atmosphere. Three gilt balls and a brown board with “JABEZ WILSON” in white letters, upon a corner house, announced the place where our red-headed client carried on his business. Sherlock Holmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side and looked it all over, with his eyes shining brightly between puckered lids. Then he walked slowly up the street, and then down again to the corner, still looking keenly at the houses. Finally he returned to the pawnbroker’s, and, having thumped vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or three times, he went up to the door and knocked. It was instantly opened by a bright-looking, clean-shaven young fellow, who asked him to step in. “Thank you,” said Holmes, “I only wished to ask you how you would go from here to the Strand.” “Third right, fourth left,” answered the assistant promptly, closing the door. “Smart fellow, that,” observed Holmes as we walked away. “He is, in my judgment, the fourth smartest man in London, and for daring I am not sure that he has not a claim to be third. I have known something of him before.” “Evidently,” said I, “Mr. Wilson’s assistant counts for a good deal in this mystery of the Red-headed League. I am sure that you inquired your way merely in order that you might see him.” “Not him.” “What then?” “The knees of his trousers.” “And what did you see?” “What I expected to see.” “Why did you beat the pavement?” “My dear doctor, this is a time for observation, not for talk. We are spies in an enemy’s country. We know something of Saxe-Coburg Square. Let us now explore the parts which lie behind it.” The road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner from the retired Saxe-Coburg Square presented as great a contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back. It was one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City to the north and west. The roadway was blocked with the immense stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward, while the footpaths were black with the hurrying swarm of pedestrians. It was difficult to realise as we looked at the line of fine shops and stately business premises that they really abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant square which we had just quitted. “Let me see,” said Holmes, standing at the corner and glancing along the line, “I should like just to remember the order of the houses here. It is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of London. There is Mortimer’s, the tobacconist, the little newspaper shop, the Coburg branch of the City and Suburban Bank, the Vegetarian Restaurant, and McFarlane’s carriage-building depot. That carries us right on to the other block. And now, Doctor, we’ve done our work, so it’s time we had some play. A sandwich and a cup of coffee, and then off to violin-land, where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony, and there are no red-headed clients to vex us with their conundrums.” My friend was an enthusiastic musician, being himself not only a very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit. All the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect happiness, gently waving his long, thin fingers in time to the music, while his gently smiling face and his languid, dreamy eyes were as unlike those of Holmes the sleuth-hound, Holmes the relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent, as it was possible to conceive. In his singular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself, and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented, as I have often thought, the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him. The swing of his nature took him from extreme languor to devouring energy; and, as I knew well, he was never so truly formidable as when, for days on end, he had been lounging in his armchair amid his improvisations and his black-letter editions. Then it was that the lust of the chase would suddenly come upon him, and that his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition, until those who were unacquainted with his methods would look askance at him as on a man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals. When I saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at St. James’s Hall I felt that an evil time might be coming upon those whom he had set himself to hunt down. “You want to go home, no doubt, Doctor,” he remarked as we emerged. “Yes, it would be as well.” “And I have some business to do which will take some hours. This business at Coburg Square is serious.” “Why serious?” “A considerable crime is in contemplation. I have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it. But to-day being Saturday rather complicates matters. I shall want your help to-night.” “At what time?” “Ten will be early enough.” “I shall be at Baker Street at ten.” “Very well. And, I say, Doctor, there may be some little danger, so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket.” He waved his hand, turned on his heel, and disappeared in an instant among the crowd. I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque. As I drove home to my house in Kensington I thought over it all, from the extraordinary story of the red-headed copier of the _Encyclopædia_ down to the visit to Saxe-Coburg Square, and the ominous words with which he had parted from me. What was this nocturnal expedition, and why should I go armed? Where were we going, and what were we to do? I had the hint from Holmes that this smooth-faced pawnbroker’s assistant was a formidable man—a man who might play a deep game. I tried to puzzle it out, but gave it up in despair and set the matter aside until night should bring an explanation. It was a quarter-past nine when I started from home and made my way across the Park, and so through Oxford Street to Baker Street. Two hansoms were standing at the door, and as I entered the passage I heard the sound of voices from above. On entering his room, I found Holmes in animated conversation with two men, one of whom I recognised as Peter Jones, the official police agent, while the other was a long, thin, sad-faced man, with a very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frock-coat. “Ha! Our party is complete,” said Holmes, buttoning up his pea-jacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack. “Watson, I think you know Mr. Jones, of Scotland Yard? Let me introduce you to Mr. Merryweather, who is to be our companion in to-night’s adventure.” “We’re hunting in couples again, Doctor, you see,” said Jones in his consequential way. “Our friend here is a wonderful man for starting a chase. All he wants is an old dog to help him to do the running down.” “I hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our chase,” observed Mr. Merryweather gloomily. “You may place considerable confidence in Mr. Holmes, sir,” said the police agent loftily. “He has his own little methods, which are, if he won’t mind my saying so, just a little too theoretical and fantastic, but he has the makings of a detective in him. It is not too much to say that once or twice, as in that business of the Sholto murder and the Agra treasure, he has been more nearly correct than the official force.” “Oh, if you say so, Mr. Jones, it is all right,” said the stranger with deference. “Still, I confess that I miss my rubber. It is the first Saturday night for seven-and-twenty years that I have not had my rubber.” “I think you will find,” said Sherlock Holmes, “that you will play for a higher stake to-night than you have ever done yet, and that the play will be more exciting. For you, Mr. Merryweather, the stake will be some £ 30,000; and for you, Jones, it will be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands.” “John Clay, the murderer, thief, smasher, and forger. He’s a young man, Mr. Merryweather, but he is at the head of his profession, and I would rather have my bracelets on him than on any criminal in London. He’s a remarkable man, is young John Clay. His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers, and though we meet signs of him at every turn, we never know where to find the man himself. He’ll crack a crib in Scotland one week, and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. I’ve been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him yet.” “I hope that I may have the pleasure of introducing you to-night. I’ve had one or two little turns also with Mr. John Clay, and I agree with you that he is at the head of his profession. It is past ten, however, and quite time that we started. If you two will take the first hansom, Watson and I will follow in the second.” Sherlock Holmes was not very communicative during the long drive and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which he had heard in the afternoon. We rattled through an endless labyrinth of gas-lit streets until we emerged into Farrington Street. “We are close there now,” my friend remarked. “This fellow Merryweather is a bank director, and personally interested in the matter. I thought it as well to have Jones with us also. He is not a bad fellow, though an absolute imbecile in his profession. He has one positive virtue. He is as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone. Here we are, and they are waiting for us.” We had reached the same crowded thoroughfare in which we had found ourselves in the morning. Our cabs were dismissed, and, following the guidance of Mr. Merryweather, we passed down a narrow passage and through a side door, which he opened for us. Within there was a small corridor, which ended in a very massive iron gate. This also was opened, and led down a flight of winding stone steps, which terminated at another formidable gate. Mr. Merryweather stopped to light a lantern, and then conducted us down a dark, earth-smelling passage, and so, after opening a third door, into a huge vault or cellar, which was piled all round with crates and massive boxes. “You are not very vulnerable from above,” Holmes remarked as he held up the lantern and gazed about him. “Nor from below,” said Mr. Merryweather, striking his stick upon the flags which lined the floor. “Why, dear me, it sounds quite hollow!” he remarked, looking up in surprise. “I must really ask you to be a little more quiet!” said Holmes severely. “You have already imperilled the whole success of our expedition. Might I beg that you would have the goodness to sit down upon one of those boxes, and not to interfere?” The solemn Mr. Merryweather perched himself upon a crate, with a very injured expression upon his face, while Holmes fell upon his knees upon the floor and, with the lantern and a magnifying lens, began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones. A few seconds sufficed to satisfy him, for he sprang to his feet again and put his glass in his pocket. “We have at least an hour before us,” he remarked, “for they can hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed. Then they will not lose a minute, for the sooner they do their work the longer time they will have for their escape. We are at present, Doctor—as no doubt you have divined—in the cellar of the City branch of one of the principal London banks. Mr. Merryweather is the chairman of directors, and he will explain to you that there are reasons why the more daring criminals of London should take a considerable interest in this cellar at present.” “It is our French gold,” whispered the director. “We have had several warnings that an attempt might be made upon it.” “Your French gold?” “Yes. We had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources and borrowed for that purpose 30,000 napoleons from the Bank of France. It has become known that we have never had occasion to unpack the money, and that it is still lying in our cellar. The crate upon which I sit contains 2,000 napoleons packed between layers of lead foil. Our reserve of bullion is much larger at present than is usually kept in a single branch office, and the directors have had misgivings upon the subject.” “Which were very well justified,” observed Holmes. “And now it is time that we arranged our little plans. I expect that within an hour matters will come to a head. In the meantime Mr. Merryweather, we must put the screen over that dark lantern.” “And sit in the dark?” “I am afraid so. I had brought a pack of cards in my pocket, and I thought that, as we were a _partie carrée_, you might have your rubber after all. But I see that the enemy’s preparations have gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light. And, first of all, we must choose our positions. These are daring men, and though we shall take them at a disadvantage, they may do us some harm unless we are careful. I shall stand behind this crate, and do you conceal yourselves behind those. Then, when I flash a light upon them, close in swiftly. If they fire, Watson, have no compunction about shooting them down.” I placed my revolver, cocked, upon the top of the wooden case behind which I crouched. Holmes shot the slide across the front of his lantern and left us in pitch darkness—such an absolute darkness as I have never before experienced. The smell of hot metal remained to assure us that the light was still there, ready to flash out at a moment’s notice. To me, with my nerves worked up to a pitch of expectancy, there was something depressing and subduing in the sudden gloom, and in the cold dank air of the vault. “They have but one retreat,” whispered Holmes. “That is back through the house into Saxe-Coburg Square. I hope that you have done what I asked you, Jones?” “I have an inspector and two officers waiting at the front door.” “Then we have stopped all the holes. And now we must be silent and wait.” What a time it seemed! From comparing notes afterwards it was but an hour and a quarter, yet it appeared to me that the night must have almost gone, and the dawn be breaking above us. My limbs were weary and stiff, for I feared to change my position; yet my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension, and my hearing was so acute that I could not only hear the gentle breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish the deeper, heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin, sighing note of the bank director. From my position I could look over the case in the direction of the floor. Suddenly my eyes caught the glint of a light. At first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement. Then it lengthened out until it became a yellow line, and then, without any warning or sound, a gash seemed to open and a hand appeared, a white, almost womanly hand, which felt about in the centre of the little area of light. For a minute or more the hand, with its writhing fingers, protruded out of the floor. Then it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared, and all was dark again save the single lurid spark which marked a chink between the stones. Its disappearance, however, was but momentary. With a rending, tearing sound, one of the broad, white stones turned over upon its side and left a square, gaping hole, through which streamed the light of a lantern. Over the edge there peeped a clean-cut, boyish face, which looked keenly about it, and then, with a hand on either side of the aperture, drew itself shoulder-high and waist-high, until one knee rested upon the edge. In another instant he stood at the side of the hole and was hauling after him a companion, lithe and small like himself, with a pale face and a shock of very red hair. “It’s all clear,” he whispered. “Have you the chisel and the bags? Great Scott! Jump, Archie, jump, and I’ll swing for it!” Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar. The other dived down the hole, and I heard the sound of rending cloth as Jones clutched at his skirts. The light flashed upon the barrel of a revolver, but Holmes’ hunting crop came down on the man’s wrist, and the pistol clinked upon the stone floor. “It’s no use, John Clay,” said Holmes blandly. “You have no chance at all.” “So I see,” the other answered with the utmost coolness. “I fancy that my pal is all right, though I see you have got his coat-tails.” “There are three men waiting for him at the door,” said Holmes. “Oh, indeed! You seem to have done the thing very completely. I must compliment you.” “And I you,” Holmes answered. “Your red-headed idea was very new and effective.” “You’ll see your pal again presently,” said Jones. “He’s quicker at climbing down holes than I am. Just hold out while I fix the derbies.” “I beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands,” remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists. “You may not be aware that I have royal blood in my veins. Have the goodness, also, when you address me always to say ‘sir’ and ‘please.’” “All right,” said Jones with a stare and a snigger. “Well, would you please, sir, march upstairs, where we can get a cab to carry your Highness to the police-station?” “That is better,” said John Clay serenely. He made a sweeping bow to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the detective. “Really, Mr. Holmes,” said Mr. Merryweather as we followed them from the cellar, “I do not know how the bank can thank you or repay you. There is no doubt that you have detected and defeated in the most complete manner one of the most determined attempts at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience.” “I have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with Mr. John Clay,” said Holmes. “I have been at some small expense over this matter, which I shall expect the bank to refund, but beyond that I am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in many ways unique, and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of the Red-headed League.” “You see, Watson,” he explained in the early hours of the morning as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker Street, “it was perfectly obvious from the first that the only possible object of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement of the League, and the copying of the _Encyclopædia_, must be to get this not over-bright pawnbroker out of the way for a number of hours every day. It was a curious way of managing it, but, really, it would be difficult to suggest a better. The method was no doubt suggested to Clay’s ingenious mind by the colour of his accomplice’s hair. The £ 4 a week was a lure which must draw him, and what was it to them, who were playing for thousands? They put in the advertisement, one rogue has the temporary office, the other rogue incites the man to apply for it, and together they manage to secure his absence every morning in the week. From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive for securing the situation.” “But how could you guess what the motive was?” “Had there been women in the house, I should have suspected a mere vulgar intrigue. That, however, was out of the question. The man’s business was a small one, and there was nothing in his house which could account for such elaborate preparations, and such an expenditure as they were at. It must, then, be something out of the house. What could it be? I thought of the assistant’s fondness for photography, and his trick of vanishing into the cellar. The cellar! There was the end of this tangled clue. Then I made inquiries as to this mysterious assistant and found that I had to deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals in London. He was doing something in the cellar—something which took many hours a day for months on end. What could it be, once more? I could think of nothing save that he was running a tunnel to some other building. “So far I had got when we went to visit the scene of action. I surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick. I was ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind. It was not in front. Then I rang the bell, and, as I hoped, the assistant answered it. We have had some skirmishes, but we had never set eyes upon each other before. I hardly looked at his face. His knees were what I wished to see. You must yourself have remarked how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were. They spoke of those hours of burrowing. The only remaining point was what they were burrowing for. I walked round the corner, saw the City and Suburban Bank abutted on our friend’s premises, and felt that I had solved my problem. When you drove home after the concert I called upon Scotland Yard and upon the chairman of the bank directors, with the result that you have seen.” “And how could you tell that they would make their attempt to-night?” I asked. “Well, when they closed their League offices that was a sign that they cared no longer about Mr. Jabez Wilson’s presence—in other words, that they had completed their tunnel. But it was essential that they should use it soon, as it might be discovered, or the bullion might be removed. Saturday would suit them better than any other day, as it would give them two days for their escape. For all these reasons I expected them to come to-night.” “You reasoned it out beautifully,” I exclaimed in unfeigned admiration. “It is so long a chain, and yet every link rings true.” “It saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning. “Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.” “And you are a benefactor of the race,” said I. He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, perhaps, after all, it is of some little use,” he remarked. “‘_L’homme c’est rien—l’œuvre c’est tout_,’ as Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand.” III. A CASE OF IDENTITY “My dear fellow,” said Sherlock Holmes as we sat on either side of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, “life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most _outré_ results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable.” “And yet I am not convinced of it,” I answered. “The cases which come to light in the papers are, as a rule, bald enough, and vulgar enough. We have in our police reports realism pushed to its extreme limits, and yet the result is, it must be confessed, neither fascinating nor artistic.” “A certain selection and discretion must be used in producing a realistic effect,” remarked Holmes. “This is wanting in the police report, where more stress is laid, perhaps, upon the platitudes of the magistrate than upon the details, which to an observer contain the vital essence of the whole matter. Depend upon it, there is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace.” I smiled and shook my head. “I can quite understand your thinking so,” I said. “Of course, in your position of unofficial adviser and helper to everybody who is absolutely puzzled, throughout three continents, you are brought in contact with all that is strange and bizarre. But here”—I picked up the morning paper from the ground—“let us put it to a practical test. Here is the first heading upon which I come. ‘A husband’s cruelty to his wife.’ There is half a column of print, but I know without reading it that it is all perfectly familiar to me. There is, of course, the other woman, the drink, the push, the blow, the bruise, the sympathetic sister or landlady. The crudest of writers could invent nothing more crude.” “Indeed, your example is an unfortunate one for your argument,” said Holmes, taking the paper and glancing his eye down it. “This is the Dundas separation case, and, as it happens, I was engaged in clearing up some small points in connection with it. The husband was a teetotaler, there was no other woman, and the conduct complained of was that he had drifted into the habit of winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling them at his wife, which, you will allow, is not an action likely to occur to the imagination of the average story-teller. Take a pinch of snuff, Doctor, and acknowledge that I have scored over you in your example.” He held out his snuffbox of old gold, with a great amethyst in the centre of the lid. Its splendour was in such contrast to his homely ways and simple life that I could not help commenting upon it. “Ah,” said he, “I forgot that I had not seen you for some weeks. It is a little souvenir from the King of Bohemia in return for my assistance in the case of the Irene Adler papers.” “And the ring?” I asked, glancing at a remarkable brilliant which sparkled upon his finger. “It was from the reigning family of Holland, though the matter in which I served them was of such delicacy that I cannot confide it even to you, who have been good enough to chronicle one or two of my little problems.” “And have you any on hand just now?” I asked with interest. “Some ten or twelve, but none which present any feature of interest. They are important, you understand, without being interesting. Indeed, I have found that it is usually in unimportant matters that there is a field for the observation, and for the quick analysis of cause and effect which gives the charm to an investigation. The larger crimes are apt to be the simpler, for the bigger the crime the more obvious, as a rule, is the motive. In these cases, save for one rather intricate matter which has been referred to me from Marseilles, there is nothing which presents any features of interest. It is possible, however, that I may have something better before very many minutes are over, for this is one of my clients, or I am much mistaken.” He had risen from his chair and was standing between the parted blinds gazing down into the dull neutral-tinted London street. Looking over his shoulder, I saw that on the pavement opposite there stood a large woman with a heavy fur boa round her neck, and a large curling red feather in a broad-brimmed hat which was tilted in a coquettish Duchess of Devonshire fashion over her ear. From under this great panoply she peeped up in a nervous, hesitating fashion at our windows, while her body oscillated backward and forward, and her fingers fidgeted with her glove buttons. Suddenly, with a plunge, as of the swimmer who leaves the bank, she hurried across the road, and we heard the sharp clang of the bell. “I have seen those symptoms before,” said Holmes, throwing his cigarette into the fire. “Oscillation upon the pavement always means an _affaire de cœur_. She would like advice, but is not sure that the matter is not too delicate for communication. And yet even here we may discriminate. When a woman has been seriously wronged by a man she no longer oscillates, and the usual symptom is a broken bell wire. Here we may take it that there is a love matter, but that the maiden is not so much angry as perplexed, or grieved. But here she comes in person to resolve our doubts.” As he spoke there was a tap at the door, and the boy in buttons entered to announce Miss Mary Sutherland, while the lady herself loomed behind his small black figure like a full-sailed merchant-man behind a tiny pilot boat. Sherlock Holmes welcomed her with the easy courtesy for which he was remarkable, and, having closed the door and bowed her into an armchair, he looked her over in the minute and yet abstracted fashion which was peculiar to him. “Do you not find,” he said, “that with your short sight it is a little trying to do so much typewriting?” “I did at first,” she answered, “but now I know where the letters are without looking.” Then, suddenly realising the full purport of his words, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fear and astonishment upon her broad, good-humoured face. “You’ve heard about me, Mr. Holmes,” she cried, “else how could you know all that?” “Never mind,” said Holmes, laughing; “it is my business to know things. Perhaps I have trained myself to see what others overlook. If not, why should you come to consult me?” “I came to you, sir, because I heard of you from Mrs. Etherege, whose husband you found so easy when the police and everyone had given him up for dead. Oh, Mr. Holmes, I wish you would do as much for me. I’m not rich, but still I have a hundred a year in my own right, besides the little that I make by the machine, and I would give it all to know what has become of Mr. Hosmer Angel.” “Why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?” asked Sherlock Holmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes to the ceiling. Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of Miss Mary Sutherland. “Yes, I did bang out of the house,” she said, “for it made me angry to see the easy way in which Mr. Windibank—that is, my father—took it all. He would not go to the police, and he would not go to you, and so at last, as he would do nothing and kept on saying that there was no harm done, it made me mad, and I just on with my things and came right away to you.” “Your father,” said Holmes, “your stepfather, surely, since the name is different.” “Yes, my stepfather. I call him father, though it sounds funny, too, for he is only five years and two months older than myself.” “And your mother is alive?” “Oh, yes, mother is alive and well. I wasn’t best pleased, Mr. Holmes, when she married again so soon after father’s death, and a man who was nearly fifteen years younger than herself. Father was a plumber in the Tottenham Court Road, and he left a tidy business behind him, which mother carried on with Mr. Hardy, the foreman; but when Mr. Windibank came he made her sell the business, for he was very superior, being a traveller in wines. They got £ 4700 for the goodwill and interest, which wasn’t near as much as father could have got if he had been alive.” I had expected to see Sherlock Holmes impatient under this rambling and inconsequential narrative, but, on the contrary, he had listened with the greatest concentration of attention. “Your own little income,” he asked, “does it come out of the business?” “Oh, no, sir. It is quite separate and was left me by my uncle Ned in Auckland. It is in New Zealand stock, paying 4½ per cent. Two thousand five hundred pounds was the amount, but I can only touch the interest.” “You interest me extremely,” said Holmes. “And since you draw so large a sum as a hundred a year, with what you earn into the bargain, you no doubt travel a little and indulge yourself in every way. I believe that a single lady can get on very nicely upon an income of about £ 60.” “I could do with much less than that, Mr. Holmes, but you understand that as long as I live at home I don’t wish to be a burden to them, and so they have the use of the money just while I am staying with them. Of course, that is only just for the time. Mr. Windibank draws my interest every quarter and pays it over to mother, and I find that I can do pretty well with what I earn at typewriting. It brings me twopence a sheet, and I can often do from fifteen to twenty sheets in a day.” “You have made your position very clear to me,” said Holmes. “This is my friend, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak as freely as before myself. Kindly tell us now all about your connection with Mr. Hosmer Angel.” A flush stole over Miss Sutherland’s face, and she picked nervously at the fringe of her jacket. “I met him first at the gasfitters’ ball,” she said. “They used to send father tickets when he was alive, and then afterwards they remembered us, and sent them to mother. Mr. Windibank did not wish us to go. He never did wish us to go anywhere. He would get quite mad if I wanted so much as to join a Sunday-school treat. But this time I was set on going, and I would go; for what right had he to prevent? He said the folk were not fit for us to know, when all father’s friends were to be there. And he said that I had nothing fit to wear, when I had my purple plush that I had never so much as taken out of the drawer. At last, when nothing else would do, he went off to France upon the business of the firm, but we went, mother and I, with Mr. Hardy, who used to be our foreman, and it was there I met Mr. Hosmer Angel.” “I suppose,” said Holmes, “that when Mr. Windibank came back from France he was very annoyed at your having gone to the ball.” “Oh, well, he was very good about it. He laughed, I remember, and shrugged his shoulders, and said there was no use denying anything to a woman, for she would have her way.” “I see. Then at the gasfitters’ ball you met, as I understand, a gentleman called Mr. Hosmer Angel.” “Yes, sir. I met him that night, and he called next day to ask if we had got home all safe, and after that we met him—that is to say, Mr. Holmes, I met him twice for walks, but after that father came back again, and Mr. Hosmer Angel could not come to the house any more.” “No?” “Well, you know father didn’t like anything of the sort. He wouldn’t have any visitors if he could help it, and he used to say that a woman should be happy in her own family circle. But then, as I used to say to mother, a woman wants her own circle to begin with, and I had not got mine yet.” “But how about Mr. Hosmer Angel? Did he make no attempt to see you?” “Well, father was going off to France again in a week, and Hosmer wrote and said that it would be safer and better not to see each other until he had gone. We could write in the meantime, and he used to write every day. I took the letters in in the morning, so there was no need for father to know.” “Were you engaged to the gentleman at this time?” “Oh, yes, Mr. Holmes. We were engaged after the first walk that we took. Hosmer—Mr. Angel—was a cashier in an office in Leadenhall Street—and—” “What office?” “That’s the worst of it, Mr. Holmes, I don’t know.” “Where did he live, then?” “He slept on the premises.” “And you don’t know his address?” “No—except that it was Leadenhall Street.” “Where did you address your letters, then?” “To the Leadenhall Street Post Office, to be left till called for. He said that if they were sent to the office he would be chaffed by all the other clerks about having letters from a lady, so I offered to typewrite them, like he did his, but he wouldn’t have that, for he said that when I wrote them they seemed to come from me, but when they were typewritten he always felt that the machine had come between us. That will just show you how fond he was of me, Mr. Holmes, and the little things that he would think of.” “It was most suggestive,” said Holmes. “It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important. Can you remember any other little things about Mr. Hosmer Angel?” “He was a very shy man, Mr. Holmes. He would rather walk with me in the evening than in the daylight, for he said that he hated to be conspicuous. Very retiring and gentlemanly he was. Even his voice was gentle. He’d had the quinsy and swollen glands when he was young, he told me, and it had left him with a weak throat, and a hesitating, whispering fashion of speech. He was always well dressed, very neat and plain, but his eyes were weak, just as mine are, and he wore tinted glasses against the glare.” “Well, and what happened when Mr. Windibank, your stepfather, returned to France?” “Mr. Hosmer Angel came to the house again and proposed that we should marry before father came back. He was in dreadful earnest and made me swear, with my hands on the Testament, that whatever happened I would always be true to him. Mother said he was quite right to make me swear, and that it was a sign of his passion. Mother was all in his favour from the first and was even fonder of him than I was. Then, when they talked of marrying within the week, I began to ask about father; but they both said never to mind about father, but just to tell him afterwards, and mother said she would make it all right with him. I didn’t quite like that, Mr. Holmes. It seemed funny that I should ask his leave, as he was only a few years older than me; but I didn’t want to do anything on the sly, so I wrote to father at Bordeaux, where the company has its French offices, but the letter came back to me on the very morning of the wedding.” “It missed him, then?” “Yes, sir; for he had started to England just before it arrived.” “Ha! that was unfortunate. Your wedding was arranged, then, for the Friday. Was it to be in church?” “Yes, sir, but very quietly. It was to be at St. Saviour’s, near King’s Cross, and we were to have breakfast afterwards at the St. Pancras Hotel. Hosmer came for us in a hansom, but as there were two of us he put us both into it and stepped himself into a four-wheeler, which happened to be the only other cab in the street. We got to the church first, and when the four-wheeler drove up we waited for him to step out, but he never did, and when the cabman got down from the box and looked there was no one there! The cabman said that he could not imagine what had become of him, for he had seen him get in with his own eyes. That was last Friday, Mr. Holmes, and I have never seen or heard anything since then to throw any light upon what became of him.” “It seems to me that you have been very shamefully treated,” said Holmes. “Oh, no, sir! He was too good and kind to leave me so. Why, all the morning he was saying to me that, whatever happened, I was to be true; and that even if something quite unforeseen occurred to separate us, I was always to remember that I was pledged to him, and that he would claim his pledge sooner or later. It seemed strange talk for a wedding-morning, but what has happened since gives a meaning to it.” “Most certainly it does. Your own opinion is, then, that some unforeseen catastrophe has occurred to him?” “Yes, sir. I believe that he foresaw some danger, or else he would not have talked so. And then I think that what he foresaw happened.” “But you have no notion as to what it could have been?” “None.” “One more question. How did your mother take the matter?” “She was angry, and said that I was never to speak of the matter again.” “And your father? Did you tell him?” “Yes; and he seemed to think, with me, that something had happened, and that I should hear of Hosmer again. As he said, what interest could anyone have in bringing me to the doors of the church, and then leaving me? Now, if he had borrowed my money, or if he had married me and got my money settled on him, there might be some reason, but Hosmer was very independent about money and never would look at a shilling of mine. And yet, what could have happened? And why could he not write? Oh, it drives me half-mad to think of it, and I can’t sleep a wink at night.” She pulled a little handkerchief out of her muff and began to sob heavily into it. “I shall glance into the case for you,” said Holmes, rising, “and I have no doubt that we shall reach some definite result. Let the weight of the matter rest upon me now, and do not let your mind dwell upon it further. Above all, try to let Mr. Hosmer Angel vanish from your memory, as he has done from your life.” “Then you don’t think I’ll see him again?” “I fear not.” “Then what has happened to him?” “You will leave that question in my hands. I should like an accurate description of him and any letters of his which you can spare.” “I advertised for him in last Saturday’s _Chronicle_,” said she. “Here is the slip and here are four letters from him.” “Thank you. And your address?” “No. 31 Lyon Place, Camberwell.” “Mr. Angel’s address you never had, I understand. Where is your father’s place of business?” “He travels for Westhouse & Marbank, the great claret importers of Fenchurch Street.” “Thank you. You have made your statement very clearly. You will leave the papers here, and remember the advice which I have given you. Let the whole incident be a sealed book, and do not allow it to affect your life.” “You are very kind, Mr. Holmes, but I cannot do that. I shall be true to Hosmer. He shall find me ready when he comes back.” For all the preposterous hat and the vacuous face, there was something noble in the simple faith of our visitor which compelled our respect. She laid her little bundle of papers upon the table and went her way, with a promise to come again whenever she might be summoned. Sherlock Holmes sat silent for a few minutes with his fingertips still pressed together, his legs stretched out in front of him, and his gaze directed upward to the ceiling. Then he took down from the rack the old and oily clay pipe, which was to him as a counsellor, and, having lit it, he leaned back in his chair, with the thick blue cloud-wreaths spinning up from him, and a look of infinite languor in his face. “Quite an interesting study, that maiden,” he observed. “I found her more interesting than her little problem, which, by the way, is rather a trite one. You will find parallel cases, if you consult my index, in Andover in ’77, and there was something of the sort at The Hague last year. Old as is the idea, however, there were one or two details which were new to me. But the maiden herself was most instructive.” “You appeared to read a good deal upon her which was quite invisible to me,” I remarked. “Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to look, and so you missed all that was important. I can never bring you to realise the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumb-nails, or the great issues that may hang from a boot-lace. Now, what did you gather from that woman’s appearance? Describe it.” “Well, she had a slate-coloured, broad-brimmed straw hat, with a feather of a brickish red. Her jacket was black, with black beads sewn upon it, and a fringe of little black jet ornaments. Her dress was brown, rather darker than coffee colour, with a little purple plush at the neck and sleeves. Her gloves were greyish and were worn through at the right forefinger. Her boots I didn’t observe. She had small round, hanging gold earrings, and a general air of being fairly well-to-do in a vulgar, comfortable, easy-going way.” Sherlock Holmes clapped his hands softly together and chuckled. “’Pon my word, Watson, you are coming along wonderfully. You have really done very well indeed. It is true that you have missed everything of importance, but you have hit upon the method, and you have a quick eye for colour. Never trust to general impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details. My first glance is always at a woman’s sleeve. In a man it is perhaps better first to take the knee of the trouser. As you observe, this woman had plush upon her sleeves, which is a most useful material for showing traces. The double line a little above the wrist, where the typewritist presses against the table, was beautifully defined. The sewing-machine, of the hand type, leaves a similar mark, but only on the left arm, and on the side of it farthest from the thumb, instead of being right across the broadest part, as this was. I then glanced at her face, and, observing the dint of a pince-nez at either side of her nose, I ventured a remark upon short sight and typewriting, which seemed to surprise her.” “It surprised me.” “But, surely, it was obvious. I was then much surprised and interested on glancing down to observe that, though the boots which she was wearing were not unlike each other, they were really odd ones; the one having a slightly decorated toe-cap, and the other a plain one. One was buttoned only in the two lower buttons out of five, and the other at the first, third, and fifth. Now, when you see that a young lady, otherwise neatly dressed, has come away from home with odd boots, half-buttoned, it is no great deduction to say that she came away in a hurry.” “And what else?” I asked, keenly interested, as I always was, by my friend’s incisive reasoning. “I noted, in passing, that she had written a note before leaving home but after being fully dressed. You observed that her right glove was torn at the forefinger, but you did not apparently see that both glove and finger were stained with violet ink. She had written in a hurry and dipped her pen too deep. It must have been this morning, or the mark would not remain clear upon the finger. All this is amusing, though rather elementary, but I must go back to business, Watson. Would you mind reading me the advertised description of Mr. Hosmer Angel?” I held the little printed slip to the light. “Missing,” it said, “on the morning of the fourteenth, a gentleman named Hosmer Angel. About five ft. seven in. in height; strongly built, sallow complexion, black hair, a little bald in the centre, bushy, black side-whiskers and moustache; tinted glasses, slight infirmity of speech. Was dressed, when last seen, in black frock-coat faced with silk, black waistcoat, gold Albert chain, and grey Harris tweed trousers, with brown gaiters over elastic-sided boots. Known to have been employed in an office in Leadenhall Street. Anybody bringing,” &c, &c. “That will do,” said Holmes. “As to the letters,” he continued, glancing over them, “they are very commonplace. Absolutely no clue in them to Mr. Angel, save that he quotes Balzac once. There is one remarkable point, however, which will no doubt strike you.” “They are typewritten,” I remarked. “Not only that, but the signature is typewritten. Look at the neat little ‘Hosmer Angel’ at the bottom. There is a date, you see, but no superscription except Leadenhall Street, which is rather vague. The point about the signature is very suggestive—in fact, we may call it conclusive.” “Of what?” “My dear fellow, is it possible you do not see how strongly it bears upon the case?” “I cannot say that I do unless it were that he wished to be able to deny his signature if an action for breach of promise were instituted.” “No, that was not the point. However, I shall write two letters, which should settle the matter. One is to a firm in the City, the other is to the young lady’s stepfather, Mr. Windibank, asking him whether he could meet us here at six o’clock to-morrow evening. It is just as well that we should do business with the male relatives. And now, Doctor, we can do nothing until the answers to those letters come, so we may put our little problem upon the shelf for the interim.” I had had so many reasons to believe in my friend’s subtle powers of reasoning and extraordinary energy in action that I felt that he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy demeanour with which he treated the singular mystery which he had been called upon to fathom. Once only had I known him to fail, in the case of the King of Bohemia and of the Irene Adler photograph; but when I looked back to the weird business of the Sign of Four, and the extraordinary circumstances connected with the Study in Scarlet, I felt that it would be a strange tangle indeed which he could not unravel. I left him then, still puffing at his black clay pipe, with the conviction that when I came again on the next evening I would find that he held in his hands all the clues which would lead up to the identity of the disappearing bridegroom of Miss Mary Sutherland. A professional case of great gravity was engaging my own attention at the time, and the whole of next day I was busy at the bedside of the sufferer. It was not until close upon six o’clock that I found myself free and was able to spring into a hansom and drive to Baker Street, half afraid that I might be too late to assist at the _dénouement_ of the little mystery. I found Sherlock Holmes alone, however, half asleep, with his long, thin form curled up in the recesses of his armchair. A formidable array of bottles and test-tubes, with the pungent cleanly smell of hydrochloric acid, told me that he had spent his day in the chemical work which was so dear to him. “Well, have you solved it?” I asked as I entered. “Yes. It was the bisulphate of baryta.” “No, no, the mystery!” I cried. “Oh, that! I thought of the salt that I have been working upon. There was never any mystery in the matter, though, as I said yesterday, some of the details are of interest. The only drawback is that there is no law, I fear, that can touch the scoundrel.” “Who was he, then, and what was his object in deserting Miss Sutherland?” The question was hardly out of my mouth, and Holmes had not yet opened his lips to reply, when we heard a heavy footfall in the passage and a tap at the door. “This is the girl’s stepfather, Mr. James Windibank,” said Holmes. “He has written to me to say that he would be here at six. Come in!” The man who entered was a sturdy, middle-sized fellow, some thirty years of age, clean-shaven, and sallow-skinned, with a bland, insinuating manner, and a pair of wonderfully sharp and penetrating grey eyes. He shot a questioning glance at each of us, placed his shiny top-hat upon the sideboard, and with a slight bow sidled down into the nearest chair. “Good-evening, Mr. James Windibank,” said Holmes. “I think that this typewritten letter is from you, in which you made an appointment with me for six o’clock?” “Yes, sir. I am afraid that I am a little late, but I am not quite my own master, you know. I am sorry that Miss Sutherland has troubled you about this little matter, for I think it is far better not to wash linen of the sort in public. It was quite against my wishes that she came, but she is a very excitable, impulsive girl, as you may have noticed, and she is not easily controlled when she has made up her mind on a point. Of course, I did not mind you so much, as you are not connected with the official police, but it is not pleasant to have a family misfortune like this noised abroad. Besides, it is a useless expense, for how could you possibly find this Hosmer Angel?” “On the contrary,” said Holmes quietly; “I have every reason to believe that I will succeed in discovering Mr. Hosmer Angel.” Mr. Windibank gave a violent start and dropped his gloves. “I am delighted to hear it,” he said. “It is a curious thing,” remarked Holmes, “that a typewriter has really quite as much individuality as a man’s handwriting. Unless they are quite new, no two of them write exactly alike. Some letters get more worn than others, and some wear only on one side. Now, you remark in this note of yours, Mr. Windibank, that in every case there is some little slurring over of the ‘e,’ and a slight defect in the tail of the ‘r.’ There are fourteen other characteristics, but those are the more obvious.” “We do all our correspondence with this machine at the office, and no doubt it is a little worn,” our visitor answered, glancing keenly at Holmes with his bright little eyes. “And now I will show you what is really a very interesting study, Mr. Windibank,” Holmes continued. “I think of writing another little monograph some of these days on the typewriter and its relation to crime. It is a subject to which I have devoted some little attention. I have here four letters which purport to come from the missing man. They are all typewritten. In each case, not only are the ‘e’s’ slurred and the ‘r’s’ tailless, but you will observe, if you care to use my magnifying lens, that the fourteen other characteristics to which I have alluded are there as well.” Mr. Windibank sprang out of his chair and picked up his hat. “I cannot waste time over this sort of fantastic talk, Mr. Holmes,” he said. “If you can catch the man, catch him, and let me know when you have done it.” “Certainly,” said Holmes, stepping over and turning the key in the door. “I let you know, then, that I have caught him!” “What! where?” shouted Mr. Windibank, turning white to his lips and glancing about him like a rat in a trap. “Oh, it won’t do—really it won’t,” said Holmes suavely. “There is no possible getting out of it, Mr. Windibank. It is quite too transparent, and it was a very bad compliment when you said that it was impossible for me to solve so simple a question. That’s right! Sit down and let us talk it over.” Our visitor collapsed into a chair, with a ghastly face and a glitter of moisture on his brow. “It—it’s not actionable,” he stammered. “I am very much afraid that it is not. But between ourselves, Windibank, it was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in a petty way as ever came before me. Now, let me just run over the course of events, and you will contradict me if I go wrong.” The man sat huddled up in his chair, with his head sunk upon his breast, like one who is utterly crushed. Holmes stuck his feet up on the corner of the mantelpiece and, leaning back with his hands in his pockets, began talking, rather to himself, as it seemed, than to us. “The man married a woman very much older than himself for her money,” said he, “and he enjoyed the use of the money of the daughter as long as she lived with them. It was a considerable sum, for people in their position, and the loss of it would have made a serious difference. It was worth an effort to preserve it. The daughter was of a good, amiable disposition, but affectionate and warm-hearted in her ways, so that it was evident that with her fair personal advantages, and her little income, she would not be allowed to remain single long. Now her marriage would mean, of course, the loss of a hundred a year, so what does her stepfather do to prevent it? He takes the obvious course of keeping her at home and forbidding her to seek the company of people of her own age. But soon he found that that would not answer forever. She became restive, insisted upon her rights, and finally announced her positive intention of going to a certain ball. What does her clever stepfather do then? He conceives an idea more creditable to his head than to his heart. With the connivance and assistance of his wife he disguised himself, covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses, masked the face with a moustache and a pair of bushy whiskers, sunk that clear voice into an insinuating whisper, and doubly secure on account of the girl’s short sight, he appears as Mr. Hosmer Angel, and keeps off other lovers by making love himself.” “It was only a joke at first,” groaned our visitor. “We never thought that she would have been so carried away.” “Very likely not. However that may be, the young lady was very decidedly carried away, and, having quite made up her mind that her stepfather was in France, the suspicion of treachery never for an instant entered her mind. She was flattered by the gentleman’s attentions, and the effect was increased by the loudly expressed admiration of her mother. Then Mr. Angel began to call, for it was obvious that the matter should be pushed as far as it would go if a real effect were to be produced. There were meetings, and an engagement, which would finally secure the girl’s affections from turning towards anyone else. But the deception could not be kept up forever. These pretended journeys to France were rather cumbrous. The thing to do was clearly to bring the business to an end in such a dramatic manner that it would leave a permanent impression upon the young lady’s mind and prevent her from looking upon any other suitor for some time to come. Hence those vows of fidelity exacted upon a Testament, and hence also the allusions to a possibility of something happening on the very morning of the wedding. James Windibank wished Miss Sutherland to be so bound to Hosmer Angel, and so uncertain as to his fate, that for ten years to come, at any rate, she would not listen to another man. As far as the church door he brought her, and then, as he could go no farther, he conveniently vanished away by the old trick of stepping in at one door of a four-wheeler and out at the other. I think that was the chain of events, Mr. Windibank!” Our visitor had recovered something of his assurance while Holmes had been talking, and he rose from his chair now with a cold sneer upon his pale face. “It may be so, or it may not, Mr. Holmes,” said he, “but if you are so very sharp you ought to be sharp enough to know that it is you who are breaking the law now, and not me. I have done nothing actionable from the first, but as long as you keep that door locked you lay yourself open to an action for assault and illegal constraint.” “The law cannot, as you say, touch you,” said Holmes, unlocking and throwing open the door, “yet there never was a man who deserved punishment more. If the young lady has a brother or a friend, he ought to lay a whip across your shoulders. By Jove!” he continued, flushing up at the sight of the bitter sneer upon the man’s face, “it is not part of my duties to my client, but here’s a hunting crop handy, and I think I shall just treat myself to—” He took two swift steps to the whip, but before he could grasp it there was a wild clatter of steps upon the stairs, the heavy hall door banged, and from the window we could see Mr. James Windibank running at the top of his speed down the road. “There’s a cold-blooded scoundrel!” said Holmes, laughing, as he threw himself down into his chair once more. “That fellow will rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad, and ends on a gallows. The case has, in some respects, been not entirely devoid of interest.” “I cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning,” I remarked. “Well, of course it was obvious from the first that this Mr. Hosmer Angel must have some strong object for his curious conduct, and it was equally clear that the only man who really profited by the incident, as far as we could see, was the stepfather. Then the fact that the two men were never together, but that the one always appeared when the other was away, was suggestive. So were the tinted spectacles and the curious voice, which both hinted at a disguise, as did the bushy whiskers. My suspicions were all confirmed by his peculiar action in typewriting his signature, which, of course, inferred that his handwriting was so familiar to her that she would recognise even the smallest sample of it. You see all these isolated facts, together with many minor ones, all pointed in the same direction.” “And how did you verify them?” “Having once spotted my man, it was easy to get corroboration. I knew the firm for which this man worked. Having taken the printed description. I eliminated everything from it which could be the result of a disguise—the whiskers, the glasses, the voice, and I sent it to the firm, with a request that they would inform me whether it answered to the description of any of their travellers. I had already noticed the peculiarities of the typewriter, and I wrote to the man himself at his business address asking him if he would come here. As I expected, his reply was typewritten and revealed the same trivial but characteristic defects. The same post brought me a letter from Westhouse & Marbank, of Fenchurch Street, to say that the description tallied in every respect with that of their employé, James Windibank. _Voilà tout_!” “And Miss Sutherland?” “If I tell her she will not believe me. You may remember the old Persian saying, ‘There is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub, and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman.’ There is as much sense in Hafiz as in Horace, and as much knowledge of the world.” IV. THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and I, when the maid brought in a telegram. It was from Sherlock Holmes and ran in this way: “Have you a couple of days to spare? Have just been wired for from the west of England in connection with Boscombe Valley tragedy. Shall be glad if you will come with me. Air and scenery perfect. Leave Paddington by the 11:15.” “What do you say, dear?” said my wife, looking across at me. “Will you go?” “I really don’t know what to say. I have a fairly long list at present.” “Oh, Anstruther would do your work for you. You have been looking a little pale lately. I think that the change would do you good, and you are always so interested in Mr. Sherlock Holmes’ cases.” “I should be ungrateful if I were not, seeing what I gained through one of them,” I answered. “But if I am to go, I must pack at once, for I have only half an hour.” My experience of camp life in Afghanistan had at least had the effect of making me a prompt and ready traveller. My wants were few and simple, so that in less than the time stated I was in a cab with my valise, rattling away to Paddington Station. Sherlock Holmes was pacing up and down the platform, his tall, gaunt figure made even gaunter and taller by his long grey travelling-cloak and close-fitting cloth cap. “It is really very good of you to come, Watson,” said he. “It makes a considerable difference to me, having someone with me on whom I can thoroughly rely. Local aid is always either worthless or else biassed. If you will keep the two corner seats I shall get the tickets.” We had the carriage to ourselves save for an immense litter of papers which Holmes had brought with him. Among these he rummaged and read, with intervals of note-taking and of meditation, until we were past Reading. Then he suddenly rolled them all into a gigantic ball and tossed them up onto the rack. “Have you heard anything of the case?” he asked. “Not a word. I have not seen a paper for some days.” “The London press has not had very full accounts. I have just been looking through all the recent papers in order to master the particulars. It seems, from what I gather, to be one of those simple cases which are so extremely difficult.” “That sounds a little paradoxical.” “But it is profoundly true. Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult it is to bring it home. In this case, however, they have established a very serious case against the son of the murdered man.” “It is a murder, then?” “Well, it is conjectured to be so. I shall take nothing for granted until I have the opportunity of looking personally into it. I will explain the state of things to you, as far as I have been able to understand it, in a very few words. “Boscombe Valley is a country district not very far from Ross, in Herefordshire. The largest landed proprietor in that part is a Mr. John Turner, who made his money in Australia and returned some years ago to the old country. One of the farms which he held, that of Hatherley, was let to Mr. Charles McCarthy, who was also an ex-Australian. The men had known each other in the colonies, so that it was not unnatural that when they came to settle down they should do so as near each other as possible. Turner was apparently the richer man, so McCarthy became his tenant but still remained, it seems, upon terms of perfect equality, as they were frequently together. McCarthy had one son, a lad of eighteen, and Turner had an only daughter of the same age, but neither of them had wives living. They appear to have avoided the society of the neighbouring English families and to have led retired lives, though both the McCarthys were fond of sport and were frequently seen at the race-meetings of the neighbourhood. McCarthy kept two servants—a man and a girl. Turner had a considerable household, some half-dozen at the least. That is as much as I have been able to gather about the families. Now for the facts. “On June 3rd, that is, on Monday last, McCarthy left his house at Hatherley about three in the afternoon and walked down to the Boscombe Pool, which is a small lake formed by the spreading out of the stream which runs down the Boscombe Valley. He had been out with his serving-man in the morning at Ross, and he had told the man that he must hurry, as he had an appointment of importance to keep at three. From that appointment he never came back alive. “From Hatherley Farmhouse to the Boscombe Pool is a quarter of a mile, and two people saw him as he passed over this ground. One was an old woman, whose name is not mentioned, and the other was William Crowder, a game-keeper in the employ of Mr. Turner. Both these witnesses depose that Mr. McCarthy was walking alone. The game-keeper adds that within a few minutes of his seeing Mr. McCarthy pass he had seen his son, Mr. James McCarthy, going the same way with a gun under his arm. To the best of his belief, the father was actually in sight at the time, and the son was following him. He thought no more of the matter until he heard in the evening of the tragedy that had occurred. “The two McCarthys were seen after the time when William Crowder, the game-keeper, lost sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is thickly wooded round, with just a fringe of grass and of reeds round the edge. A girl of fourteen, Patience Moran, who is the daughter of the lodge-keeper of the Boscombe Valley estate, was in one of the woods picking flowers. She states that while she was there she saw, at the border of the wood and close by the lake, Mr. McCarthy and his son, and that they appeared to be having a violent quarrel. She heard Mr. McCarthy the elder using very strong language to his son, and she saw the latter raise up his hand as if to strike his father. She was so frightened by their violence that she ran away and told her mother when she reached home that she had left the two McCarthys quarrelling near Boscombe Pool, and that she was afraid that they were going to fight. She had hardly said the words when young Mr. McCarthy came running up to the lodge to say that he had found his father dead in the wood, and to ask for the help of the lodge-keeper. He was much excited, without either his gun or his hat, and his right hand and sleeve were observed to be stained with fresh blood. On following him they found the dead body stretched out upon the grass beside the pool. The head had been beaten in by repeated blows of some heavy and blunt weapon. The injuries were such as might very well have been inflicted by the butt-end of his son’s gun, which was found lying on the grass within a few paces of the body. Under these circumstances the young man was instantly arrested, and a verdict of ‘wilful murder’ having been returned at the inquest on Tuesday, he was on Wednesday brought before the magistrates at Ross, who have referred the case to the next Assizes. Those are the main facts of the case as they came out before the coroner and the police-court.” “I could hardly imagine a more damning case,” I remarked. “If ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal it does so here.” “Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing,” answered Holmes thoughtfully. “It may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different. It must be confessed, however, that the case looks exceedingly grave against the young man, and it is very possible that he is indeed the culprit. There are several people in the neighbourhood, however, and among them Miss Turner, the daughter of the neighbouring landowner, who believe in his innocence, and who have retained Lestrade, whom you may recollect in connection with the Study in Scarlet, to work out the case in his interest. Lestrade, being rather puzzled, has referred the case to me, and hence it is that two middle-aged gentlemen are flying westward at fifty miles an hour instead of quietly digesting their breakfasts at home.” “I am afraid,” said I, “that the facts are so obvious that you will find little credit to be gained out of this case.” “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact,” he answered, laughing. “Besides, we may chance to hit upon some other obvious facts which may have been by no means obvious to Mr. Lestrade. You know me too well to think that I am boasting when I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by means which he is quite incapable of employing, or even of understanding. To take the first example to hand, I very clearly perceive that in your bedroom the window is upon the right-hand side, and yet I question whether Mr. Lestrade would have noted even so self-evident a thing as that.” “How on earth—” “My dear fellow, I know you well. I know the military neatness which characterises you. You shave every morning, and in this season you shave by the sunlight; but since your shaving is less and less complete as we get farther back on the left side, until it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the jaw, it is surely very clear that that side is less illuminated than the other. I could not imagine a man of your habits looking at himself in an equal light and being satisfied with such a result. I only quote this as a trivial example of observation and inference. Therein lies my _métier_, and it is just possible that it may be of some service in the investigation which lies before us. There are one or two minor points which were brought out in the inquest, and which are worth considering.” “What are they?” “It appears that his arrest did not take place at once, but after the return to Hatherley Farm. On the inspector of constabulary informing him that he was a prisoner, he remarked that he was not surprised to hear it, and that it was no more than his deserts. This observation of his had the natural effect of removing any traces of doubt which might have remained in the minds of the coroner’s jury.” “It was a confession,” I ejaculated. “No, for it was followed by a protestation of innocence.” “Coming on the top of such a damning series of events, it was at least a most suspicious remark.” “On the contrary,” said Holmes, “it is the brightest rift which I can at present see in the clouds. However innocent he might be, he could not be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that the circumstances were very black against him. Had he appeared surprised at his own arrest, or feigned indignation at it, I should have looked upon it as highly suspicious, because such surprise or anger would not be natural under the circumstances, and yet might appear to be the best policy to a scheming man. His frank acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocent man, or else as a man of considerable self-restraint and firmness. As to his remark about his deserts, it was also not unnatural if you consider that he stood beside the dead body of his father, and that there is no doubt that he had that very day so far forgotten his filial duty as to bandy words with him, and even, according to the little girl whose evidence is so important, to raise his hand as if to strike him. The self-reproach and contrition which are displayed in his remark appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind rather than of a guilty one.” I shook my head. “Many men have been hanged on far slighter evidence,” I remarked. “So they have. And many men have been wrongfully hanged.” “What is the young man’s own account of the matter?” “It is, I am afraid, not very encouraging to his supporters, though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive. You will find it here, and may read it for yourself.” He picked out from his bundle a copy of the local Herefordshire paper, and having turned down the sheet he pointed out the paragraph in which the unfortunate young man had given his own statement of what had occurred. I settled myself down in the corner of the carriage and read it very carefully. It ran in this way: “Mr. James McCarthy, the only son of the deceased, was then called and gave evidence as follows: ‘I had been away from home for three days at Bristol, and had only just returned upon the morning of last Monday, the 3rd. My father was absent from home at the time of my arrival, and I was informed by the maid that he had driven over to Ross with John Cobb, the groom. Shortly after my return I heard the wheels of his trap in the yard, and, looking out of my window, I saw him get out and walk rapidly out of the yard, though I was not aware in which direction he was going. I then took my gun and strolled out in the direction of the Boscombe Pool, with the intention of visiting the rabbit warren which is upon the other side. On my way I saw William Crowder, the game-keeper, as he had stated in his evidence; but he is mistaken in thinking that I was following my father. I had no idea that he was in front of me. When about a hundred yards from the pool I heard a cry of “Cooee!” which was a usual signal between my father and myself. I then hurried forward, and found him standing by the pool. He appeared to be much surprised at seeing me and asked me rather roughly what I was doing there. A conversation ensued which led to high words and almost to blows, for my father was a man of a very violent temper. Seeing that his passion was becoming ungovernable, I left him and returned towards Hatherley Farm. I had not gone more than 150 yards, however, when I heard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me to run back again. I found my father expiring upon the ground, with his head terribly injured. I dropped my gun and held him in my arms, but he almost instantly expired. I knelt beside him for some minutes, and then made my way to Mr. Turner’s lodge-keeper, his house being the nearest, to ask for assistance. I saw no one near my father when I returned, and I have no idea how he came by his injuries. He was not a popular man, being somewhat cold and forbidding in his manners, but he had, as far as I know, no active enemies. I know nothing further of the matter.’ “The Coroner: Did your father make any statement to you before he died? “Witness: He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some allusion to a rat. “The Coroner: What did you understand by that? “Witness: It conveyed no meaning to me. I thought that he was delirious. “The Coroner: What was the point upon which you and your father had this final quarrel? “Witness: I should prefer not to answer. “The Coroner: I am afraid that I must press it. “Witness: It is really impossible for me to tell you. I can assure you that it has nothing to do with the sad tragedy which followed. “The Coroner: That is for the court to decide. I need not point out to you that your refusal to answer will prejudice your case considerably in any future proceedings which may arise. “Witness: I must still refuse. “The Coroner: I understand that the cry of ‘Cooee’ was a common signal between you and your father? “Witness: It was. “The Coroner: How was it, then, that he uttered it before he saw you, and before he even knew that you had returned from Bristol? “Witness (with considerable confusion): I do not know. “A Juryman: Did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions when you returned on hearing the cry and found your father fatally injured? “Witness: Nothing definite. “The Coroner: What do you mean? “Witness: I was so disturbed and excited as I rushed out into the open, that I could think of nothing except of my father. Yet I have a vague impression that as I ran forward something lay upon the ground to the left of me. It seemed to me to be something grey in colour, a coat of some sort, or a plaid perhaps. When I rose from my father I looked round for it, but it was gone. “‘Do you mean that it disappeared before you went for help?’ “‘Yes, it was gone.’ “ ‘You cannot say what it was?’ “‘No, I had a feeling something was there.’ “‘How far from the body?’ “‘A dozen yards or so.’ “‘And how far from the edge of the wood?’ “‘About the same.’ “‘Then if it was removed it was while you were within a dozen yards of it?’ “‘Yes, but with my back towards it.’ “This concluded the examination of the witness.” “I see,” said I as I glanced down the column, “that the coroner in his concluding remarks was rather severe upon young McCarthy. He calls attention, and with reason, to the discrepancy about his father having signalled to him before seeing him, also to his refusal to give details of his conversation with his father, and his singular account of his father’s dying words. They are all, as he remarks, very much against the son.” Holmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out upon the cushioned seat. “Both you and the coroner have been at some pains,” said he, “to single out the very strongest points in the young man’s favour. Don’t you see that you alternately give him credit for having too much imagination and too little? Too little, if he could not invent a cause of quarrel which would give him the sympathy of the jury; too much, if he evolved from his own inner consciousness anything so _outré_ as a dying reference to a rat, and the incident of the vanishing cloth. No, sir, I shall approach this case from the point of view that what this young man says is true, and we shall see whither that hypothesis will lead us. And now here is my pocket Petrarch, and not another word shall I say of this case until we are on the scene of action. We lunch at Swindon, and I see that we shall be there in twenty minutes.” It was nearly four o’clock when we at last, after passing through the beautiful Stroud Valley, and over the broad gleaming Severn, found ourselves at the pretty little country-town of Ross. A lean, ferret-like man, furtive and sly-looking, was waiting for us upon the platform. In spite of the light brown dustcoat and leather-leggings which he wore in deference to his rustic surroundings, I had no difficulty in recognising Lestrade, of Scotland Yard. With him we drove to the Hereford Arms where a room had already been engaged for us. “I have ordered a carriage,” said Lestrade as we sat over a cup of tea. “I knew your energetic nature, and that you would not be happy until you had been on the scene of the crime.” “It was very nice and complimentary of you,” Holmes answered. “It is entirely a question of barometric pressure.” Lestrade looked startled. “I do not quite follow,” he said. “How is the glass? Twenty-nine, I see. No wind, and not a cloud in the sky. I have a caseful of cigarettes here which need smoking, and the sofa is very much superior to the usual country hotel abomination. I do not think that it is probable that I shall use the carriage to-night.” Lestrade laughed indulgently. “You have, no doubt, already formed your conclusions from the newspapers,” he said. “The case is as plain as a pikestaff, and the more one goes into it the plainer it becomes. Still, of course, one can’t refuse a lady, and such a very positive one, too. She has heard of you, and would have your opinion, though I repeatedly told her that there was nothing which you could do which I had not already done. Why, bless my soul! here is her carriage at the door.” He had hardly spoken before there rushed into the room one of the most lovely young women that I have ever seen in my life. Her violet eyes shining, her lips parted, a pink flush upon her cheeks, all thought of her natural reserve lost in her overpowering excitement and concern. “Oh, Mr. Sherlock Holmes!” she cried, glancing from one to the other of us, and finally, with a woman’s quick intuition, fastening upon my companion, “I am so glad that you have come. I have driven down to tell you so. I know that James didn’t do it. I know it, and I want you to start upon your work knowing it, too. Never let yourself doubt upon that point. We have known each other since we were little children, and I know his faults as no one else does; but he is too tender-hearted to hurt a fly. Such a charge is absurd to anyone who really knows him.” “I hope we may clear him, Miss Turner,” said Sherlock Holmes. “You may rely upon my doing all that I can.” “But you have read the evidence. You have formed some conclusion? Do you not see some loophole, some flaw? Do you not yourself think that he is innocent?” “I think that it is very probable.” “There, now!” she cried, throwing back her head and looking defiantly at Lestrade. “You hear! He gives me hopes.” Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. “I am afraid that my colleague has been a little quick in forming his conclusions,” he said. “But he is right. Oh! I know that he is right. James never did it. And about his quarrel with his father, I am sure that the reason why he would not speak about it to the coroner was because I was concerned in it.” “In what way?” asked Holmes. “It is no time for me to hide anything. James and his father had many disagreements about me. Mr. McCarthy was very anxious that there should be a marriage between us. James and I have always loved each other as brother and sister; but of course he is young and has seen very little of life yet, and—and—well, he naturally did not wish to do anything like that yet. So there were quarrels, and this, I am sure, was one of them.” “And your father?” asked Holmes. “Was he in favour of such a union?” “No, he was averse to it also. No one but Mr. McCarthy was in favour of it.” A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as Holmes shot one of his keen, questioning glances at her. “Thank you for this information,” said he. “May I see your father if I call to-morrow?” “I am afraid the doctor won’t allow it.” “The doctor?” “Yes, have you not heard? Poor father has never been strong for years back, but this has broken him down completely. He has taken to his bed, and Dr. Willows says that he is a wreck and that his nervous system is shattered. Mr. McCarthy was the only man alive who had known dad in the old days in Victoria.” “Ha! In Victoria! That is important.” “Yes, at the mines.” “Quite so; at the gold-mines, where, as I understand, Mr. Turner made his money.” “Yes, certainly.” “Thank you, Miss Turner. You have been of material assistance to me.” “You will tell me if you have any news to-morrow. No doubt you will go to the prison to see James. Oh, if you do, Mr. Holmes, do tell him that I know him to be innocent.” “I will, Miss Turner.” “I must go home now, for dad is very ill, and he misses me so if I leave him. Good-bye, and God help you in your undertaking.” She hurried from the room as impulsively as she had entered, and we heard the wheels of her carriage rattle off down the street. “I am ashamed of you, Holmes,” said Lestrade with dignity after a few minutes’ silence. “Why should you raise up hopes which you are bound to disappoint? I am not over-tender of heart, but I call it cruel.” “I think that I see my way to clearing James McCarthy,” said Holmes. “Have you an order to see him in prison?” “Yes, but only for you and me.” “Then I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We have still time to take a train to Hereford and see him to-night?” “Ample.” “Then let us do so. Watson, I fear that you will find it very slow, but I shall only be away a couple of hours.” I walked down to the station with them, and then wandered through the streets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel, where I lay upon the sofa and tried to interest myself in a yellow-backed novel. The puny plot of the story was so thin, however, when compared to the deep mystery through which we were groping, and I found my attention wander so continually from the action to the fact, that I at last flung it across the room and gave myself up entirely to a consideration of the events of the day. Supposing that this unhappy young man’s story were absolutely true, then what hellish thing, what absolutely unforeseen and extraordinary calamity could have occurred between the time when he parted from his father, and the moment when, drawn back by his screams, he rushed into the glade? It was something terrible and deadly. What could it be? Might not the nature of the injuries reveal something to my medical instincts? I rang the bell and called for the weekly county paper, which contained a verbatim account of the inquest. In the surgeon’s deposition it was stated that the posterior third of the left parietal bone and the left half of the occipital bone had been shattered by a heavy blow from a blunt weapon. I marked the spot upon my own head. Clearly such a blow must have been struck from behind. That was to some extent in favour of the accused, as when seen quarrelling he was face to face with his father. Still, it did not go for very much, for the older man might have turned his back before the blow fell. Still, it might be worth while to call Holmes’ attention to it. Then there was the peculiar dying reference to a rat. What could that mean? It could not be delirium. A man dying from a sudden blow does not commonly become delirious. No, it was more likely to be an attempt to explain how he met his fate. But what could it indicate? I cudgelled my brains to find some possible explanation. And then the incident of the grey cloth seen by young McCarthy. If that were true the murderer must have dropped some part of his dress, presumably his overcoat, in his flight, and must have had the hardihood to return and to carry it away at the instant when the son was kneeling with his back turned not a dozen paces off. What a tissue of mysteries and improbabilities the whole thing was! I did not wonder at Lestrade’s opinion, and yet I had so much faith in Sherlock Holmes’ insight that I could not lose hope as long as every fresh fact seemed to strengthen his conviction of young McCarthy’s innocence. It was late before Sherlock Holmes returned. He came back alone, for Lestrade was staying in lodgings in the town. “The glass still keeps very high,” he remarked as he sat down. “It is of importance that it should not rain before we are able to go over the ground. On the other hand, a man should be at his very best and keenest for such nice work as that, and I did not wish to do it when fagged by a long journey. I have seen young McCarthy.” “And what did you learn from him?” “Nothing.” “Could he throw no light?” “None at all. I was inclined to think at one time that he knew who had done it and was screening him or her, but I am convinced now that he is as puzzled as everyone else. He is not a very quick-witted youth, though comely to look at and, I should think, sound at heart.” “I cannot admire his taste,” I remarked, “if it is indeed a fact that he was averse to a marriage with so charming a young lady as this Miss Turner.” “Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is madly, insanely, in love with her, but some two years ago, when he was only a lad, and before he really knew her, for she had been away five years at a boarding-school, what does the idiot do but get into the clutches of a barmaid in Bristol and marry her at a registry office? No one knows a word of the matter, but you can imagine how maddening it must be to him to be upbraided for not doing what he would give his very eyes to do, but what he knows to be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort which made him throw his hands up into the air when his father, at their last interview, was goading him on to propose to Miss Turner. On the other hand, he had no means of supporting himself, and his father, who was by all accounts a very hard man, would have thrown him over utterly had he known the truth. It was with his barmaid wife that he had spent the last three days in Bristol, and his father did not know where he was. Mark that point. It is of importance. Good has come out of evil, however, for the barmaid, finding from the papers that he is in serious trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him over utterly and has written to him to say that she has a husband already in the Bermuda Dockyard, so that there is really no tie between them. I think that that bit of news has consoled young McCarthy for all that he has suffered.” “But if he is innocent, who has done it?” “Ah! who? I would call your attention very particularly to two points. One is that the murdered man had an appointment with someone at the pool, and that the someone could not have been his son, for his son was away, and he did not know when he would return. The second is that the murdered man was heard to cry ‘Cooee!’ before he knew that his son had returned. Those are the crucial points upon which the case depends. And now let us talk about George Meredith, if you please, and we shall leave all minor matters until to-morrow.” There was no rain, as Holmes had foretold, and the morning broke bright and cloudless. At nine o’clock Lestrade called for us with the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe Pool. “There is serious news this morning,” Lestrade observed. “It is said that Mr. Turner, of the Hall, is so ill that his life is despaired of.” “An elderly man, I presume?” said Holmes. “About sixty; but his constitution has been shattered by his life abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. This business has had a very bad effect upon him. He was an old friend of McCarthy’s, and, I may add, a great benefactor to him, for I have learned that he gave him Hatherley Farm rent free.” “Indeed! That is interesting,” said Holmes. “Oh, yes! In a hundred other ways he has helped him. Everybody about here speaks of his kindness to him.” “Really! Does it not strike you as a little singular that this McCarthy, who appears to have had little of his own, and to have been under such obligations to Turner, should still talk of marrying his son to Turner’s daughter, who is, presumably, heiress to the estate, and that in such a very cocksure manner, as if it were merely a case of a proposal and all else would follow? It is the more strange, since we know that Turner himself was averse to the idea. The daughter told us as much. Do you not deduce something from that?” “We have got to the deductions and the inferences,” said Lestrade, winking at me. “I find it hard enough to tackle facts, Holmes, without flying away after theories and fancies.” “You are right,” said Holmes demurely; “you do find it very hard to tackle the facts.” “Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you seem to find it difficult to get hold of,” replied Lestrade with some warmth. “And that is—” “That McCarthy senior met his death from McCarthy junior and that all theories to the contrary are the merest moonshine.” “Well, moonshine is a brighter thing than fog,” said Holmes, laughing. “But I am very much mistaken if this is not Hatherley Farm upon the left.” “Yes, that is it.” It was a widespread, comfortable-looking building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches of lichen upon the grey walls. The drawn blinds and the smokeless chimneys, however, gave it a stricken look, as though the weight of this horror still lay heavy upon it. We called at the door, when the maid, at Holmes’ request, showed us the boots which her master wore at the time of his death, and also a pair of the son’s, though not the pair which he had then had. Having measured these very carefully from seven or eight different points, Holmes desired to be led to the court-yard, from which we all followed the winding track which led to Boscombe Pool. Sherlock Holmes was transformed when he was hot upon such a scent as this. Men who had only known the quiet thinker and logician of Baker Street would have failed to recognise him. His face flushed and darkened. His brows were drawn into two hard black lines, while his eyes shone out from beneath them with a steely glitter. His face was bent downward, his shoulders bowed, his lips compressed, and the veins stood out like whipcord in his long, sinewy neck. His nostrils seemed to dilate with a purely animal lust for the chase, and his mind was so absolutely concentrated upon the matter before him that a question or remark fell unheeded upon his ears, or, at the most, only provoked a quick, impatient snarl in reply. Swiftly and silently he made his way along the track which ran through the meadows, and so by way of the woods to the Boscombe Pool. It was damp, marshy ground, as is all that district, and there were marks of many feet, both upon the path and amid the short grass which bounded it on either side. Sometimes Holmes would hurry on, sometimes stop dead, and once he made quite a little detour into the meadow. Lestrade and I walked behind him, the detective indifferent and contemptuous, while I watched my friend with the interest which sprang from the conviction that every one of his actions was directed towards a definite end. The Boscombe Pool, which is a little reed-girt sheet of water some fifty yards across, is situated at the boundary between the Hatherley Farm and the private park of the wealthy Mr. Turner. Above the woods which lined it upon the farther side we could see the red, jutting pinnacles which marked the site of the rich landowner’s dwelling. On the Hatherley side of the pool the woods grew very thick, and there was a narrow belt of sodden grass twenty paces across between the edge of the trees and the reeds which lined the lake. Lestrade showed us the exact spot at which the body had been found, and, indeed, so moist was the ground, that I could plainly see the traces which had been left by the fall of the stricken man. To Holmes, as I could see by his eager face and peering eyes, very many other things were to be read upon the trampled grass. He ran round, like a dog who is picking up a scent, and then turned upon my companion. “What did you go into the pool for?” he asked. “I fished about with a rake. I thought there might be some weapon or other trace. But how on earth—” “Oh, tut, tut! I have no time! That left foot of yours with its inward twist is all over the place. A mole could trace it, and there it vanishes among the reeds. Oh, how simple it would all have been had I been here before they came like a herd of buffalo and wallowed all over it. Here is where the party with the lodge-keeper came, and they have covered all tracks for six or eight feet round the body. But here are three separate tracks of the same feet.” He drew out a lens and lay down upon his waterproof to have a better view, talking all the time rather to himself than to us. “These are young McCarthy’s feet. Twice he was walking, and once he ran swiftly, so that the soles are deeply marked and the heels hardly visible. That bears out his story. He ran when he saw his father on the ground. Then here are the father’s feet as he paced up and down. What is this, then? It is the butt-end of the gun as the son stood listening. And this? Ha, ha! What have we here? Tiptoes! tiptoes! Square, too, quite unusual boots! They come, they go, they come again—of course that was for the cloak. Now where did they come from?” He ran up and down, sometimes losing, sometimes finding the track until we were well within the edge of the wood and under the shadow of a great beech, the largest tree in the neighbourhood. Holmes traced his way to the farther side of this and lay down once more upon his face with a little cry of satisfaction. For a long time he remained there, turning over the leaves and dried sticks, gathering up what seemed to me to be dust into an envelope and examining with his lens not only the ground but even the bark of the tree as far as he could reach. A jagged stone was lying among the moss, and this also he carefully examined and retained. Then he followed a pathway through the wood until he came to the highroad, where all traces were lost. “It has been a case of considerable interest,” he remarked, returning to his natural manner. “I fancy that this grey house on the right must be the lodge. I think that I will go in and have a word with Moran, and perhaps write a little note. Having done that, we may drive back to our luncheon. You may walk to the cab, and I shall be with you presently.” It was about ten minutes before we regained our cab and drove back into Ross, Holmes still carrying with him the stone which he had picked up in the wood. “This may interest you, Lestrade,” he remarked, holding it out. “The murder was done with it.” “I see no marks.” “There are none.” “How do you know, then?” “The grass was growing under it. It had only lain there a few days. There was no sign of a place whence it had been taken. It corresponds with the injuries. There is no sign of any other weapon.” “And the murderer?” “Is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg, wears thick-soled shooting-boots and a grey cloak, smokes Indian cigars, uses a cigar-holder, and carries a blunt pen-knife in his pocket. There are several other indications, but these may be enough to aid us in our search.” Lestrade laughed. “I am afraid that I am still a sceptic,” he said. “Theories are all very well, but we have to deal with a hard-headed British jury.” “_Nous verrons_,” answered Holmes calmly. “You work your own method, and I shall work mine. I shall be busy this afternoon, and shall probably return to London by the evening train.” “And leave your case unfinished?” “No, finished.” “But the mystery?” “It is solved.” “Who was the criminal, then?” “The gentleman I describe.” “But who is he?” “Surely it would not be difficult to find out. This is not such a populous neighbourhood.” Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. “I am a practical man,” he said, “and I really cannot undertake to go about the country looking for a left-handed gentleman with a game leg. I should become the laughing-stock of Scotland Yard.” “All right,” said Holmes quietly. “I have given you the chance. Here are your lodgings. Good-bye. I shall drop you a line before I leave.” Having left Lestrade at his rooms, we drove to our hotel, where we found lunch upon the table. Holmes was silent and buried in thought with a pained expression upon his face, as one who finds himself in a perplexing position. “Look here, Watson,” he said when the cloth was cleared “just sit down in this chair and let me preach to you for a little. I don’t know quite what to do, and I should value your advice. Light a cigar and let me expound.” “Pray do so.” “Well, now, in considering this case there are two points about young McCarthy’s narrative which struck us both instantly, although they impressed me in his favour and you against him. One was the fact that his father should, according to his account, cry ‘Cooee!’ before seeing him. The other was his singular dying reference to a rat. He mumbled several words, you understand, but that was all that caught the son’s ear. Now from this double point our research must commence, and we will begin it by presuming that what the lad says is absolutely true.” “What of this ‘Cooee!’ then?” “Well, obviously it could not have been meant for the son. The son, as far as he knew, was in Bristol. It was mere chance that he was within earshot. The ‘Cooee!’ was meant to attract the attention of whoever it was that he had the appointment with. But ‘Cooee’ is a distinctly Australian cry, and one which is used between Australians. There is a strong presumption that the person whom McCarthy expected to meet him at Boscombe Pool was someone who had been in Australia.” “What of the rat, then?” Sherlock Holmes took a folded paper from his pocket and flattened it out on the table. “This is a map of the Colony of Victoria,” he said. “I wired to Bristol for it last night.” He put his hand over part of the map. “What do you read?” “ARAT,” I read. “And now?” He raised his hand. “BALLARAT.” “Quite so. That was the word the man uttered, and of which his son only caught the last two syllables. He was trying to utter the name of his murderer. So and so, of Ballarat.” “It is wonderful!” I exclaimed. “It is obvious. And now, you see, I had narrowed the field down considerably. The possession of a grey garment was a third point which, granting the son’s statement to be correct, was a certainty. We have come now out of mere vagueness to the definite conception of an Australian from Ballarat with a grey cloak.” “Certainly.” “And one who was at home in the district, for the pool can only be approached by the farm or by the estate, where strangers could hardly wander.” “Quite so.” “Then comes our expedition of to-day. By an examination of the ground I gained the trifling details which I gave to that imbecile Lestrade, as to the personality of the criminal.” “But how did you gain them?” “You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles.” “His height I know that you might roughly judge from the length of his stride. His boots, too, might be told from their traces.” “Yes, they were peculiar boots.” “But his lameness?” “The impression of his right foot was always less distinct than his left. He put less weight upon it. Why? Because he limped—he was lame.” “But his left-handedness.” “You were yourself struck by the nature of the injury as recorded by the surgeon at the inquest. The blow was struck from immediately behind, and yet was upon the left side. Now, how can that be unless it were by a left-handed man? He had stood behind that tree during the interview between the father and son. He had even smoked there. I found the ash of a cigar, which my special knowledge of tobacco ashes enables me to pronounce as an Indian cigar. I have, as you know, devoted some attention to this, and written a little monograph on the ashes of 140 different varieties of pipe, cigar, and cigarette tobacco. Having found the ash, I then looked round and discovered the stump among the moss where he had tossed it. It was an Indian cigar, of the variety which are rolled in Rotterdam.” “And the cigar-holder?” “I could see that the end had not been in his mouth. Therefore he used a holder. The tip had been cut off, not bitten off, but the cut was not a clean one, so I deduced a blunt pen-knife.” “Holmes,” I said, “you have drawn a net round this man from which he cannot escape, and you have saved an innocent human life as truly as if you had cut the cord which was hanging him. I see the direction in which all this points. The culprit is—” “Mr. John Turner,” cried the hotel waiter, opening the door of our sitting-room, and ushering in a visitor. The man who entered was a strange and impressive figure. His slow, limping step and bowed shoulders gave the appearance of decrepitude, and yet his hard, deep-lined, craggy features, and his enormous limbs showed that he was possessed of unusual strength of body and of character. His tangled beard, grizzled hair, and outstanding, drooping eyebrows combined to give an air of dignity and power to his appearance, but his face was of an ashen white, while his lips and the corners of his nostrils were tinged with a shade of blue. It was clear to me at a glance that he was in the grip of some deadly and chronic disease. “Pray sit down on the sofa,” said Holmes gently. “You had my note?” “Yes, the lodge-keeper brought it up. You said that you wished to see me here to avoid scandal.” “I thought people would talk if I went to the Hall.” “And why did you wish to see me?” He looked across at my companion with despair in his weary eyes, as though his question was already answered. “Yes,” said Holmes, answering the look rather than the words. “It is so. I know all about McCarthy.” The old man sank his face in his hands. “God help me!” he cried. “But I would not have let the young man come to harm. I give you my word that I would have spoken out if it went against him at the Assizes.” “I am glad to hear you say so,” said Holmes gravely. “I would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl. It would break her heart—it will break her heart when she hears that I am arrested.” “It may not come to that,” said Holmes. “What?” “I am no official agent. I understand that it was your daughter who required my presence here, and I am acting in her interests. Young McCarthy must be got off, however.” “I am a dying man,” said old Turner. “I have had diabetes for years. My doctor says it is a question whether I shall live a month. Yet I would rather die under my own roof than in a gaol.” Holmes rose and sat down at the table with his pen in his hand and a bundle of paper before him. “Just tell us the truth,” he said. “I shall jot down the facts. You will sign it, and Watson here can witness it. Then I could produce your confession at the last extremity to save young McCarthy. I promise you that I shall not use it unless it is absolutely needed.” “It’s as well,” said the old man; “it’s a question whether I shall live to the Assizes, so it matters little to me, but I should wish to spare Alice the shock. And now I will make the thing clear to you; it has been a long time in the acting, but will not take me long to tell. “You didn’t know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil incarnate. I tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of such a man as he. His grip has been upon me these twenty years, and he has blasted my life. I’ll tell you first how I came to be in his power. “It was in the early ’60’s at the diggings. I was a young chap then, hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at anything; I got among bad companions, took to drink, had no luck with my claim, took to the bush, and in a word became what you would call over here a highway robber. There were six of us, and we had a wild, free life of it, sticking up a station from time to time, or stopping the wagons on the road to the diggings. Black Jack of Ballarat was the name I went under, and our party is still remembered in the colony as the Ballarat Gang. “One day a gold convoy came down from Ballarat to Melbourne, and we lay in wait for it and attacked it. There were six troopers and six of us, so it was a close thing, but we emptied four of their saddles at the first volley. Three of our boys were killed, however, before we got the swag. I put my pistol to the head of the wagon-driver, who was this very man McCarthy. I wish to the Lord that I had shot him then, but I spared him, though I saw his wicked little eyes fixed on my face, as though to remember every feature. We got away with the gold, became wealthy men, and made our way over to England without being suspected. There I parted from my old pals and determined to settle down to a quiet and respectable life. I bought this estate, which chanced to be in the market, and I set myself to do a little good with my money, to make up for the way in which I had earned it. I married, too, and though my wife died young she left me my dear little Alice. Even when she was just a baby her wee hand seemed to lead me down the right path as nothing else had ever done. In a word, I turned over a new leaf and did my best to make up for the past. All was going well when McCarthy laid his grip upon me. “I had gone up to town about an investment, and I met him in Regent Street with hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his foot. “‘Here we are, Jack,’ says he, touching me on the arm; ‘we’ll be as good as a family to you. There’s two of us, me and my son, and you can have the keeping of us. If you don’t—it’s a fine, law-abiding country is England, and there’s always a policeman within hail.’ “Well, down they came to the west country, there was no shaking them off, and there they have lived rent free on my best land ever since. There was no rest for me, no peace, no forgetfulness; turn where I would, there was his cunning, grinning face at my elbow. It grew worse as Alice grew up, for he soon saw I was more afraid of her knowing my past than of the police. Whatever he wanted he must have, and whatever it was I gave him without question, land, money, houses, until at last he asked a thing which I could not give. He asked for Alice. “His son, you see, had grown up, and so had my girl, and as I was known to be in weak health, it seemed a fine stroke to him that his lad should step into the whole property. But there I was firm. I would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine; not that I had any dislike to the lad, but his blood was in him, and that was enough. I stood firm. McCarthy threatened. I braved him to do his worst. We were to meet at the pool midway between our houses to talk it over. “When I went down there I found him talking with his son, so I smoked a cigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone. But as I listened to his talk all that was black and bitter in me seemed to come uppermost. He was urging his son to marry my daughter with as little regard for what she might think as if she were a slut from off the streets. It drove me mad to think that I and all that I held most dear should be in the power of such a man as this. Could I not snap the bond? I was already a dying and a desperate man. Though clear of mind and fairly strong of limb, I knew that my own fate was sealed. But my memory and my girl! Both could be saved if I could but silence that foul tongue. I did it, Mr. Holmes. I would do it again. Deeply as I have sinned, I have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it. But that my girl should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more compunction than if he had been some foul and venomous beast. His cry brought back his son; but I had gained the cover of the wood, though I was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dropped in my flight. That is the true story, gentlemen, of all that occurred.” “Well, it is not for me to judge you,” said Holmes as the old man signed the statement which had been drawn out. “I pray that we may never be exposed to such a temptation.” “I pray not, sir. And what do you intend to do?” “In view of your health, nothing. You are yourself aware that you will soon have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the Assizes. I will keep your confession, and if McCarthy is condemned I shall be forced to use it. If not, it shall never be seen by mortal eye; and your secret, whether you be alive or dead, shall be safe with us.” “Farewell, then,” said the old man solemnly. “Your own deathbeds, when they come, will be the easier for the thought of the peace which you have given to mine.” Tottering and shaking in all his giant frame, he stumbled slowly from the room. “God help us!” said Holmes after a long silence. “Why does fate play such tricks with poor, helpless worms? I never hear of such a case as this that I do not think of Baxter’s words, and say, ‘There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes.’” James McCarthy was acquitted at the Assizes on the strength of a number of objections which had been drawn out by Holmes and submitted to the defending counsel. Old Turner lived for seven months after our interview, but he is now dead; and there is every prospect that the son and daughter may come to live happily together in ignorance of the black cloud which rests upon their past. V. THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS When I glance over my notes and records of the Sherlock Holmes cases between the years ’82 and ’90, I am faced by so many which present strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to know which to choose and which to leave. Some, however, have already gained publicity through the papers, and others have not offered a field for those peculiar qualities which my friend possessed in so high a degree, and which it is the object of these papers to illustrate. Some, too, have baffled his analytical skill, and would be, as narratives, beginnings without an ending, while others have been but partially cleared up, and have their explanations founded rather upon conjecture and surmise than on that absolute logical proof which was so dear to him. There is, however, one of these last which was so remarkable in its details and so startling in its results that I am tempted to give some account of it in spite of the fact that there are points in connection with it which never have been, and probably never will be, entirely cleared up. The year ’87 furnished us with a long series of cases of greater or less interest, of which I retain the records. Among my headings under this one twelve months I find an account of the adventure of the Paradol Chamber, of the Amateur Mendicant Society, who held a luxurious club in the lower vault of a furniture warehouse, of the facts connected with the loss of the British barque _Sophy Anderson_, of the singular adventures of the Grice Patersons in the island of Uffa, and finally of the Camberwell poisoning case. In the latter, as may be remembered, Sherlock Holmes was able, by winding up the dead man’s watch, to prove that it had been wound up two hours before, and that therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that time—a deduction which was of the greatest importance in clearing up the case. All these I may sketch out at some future date, but none of them present such singular features as the strange train of circumstances which I have now taken up my pen to describe. It was in the latter days of September, and the equinoctial gales had set in with exceptional violence. All day the wind had screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows, so that even here in the heart of great, hand-made London we were forced to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life and to recognise the presence of those great elemental forces which shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilisation, like untamed beasts in a cage. As evening drew in, the storm grew higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in the chimney. Sherlock Holmes sat moodily at one side of the fireplace cross-indexing his records of crime, while I at the other was deep in one of Clark Russell’s fine sea-stories until the howl of the gale from without seemed to blend with the text, and the splash of the rain to lengthen out into the long swash of the sea waves. My wife was on a visit to her mother’s, and for a few days I was a dweller once more in my old quarters at Baker Street. “Why,” said I, glancing up at my companion, “that was surely the bell. Who could come to-night? Some friend of yours, perhaps?” “Except yourself I have none,” he answered. “I do not encourage visitors.” “A client, then?” “If so, it is a serious case. Nothing less would bring a man out on such a day and at such an hour. But I take it that it is more likely to be some crony of the landlady’s.” Sherlock Holmes was wrong in his conjecture, however, for there came a step in the passage and a tapping at the door. He stretched out his long arm to turn the lamp away from himself and towards the vacant chair upon which a newcomer must sit. “Come in!” said he. The man who entered was young, some two-and-twenty at the outside, well-groomed and trimly clad, with something of refinement and delicacy in his bearing. The streaming umbrella which he held in his hand, and his long shining waterproof told of the fierce weather through which he had come. He looked about him anxiously in the glare of the lamp, and I could see that his face was pale and his eyes heavy, like those of a man who is weighed down with some great anxiety. “I owe you an apology,” he said, raising his golden pince-nez to his eyes. “I trust that I am not intruding. I fear that I have brought some traces of the storm and rain into your snug chamber.” “Give me your coat and umbrella,” said Holmes. “They may rest here on the hook and will be dry presently. You have come up from the south-west, I see.” “Yes, from Horsham.” “That clay and chalk mixture which I see upon your toe caps is quite distinctive.” “I have come for advice.” “That is easily got.” “And help.” “That is not always so easy.” “I have heard of you, Mr. Holmes. I heard from Major Prendergast how you saved him in the Tankerville Club scandal.” “Ah, of course. He was wrongfully accused of cheating at cards.” “He said that you could solve anything.” “He said too much.” “That you are never beaten.” “I have been beaten four times—three times by men, and once by a woman.” “But what is that compared with the number of your successes?” “It is true that I have been generally successful.” “Then you may be so with me.” “I beg that you will draw your chair up to the fire and favour me with some details as to your case.” “It is no ordinary one.” “None of those which come to me are. I am the last court of appeal.” “And yet I question, sir, whether, in all your experience, you have ever listened to a more mysterious and inexplicable chain of events than those which have happened in my own family.” “You fill me with interest,” said Holmes. “Pray give us the essential facts from the commencement, and I can afterwards question you as to those details which seem to me to be most important.” The young man pulled his chair up and pushed his wet feet out towards the blaze. “My name,” said he, “is John Openshaw, but my own affairs have, as far as I can understand, little to do with this awful business. It is a hereditary matter; so in order to give you an idea of the facts, I must go back to the commencement of the affair. “You must know that my grandfather had two sons—my uncle Elias and my father Joseph. My father had a small factory at Coventry, which he enlarged at the time of the invention of bicycling. He was a patentee of the Openshaw unbreakable tire, and his business met with such success that he was able to sell it and to retire upon a handsome competence. “My uncle Elias emigrated to America when he was a young man and became a planter in Florida, where he was reported to have done very well. At the time of the war he fought in Jackson’s army, and afterwards under Hood, where he rose to be a colonel. When Lee laid down his arms my uncle returned to his plantation, where he remained for three or four years. About 1869 or 1870 he came back to Europe and took a small estate in Sussex, near Horsham. He had made a very considerable fortune in the States, and his reason for leaving them was his aversion to the negroes, and his dislike of the Republican policy in extending the franchise to them. He was a singular man, fierce and quick-tempered, very foul-mouthed when he was angry, and of a most retiring disposition. During all the years that he lived at Horsham, I doubt if ever he set foot in the town. He had a garden and two or three fields round his house, and there he would take his exercise, though very often for weeks on end he would never leave his room. He drank a great deal of brandy and smoked very heavily, but he would see no society and did not want any friends, not even his own brother. “He didn’t mind me; in fact, he took a fancy to me, for at the time when he saw me first I was a youngster of twelve or so. This would be in the year 1878, after he had been eight or nine years in England. He begged my father to let me live with him and he was very kind to me in his way. When he was sober he used to be fond of playing backgammon and draughts with me, and he would make me his representative both with the servants and with the tradespeople, so that by the time that I was sixteen I was quite master of the house. I kept all the keys and could go where I liked and do what I liked, so long as I did not disturb him in his privacy. There was one singular exception, however, for he had a single room, a lumber-room up among the attics, which was invariably locked, and which he would never permit either me or anyone else to enter. With a boy’s curiosity I have peeped through the keyhole, but I was never able to see more than such a collection of old trunks and bundles as would be expected in such a room. “One day—it was in March, 1883—a letter with a foreign stamp lay upon the table in front of the colonel’s plate. It was not a common thing for him to receive letters, for his bills were all paid in ready money, and he had no friends of any sort. ‘From India!’ said he as he took it up, ‘Pondicherry postmark! What can this be?’ Opening it hurriedly, out there jumped five little dried orange pips, which pattered down upon his plate. I began to laugh at this, but the laugh was struck from my lips at the sight of his face. His lip had fallen, his eyes were protruding, his skin the colour of putty, and he glared at the envelope which he still held in his trembling hand, ‘K. K. K.!’ he shrieked, and then, ‘My God, my God, my sins have overtaken me!’ “‘What is it, uncle?’ I cried. “‘Death,’ said he, and rising from the table he retired to his room, leaving me palpitating with horror. I took up the envelope and saw scrawled in red ink upon the inner flap, just above the gum, the letter K three times repeated. There was nothing else save the five dried pips. What could be the reason of his overpowering terror? I left the breakfast-table, and as I ascended the stair I met him coming down with an old rusty key, which must have belonged to the attic, in one hand, and a small brass box, like a cashbox, in the other. “‘They may do what they like, but I’ll checkmate them still,’ said he with an oath. ‘Tell Mary that I shall want a fire in my room to-day, and send down to Fordham, the Horsham lawyer.’ “I did as he ordered, and when the lawyer arrived I was asked to step up to the room. The fire was burning brightly, and in the grate there was a mass of black, fluffy ashes, as of burned paper, while the brass box stood open and empty beside it. As I glanced at the box I noticed, with a start, that upon the lid was printed the treble K which I had read in the morning upon the envelope. “‘I wish you, John,’ said my uncle, ‘to witness my will. I leave my estate, with all its advantages and all its disadvantages, to my brother, your father, whence it will, no doubt, descend to you. If you can enjoy it in peace, well and good! If you find you cannot, take my advice, my boy, and leave it to your deadliest enemy. I am sorry to give you such a two-edged thing, but I can’t say what turn things are going to take. Kindly sign the paper where Mr. Fordham shows you.’ “I signed the paper as directed, and the lawyer took it away with him. The singular incident made, as you may think, the deepest impression upon me, and I pondered over it and turned it every way in my mind without being able to make anything of it. Yet I could not shake off the vague feeling of dread which it left behind, though the sensation grew less keen as the weeks passed and nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives. I could see a change in my uncle, however. He drank more than ever, and he was less inclined for any sort of society. Most of his time he would spend in his room, with the door locked upon the inside, but sometimes he would emerge in a sort of drunken frenzy and would burst out of the house and tear about the garden with a revolver in his hand, screaming out that he was afraid of no man, and that he was not to be cooped up, like a sheep in a pen, by man or devil. When these hot fits were over, however, he would rush tumultuously in at the door and lock and bar it behind him, like a man who can brazen it out no longer against the terror which lies at the roots of his soul. At such times I have seen his face, even on a cold day, glisten with moisture, as though it were new raised from a basin. “Well, to come to an end of the matter, Mr. Holmes, and not to abuse your patience, there came a night when he made one of those drunken sallies from which he never came back. We found him, when we went to search for him, face downward in a little green-scummed pool, which lay at the foot of the garden. There was no sign of any violence, and the water was but two feet deep, so that the jury, having regard to his known eccentricity, brought in a verdict of ‘suicide.’ But I, who knew how he winced from the very thought of death, had much ado to persuade myself that he had gone out of his way to meet it. The matter passed, however, and my father entered into possession of the estate, and of some £ 14,000, which lay to his credit at the bank.” “One moment,” Holmes interposed, “your statement is, I foresee, one of the most remarkable to which I have ever listened. Let me have the date of the reception by your uncle of the letter, and the date of his supposed suicide.” “The letter arrived on March 10, 1883. His death was seven weeks later, upon the night of May 2nd.” “Thank you. Pray proceed.” “When my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my request, made a careful examination of the attic, which had been always locked up. We found the brass box there, although its contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a paper label, with the initials of K. K. K. repeated upon it, and ‘Letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register’ written beneath. These, we presume, indicated the nature of the papers which had been destroyed by Colonel Openshaw. For the rest, there was nothing of much importance in the attic save a great many scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle’s life in America. Some of them were of the war time and showed that he had done his duty well and had borne the repute of a brave soldier. Others were of a date during the reconstruction of the Southern states, and were mostly concerned with politics, for he had evidently taken a strong part in opposing the carpet-bag politicians who had been sent down from the North. “Well, it was the beginning of ’84 when my father came to live at Horsham, and all went as well as possible with us until the January of ’85. On the fourth day after the new year I heard my father give a sharp cry of surprise as we sat together at the breakfast-table. There he was, sitting with a newly opened envelope in one hand and five dried orange pips in the outstretched palm of the other one. He had always laughed at what he called my cock-and-bull story about the colonel, but he looked very scared and puzzled now that the same thing had come upon himself. “‘Why, what on earth does this mean, John?’ he stammered. “My heart had turned to lead. ‘It is K. K. K.,’ said I. “He looked inside the envelope. ‘So it is,’ he cried. ‘Here are the very letters. But what is this written above them?’ “‘Put the papers on the sundial,’ I read, peeping over his shoulder. “‘What papers? What sundial?’ he asked. “‘The sundial in the garden. There is no other,’ said I; ‘but the papers must be those that are destroyed.’ “‘Pooh!’ said he, gripping hard at his courage. ‘We are in a civilised land here, and we can’t have tomfoolery of this kind. Where does the thing come from?’ “‘From Dundee,’ I answered, glancing at the postmark. “‘Some preposterous practical joke,’ said he. ‘What have I to do with sundials and papers? I shall take no notice of such nonsense.’ “‘I should certainly speak to the police,’ I said. “‘And be laughed at for my pains. Nothing of the sort.’ “‘Then let me do so?’ “‘No, I forbid you. I won’t have a fuss made about such nonsense.’ “It was in vain to argue with him, for he was a very obstinate man. I went about, however, with a heart which was full of forebodings. “On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went from home to visit an old friend of his, Major Freebody, who is in command of one of the forts upon Portsdown Hill. I was glad that he should go, for it seemed to me that he was farther from danger when he was away from home. In that, however, I was in error. Upon the second day of his absence I received a telegram from the major, imploring me to come at once. My father had fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits which abound in the neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a shattered skull. I hurried to him, but he passed away without having ever recovered his consciousness. He had, as it appears, been returning from Fareham in the twilight, and as the country was unknown to him, and the chalk-pit unfenced, the jury had no hesitation in bringing in a verdict of ‘death from accidental causes.’ Carefully as I examined every fact connected with his death, I was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea of murder. There were no signs of violence, no footmarks, no robbery, no record of strangers having been seen upon the roads. And yet I need not tell you that my mind was far from at ease, and that I was well-nigh certain that some foul plot had been woven round him. “In this sinister way I came into my inheritance. You will ask me why I did not dispose of it? I answer, because I was well convinced that our troubles were in some way dependent upon an incident in my uncle’s life, and that the danger would be as pressing in one house as in another. “It was in January, ’85, that my poor father met his end, and two years and eight months have elapsed since then. During that time I have lived happily at Horsham, and I had begun to hope that this curse had passed away from the family, and that it had ended with the last generation. I had begun to take comfort too soon, however; yesterday morning the blow fell in the very shape in which it had come upon my father.” The young man took from his waistcoat a crumpled envelope, and turning to the table he shook out upon it five little dried orange pips. “This is the envelope,” he continued. “The postmark is London—eastern division. Within are the very words which were upon my father’s last message: ‘K. K. K.’; and then ‘Put the papers on the sundial.’” “What have you done?” asked Holmes. “Nothing.” “Nothing?” “To tell the truth”—he sank his face into his thin, white hands—“I have felt helpless. I have felt like one of those poor rabbits when the snake is writhing towards it. I seem to be in the grasp of some resistless, inexorable evil, which no foresight and no precautions can guard against.” “Tut! tut!” cried Sherlock Holmes. “You must act, man, or you are lost. Nothing but energy can save you. This is no time for despair.” “I have seen the police.” “Ah!” “But they listened to my story with a smile. I am convinced that the inspector has formed the opinion that the letters are all practical jokes, and that the deaths of my relations were really accidents, as the jury stated, and were not to be connected with the warnings.” Holmes shook his clenched hands in the air. “Incredible imbecility!” he cried. “They have, however, allowed me a policeman, who may remain in the house with me.” “Has he come with you to-night?” “No. His orders were to stay in the house.” Again Holmes raved in the air. “Why did you come to me?” he said, “and, above all, why did you not come at once?” “I did not know. It was only to-day that I spoke to Major Prendergast about my troubles and was advised by him to come to you.” “It is really two days since you had the letter. We should have acted before this. You have no further evidence, I suppose, than that which you have placed before us—no suggestive detail which might help us?” “There is one thing,” said John Openshaw. He rummaged in his coat pocket, and, drawing out a piece of discoloured, blue-tinted paper, he laid it out upon the table. “I have some remembrance,” said he, “that on the day when my uncle burned the papers I observed that the small, unburned margins which lay amid the ashes were of this particular colour. I found this single sheet upon the floor of his room, and I am inclined to think that it may be one of the papers which has, perhaps, fluttered out from among the others, and in that way has escaped destruction. Beyond the mention of pips, I do not see that it helps us much. I think myself that it is a page from some private diary. The writing is undoubtedly my uncle’s.” Holmes moved the lamp, and we both bent over the sheet of paper, which showed by its ragged edge that it had indeed been torn from a book. It was headed, “March, 1869,” and beneath were the following enigmatical notices: “4th. Hudson came. Same old platform. “7th. Set the pips on McCauley, Paramore, and John Swain of St. Augustine. “9th. McCauley cleared. “10th. John Swain cleared. “12th. Visited Paramore. All well.” “Thank you!” said Holmes, folding up the paper and returning it to our visitor. “And now you must on no account lose another instant. We cannot spare time even to discuss what you have told me. You must get home instantly and act.” “What shall I do?” “There is but one thing to do. It must be done at once. You must put this piece of paper which you have shown us into the brass box which you have described. You must also put in a note to say that all the other papers were burned by your uncle, and that this is the only one which remains. You must assert that in such words as will carry conviction with them. Having done this, you must at once put the box out upon the sundial, as directed. Do you understand?” “Entirely.” “Do not think of revenge, or anything of the sort, at present. I think that we may gain that by means of the law; but we have our web to weave, while theirs is already woven. The first consideration is to remove the pressing danger which threatens you. The second is to clear up the mystery and to punish the guilty parties.” “I thank you,” said the young man, rising and pulling on his overcoat. “You have given me fresh life and hope. I shall certainly do as you advise.” “Do not lose an instant. And, above all, take care of yourself in the meanwhile, for I do not think that there can be a doubt that you are threatened by a very real and imminent danger. How do you go back?” “By train from Waterloo.” “It is not yet nine. The streets will be crowded, so I trust that you may be in safety. And yet you cannot guard yourself too closely.” “I am armed.” “That is well. To-morrow I shall set to work upon your case.” “I shall see you at Horsham, then?” “No, your secret lies in London. It is there that I shall seek it.” “Then I shall call upon you in a day, or in two days, with news as to the box and the papers. I shall take your advice in every particular.” He shook hands with us and took his leave. Outside the wind still screamed and the rain splashed and pattered against the windows. This strange, wild story seemed to have come to us from amid the mad elements—blown in upon us like a sheet of sea-weed in a gale—and now to have been reabsorbed by them once more. Sherlock Holmes sat for some time in silence, with his head sunk forward and his eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire. Then he lit his pipe, and leaning back in his chair he watched the blue smoke-rings as they chased each other up to the ceiling. “I think, Watson,” he remarked at last, “that of all our cases we have had none more fantastic than this.” “Save, perhaps, the Sign of Four.” “Well, yes. Save, perhaps, that. And yet this John Openshaw seems to me to be walking amid even greater perils than did the Sholtos.” “But have you,” I asked, “formed any definite conception as to what these perils are?” “There can be no question as to their nature,” he answered. “Then what are they? Who is this K. K. K., and why does he pursue this unhappy family?” Sherlock Holmes closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon the arms of his chair, with his finger-tips together. “The ideal reasoner,” he remarked, “would, when he had once been shown a single fact in all its bearings, deduce from it not only all the chain of events which led up to it but also all the results which would follow from it. As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer who has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents should be able to accurately state all the other ones, both before and after. We have not yet grasped the results which the reason alone can attain to. Problems may be solved in the study which have baffled all those who have sought a solution by the aid of their senses. To carry the art, however, to its highest pitch, it is necessary that the reasoner should be able to utilise all the facts which have come to his knowledge; and this in itself implies, as you will readily see, a possession of all knowledge, which, even in these days of free education and encyclopædias, is a somewhat rare accomplishment. It is not so impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge which is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this I have endeavoured in my case to do. If I remember rightly, you on one occasion, in the early days of our friendship, defined my limits in a very precise fashion.” “Yes,” I answered, laughing. “It was a singular document. Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the mud-stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime records unique, violin-player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco. Those, I think, were the main points of my analysis.” Holmes grinned at the last item. “Well,” he said, “I say now, as I said then, that a man should keep his little brain-attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it. Now, for such a case as the one which has been submitted to us to-night, we need certainly to muster all our resources. Kindly hand me down the letter K of the _American Encyclopædia_ which stands upon the shelf beside you. Thank you. Now let us consider the situation and see what may be deduced from it. In the first place, we may start with a strong presumption that Colonel Openshaw had some very strong reason for leaving America. Men at his time of life do not change all their habits and exchange willingly the charming climate of Florida for the lonely life of an English provincial town. His extreme love of solitude in England suggests the idea that he was in fear of someone or something, so we may assume as a working hypothesis that it was fear of someone or something which drove him from America. As to what it was he feared, we can only deduce that by considering the formidable letters which were received by himself and his successors. Did you remark the postmarks of those letters?” “The first was from Pondicherry, the second from Dundee, and the third from London.” “From East London. What do you deduce from that?” “They are all seaports. That the writer was on board of a ship.” “Excellent. We have already a clue. There can be no doubt that the probability—the strong probability—is that the writer was on board of a ship. And now let us consider another point. In the case of Pondicherry, seven weeks elapsed between the threat and its fulfilment, in Dundee it was only some three or four days. Does that suggest anything?” “A greater distance to travel.” “But the letter had also a greater distance to come.” “Then I do not see the point.” “There is at least a presumption that the vessel in which the man or men are is a sailing-ship. It looks as if they always send their singular warning or token before them when starting upon their mission. You see how quickly the deed followed the sign when it came from Dundee. If they had come from Pondicherry in a steamer they would have arrived almost as soon as their letter. But, as a matter of fact, seven weeks elapsed. I think that those seven weeks represented the difference between the mail-boat which brought the letter and the sailing vessel which brought the writer.” “It is possible.” “More than that. It is probable. And now you see the deadly urgency of this new case, and why I urged young Openshaw to caution. The blow has always fallen at the end of the time which it would take the senders to travel the distance. But this one comes from London, and therefore we cannot count upon delay.” “Good God!” I cried. “What can it mean, this relentless persecution?” “The papers which Openshaw carried are obviously of vital importance to the person or persons in the sailing-ship. I think that it is quite clear that there must be more than one of them. A single man could not have carried out two deaths in such a way as to deceive a coroner’s jury. There must have been several in it, and they must have been men of resource and determination. Their papers they mean to have, be the holder of them who it may. In this way you see K. K. K. ceases to be the initials of an individual and becomes the badge of a society.” “But of what society?” “Have you never—” said Sherlock Holmes, bending forward and sinking his voice—“have you never heard of the Ku Klux Klan?” “I never have.” Holmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee. “Here it is,” said he presently: “‘Ku Klux Klan. A name derived from the fanciful resemblance to the sound produced by cocking a rifle. This terrible secret society was formed by some ex-Confederate soldiers in the Southern states after the Civil War, and it rapidly formed local branches in different parts of the country, notably in Tennessee, Louisiana, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Its power was used for political purposes, principally for the terrorising of the negro voters and the murdering and driving from the country of those who were opposed to its views. Its outrages were usually preceded by a warning sent to the marked man in some fantastic but generally recognised shape—a sprig of oak-leaves in some parts, melon seeds or orange pips in others. On receiving this the victim might either openly abjure his former ways, or might fly from the country. If he braved the matter out, death would unfailingly come upon him, and usually in some strange and unforeseen manner. So perfect was the organisation of the society, and so systematic its methods, that there is hardly a case upon record where any man succeeded in braving it with impunity, or in which any of its outrages were traced home to the perpetrators. For some years the organisation flourished in spite of the efforts of the United States government and of the better classes of the community in the South. Eventually, in the year 1869, the movement rather suddenly collapsed, although there have been sporadic outbreaks of the same sort since that date.’ “You will observe,” said Holmes, laying down the volume, “that the sudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the disappearance of Openshaw from America with their papers. It may well have been cause and effect. It is no wonder that he and his family have some of the more implacable spirits upon their track. You can understand that this register and diary may implicate some of the first men in the South, and that there may be many who will not sleep easy at night until it is recovered.” “Then the page we have seen—” “Is such as we might expect. It ran, if I remember right, ‘sent the pips to A, B, and C’—that is, sent the society’s warning to them. Then there are successive entries that A and B cleared, or left the country, and finally that C was visited, with, I fear, a sinister result for C. Well, I think, Doctor, that we may let some light into this dark place, and I believe that the only chance young Openshaw has in the meantime is to do what I have told him. There is nothing more to be said or to be done to-night, so hand me over my violin and let us try to forget for half an hour the miserable weather and the still more miserable ways of our fellow men.” It had cleared in the morning, and the sun was shining with a subdued brightness through the dim veil which hangs over the great city. Sherlock Holmes was already at breakfast when I came down. “You will excuse me for not waiting for you,” said he; “I have, I foresee, a very busy day before me in looking into this case of young Openshaw’s.” “What steps will you take?” I asked. “It will very much depend upon the results of my first inquiries. I may have to go down to Horsham, after all.” “You will not go there first?” “No, I shall commence with the City. Just ring the bell and the maid will bring up your coffee.” As I waited, I lifted the unopened newspaper from the table and glanced my eye over it. It rested upon a heading which sent a chill to my heart. “Holmes,” I cried, “you are too late.” “Ah!” said he, laying down his cup, “I feared as much. How was it done?” He spoke calmly, but I could see that he was deeply moved. “My eye caught the name of Openshaw, and the heading ‘Tragedy Near Waterloo Bridge.’ Here is the account: “‘Between nine and ten last night Police-Constable Cook, of the H Division, on duty near Waterloo Bridge, heard a cry for help and a splash in the water. The night, however, was extremely dark and stormy, so that, in spite of the help of several passers-by, it was quite impossible to effect a rescue. The alarm, however, was given, and, by the aid of the water-police, the body was eventually recovered. It proved to be that of a young gentleman whose name, as it appears from an envelope which was found in his pocket, was John Openshaw, and whose residence is near Horsham. It is conjectured that he may have been hurrying down to catch the last train from Waterloo Station, and that in his haste and the extreme darkness he missed his path and walked over the edge of one of the small landing-places for river steamboats. The body exhibited no traces of violence, and there can be no doubt that the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident, which should have the effect of calling the attention of the authorities to the condition of the riverside landing-stages.’” We sat in silence for some minutes, Holmes more depressed and shaken than I had ever seen him. “That hurts my pride, Watson,” he said at last. “It is a petty feeling, no doubt, but it hurts my pride. It becomes a personal matter with me now, and, if God sends me health, I shall set my hand upon this gang. That he should come to me for help, and that I should send him away to his death—!” He sprang from his chair and paced about the room in uncontrollable agitation, with a flush upon his sallow cheeks and a nervous clasping and unclasping of his long thin hands. “They must be cunning devils,” he exclaimed at last. “How could they have decoyed him down there? The Embankment is not on the direct line to the station. The bridge, no doubt, was too crowded, even on such a night, for their purpose. Well, Watson, we shall see who will win in the long run. I am going out now!” “To the police?” “No; I shall be my own police. When I have spun the web they may take the flies, but not before.” All day I was engaged in my professional work, and it was late in the evening before I returned to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes had not come back yet. It was nearly ten o’clock before he entered, looking pale and worn. He walked up to the sideboard, and tearing a piece from the loaf he devoured it voraciously, washing it down with a long draught of water. “You are hungry,” I remarked. “Starving. It had escaped my memory. I have had nothing since breakfast.” “Nothing?” “Not a bite. I had no time to think of it.” “And how have you succeeded?” “Well.” “You have a clue?” “I have them in the hollow of my hand. Young Openshaw shall not long remain unavenged. Why, Watson, let us put their own devilish trade-mark upon them. It is well thought of!” “What do you mean?” He took an orange from the cupboard, and tearing it to pieces he squeezed out the pips upon the table. Of these he took five and thrust them into an envelope. On the inside of the flap he wrote “S. H. for J. O.” Then he sealed it and addressed it to “Captain James Calhoun, Barque _Lone Star_, Savannah, Georgia.” “That will await him when he enters port,” said he, chuckling. “It may give him a sleepless night. He will find it as sure a precursor of his fate as Openshaw did before him.” “And who is this Captain Calhoun?” “The leader of the gang. I shall have the others, but he first.” “How did you trace it, then?” He took a large sheet of paper from his pocket, all covered with dates and names. “I have spent the whole day,” said he, “over Lloyd’s registers and files of the old papers, following the future career of every vessel which touched at Pondicherry in January and February in ’83. There were thirty-six ships of fair tonnage which were reported there during those months. Of these, one, the _Lone Star_, instantly attracted my attention, since, although it was reported as having cleared from London, the name is that which is given to one of the states of the Union.” “Texas, I think.” “I was not and am not sure which; but I knew that the ship must have an American origin.” “What then?” “I searched the Dundee records, and when I found that the barque _Lone Star_ was there in January, ’85, my suspicion became a certainty. I then inquired as to the vessels which lay at present in the port of London.” “Yes?” “The _Lone Star_ had arrived here last week. I went down to the Albert Dock and found that she had been taken down the river by the early tide this morning, homeward bound to Savannah. I wired to Gravesend and learned that she had passed some time ago, and as the wind is easterly I have no doubt that she is now past the Goodwins and not very far from the Isle of Wight.” “What will you do, then?” “Oh, I have my hand upon him. He and the two mates, are as I learn, the only native-born Americans in the ship. The others are Finns and Germans. I know, also, that they were all three away from the ship last night. I had it from the stevedore who has been loading their cargo. By the time that their sailing-ship reaches Savannah the mail-boat will have carried this letter, and the cable will have informed the police of Savannah that these three gentlemen are badly wanted here upon a charge of murder.” There is ever a flaw, however, in the best laid of human plans, and the murderers of John Openshaw were never to receive the orange pips which would show them that another, as cunning and as resolute as themselves, was upon their track. Very long and very severe were the equinoctial gales that year. We waited long for news of the _Lone Star_ of Savannah, but none ever reached us. We did at last hear that somewhere far out in the Atlantic a shattered stern-post of a boat was seen swinging in the trough of a wave, with the letters “L. S.” carved upon it, and that is all which we shall ever know of the fate of the _Lone Star_. VI. THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP Isa Whitney, brother of the late Elias Whitney, D.D., Principal of the Theological College of St. George’s, was much addicted to opium. The habit grew upon him, as I understand, from some foolish freak when he was at college; for having read De Quincey’s description of his dreams and sensations, he had drenched his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt to produce the same effects. He found, as so many more have done, that the practice is easier to attain than to get rid of, and for many years he continued to be a slave to the drug, an object of mingled horror and pity to his friends and relatives. I can see him now, with yellow, pasty face, drooping lids, and pin-point pupils, all huddled in a chair, the wreck and ruin of a noble man. One night—it was in June, ’89—there came a ring to my bell, about the hour when a man gives his first yawn and glances at the clock. I sat up in my chair, and my wife laid her needle-work down in her lap and made a little face of disappointment. “A patient!” said she. “You’ll have to go out.” I groaned, for I was newly come back from a weary day. We heard the door open, a few hurried words, and then quick steps upon the linoleum. Our own door flew open, and a lady, clad in some dark-coloured stuff, with a black veil, entered the room. “You will excuse my calling so late,” she began, and then, suddenly losing her self-control, she ran forward, threw her arms about my wife’s neck, and sobbed upon her shoulder. “Oh, I’m in such trouble!” she cried; “I do so want a little help.” “Why,” said my wife, pulling up her veil, “it is Kate Whitney. How you startled me, Kate! I had not an idea who you were when you came in.” “I didn’t know what to do, so I came straight to you.” That was always the way. Folk who were in grief came to my wife like birds to a lighthouse. “It was very sweet of you to come. Now, you must have some wine and water, and sit here comfortably and tell us all about it. Or should you rather that I sent James off to bed?” “Oh, no, no! I want the doctor’s advice and help, too. It’s about Isa. He has not been home for two days. I am so frightened about him!” It was not the first time that she had spoken to us of her husband’s trouble, to me as a doctor, to my wife as an old friend and school companion. We soothed and comforted her by such words as we could find. Did she know where her husband was? Was it possible that we could bring him back to her? It seems that it was. She had the surest information that of late he had, when the fit was on him, made use of an opium den in the farthest east of the City. Hitherto his orgies had always been confined to one day, and he had come back, twitching and shattered, in the evening. But now the spell had been upon him eight-and-forty hours, and he lay there, doubtless among the dregs of the docks, breathing in the poison or sleeping off the effects. There he was to be found, she was sure of it, at the Bar of Gold, in Upper Swandam Lane. But what was she to do? How could she, a young and timid woman, make her way into such a place and pluck her husband out from among the ruffians who surrounded him? There was the case, and of course there was but one way out of it. Might I not escort her to this place? And then, as a second thought, why should she come at all? I was Isa Whitney’s medical adviser, and as such I had influence over him. I could manage it better if I were alone. I promised her on my word that I would send him home in a cab within two hours if he were indeed at the address which she had given me. And so in ten minutes I had left my armchair and cheery sitting-room behind me, and was speeding eastward in a hansom on a strange errand, as it seemed to me at the time, though the future only could show how strange it was to be. But there was no great difficulty in the first stage of my adventure. Upper Swandam Lane is a vile alley lurking behind the high wharves which line the north side of the river to the east of London Bridge. Between a slop-shop and a gin-shop, approached by a steep flight of steps leading down to a black gap like the mouth of a cave, I found the den of which I was in search. Ordering my cab to wait, I passed down the steps, worn hollow in the centre by the ceaseless tread of drunken feet; and by the light of a flickering oil-lamp above the door I found the latch and made my way into a long, low room, thick and heavy with the brown opium smoke, and terraced with wooden berths, like the forecastle of an emigrant ship. Through the gloom one could dimly catch a glimpse of bodies lying in strange fantastic poses, bowed shoulders, bent knees, heads thrown back, and chins pointing upward, with here and there a dark, lack-lustre eye turned upon the newcomer. Out of the black shadows there glimmered little red circles of light, now bright, now faint, as the burning poison waxed or waned in the bowls of the metal pipes. The most lay silent, but some muttered to themselves, and others talked together in a strange, low, monotonous voice, their conversation coming in gushes, and then suddenly tailing off into silence, each mumbling out his own thoughts and paying little heed to the words of his neighbour. At the farther end was a small brazier of burning charcoal, beside which on a three-legged wooden stool there sat a tall, thin old man, with his jaw resting upon his two fists, and his elbows upon his knees, staring into the fire. As I entered, a sallow Malay attendant had hurried up with a pipe for me and a supply of the drug, beckoning me to an empty berth. “Thank you. I have not come to stay,” said I. “There is a friend of mine here, Mr. Isa Whitney, and I wish to speak with him.” There was a movement and an exclamation from my right, and peering through the gloom, I saw Whitney, pale, haggard, and unkempt, staring out at me. “My God! It’s Watson,” said he. He was in a pitiable state of reaction, with every nerve in a twitter. “I say, Watson, what o’clock is it?” “Nearly eleven.” “Of what day?” “Of Friday, June 19th.” “Good heavens! I thought it was Wednesday. It is Wednesday. What d’you want to frighten a chap for?” He sank his face onto his arms and began to sob in a high treble key. “I tell you that it is Friday, man. Your wife has been waiting this two days for you. You should be ashamed of yourself!” “So I am. But you’ve got mixed, Watson, for I have only been here a few hours, three pipes, four pipes—I forget how many. But I’ll go home with you. I wouldn’t frighten Kate—poor little Kate. Give me your hand! Have you a cab?” “Yes, I have one waiting.” “Then I shall go in it. But I must owe something. Find what I owe, Watson. I am all off colour. I can do nothing for myself.” I walked down the narrow passage between the double row of sleepers, holding my breath to keep out the vile, stupefying fumes of the drug, and looking about for the manager. As I passed the tall man who sat by the brazier I felt a sudden pluck at my skirt, and a low voice whispered, “Walk past me, and then look back at me.” The words fell quite distinctly upon my ear. I glanced down. They could only have come from the old man at my side, and yet he sat now as absorbed as ever, very thin, very wrinkled, bent with age, an opium pipe dangling down from between his knees, as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude from his fingers. I took two steps forward and looked back. It took all my self-control to prevent me from breaking out into a cry of astonishment. He had turned his back so that none could see him but I. His form had filled out, his wrinkles were gone, the dull eyes had regained their fire, and there, sitting by the fire and grinning at my surprise, was none other than Sherlock Holmes. He made a slight motion to me to approach him, and instantly, as he turned his face half round to the company once more, subsided into a doddering, loose-lipped senility. “Holmes!” I whispered, “what on earth are you doing in this den?” “As low as you can,” he answered; “I have excellent ears. If you would have the great kindness to get rid of that sottish friend of yours I should be exceedingly glad to have a little talk with you.” “I have a cab outside.” “Then pray send him home in it. You may safely trust him, for he appears to be too limp to get into any mischief. I should recommend you also to send a note by the cabman to your wife to say that you have thrown in your lot with me. If you will wait outside, I shall be with you in five minutes.” It was difficult to refuse any of Sherlock Holmes’ requests, for they were always so exceedingly definite, and put forward with such a quiet air of mastery. I felt, however, that when Whitney was once confined in the cab my mission was practically accomplished; and for the rest, I could not wish anything better than to be associated with my friend in one of those singular adventures which were the normal condition of his existence. In a few minutes I had written my note, paid Whitney’s bill, led him out to the cab, and seen him driven through the darkness. In a very short time a decrepit figure had emerged from the opium den, and I was walking down the street with Sherlock Holmes. For two streets he shuffled along with a bent back and an uncertain foot. Then, glancing quickly round, he straightened himself out and burst into a hearty fit of laughter. “I suppose, Watson,” said he, “that you imagine that I have added opium-smoking to cocaine injections, and all the other little weaknesses on which you have favoured me with your medical views.” “I was certainly surprised to find you there.” “But not more so than I to find you.” “I came to find a friend.” “And I to find an enemy.” “An enemy?” “Yes; one of my natural enemies, or, shall I say, my natural prey. Briefly, Watson, I am in the midst of a very remarkable inquiry, and I have hoped to find a clue in the incoherent ramblings of these sots, as I have done before now. Had I been recognised in that den my life would not have been worth an hour’s purchase; for I have used it before now for my own purposes, and the rascally Lascar who runs it has sworn to have vengeance upon me. There is a trap-door at the back of that building, near the corner of Paul’s Wharf, which could tell some strange tales of what has passed through it upon the moonless nights.” “What! You do not mean bodies?” “Ay, bodies, Watson. We should be rich men if we had £ 1000 for every poor devil who has been done to death in that den. It is the vilest murder-trap on the whole riverside, and I fear that Neville St. Clair has entered it never to leave it more. But our trap should be here.” He put his two forefingers between his teeth and whistled shrilly—a signal which was answered by a similar whistle from the distance, followed shortly by the rattle of wheels and the clink of horses’ hoofs. “Now, Watson,” said Holmes, as a tall dog-cart dashed up through the gloom, throwing out two golden tunnels of yellow light from its side lanterns. “You’ll come with me, won’t you?” “If I can be of use.” “Oh, a trusty comrade is always of use; and a chronicler still more so. My room at The Cedars is a double-bedded one.” “The Cedars?” “Yes; that is Mr. St. Clair’s house. I am staying there while I conduct the inquiry.” “Where is it, then?” “Near Lee, in Kent. We have a seven-mile drive before us.” “But I am all in the dark.” “Of course you are. You’ll know all about it presently. Jump up here. All right, John; we shall not need you. Here’s half a crown. Look out for me to-morrow, about eleven. Give her her head. So long, then!” He flicked the horse with his whip, and we dashed away through the endless succession of sombre and deserted streets, which widened gradually, until we were flying across a broad balustraded bridge, with the murky river flowing sluggishly beneath us. Beyond lay another dull wilderness of bricks and mortar, its silence broken only by the heavy, regular footfall of the policeman, or the songs and shouts of some belated party of revellers. A dull wrack was drifting slowly across the sky, and a star or two twinkled dimly here and there through the rifts of the clouds. Holmes drove in silence, with his head sunk upon his breast, and the air of a man who is lost in thought, while I sat beside him, curious to learn what this new quest might be which seemed to tax his powers so sorely, and yet afraid to break in upon the current of his thoughts. We had driven several miles, and were beginning to get to the fringe of the belt of suburban villas, when he shook himself, shrugged his shoulders, and lit up his pipe with the air of a man who has satisfied himself that he is acting for the best. “You have a grand gift of silence, Watson,” said he. “It makes you quite invaluable as a companion. ’Pon my word, it is a great thing for me to have someone to talk to, for my own thoughts are not over-pleasant. I was wondering what I should say to this dear little woman to-night when she meets me at the door.” “You forget that I know nothing about it.” “I shall just have time to tell you the facts of the case before we get to Lee. It seems absurdly simple, and yet, somehow I can get nothing to go upon. There’s plenty of thread, no doubt, but I can’t get the end of it into my hand. Now, I’ll state the case clearly and concisely to you, Watson, and maybe you can see a spark where all is dark to me.” “Proceed, then.” “Some years ago—to be definite, in May, 1884—there came to Lee a gentleman, Neville St. Clair by name, who appeared to have plenty of money. He took a large villa, laid out the grounds very nicely, and lived generally in good style. By degrees he made friends in the neighbourhood, and in 1887 he married the daughter of a local brewer, by whom he now has two children. He had no occupation, but was interested in several companies and went into town as a rule in the morning, returning by the 5:14 from Cannon Street every night. Mr. St. Clair is now thirty-seven years of age, is a man of temperate habits, a good husband, a very affectionate father, and a man who is popular with all who know him. I may add that his whole debts at the present moment, as far as we have been able to ascertain, amount to £ 88 10_s_., while he has £ 220 standing to his credit in the Capital and Counties Bank. There is no reason, therefore, to think that money troubles have been weighing upon his mind. “Last Monday Mr. Neville St. Clair went into town rather earlier than usual, remarking before he started that he had two important commissions to perform, and that he would bring his little boy home a box of bricks. Now, by the merest chance, his wife received a telegram upon this same Monday, very shortly after his departure, to the effect that a small parcel of considerable value which she had been expecting was waiting for her at the offices of the Aberdeen Shipping Company. Now, if you are well up in your London, you will know that the office of the company is in Fresno Street, which branches out of Upper Swandam Lane, where you found me to-night. Mrs. St. Clair had her lunch, started for the City, did some shopping, proceeded to the company’s office, got her packet, and found herself at exactly 4:35 walking through Swandam Lane on her way back to the station. Have you followed me so far?” “It is very clear.” “If you remember, Monday was an exceedingly hot day, and Mrs. St. Clair walked slowly, glancing about in the hope of seeing a cab, as she did not like the neighbourhood in which she found herself. While she was walking in this way down Swandam Lane, she suddenly heard an ejaculation or cry, and was struck cold to see her husband looking down at her and, as it seemed to her, beckoning to her from a second-floor window. The window was open, and she distinctly saw his face, which she describes as being terribly agitated. He waved his hands frantically to her, and then vanished from the window so suddenly that it seemed to her that he had been plucked back by some irresistible force from behind. One singular point which struck her quick feminine eye was that although he wore some dark coat, such as he had started to town in, he had on neither collar nor necktie. “Convinced that something was amiss with him, she rushed down the steps—for the house was none other than the opium den in which you found me to-night—and running through the front room she attempted to ascend the stairs which led to the first floor. At the foot of the stairs, however, she met this Lascar scoundrel of whom I have spoken, who thrust her back and, aided by a Dane, who acts as assistant there, pushed her out into the street. Filled with the most maddening doubts and fears, she rushed down the lane and, by rare good-fortune, met in Fresno Street a number of constables with an inspector, all on their way to their beat. The inspector and two men accompanied her back, and in spite of the continued resistance of the proprietor, they made their way to the room in which Mr. St. Clair had last been seen. There was no sign of him there. In fact, in the whole of that floor there was no one to be found save a crippled wretch of hideous aspect, who, it seems, made his home there. Both he and the Lascar stoutly swore that no one else had been in the front room during the afternoon. So determined was their denial that the inspector was staggered, and had almost come to believe that Mrs. St. Clair had been deluded when, with a cry, she sprang at a small deal box which lay upon the table and tore the lid from it. Out there fell a cascade of children’s bricks. It was the toy which he had promised to bring home. “This discovery, and the evident confusion which the cripple showed, made the inspector realise that the matter was serious. The rooms were carefully examined, and results all pointed to an abominable crime. The front room was plainly furnished as a sitting-room and led into a small bedroom, which looked out upon the back of one of the wharves. Between the wharf and the bedroom window is a narrow strip, which is dry at low tide but is covered at high tide with at least four and a half feet of water. The bedroom window was a broad one and opened from below. On examination traces of blood were to be seen upon the windowsill, and several scattered drops were visible upon the wooden floor of the bedroom. Thrust away behind a curtain in the front room were all the clothes of Mr. Neville St. Clair, with the exception of his coat. His boots, his socks, his hat, and his watch—all were there. There were no signs of violence upon any of these garments, and there were no other traces of Mr. Neville St. Clair. Out of the window he must apparently have gone for no other exit could be discovered, and the ominous bloodstains upon the sill gave little promise that he could save himself by swimming, for the tide was at its very highest at the moment of the tragedy. “And now as to the villains who seemed to be immediately implicated in the matter. The Lascar was known to be a man of the vilest antecedents, but as, by Mrs. St. Clair’s story, he was known to have been at the foot of the stair within a very few seconds of her husband’s appearance at the window, he could hardly have been more than an accessory to the crime. His defence was one of absolute ignorance, and he protested that he had no knowledge as to the doings of Hugh Boone, his lodger, and that he could not account in any way for the presence of the missing gentleman’s clothes. “So much for the Lascar manager. Now for the sinister cripple who lives upon the second floor of the opium den, and who was certainly the last human being whose eyes rested upon Neville St. Clair. His name is Hugh Boone, and his hideous face is one which is familiar to every man who goes much to the City. He is a professional beggar, though in order to avoid the police regulations he pretends to a small trade in wax vestas. Some little distance down Threadneedle Street, upon the left-hand side, there is, as you may have remarked, a small angle in the wall. Here it is that this creature takes his daily seat, cross-legged with his tiny stock of matches on his lap, and as he is a piteous spectacle a small rain of charity descends into the greasy leather cap which lies upon the pavement beside him. I have watched the fellow more than once before ever I thought of making his professional acquaintance, and I have been surprised at the harvest which he has reaped in a short time. His appearance, you see, is so remarkable that no one can pass him without observing him. A shock of orange hair, a pale face disfigured by a horrible scar, which, by its contraction, has turned up the outer edge of his upper lip, a bulldog chin, and a pair of very penetrating dark eyes, which present a singular contrast to the colour of his hair, all mark him out from amid the common crowd of mendicants and so, too, does his wit, for he is ever ready with a reply to any piece of chaff which may be thrown at him by the passers-by. This is the man whom we now learn to have been the lodger at the opium den, and to have been the last man to see the gentleman of whom we are in quest.” “But a cripple!” said I. “What could he have done single-handed against a man in the prime of life?” “He is a cripple in the sense that he walks with a limp; but in other respects he appears to be a powerful and well-nurtured man. Surely your medical experience would tell you, Watson, that weakness in one limb is often compensated for by exceptional strength in the others.” “Pray continue your narrative.” “Mrs. St. Clair had fainted at the sight of the blood upon the window, and she was escorted home in a cab by the police, as her presence could be of no help to them in their investigations. Inspector Barton, who had charge of the case, made a very careful examination of the premises, but without finding anything which threw any light upon the matter. One mistake had been made in not arresting Boone instantly, as he was allowed some few minutes during which he might have communicated with his friend the Lascar, but this fault was soon remedied, and he was seized and searched, without anything being found which could incriminate him. There were, it is true, some blood-stains upon his right shirt-sleeve, but he pointed to his ring-finger, which had been cut near the nail, and explained that the bleeding came from there, adding that he had been to the window not long before, and that the stains which had been observed there came doubtless from the same source. He denied strenuously having ever seen Mr. Neville St. Clair and swore that the presence of the clothes in his room was as much a mystery to him as to the police. As to Mrs. St. Clair’s assertion that she had actually seen her husband at the window, he declared that she must have been either mad or dreaming. He was removed, loudly protesting, to the police-station, while the inspector remained upon the premises in the hope that the ebbing tide might afford some fresh clue. “And it did, though they hardly found upon the mud-bank what they had feared to find. It was Neville St. Clair’s coat, and not Neville St. Clair, which lay uncovered as the tide receded. And what do you think they found in the pockets?” “I cannot imagine.” “No, I don’t think you would guess. Every pocket stuffed with pennies and half-pennies—421 pennies and 270 half-pennies. It was no wonder that it had not been swept away by the tide. But a human body is a different matter. There is a fierce eddy between the wharf and the house. It seemed likely enough that the weighted coat had remained when the stripped body had been sucked away into the river.” “But I understand that all the other clothes were found in the room. Would the body be dressed in a coat alone?” “No, sir, but the facts might be met speciously enough. Suppose that this man Boone had thrust Neville St. Clair through the window, there is no human eye which could have seen the deed. What would he do then? It would of course instantly strike him that he must get rid of the tell-tale garments. He would seize the coat, then, and be in the act of throwing it out, when it would occur to him that it would swim and not sink. He has little time, for he has heard the scuffle downstairs when the wife tried to force her way up, and perhaps he has already heard from his Lascar confederate that the police are hurrying up the street. There is not an instant to be lost. He rushes to some secret hoard, where he has accumulated the fruits of his beggary, and he stuffs all the coins upon which he can lay his hands into the pockets to make sure of the coat’s sinking. He throws it out, and would have done the same with the other garments had not he heard the rush of steps below, and only just had time to close the window when the police appeared.” “It certainly sounds feasible.” “Well, we will take it as a working hypothesis for want of a better. Boone, as I have told you, was arrested and taken to the station, but it could not be shown that there had ever before been anything against him. He had for years been known as a professional beggar, but his life appeared to have been a very quiet and innocent one. There the matter stands at present, and the questions which have to be solved—what Neville St. Clair was doing in the opium den, what happened to him when there, where is he now, and what Hugh Boone had to do with his disappearance—are all as far from a solution as ever. I confess that I cannot recall any case within my experience which looked at the first glance so simple and yet which presented such difficulties.” While Sherlock Holmes had been detailing this singular series of events, we had been whirling through the outskirts of the great town until the last straggling houses had been left behind, and we rattled along with a country hedge upon either side of us. Just as he finished, however, we drove through two scattered villages, where a few lights still glimmered in the windows. “We are on the outskirts of Lee,” said my companion. “We have touched on three English counties in our short drive, starting in Middlesex, passing over an angle of Surrey, and ending in Kent. See that light among the trees? That is The Cedars, and beside that lamp sits a woman whose anxious ears have already, I have little doubt, caught the clink of our horse’s feet.” “But why are you not conducting the case from Baker Street?” I asked. “Because there are many inquiries which must be made out here. Mrs. St. Clair has most kindly put two rooms at my disposal, and you may rest assured that she will have nothing but a welcome for my friend and colleague. I hate to meet her, Watson, when I have no news of her husband. Here we are. Whoa, there, whoa!” We had pulled up in front of a large villa which stood within its own grounds. A stable-boy had run out to the horse’s head, and springing down, I followed Holmes up the small, winding gravel-drive which led to the house. As we approached, the door flew open, and a little blonde woman stood in the opening, clad in some sort of light mousseline de soie, with a touch of fluffy pink chiffon at her neck and wrists. She stood with her figure outlined against the flood of light, one hand upon the door, one half-raised in her eagerness, her body slightly bent, her head and face protruded, with eager eyes and parted lips, a standing question. “Well?” she cried, “well?” And then, seeing that there were two of us, she gave a cry of hope which sank into a groan as she saw that my companion shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “No good news?” “None.” “No bad?” “No.” “Thank God for that. But come in. You must be weary, for you have had a long day.” “This is my friend, Dr. Watson. He has been of most vital use to me in several of my cases, and a lucky chance has made it possible for me to bring him out and associate him with this investigation.” “I am delighted to see you,” said she, pressing my hand warmly. “You will, I am sure, forgive anything that may be wanting in our arrangements, when you consider the blow which has come so suddenly upon us.” “My dear madam,” said I, “I am an old campaigner, and if I were not I can very well see that no apology is needed. If I can be of any assistance, either to you or to my friend here, I shall be indeed happy.” “Now, Mr. Sherlock Holmes,” said the lady as we entered a well-lit dining-room, upon the table of which a cold supper had been laid out, “I should very much like to ask you one or two plain questions, to which I beg that you will give a plain answer.” “Certainly, madam.” “Do not trouble about my feelings. I am not hysterical, nor given to fainting. I simply wish to hear your real, real opinion.” “Upon what point?” “In your heart of hearts, do you think that Neville is alive?” Sherlock Holmes seemed to be embarrassed by the question. “Frankly, now!” she repeated, standing upon the rug and looking keenly down at him as he leaned back in a basket-chair. “Frankly, then, madam, I do not.” “You think that he is dead?” “I do.” “Murdered?” “I don’t say that. Perhaps.” “And on what day did he meet his death?” “On Monday.” “Then perhaps, Mr. Holmes, you will be good enough to explain how it is that I have received a letter from him to-day.” Sherlock Holmes sprang out of his chair as if he had been galvanised. “What!” he roared. “Yes, to-day.” She stood smiling, holding up a little slip of paper in the air. “May I see it?” “Certainly.” He snatched it from her in his eagerness, and smoothing it out upon the table he drew over the lamp and examined it intently. I had left my chair and was gazing at it over his shoulder. The envelope was a very coarse one and was stamped with the Gravesend postmark and with the date of that very day, or rather of the day before, for it was considerably after midnight. “Coarse writing,” murmured Holmes. “Surely this is not your husband’s writing, madam.” “No, but the enclosure is.” “I perceive also that whoever addressed the envelope had to go and inquire as to the address.” “How can you tell that?” “The name, you see, is in perfectly black ink, which has dried itself. The rest is of the greyish colour, which shows that blotting-paper has been used. If it had been written straight off, and then blotted, none would be of a deep black shade. This man has written the name, and there has then been a pause before he wrote the address, which can only mean that he was not familiar with it. It is, of course, a trifle, but there is nothing so important as trifles. Let us now see the letter. Ha! there has been an enclosure here!” “Yes, there was a ring. His signet-ring.” “And you are sure that this is your husband’s hand?” “One of his hands.” “One?” “His hand when he wrote hurriedly. It is very unlike his usual writing, and yet I know it well.” “‘Dearest do not be frightened. All will come well. There is a huge error which it may take some little time to rectify. Wait in patience.—NEVILLE.’ Written in pencil upon the fly-leaf of a book, octavo size, no water-mark. Hum! Posted to-day in Gravesend by a man with a dirty thumb. Ha! And the flap has been gummed, if I am not very much in error, by a person who had been chewing tobacco. And you have no doubt that it is your husband’s hand, madam?” “None. Neville wrote those words.” “And they were posted to-day at Gravesend. Well, Mrs. St. Clair, the clouds lighten, though I should not venture to say that the danger is over.” “But he must be alive, Mr. Holmes.” “Unless this is a clever forgery to put us on the wrong scent. The ring, after all, proves nothing. It may have been taken from him.” “No, no; it is, it is his very own writing!” “Very well. It may, however, have been written on Monday and only posted to-day.” “That is possible.” “If so, much may have happened between.” “Oh, you must not discourage me, Mr. Holmes. I know that all is well with him. There is so keen a sympathy between us that I should know if evil came upon him. On the very day that I saw him last he cut himself in the bedroom, and yet I in the dining-room rushed upstairs instantly with the utmost certainty that something had happened. Do you think that I would respond to such a trifle and yet be ignorant of his death?” “I have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman may be more valuable than the conclusion of an analytical reasoner. And in this letter you certainly have a very strong piece of evidence to corroborate your view. But if your husband is alive and able to write letters, why should he remain away from you?” “I cannot imagine. It is unthinkable.” “And on Monday he made no remarks before leaving you?” “No.” “And you were surprised to see him in Swandam Lane?” “Very much so.” “Was the window open?” “Yes.” “Then he might have called to you?” “He might.” “He only, as I understand, gave an inarticulate cry?” “Yes.” “A call for help, you thought?” “Yes. He waved his hands.” “But it might have been a cry of surprise. Astonishment at the unexpected sight of you might cause him to throw up his hands?” “It is possible.” “And you thought he was pulled back?” “He disappeared so suddenly.” “He might have leaped back. You did not see anyone else in the room?” “No, but this horrible man confessed to having been there, and the Lascar was at the foot of the stairs.” “Quite so. Your husband, as far as you could see, had his ordinary clothes on?” “But without his collar or tie. I distinctly saw his bare throat.” “Had he ever spoken of Swandam Lane?” “Never.” “Had he ever showed any signs of having taken opium?” “Never.” “Thank you, Mrs. St. Clair. Those are the principal points about which I wished to be absolutely clear. We shall now have a little supper and then retire, for we may have a very busy day to-morrow.” A large and comfortable double-bedded room had been placed at our disposal, and I was quickly between the sheets, for I was weary after my night of adventure. Sherlock Holmes was a man, however, who, when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind, would go for days, and even for a week, without rest, turning it over, rearranging his facts, looking at it from every point of view until he had either fathomed it or convinced himself that his data were insufficient. It was soon evident to me that he was now preparing for an all-night sitting. He took off his coat and waistcoat, put on a large blue dressing-gown, and then wandered about the room collecting pillows from his bed and cushions from the sofa and armchairs. With these he constructed a sort of Eastern divan, upon which he perched himself cross-legged, with an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches laid out in front of him. In the dim light of the lamp I saw him sitting there, an old briar pipe between his lips, his eyes fixed vacantly upon the corner of the ceiling, the blue smoke curling up from him, silent, motionless, with the light shining upon his strong-set aquiline features. So he sat as I dropped off to sleep, and so he sat when a sudden ejaculation caused me to wake up, and I found the summer sun shining into the apartment. The pipe was still between his lips, the smoke still curled upward, and the room was full of a dense tobacco haze, but nothing remained of the heap of shag which I had seen upon the previous night. “Awake, Watson?” he asked. “Yes.” “Game for a morning drive?” “Certainly.” “Then dress. No one is stirring yet, but I know where the stable-boy sleeps, and we shall soon have the trap out.” He chuckled to himself as he spoke, his eyes twinkled, and he seemed a different man to the sombre thinker of the previous night. As I dressed I glanced at my watch. It was no wonder that no one was stirring. It was twenty-five minutes past four. I had hardly finished when Holmes returned with the news that the boy was putting in the horse. “I want to test a little theory of mine,” said he, pulling on his boots. “I think, Watson, that you are now standing in the presence of one of the most absolute fools in Europe. I deserve to be kicked from here to Charing Cross. But I think I have the key of the affair now.” “And where is it?” I asked, smiling. “In the bathroom,” he answered. “Oh, yes, I am not joking,” he continued, seeing my look of incredulity. “I have just been there, and I have taken it out, and I have got it in this Gladstone bag. Come on, my boy, and we shall see whether it will not fit the lock.” We made our way downstairs as quietly as possible, and out into the bright morning sunshine. In the road stood our horse and trap, with the half-clad stable-boy waiting at the head. We both sprang in, and away we dashed down the London Road. A few country carts were stirring, bearing in vegetables to the metropolis, but the lines of villas on either side were as silent and lifeless as some city in a dream. “It has been in some points a singular case,” said Holmes, flicking the horse on into a gallop. “I confess that I have been as blind as a mole, but it is better to learn wisdom late than never to learn it at all.” In town the earliest risers were just beginning to look sleepily from their windows as we drove through the streets of the Surrey side. Passing down the Waterloo Bridge Road we crossed over the river, and dashing up Wellington Street wheeled sharply to the right and found ourselves in Bow Street. Sherlock Holmes was well known to the force, and the two constables at the door saluted him. One of them held the horse’s head while the other led us in. “Who is on duty?” asked Holmes. “Inspector Bradstreet, sir.” “Ah, Bradstreet, how are you?” A tall, stout official had come down the stone-flagged passage, in a peaked cap and frogged jacket. “I wish to have a quiet word with you, Bradstreet.” “Certainly, Mr. Holmes. Step into my room here.” It was a small, office-like room, with a huge ledger upon the table, and a telephone projecting from the wall. The inspector sat down at his desk. “What can I do for you, Mr. Holmes?” “I called about that beggarman, Boone—the one who was charged with being concerned in the disappearance of Mr. Neville St. Clair, of Lee.” “Yes. He was brought up and remanded for further inquiries.” “So I heard. You have him here?” “In the cells.” “Is he quiet?” “Oh, he gives no trouble. But he is a dirty scoundrel.” “Dirty?” “Yes, it is all we can do to make him wash his hands, and his face is as black as a tinker’s. Well, when once his case has been settled, he will have a regular prison bath; and I think, if you saw him, you would agree with me that he needed it.” “I should like to see him very much.” “Would you? That is easily done. Come this way. You can leave your bag.” “No, I think that I’ll take it.” “Very good. Come this way, if you please.” He led us down a passage, opened a barred door, passed down a winding stair, and brought us to a whitewashed corridor with a line of doors on each side. “The third on the right is his,” said the inspector. “Here it is!” He quietly shot back a panel in the upper part of the door and glanced through. “He is asleep,” said he. “You can see him very well.” We both put our eyes to the grating. The prisoner lay with his face towards us, in a very deep sleep, breathing slowly and heavily. He was a middle-sized man, coarsely clad as became his calling, with a coloured shirt protruding through the rent in his tattered coat. He was, as the inspector had said, extremely dirty, but the grime which covered his face could not conceal its repulsive ugliness. A broad wheal from an old scar ran right across it from eye to chin, and by its contraction had turned up one side of the upper lip, so that three teeth were exposed in a perpetual snarl. A shock of very bright red hair grew low over his eyes and forehead. “He’s a beauty, isn’t he?” said the inspector. “He certainly needs a wash,” remarked Holmes. “I had an idea that he might, and I took the liberty of bringing the tools with me.” He opened the Gladstone bag as he spoke, and took out, to my astonishment, a very large bath-sponge. “He! he! You are a funny one,” chuckled the inspector. “Now, if you will have the great goodness to open that door very quietly, we will soon make him cut a much more respectable figure.” “Well, I don’t know why not,” said the inspector. “He doesn’t look a credit to the Bow Street cells, does he?” He slipped his key into the lock, and we all very quietly entered the cell. The sleeper half turned, and then settled down once more into a deep slumber. Holmes stooped to the water-jug, moistened his sponge, and then rubbed it twice vigorously across and down the prisoner’s face. “Let me introduce you,” he shouted, “to Mr. Neville St. Clair, of Lee, in the county of Kent.” Never in my life have I seen such a sight. The man’s face peeled off under the sponge like the bark from a tree. Gone was the coarse brown tint! Gone, too, was the horrid scar which had seamed it across, and the twisted lip which had given the repulsive sneer to the face! A twitch brought away the tangled red hair, and there, sitting up in his bed, was a pale, sad-faced, refined-looking man, black-haired and smooth-skinned, rubbing his eyes and staring about him with sleepy bewilderment. Then suddenly realising the exposure, he broke into a scream and threw himself down with his face to the pillow. “Great heavens!” cried the inspector, “it is, indeed, the missing man. I know him from the photograph.” The prisoner turned with the reckless air of a man who abandons himself to his destiny. “Be it so,” said he. “And pray what am I charged with?” “With making away with Mr. Neville St.— Oh, come, you can’t be charged with that unless they make a case of attempted suicide of it,” said the inspector with a grin. “Well, I have been twenty-seven years in the force, but this really takes the cake.” “If I am Mr. Neville St. Clair, then it is obvious that no crime has been committed, and that, therefore, I am illegally detained.” “No crime, but a very great error has been committed,” said Holmes. “You would have done better to have trusted your wife.” “It was not the wife; it was the children,” groaned the prisoner. “God help me, I would not have them ashamed of their father. My God! What an exposure! What can I do?” Sherlock Holmes sat down beside him on the couch and patted him kindly on the shoulder. “If you leave it to a court of law to clear the matter up,” said he, “of course you can hardly avoid publicity. On the other hand, if you convince the police authorities that there is no possible case against you, I do not know that there is any reason that the details should find their way into the papers. Inspector Bradstreet would, I am sure, make notes upon anything which you might tell us and submit it to the proper authorities. The case would then never go into court at all.” “God bless you!” cried the prisoner passionately. “I would have endured imprisonment, ay, even execution, rather than have left my miserable secret as a family blot to my children. “You are the first who have ever heard my story. My father was a schoolmaster in Chesterfield, where I received an excellent education. I travelled in my youth, took to the stage, and finally became a reporter on an evening paper in London. One day my editor wished to have a series of articles upon begging in the metropolis, and I volunteered to supply them. There was the point from which all my adventures started. It was only by trying begging as an amateur that I could get the facts upon which to base my articles. When an actor I had, of course, learned all the secrets of making up, and had been famous in the green-room for my skill. I took advantage now of my attainments. I painted my face, and to make myself as pitiable as possible I made a good scar and fixed one side of my lip in a twist by the aid of a small slip of flesh-coloured plaster. Then with a red head of hair, and an appropriate dress, I took my station in the business part of the city, ostensibly as a match-seller but really as a beggar. For seven hours I plied my trade, and when I returned home in the evening I found to my surprise that I had received no less than 26_s_. 4_d_. “I wrote my articles and thought little more of the matter until, some time later, I backed a bill for a friend and had a writ served upon me for £ 25. I was at my wit’s end where to get the money, but a sudden idea came to me. I begged a fortnight’s grace from the creditor, asked for a holiday from my employers, and spent the time in begging in the City under my disguise. In ten days I had the money and had paid the debt. “Well, you can imagine how hard it was to settle down to arduous work at £ 2 a week when I knew that I could earn as much in a day by smearing my face with a little paint, laying my cap on the ground, and sitting still. It was a long fight between my pride and the money, but the dollars won at last, and I threw up reporting and sat day after day in the corner which I had first chosen, inspiring pity by my ghastly face and filling my pockets with coppers. Only one man knew my secret. He was the keeper of a low den in which I used to lodge in Swandam Lane, where I could every morning emerge as a squalid beggar and in the evenings transform myself into a well-dressed man about town. This fellow, a Lascar, was well paid by me for his rooms, so that I knew that my secret was safe in his possession. “Well, very soon I found that I was saving considerable sums of money. I do not mean that any beggar in the streets of London could earn £ 700 a year—which is less than my average takings—but I had exceptional advantages in my power of making up, and also in a facility of repartee, which improved by practice and made me quite a recognised character in the City. All day a stream of pennies, varied by silver, poured in upon me, and it was a very bad day in which I failed to take £ 2. “As I grew richer I grew more ambitious, took a house in the country, and eventually married, without anyone having a suspicion as to my real occupation. My dear wife knew that I had business in the City. She little knew what. “Last Monday I had finished for the day and was dressing in my room above the opium den when I looked out of my window and saw, to my horror and astonishment, that my wife was standing in the street, with her eyes fixed full upon me. I gave a cry of surprise, threw up my arms to cover my face, and, rushing to my confidant, the Lascar, entreated him to prevent anyone from coming up to me. I heard her voice downstairs, but I knew that she could not ascend. Swiftly I threw off my clothes, pulled on those of a beggar, and put on my pigments and wig. Even a wife’s eyes could not pierce so complete a disguise. But then it occurred to me that there might be a search in the room, and that the clothes might betray me. I threw open the window, reopening by my violence a small cut which I had inflicted upon myself in the bedroom that morning. Then I seized my coat, which was weighted by the coppers which I had just transferred to it from the leather bag in which I carried my takings. I hurled it out of the window, and it disappeared into the Thames. The other clothes would have followed, but at that moment there was a rush of constables up the stair, and a few minutes after I found, rather, I confess, to my relief, that instead of being identified as Mr. Neville St. Clair, I was arrested as his murderer. “I do not know that there is anything else for me to explain. I was determined to preserve my disguise as long as possible, and hence my preference for a dirty face. Knowing that my wife would be terribly anxious, I slipped off my ring and confided it to the Lascar at a moment when no constable was watching me, together with a hurried scrawl, telling her that she had no cause to fear.” “That note only reached her yesterday,” said Holmes. “Good God! What a week she must have spent!” “The police have watched this Lascar,” said Inspector Bradstreet, “and I can quite understand that he might find it difficult to post a letter unobserved. Probably he handed it to some sailor customer of his, who forgot all about it for some days.” “That was it,” said Holmes, nodding approvingly; “I have no doubt of it. But have you never been prosecuted for begging?” “Many times; but what was a fine to me?” “It must stop here, however,” said Bradstreet. “If the police are to hush this thing up, there must be no more of Hugh Boone.” “I have sworn it by the most solemn oaths which a man can take.” “In that case I think that it is probable that no further steps may be taken. But if you are found again, then all must come out. I am sure, Mr. Holmes, that we are very much indebted to you for having cleared the matter up. I wish I knew how you reach your results.” “I reached this one,” said my friend, “by sitting upon five pillows and consuming an ounce of shag. I think, Watson, that if we drive to Baker Street we shall just be in time for breakfast.” VII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season. He was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressing-gown, a pipe-rack within his reach upon the right, and a pile of crumpled morning papers, evidently newly studied, near at hand. Beside the couch was a wooden chair, and on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable hard-felt hat, much the worse for wear, and cracked in several places. A lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the purpose of examination. “You are engaged,” said I; “perhaps I interrupt you.” “Not at all. I am glad to have a friend with whom I can discuss my results. The matter is a perfectly trivial one”—he jerked his thumb in the direction of the old hat—“but there are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction.” I seated myself in his armchair and warmed my hands before his crackling fire, for a sharp frost had set in, and the windows were thick with the ice crystals. “I suppose,” I remarked, “that, homely as it looks, this thing has some deadly story linked on to it—that it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of some mystery and the punishment of some crime.” “No, no. No crime,” said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. “Only one of those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have four million human beings all jostling each other within the space of a few square miles. Amid the action and reaction of so dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events may be expected to take place, and many a little problem will be presented which may be striking and bizarre without being criminal. We have already had experience of such.” “So much so,” I remarked, “that of the last six cases which I have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any legal crime.” “Precisely. You allude to my attempt to recover the Irene Adler papers, to the singular case of Miss Mary Sutherland, and to the adventure of the man with the twisted lip. Well, I have no doubt that this small matter will fall into the same innocent category. You know Peterson, the commissionaire?” “Yes.” “It is to him that this trophy belongs.” “It is his hat.” “No, no, he found it. Its owner is unknown. I beg that you will look upon it not as a battered billycock but as an intellectual problem. And, first, as to how it came here. It arrived upon Christmas morning, in company with a good fat goose, which is, I have no doubt, roasting at this moment in front of Peterson’s fire. The facts are these: about four o’clock on Christmas morning, Peterson, who, as you know, is a very honest fellow, was returning from some small jollification and was making his way homeward down Tottenham Court Road. In front of him he saw, in the gaslight, a tallish man, walking with a slight stagger, and carrying a white goose slung over his shoulder. As he reached the corner of Goodge Street, a row broke out between this stranger and a little knot of roughs. One of the latter knocked off the man’s hat, on which he raised his stick to defend himself and, swinging it over his head, smashed the shop window behind him. Peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his assailants; but the man, shocked at having broken the window, and seeing an official-looking person in uniform rushing towards him, dropped his goose, took to his heels, and vanished amid the labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of Tottenham Court Road. The roughs had also fled at the appearance of Peterson, so that he was left in possession of the field of battle, and also of the spoils of victory in the shape of this battered hat and a most unimpeachable Christmas goose.” “Which surely he restored to their owner?” “My dear fellow, there lies the problem. It is true that ‘For Mrs. Henry Baker’ was printed upon a small card which was tied to the bird’s left leg, and it is also true that the initials ‘H. B.’ are legible upon the lining of this hat, but as there are some thousands of Bakers, and some hundreds of Henry Bakers in this city of ours, it is not easy to restore lost property to any one of them.” “What, then, did Peterson do?” “He brought round both hat and goose to me on Christmas morning, knowing that even the smallest problems are of interest to me. The goose we retained until this morning, when there were signs that, in spite of the slight frost, it would be well that it should be eaten without unnecessary delay. Its finder has carried it off, therefore, to fulfil the ultimate destiny of a goose, while I continue to retain the hat of the unknown gentleman who lost his Christmas dinner.” “Did he not advertise?” “No.” “Then, what clue could you have as to his identity?” “Only as much as we can deduce.” “From his hat?” “Precisely.” “But you are joking. What can you gather from this old battered felt?” “Here is my lens. You know my methods. What can you gather yourself as to the individuality of the man who has worn this article?” I took the tattered object in my hands and turned it over rather ruefully. It was a very ordinary black hat of the usual round shape, hard and much the worse for wear. The lining had been of red silk, but was a good deal discoloured. There was no maker’s name; but, as Holmes had remarked, the initials “H. B.” were scrawled upon one side. It was pierced in the brim for a hat-securer, but the elastic was missing. For the rest, it was cracked, exceedingly dusty, and spotted in several places, although there seemed to have been some attempt to hide the discoloured patches by smearing them with ink. “I can see nothing,” said I, handing it back to my friend. “On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail, however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in drawing your inferences.” “Then, pray tell me what it is that you can infer from this hat?” He picked it up and gazed at it in the peculiar introspective fashion which was characteristic of him. “It is perhaps less suggestive than it might have been,” he remarked, “and yet there are a few inferences which are very distinct, and a few others which represent at least a strong balance of probability. That the man was highly intellectual is of course obvious upon the face of it, and also that he was fairly well-to-do within the last three years, although he has now fallen upon evil days. He had foresight, but has less now than formerly, pointing to a moral retrogression, which, when taken with the decline of his fortunes, seems to indicate some evil influence, probably drink, at work upon him. This may account also for the obvious fact that his wife has ceased to love him.” “My dear Holmes!” “He has, however, retained some degree of self-respect,” he continued, disregarding my remonstrance. “He is a man who leads a sedentary life, goes out little, is out of training entirely, is middle-aged, has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the last few days, and which he anoints with lime-cream. These are the more patent facts which are to be deduced from his hat. Also, by the way, that it is extremely improbable that he has gas laid on in his house.” “You are certainly joking, Holmes.” “Not in the least. Is it possible that even now, when I give you these results, you are unable to see how they are attained?” “I have no doubt that I am very stupid, but I must confess that I am unable to follow you. For example, how did you deduce that this man was intellectual?” For answer Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. “It is a question of cubic capacity,” said he; “a man with so large a brain must have something in it.” “The decline of his fortunes, then?” “This hat is three years old. These flat brims curled at the edge came in then. It is a hat of the very best quality. Look at the band of ribbed silk and the excellent lining. If this man could afford to buy so expensive a hat three years ago, and has had no hat since, then he has assuredly gone down in the world.” “Well, that is clear enough, certainly. But how about the foresight and the moral retrogression?” Sherlock Holmes laughed. “Here is the foresight,” said he putting his finger upon the little disc and loop of the hat-securer. “They are never sold upon hats. If this man ordered one, it is a sign of a certain amount of foresight, since he went out of his way to take this precaution against the wind. But since we see that he has broken the elastic and has not troubled to replace it, it is obvious that he has less foresight now than formerly, which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature. On the other hand, he has endeavoured to conceal some of these stains upon the felt by daubing them with ink, which is a sign that he has not entirely lost his self-respect.” “Your reasoning is certainly plausible.” “The further points, that he is middle-aged, that his hair is grizzled, that it has been recently cut, and that he uses lime-cream, are all to be gathered from a close examination of the lower part of the lining. The lens discloses a large number of hair-ends, clean cut by the scissors of the barber. They all appear to be adhesive, and there is a distinct odour of lime-cream. This dust, you will observe, is not the gritty, grey dust of the street but the fluffy brown dust of the house, showing that it has been hung up indoors most of the time, while the marks of moisture upon the inside are proof positive that the wearer perspired very freely, and could therefore, hardly be in the best of training.” “But his wife—you said that she had ceased to love him.” “This hat has not been brushed for weeks. When I see you, my dear Watson, with a week’s accumulation of dust upon your hat, and when your wife allows you to go out in such a state, I shall fear that you also have been unfortunate enough to lose your wife’s affection.” “But he might be a bachelor.” “Nay, he was bringing home the goose as a peace-offering to his wife. Remember the card upon the bird’s leg.” “You have an answer to everything. But how on earth do you deduce that the gas is not laid on in his house?” “One tallow stain, or even two, might come by chance; but when I see no less than five, I think that there can be little doubt that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with burning tallow—walks upstairs at night probably with his hat in one hand and a guttering candle in the other. Anyhow, he never got tallow-stains from a gas-jet. Are you satisfied?” “Well, it is very ingenious,” said I, laughing; “but since, as you said just now, there has been no crime committed, and no harm done save the loss of a goose, all this seems to be rather a waste of energy.” Sherlock Holmes had opened his mouth to reply, when the door flew open, and Peterson, the commissionaire, rushed into the apartment with flushed cheeks and the face of a man who is dazed with astonishment. “The goose, Mr. Holmes! The goose, sir!” he gasped. “Eh? What of it, then? Has it returned to life and flapped off through the kitchen window?” Holmes twisted himself round upon the sofa to get a fairer view of the man’s excited face. “See here, sir! See what my wife found in its crop!” He held out his hand and displayed upon the centre of the palm a brilliantly scintillating blue stone, rather smaller than a bean in size, but of such purity and radiance that it twinkled like an electric point in the dark hollow of his hand. Sherlock Holmes sat up with a whistle. “By Jove, Peterson!” said he, “this is treasure trove indeed. I suppose you know what you have got?” “A diamond, sir? A precious stone. It cuts into glass as though it were putty.” “It’s more than a precious stone. It is _the_ precious stone.” “Not the Countess of Morcar’s blue carbuncle!” I ejaculated. “Precisely so. I ought to know its size and shape, seeing that I have read the advertisement about it in _The Times_ every day lately. It is absolutely unique, and its value can only be conjectured, but the reward offered of £ 1000 is certainly not within a twentieth part of the market price.” “A thousand pounds! Great Lord of mercy!” The commissionaire plumped down into a chair and stared from one to the other of us. “That is the reward, and I have reason to know that there are sentimental considerations in the background which would induce the Countess to part with half her fortune if she could but recover the gem.” “It was lost, if I remember aright, at the Hotel Cosmopolitan,” I remarked. “Precisely so, on December 22nd, just five days ago. John Horner, a plumber, was accused of having abstracted it from the lady’s jewel-case. The evidence against him was so strong that the case has been referred to the Assizes. I have some account of the matter here, I believe.” He rummaged amid his newspapers, glancing over the dates, until at last he smoothed one out, doubled it over, and read the following paragraph: “Hotel Cosmopolitan Jewel Robbery. John Horner, 26, plumber, was brought up upon the charge of having upon the 22nd inst., abstracted from the jewel-case of the Countess of Morcar the valuable gem known as the blue carbuncle. James Ryder, upper-attendant at the hotel, gave his evidence to the effect that he had shown Horner up to the dressing-room of the Countess of Morcar upon the day of the robbery in order that he might solder the second bar of the grate, which was loose. He had remained with Horner some little time, but had finally been called away. On returning, he found that Horner had disappeared, that the bureau had been forced open, and that the small morocco casket in which, as it afterwards transpired, the Countess was accustomed to keep her jewel, was lying empty upon the dressing-table. Ryder instantly gave the alarm, and Horner was arrested the same evening; but the stone could not be found either upon his person or in his rooms. Catherine Cusack, maid to the Countess, deposed to having heard Ryder’s cry of dismay on discovering the robbery, and to having rushed into the room, where she found matters as described by the last witness. Inspector Bradstreet, B division, gave evidence as to the arrest of Horner, who struggled frantically, and protested his innocence in the strongest terms. Evidence of a previous conviction for robbery having been given against the prisoner, the magistrate refused to deal summarily with the offence, but referred it to the Assizes. Horner, who had shown signs of intense emotion during the proceedings, fainted away at the conclusion and was carried out of court.” “Hum! So much for the police-court,” said Holmes thoughtfully, tossing aside the paper. “The question for us now to solve is the sequence of events leading from a rifled jewel-case at one end to the crop of a goose in Tottenham Court Road at the other. You see, Watson, our little deductions have suddenly assumed a much more important and less innocent aspect. Here is the stone; the stone came from the goose, and the goose came from Mr. Henry Baker, the gentleman with the bad hat and all the other characteristics with which I have bored you. So now we must set ourselves very seriously to finding this gentleman and ascertaining what part he has played in this little mystery. To do this, we must try the simplest means first, and these lie undoubtedly in an advertisement in all the evening papers. If this fail, I shall have recourse to other methods.” “What will you say?” “Give me a pencil and that slip of paper. Now, then: ‘Found at the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mr. Henry Baker can have the same by applying at 6:30 this evening at 221B, Baker Street.’ That is clear and concise.” “Very. But will he see it?” “Well, he is sure to keep an eye on the papers, since, to a poor man, the loss was a heavy one. He was clearly so scared by his mischance in breaking the window and by the approach of Peterson that he thought of nothing but flight, but since then he must have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drop his bird. Then, again, the introduction of his name will cause him to see it, for everyone who knows him will direct his attention to it. Here you are, Peterson, run down to the advertising agency and have this put in the evening papers.” “In which, sir?” “Oh, in the _Globe_, _Star_, _Pall Mall_, _St. James’s Gazette_, _Evening News_, _Standard_, _Echo_, and any others that occur to you.” “Very well, sir. And this stone?” “Ah, yes, I shall keep the stone. Thank you. And, I say, Peterson, just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here with me, for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place of the one which your family is now devouring.” When the commissionaire had gone, Holmes took up the stone and held it against the light. “It’s a bonny thing,” said he. “Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil’s pet baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed. This stone is not yet twenty years old. It was found in the banks of the Amoy River in southern China and is remarkable in having every characteristic of the carbuncle, save that it is blue in shade instead of ruby red. In spite of its youth, it has already a sinister history. There have been two murders, a vitriol-throwing, a suicide, and several robberies brought about for the sake of this forty-grain weight of crystallised charcoal. Who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison? I’ll lock it up in my strong box now and drop a line to the Countess to say that we have it.” “Do you think that this man Horner is innocent?” “I cannot tell.” “Well, then, do you imagine that this other one, Henry Baker, had anything to do with the matter?” “It is, I think, much more likely that Henry Baker is an absolutely innocent man, who had no idea that the bird which he was carrying was of considerably more value than if it were made of solid gold. That, however, I shall determine by a very simple test if we have an answer to our advertisement.” “And you can do nothing until then?” “Nothing.” “In that case I shall continue my professional round. But I shall come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned, for I should like to see the solution of so tangled a business.” “Very glad to see you. I dine at seven. There is a woodcock, I believe. By the way, in view of recent occurrences, perhaps I ought to ask Mrs. Hudson to examine its crop.” I had been delayed at a case, and it was a little after half-past six when I found myself in Baker Street once more. As I approached the house I saw a tall man in a Scotch bonnet with a coat which was buttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the bright semicircle which was thrown from the fanlight. Just as I arrived the door was opened, and we were shown up together to Holmes’ room. “Mr. Henry Baker, I believe,” said he, rising from his armchair and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he could so readily assume. “Pray take this chair by the fire, Mr. Baker. It is a cold night, and I observe that your circulation is more adapted for summer than for winter. Ah, Watson, you have just come at the right time. Is that your hat, Mr. Baker?” “Yes, sir, that is undoubtedly my hat.” He was a large man with rounded shoulders, a massive head, and a broad, intelligent face, sloping down to a pointed beard of grizzled brown. A touch of red in nose and cheeks, with a slight tremor of his extended hand, recalled Holmes’ surmise as to his habits. His rusty black frock-coat was buttoned right up in front, with the collar turned up, and his lank wrists protruded from his sleeves without a sign of cuff or shirt. He spoke in a slow staccato fashion, choosing his words with care, and gave the impression generally of a man of learning and letters who had had ill-usage at the hands of fortune. “We have retained these things for some days,” said Holmes, “because we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your address. I am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise.” Our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh. “Shillings have not been so plentiful with me as they once were,” he remarked. “I had no doubt that the gang of roughs who assaulted me had carried off both my hat and the bird. I did not care to spend more money in a hopeless attempt at recovering them.” “Very naturally. By the way, about the bird, we were compelled to eat it.” “To eat it!” Our visitor half rose from his chair in his excitement. “Yes, it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so. But I presume that this other goose upon the sideboard, which is about the same weight and perfectly fresh, will answer your purpose equally well?” “Oh, certainly, certainly,” answered Mr. Baker with a sigh of relief. “Of course, we still have the feathers, legs, crop, and so on of your own bird, so if you wish—” The man burst into a hearty laugh. “They might be useful to me as relics of my adventure,” said he, “but beyond that I can hardly see what use the _disjecta membra_ of my late acquaintance are going to be to me. No, sir, I think that, with your permission, I will confine my attentions to the excellent bird which I perceive upon the sideboard.” Sherlock Holmes glanced sharply across at me with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “There is your hat, then, and there your bird,” said he. “By the way, would it bore you to tell me where you got the other one from? I am somewhat of a fowl fancier, and I have seldom seen a better grown goose.” “Certainly, sir,” said Baker, who had risen and tucked his newly gained property under his arm. “There are a few of us who frequent the Alpha Inn, near the Museum—we are to be found in the Museum itself during the day, you understand. This year our good host, Windigate by name, instituted a goose club, by which, on consideration of some few pence every week, we were each to receive a bird at Christmas. My pence were duly paid, and the rest is familiar to you. I am much indebted to you, sir, for a Scotch bonnet is fitted neither to my years nor my gravity.” With a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and strode off upon his way. “So much for Mr. Henry Baker,” said Holmes when he had closed the door behind him. “It is quite certain that he knows nothing whatever about the matter. Are you hungry, Watson?” “Not particularly.” “Then I suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow up this clue while it is still hot.” “By all means.” It was a bitter night, so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped cravats about our throats. Outside, the stars were shining coldly in a cloudless sky, and the breath of the passers-by blew out into smoke like so many pistol shots. Our footfalls rang out crisply and loudly as we swung through the doctors’ quarter, Wimpole Street, Harley Street, and so through Wigmore Street into Oxford Street. In a quarter of an hour we were in Bloomsbury at the Alpha Inn, which is a small public-house at the corner of one of the streets which runs down into Holborn. Holmes pushed open the door of the private bar and ordered two glasses of beer from the ruddy-faced, white-aproned landlord. “Your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese,” said he. “My geese!” The man seemed surprised. “Yes. I was speaking only half an hour ago to Mr. Henry Baker, who was a member of your goose club.” “Ah! yes, I see. But you see, sir, them’s not _our_ geese.” “Indeed! Whose, then?” “Well, I got the two dozen from a salesman in Covent Garden.” “Indeed? I know some of them. Which was it?” “Breckinridge is his name.” “Ah! I don’t know him. Well, here’s your good health landlord, and prosperity to your house. Good-night.” “Now for Mr. Breckinridge,” he continued, buttoning up his coat as we came out into the frosty air. “Remember, Watson that though we have so homely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain, we have at the other a man who will certainly get seven years’ penal servitude unless we can establish his innocence. It is possible that our inquiry may but confirm his guilt; but, in any case, we have a line of investigation which has been missed by the police, and which a singular chance has placed in our hands. Let us follow it out to the bitter end. Faces to the south, then, and quick march!” We passed across Holborn, down Endell Street, and so through a zigzag of slums to Covent Garden Market. One of the largest stalls bore the name of Breckinridge upon it, and the proprietor a horsey-looking man, with a sharp face and trim side-whiskers was helping a boy to put up the shutters. “Good-evening. It’s a cold night,” said Holmes. The salesman nodded and shot a questioning glance at my companion. “Sold out of geese, I see,” continued Holmes, pointing at the bare slabs of marble. “Let you have five hundred to-morrow morning.” “That’s no good.” “Well, there are some on the stall with the gas-flare.” “Ah, but I was recommended to you.” “Who by?” “The landlord of the Alpha.” “Oh, yes; I sent him a couple of dozen.” “Fine birds they were, too. Now where did you get them from?” To my surprise the question provoked a burst of anger from the salesman. “Now, then, mister,” said he, with his head cocked and his arms akimbo, “what are you driving at? Let’s have it straight, now.” “It is straight enough. I should like to know who sold you the geese which you supplied to the Alpha.” “Well then, I shan’t tell you. So now!” “Oh, it is a matter of no importance; but I don’t know why you should be so warm over such a trifle.” “Warm! You’d be as warm, maybe, if you were as pestered as I am. When I pay good money for a good article there should be an end of the business; but it’s ‘Where are the geese?’ and ‘Who did you sell the geese to?’ and ‘What will you take for the geese?’ One would think they were the only geese in the world, to hear the fuss that is made over them.” “Well, I have no connection with any other people who have been making inquiries,” said Holmes carelessly. “If you won’t tell us the bet is off, that is all. But I’m always ready to back my opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiver on it that the bird I ate is country bred.” “Well, then, you’ve lost your fiver, for it’s town bred,” snapped the salesman. “It’s nothing of the kind.” “I say it is.” “I don’t believe it.” “D’you think you know more about fowls than I, who have handled them ever since I was a nipper? I tell you, all those birds that went to the Alpha were town bred.” “You’ll never persuade me to believe that.” “Will you bet, then?” “It’s merely taking your money, for I know that I am right. But I’ll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be obstinate.” The salesman chuckled grimly. “Bring me the books, Bill,” said he. The small boy brought round a small thin volume and a great greasy-backed one, laying them out together beneath the hanging lamp. “Now then, Mr. Cocksure,” said the salesman, “I thought that I was out of geese, but before I finish you’ll find that there is still one left in my shop. You see this little book?” “Well?” “That’s the list of the folk from whom I buy. D’you see? Well, then, here on this page are the country folk, and the numbers after their names are where their accounts are in the big ledger. Now, then! You see this other page in red ink? Well, that is a list of my town suppliers. Now, look at that third name. Just read it out to me.” “Mrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road—249,” read Holmes. “Quite so. Now turn that up in the ledger.” Holmes turned to the page indicated. “Here you are, ‘Mrs. Oakshott, 117, Brixton Road, egg and poultry supplier.’” “Now, then, what’s the last entry?” “‘December 22nd. Twenty-four geese at 7_s_. 6_d_.’” “Quite so. There you are. And underneath?” “‘Sold to Mr. Windigate of the Alpha, at 12_s_.’” “What have you to say now?” Sherlock Holmes looked deeply chagrined. He drew a sovereign from his pocket and threw it down upon the slab, turning away with the air of a man whose disgust is too deep for words. A few yards off he stopped under a lamp-post and laughed in the hearty, noiseless fashion which was peculiar to him. “When you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the ‘Pink ’un’ protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet,” said he. “I daresay that if I had put £ 100 down in front of him, that man would not have given me such complete information as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a wager. Well, Watson, we are, I fancy, nearing the end of our quest, and the only point which remains to be determined is whether we should go on to this Mrs. Oakshott to-night, or whether we should reserve it for to-morrow. It is clear from what that surly fellow said that there are others besides ourselves who are anxious about the matter, and I should—” His remarks were suddenly cut short by a loud hubbub which broke out from the stall which we had just left. Turning round we saw a little rat-faced fellow standing in the centre of the circle of yellow light which was thrown by the swinging lamp, while Breckinridge, the salesman, framed in the door of his stall, was shaking his fists fiercely at the cringing figure. “I’ve had enough of you and your geese,” he shouted. “I wish you were all at the devil together. If you come pestering me any more with your silly talk I’ll set the dog at you. You bring Mrs. Oakshott here and I’ll answer her, but what have you to do with it? Did I buy the geese off you?” “No; but one of them was mine all the same,” whined the little man. “Well, then, ask Mrs. Oakshott for it.” “She told me to ask you.” “Well, you can ask the King of Proosia, for all I care. I’ve had enough of it. Get out of this!” He rushed fiercely forward, and the inquirer flitted away into the darkness. “Ha! this may save us a visit to Brixton Road,” whispered Holmes. “Come with me, and we will see what is to be made of this fellow.” Striding through the scattered knots of people who lounged round the flaring stalls, my companion speedily overtook the little man and touched him upon the shoulder. He sprang round, and I could see in the gas-light that every vestige of colour had been driven from his face. “Who are you, then? What do you want?” he asked in a quavering voice. “You will excuse me,” said Holmes blandly, “but I could not help overhearing the questions which you put to the salesman just now. I think that I could be of assistance to you.” “You? Who are you? How could you know anything of the matter?” “My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don’t know.” “But you can know nothing of this?” “Excuse me, I know everything of it. You are endeavouring to trace some geese which were sold by Mrs. Oakshott, of Brixton Road, to a salesman named Breckinridge, by him in turn to Mr. Windigate, of the Alpha, and by him to his club, of which Mr. Henry Baker is a member.” “Oh, sir, you are the very man whom I have longed to meet,” cried the little fellow with outstretched hands and quivering fingers. “I can hardly explain to you how interested I am in this matter.” Sherlock Holmes hailed a four-wheeler which was passing. “In that case we had better discuss it in a cosy room rather than in this wind-swept market-place,” said he. “But pray tell me, before we go farther, who it is that I have the pleasure of assisting.” The man hesitated for an instant. “My name is John Robinson,” he answered with a sidelong glance. “No, no; the real name,” said Holmes sweetly. “It is always awkward doing business with an alias.” A flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger. “Well then,” said he, “my real name is James Ryder.” “Precisely so. Head attendant at the Hotel Cosmopolitan. Pray step into the cab, and I shall soon be able to tell you everything which you would wish to know.” The little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with half-frightened, half-hopeful eyes, as one who is not sure whether he is on the verge of a windfall or of a catastrophe. Then he stepped into the cab, and in half an hour we were back in the sitting-room at Baker Street. Nothing had been said during our drive, but the high, thin breathing of our new companion, and the claspings and unclaspings of his hands, spoke of the nervous tension within him. “Here we are!” said Holmes cheerily as we filed into the room. “The fire looks very seasonable in this weather. You look cold, Mr. Ryder. Pray take the basket-chair. I will just put on my slippers before we settle this little matter of yours. Now, then! You want to know what became of those geese?” “Yes, sir.” “Or rather, I fancy, of that goose. It was one bird, I imagine in which you were interested—white, with a black bar across the tail.” Ryder quivered with emotion. “Oh, sir,” he cried, “can you tell me where it went to?” “It came here.” “Here?” “Yes, and a most remarkable bird it proved. I don’t wonder that you should take an interest in it. It laid an egg after it was dead—the bonniest, brightest little blue egg that ever was seen. I have it here in my museum.” Our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece with his right hand. Holmes unlocked his strong-box and held up the blue carbuncle, which shone out like a star, with a cold, brilliant, many-pointed radiance. Ryder stood glaring with a drawn face, uncertain whether to claim or to disown it. “The game’s up, Ryder,” said Holmes quietly. “Hold up, man, or you’ll be into the fire! Give him an arm back into his chair, Watson. He’s not got blood enough to go in for felony with impunity. Give him a dash of brandy. So! Now he looks a little more human. What a shrimp it is, to be sure!” For a moment he had staggered and nearly fallen, but the brandy brought a tinge of colour into his cheeks, and he sat staring with frightened eyes at his accuser. “I have almost every link in my hands, and all the proofs which I could possibly need, so there is little which you need tell me. Still, that little may as well be cleared up to make the case complete. You had heard, Ryder, of this blue stone of the Countess of Morcar’s?” “It was Catherine Cusack who told me of it,” said he in a crackling voice. “I see—her ladyship’s waiting-maid. Well, the temptation of sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for you, as it has been for better men before you; but you were not very scrupulous in the means you used. It seems to me, Ryder, that there is the making of a very pretty villain in you. You knew that this man Horner, the plumber, had been concerned in some such matter before, and that suspicion would rest the more readily upon him. What did you do, then? You made some small job in my lady’s room—you and your confederate Cusack—and you managed that he should be the man sent for. Then, when he had left, you rifled the jewel-case, raised the alarm, and had this unfortunate man arrested. You then—” Ryder threw himself down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my companion’s knees. “For God’s sake, have mercy!” he shrieked. “Think of my father! Of my mother! It would break their hearts. I never went wrong before! I never will again. I swear it. I’ll swear it on a Bible. Oh, don’t bring it into court! For Christ’s sake, don’t!” “Get back into your chair!” said Holmes sternly. “It is very well to cringe and crawl now, but you thought little enough of this poor Horner in the dock for a crime of which he knew nothing.” “I will fly, Mr. Holmes. I will leave the country, sir. Then the charge against him will break down.” “Hum! We will talk about that. And now let us hear a true account of the next act. How came the stone into the goose, and how came the goose into the open market? Tell us the truth, for there lies your only hope of safety.” Ryder passed his tongue over his parched lips. “I will tell you it just as it happened, sir,” said he. “When Horner had been arrested, it seemed to me that it would be best for me to get away with the stone at once, for I did not know at what moment the police might not take it into their heads to search me and my room. There was no place about the hotel where it would be safe. I went out, as if on some commission, and I made for my sister’s house. She had married a man named Oakshott, and lived in Brixton Road, where she fattened fowls for the market. All the way there every man I met seemed to me to be a policeman or a detective; and, for all that it was a cold night, the sweat was pouring down my face before I came to the Brixton Road. My sister asked me what was the matter, and why I was so pale; but I told her that I had been upset by the jewel robbery at the hotel. Then I went into the back yard and smoked a pipe and wondered what it would be best to do. “I had a friend once called Maudsley, who went to the bad, and has just been serving his time in Pentonville. One day he had met me, and fell into talk about the ways of thieves, and how they could get rid of what they stole. I knew that he would be true to me, for I knew one or two things about him; so I made up my mind to go right on to Kilburn, where he lived, and take him into my confidence. He would show me how to turn the stone into money. But how to get to him in safety? I thought of the agonies I had gone through in coming from the hotel. I might at any moment be seized and searched, and there would be the stone in my waistcoat pocket. I was leaning against the wall at the time and looking at the geese which were waddling about round my feet, and suddenly an idea came into my head which showed me how I could beat the best detective that ever lived. “My sister had told me some weeks before that I might have the pick of her geese for a Christmas present, and I knew that she was always as good as her word. I would take my goose now, and in it I would carry my stone to Kilburn. There was a little shed in the yard, and behind this I drove one of the birds—a fine big one, white, with a barred tail. I caught it, and prying its bill open, I thrust the stone down its throat as far as my finger could reach. The bird gave a gulp, and I felt the stone pass along its gullet and down into its crop. But the creature flapped and struggled, and out came my sister to know what was the matter. As I turned to speak to her the brute broke loose and fluttered off among the others. “‘Whatever were you doing with that bird, Jem?’ says she. “‘Well,’ said I, ‘you said you’d give me one for Christmas, and I was feeling which was the fattest.’ “‘Oh,’ says she, ‘we’ve set yours aside for you—Jem’s bird, we call it. It’s the big white one over yonder. There’s twenty-six of them, which makes one for you, and one for us, and two dozen for the market.’ “‘Thank you, Maggie,’ says I; ‘but if it is all the same to you, I’d rather have that one I was handling just now.’ “‘The other is a good three pound heavier,’ said she, ‘and we fattened it expressly for you.’ “‘Never mind. I’ll have the other, and I’ll take it now,’ said I. “‘Oh, just as you like,’ said she, a little huffed. ‘Which is it you want, then?’ “‘That white one with the barred tail, right in the middle of the flock.’ “‘Oh, very well. Kill it and take it with you.’ “Well, I did what she said, Mr. Holmes, and I carried the bird all the way to Kilburn. I told my pal what I had done, for he was a man that it was easy to tell a thing like that to. He laughed until he choked, and we got a knife and opened the goose. My heart turned to water, for there was no sign of the stone, and I knew that some terrible mistake had occurred. I left the bird, rushed back to my sister’s, and hurried into the back yard. There was not a bird to be seen there. “‘Where are they all, Maggie?’ I cried. “‘Gone to the dealer’s, Jem.’ “‘Which dealer’s?’ “‘Breckinridge, of Covent Garden.’ “‘But was there another with a barred tail?’ I asked, ‘the same as the one I chose?’ “‘Yes, Jem; there were two barred-tailed ones, and I could never tell them apart.’ “Well, then, of course I saw it all, and I ran off as hard as my feet would carry me to this man Breckinridge; but he had sold the lot at once, and not one word would he tell me as to where they had gone. You heard him yourselves to-night. Well, he has always answered me like that. My sister thinks that I am going mad. Sometimes I think that I am myself. And now—and now I am myself a branded thief, without ever having touched the wealth for which I sold my character. God help me! God help me!” He burst into convulsive sobbing, with his face buried in his hands. There was a long silence, broken only by his heavy breathing and by the measured tapping of Sherlock Holmes’ finger-tips upon the edge of the table. Then my friend rose and threw open the door. “Get out!” said he. “What, sir! Oh, Heaven bless you!” “No more words. Get out!” And no more words were needed. There was a rush, a clatter upon the stairs, the bang of a door, and the crisp rattle of running footfalls from the street. “After all, Watson,” said Holmes, reaching up his hand for his clay pipe, “I am not retained by the police to supply their deficiencies. If Horner were in danger it would be another thing; but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case must collapse. I suppose that I am commuting a felony, but it is just possible that I am saving a soul. This fellow will not go wrong again; he is too terribly frightened. Send him to gaol now, and you make him a gaol-bird for life. Besides, it is the season of forgiveness. Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward. If you will have the goodness to touch the bell, Doctor, we will begin another investigation, in which, also a bird will be the chief feature.” VIII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE SPECKLED BAND On glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which I have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend Sherlock Holmes, I find many tragic, some comic, a large number merely strange, but none commonplace; for, working as he did rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth, he refused to associate himself with any investigation which did not tend towards the unusual, and even the fantastic. Of all these varied cases, however, I cannot recall any which presented more singular features than that which was associated with the well-known Surrey family of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran. The events in question occurred in the early days of my association with Holmes, when we were sharing rooms as bachelors in Baker Street. It is possible that I might have placed them upon record before, but a promise of secrecy was made at the time, from which I have only been freed during the last month by the untimely death of the lady to whom the pledge was given. It is perhaps as well that the facts should now come to light, for I have reasons to know that there are widespread rumours as to the death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott which tend to make the matter even more terrible than the truth. It was early in April in the year ’83 that I woke one morning to find Sherlock Holmes standing, fully dressed, by the side of my bed. He was a late riser, as a rule, and as the clock on the mantelpiece showed me that it was only a quarter-past seven, I blinked up at him in some surprise, and perhaps just a little resentment, for I was myself regular in my habits. “Very sorry to knock you up, Watson,” said he, “but it’s the common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she retorted upon me, and I on you.” “What is it, then—a fire?” “No; a client. It seems that a young lady has arrived in a considerable state of excitement, who insists upon seeing me. She is waiting now in the sitting-room. Now, when young ladies wander about the metropolis at this hour of the morning, and knock sleepy people up out of their beds, I presume that it is something very pressing which they have to communicate. Should it prove to be an interesting case, you would, I am sure, wish to follow it from the outset. I thought, at any rate, that I should call you and give you the chance.” “My dear fellow, I would not miss it for anything.” I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid deductions, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a logical basis with which he unravelled the problems which were submitted to him. I rapidly threw on my clothes and was ready in a few minutes to accompany my friend down to the sitting-room. A lady dressed in black and heavily veiled, who had been sitting in the window, rose as we entered. “Good-morning, madam,” said Holmes cheerily. “My name is Sherlock Holmes. This is my intimate friend and associate, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak as freely as before myself. Ha! I am glad to see that Mrs. Hudson has had the good sense to light the fire. Pray draw up to it, and I shall order you a cup of hot coffee, for I observe that you are shivering.” “It is not cold which makes me shiver,” said the woman in a low voice, changing her seat as requested. “What, then?” “It is fear, Mr. Holmes. It is terror.” She raised her veil as she spoke, and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal. Her features and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard. Sherlock Holmes ran her over with one of his quick, all-comprehensive glances. “You must not fear,” said he soothingly, bending forward and patting her forearm. “We shall soon set matters right, I have no doubt. You have come in by train this morning, I see.” “You know me, then?” “No, but I observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm of your left glove. You must have started early, and yet you had a good drive in a dog-cart, along heavy roads, before you reached the station.” The lady gave a violent start and stared in bewilderment at my companion. “There is no mystery, my dear madam,” said he, smiling. “The left arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven places. The marks are perfectly fresh. There is no vehicle save a dog-cart which throws up mud in that way, and then only when you sit on the left-hand side of the driver.” “Whatever your reasons may be, you are perfectly correct,” said she. “I started from home before six, reached Leatherhead at twenty past, and came in by the first train to Waterloo. Sir, I can stand this strain no longer; I shall go mad if it continues. I have no one to turn to—none, save only one, who cares for me, and he, poor fellow, can be of little aid. I have heard of you, Mr. Holmes; I have heard of you from Mrs. Farintosh, whom you helped in the hour of her sore need. It was from her that I had your address. Oh, sir, do you not think that you could help me, too, and at least throw a little light through the dense darkness which surrounds me? At present it is out of my power to reward you for your services, but in a month or six weeks I shall be married, with the control of my own income, and then at least you shall not find me ungrateful.” Holmes turned to his desk and, unlocking it, drew out a small case-book, which he consulted. “Farintosh,” said he. “Ah yes, I recall the case; it was concerned with an opal tiara. I think it was before your time, Watson. I can only say, madam, that I shall be happy to devote the same care to your case as I did to that of your friend. As to reward, my profession is its own reward; but you are at liberty to defray whatever expenses I may be put to, at the time which suits you best. And now I beg that you will lay before us everything that may help us in forming an opinion upon the matter.” “Alas!” replied our visitor, “the very horror of my situation lies in the fact that my fears are so vague, and my suspicions depend so entirely upon small points, which might seem trivial to another, that even he to whom of all others I have a right to look for help and advice looks upon all that I tell him about it as the fancies of a nervous woman. He does not say so, but I can read it from his soothing answers and averted eyes. But I have heard, Mr. Holmes, that you can see deeply into the manifold wickedness of the human heart. You may advise me how to walk amid the dangers which encompass me.” “I am all attention, madam.” “My name is Helen Stoner, and I am living with my stepfather, who is the last survivor of one of the oldest Saxon families in England, the Roylotts of Stoke Moran, on the western border of Surrey.” Holmes nodded his head. “The name is familiar to me,” said he. “The family was at one time among the richest in England, and the estates extended over the borders into Berkshire in the north, and Hampshire in the west. In the last century, however, four successive heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition, and the family ruin was eventually completed by a gambler in the days of the Regency. Nothing was left save a few acres of ground, and the two-hundred-year-old house, which is itself crushed under a heavy mortgage. The last squire dragged out his existence there, living the horrible life of an aristocratic pauper; but his only son, my stepfather, seeing that he must adapt himself to the new conditions, obtained an advance from a relative, which enabled him to take a medical degree and went out to Calcutta, where, by his professional skill and his force of character, he established a large practice. In a fit of anger, however, caused by some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he beat his native butler to death and narrowly escaped a capital sentence. As it was, he suffered a long term of imprisonment and afterwards returned to England a morose and disappointed man. “When Dr. Roylott was in India he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner, the young widow of Major-General Stoner, of the Bengal Artillery. My sister Julia and I were twins, and we were only two years old at the time of my mother’s re-marriage. She had a considerable sum of money—not less than £ 1000 a year—and this she bequeathed to Dr. Roylott entirely while we resided with him, with a provision that a certain annual sum should be allowed to each of us in the event of our marriage. Shortly after our return to England my mother died—she was killed eight years ago in a railway accident near Crewe. Dr. Roylott then abandoned his attempts to establish himself in practice in London and took us to live with him in the old ancestral house at Stoke Moran. The money which my mother had left was enough for all our wants, and there seemed to be no obstacle to our happiness. “But a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time. Instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our neighbours, who had at first been overjoyed to see a Roylott of Stoke Moran back in the old family seat, he shut himself up in his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Violence of temper approaching to mania has been hereditary in the men of the family, and in my stepfather’s case it had, I believe, been intensified by his long residence in the tropics. A series of disgraceful brawls took place, two of which ended in the police-court, until at last he became the terror of the village, and the folks would fly at his approach, for he is a man of immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger. “Last week he hurled the local blacksmith over a parapet into a stream, and it was only by paying over all the money which I could gather together that I was able to avert another public exposure. He had no friends at all save the wandering gipsies, and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few acres of bramble-covered land which represent the family estate, and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents, wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end. He has a passion also for Indian animals, which are sent over to him by a correspondent, and he has at this moment a cheetah and a baboon, which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the villagers almost as much as their master. “You can imagine from what I say that my poor sister Julia and I had no great pleasure in our lives. No servant would stay with us, and for a long time we did all the work of the house. She was but thirty at the time of her death, and yet her hair had already begun to whiten, even as mine has.” “Your sister is dead, then?” “She died just two years ago, and it is of her death that I wish to speak to you. You can understand that, living the life which I have described, we were little likely to see anyone of our own age and position. We had, however, an aunt, my mother’s maiden sister, Miss Honoria Westphail, who lives near Harrow, and we were occasionally allowed to pay short visits at this lady’s house. Julia went there at Christmas two years ago, and met there a half-pay major of marines, to whom she became engaged. My stepfather learned of the engagement when my sister returned and offered no objection to the marriage; but within a fortnight of the day which had been fixed for the wedding, the terrible event occurred which has deprived me of my only companion.” Sherlock Holmes had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed and his head sunk in a cushion, but he half opened his lids now and glanced across at his visitor. “Pray be precise as to details,” said he. “It is easy for me to be so, for every event of that dreadful time is seared into my memory. The manor-house is, as I have already said, very old, and only one wing is now inhabited. The bedrooms in this wing are on the ground floor, the sitting-rooms being in the central block of the buildings. Of these bedrooms the first is Dr. Roylott’s, the second my sister’s, and the third my own. There is no communication between them, but they all open out into the same corridor. Do I make myself plain?” “Perfectly so.” “The windows of the three rooms open out upon the lawn. That fatal night Dr. Roylott had gone to his room early, though we knew that he had not retired to rest, for my sister was troubled by the smell of the strong Indian cigars which it was his custom to smoke. She left her room, therefore, and came into mine, where she sat for some time, chatting about her approaching wedding. At eleven o’clock she rose to leave me, but she paused at the door and looked back. “‘Tell me, Helen,’ said she, ‘have you ever heard anyone whistle in the dead of the night?’ “‘Never,’ said I. “‘I suppose that you could not possibly whistle, yourself, in your sleep?’ “‘Certainly not. But why?’ “‘Because during the last few nights I have always, about three in the morning, heard a low, clear whistle. I am a light sleeper, and it has awakened me. I cannot tell where it came from—perhaps from the next room, perhaps from the lawn. I thought that I would just ask you whether you had heard it.’ “‘No, I have not. It must be those wretched gipsies in the plantation.’ “‘Very likely. And yet if it were on the lawn, I wonder that you did not hear it also.’ “‘Ah, but I sleep more heavily than you.’ “‘Well, it is of no great consequence, at any rate.’ She smiled back at me, closed my door, and a few moments later I heard her key turn in the lock.” “Indeed,” said Holmes. “Was it your custom always to lock yourselves in at night?” “Always.” “And why?” “I think that I mentioned to you that the Doctor kept a cheetah and a baboon. We had no feeling of security unless our doors were locked.” “Quite so. Pray proceed with your statement.” “I could not sleep that night. A vague feeling of impending misfortune impressed me. My sister and I, you will recollect, were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two souls which are so closely allied. It was a wild night. The wind was howling outside, and the rain was beating and splashing against the windows. Suddenly, amid all the hubbub of the gale, there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified woman. I knew that it was my sister’s voice. I sprang from my bed, wrapped a shawl round me, and rushed into the corridor. As I opened my door I seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described, and a few moments later a clanging sound, as if a mass of metal had fallen. As I ran down the passage, my sister’s door was unlocked, and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared at it horror-stricken, not knowing what was about to issue from it. By the light of the corridor-lamp I saw my sister appear at the opening, her face blanched with terror, her hands groping for help, her whole figure swaying to and fro like that of a drunkard. I ran to her and threw my arms round her, but at that moment her knees seemed to give way and she fell to the ground. She writhed as one who is in terrible pain, and her limbs were dreadfully convulsed. At first I thought that she had not recognised me, but as I bent over her she suddenly shrieked out in a voice which I shall never forget, ‘Oh, my God! Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!’ There was something else which she would fain have said, and she stabbed with her finger into the air in the direction of the Doctor’s room, but a fresh convulsion seized her and choked her words. I rushed out, calling loudly for my stepfather, and I met him hastening from his room in his dressing-gown. When he reached my sister’s side she was unconscious, and though he poured brandy down her throat and sent for medical aid from the village, all efforts were in vain, for she slowly sank and died without having recovered her consciousness. Such was the dreadful end of my beloved sister.” “One moment,” said Holmes, “are you sure about this whistle and metallic sound? Could you swear to it?” “That was what the county coroner asked me at the inquiry. It is my strong impression that I heard it, and yet, among the crash of the gale and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly have been deceived.” “Was your sister dressed?” “No, she was in her night-dress. In her right hand was found the charred stump of a match, and in her left a match-box.” “Showing that she had struck a light and looked about her when the alarm took place. That is important. And what conclusions did the coroner come to?” “He investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott’s conduct had long been notorious in the county, but he was unable to find any satisfactory cause of death. My evidence showed that the door had been fastened upon the inner side, and the windows were blocked by old-fashioned shutters with broad iron bars, which were secured every night. The walls were carefully sounded, and were shown to be quite solid all round, and the flooring was also thoroughly examined, with the same result. The chimney is wide, but is barred up by four large staples. It is certain, therefore, that my sister was quite alone when she met her end. Besides, there were no marks of any violence upon her.” “How about poison?” “The doctors examined her for it, but without success.” “What do you think that this unfortunate lady died of, then?” “It is my belief that she died of pure fear and nervous shock, though what it was that frightened her I cannot imagine.” “Were there gipsies in the plantation at the time?” “Yes, there are nearly always some there.” “Ah, and what did you gather from this allusion to a band—a speckled band?” “Sometimes I have thought that it was merely the wild talk of delirium, sometimes that it may have referred to some band of people, perhaps to these very gipsies in the plantation. I do not know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which she used.” Holmes shook his head like a man who is far from being satisfied. “These are very deep waters,” said he; “pray go on with your narrative.” “Two years have passed since then, and my life has been until lately lonelier than ever. A month ago, however, a dear friend, whom I have known for many years, has done me the honour to ask my hand in marriage. His name is Armitage—Percy Armitage—the second son of Mr. Armitage, of Crane Water, near Reading. My stepfather has offered no opposition to the match, and we are to be married in the course of the spring. Two days ago some repairs were started in the west wing of the building, and my bedroom wall has been pierced, so that I have had to move into the chamber in which my sister died, and to sleep in the very bed in which she slept. Imagine, then, my thrill of terror when last night, as I lay awake, thinking over her terrible fate, I suddenly heard in the silence of the night the low whistle which had been the herald of her own death. I sprang up and lit the lamp, but nothing was to be seen in the room. I was too shaken to go to bed again, however, so I dressed, and as soon as it was daylight I slipped down, got a dog-cart at the Crown Inn, which is opposite, and drove to Leatherhead, from whence I have come on this morning with the one object of seeing you and asking your advice.” “You have done wisely,” said my friend. “But have you told me all?” “Yes, all.” “Miss Roylott, you have not. You are screening your stepfather.” “Why, what do you mean?” For answer Holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which fringed the hand that lay upon our visitor’s knee. Five little livid spots, the marks of four fingers and a thumb, were printed upon the white wrist. “You have been cruelly used,” said Holmes. The lady coloured deeply and covered over her injured wrist. “He is a hard man,” she said, “and perhaps he hardly knows his own strength.” There was a long silence, during which Holmes leaned his chin upon his hands and stared into the crackling fire. “This is a very deep business,” he said at last. “There are a thousand details which I should desire to know before I decide upon our course of action. Yet we have not a moment to lose. If we were to come to Stoke Moran to-day, would it be possible for us to see over these rooms without the knowledge of your stepfather?” “As it happens, he spoke of coming into town to-day upon some most important business. It is probable that he will be away all day, and that there would be nothing to disturb you. We have a housekeeper now, but she is old and foolish, and I could easily get her out of the way.” “Excellent. You are not averse to this trip, Watson?” “By no means.” “Then we shall both come. What are you going to do yourself?” “I have one or two things which I would wish to do now that I am in town. But I shall return by the twelve o’clock train, so as to be there in time for your coming.” “And you may expect us early in the afternoon. I have myself some small business matters to attend to. Will you not wait and breakfast?” “No, I must go. My heart is lightened already since I have confided my trouble to you. I shall look forward to seeing you again this afternoon.” She dropped her thick black veil over her face and glided from the room. “And what do you think of it all, Watson?” asked Sherlock Holmes, leaning back in his chair. “It seems to me to be a most dark and sinister business.” “Dark enough and sinister enough.” “Yet if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls are sound, and that the door, window, and chimney are impassable, then her sister must have been undoubtedly alone when she met her mysterious end.” “What becomes, then, of these nocturnal whistles, and what of the very peculiar words of the dying woman?” “I cannot think.” “When you combine the ideas of whistles at night, the presence of a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor, the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has an interest in preventing his stepdaughter’s marriage, the dying allusion to a band, and, finally, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner heard a metallic clang, which might have been caused by one of those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into its place, I think that there is good ground to think that the mystery may be cleared along those lines.” “But what, then, did the gipsies do?” “I cannot imagine.” “I see many objections to any such theory.” “And so do I. It is precisely for that reason that we are going to Stoke Moran this day. I want to see whether the objections are fatal, or if they may be explained away. But what in the name of the devil!” The ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that our door had been suddenly dashed open, and that a huge man had framed himself in the aperture. His costume was a peculiar mixture of the professional and of the agricultural, having a black top-hat, a long frock-coat, and a pair of high gaiters, with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was he that his hat actually brushed the cross bar of the doorway, and his breadth seemed to span it across from side to side. A large face, seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other of us, while his deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high, thin, fleshless nose, gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old bird of prey. “Which of you is Holmes?” asked this apparition. “My name, sir; but you have the advantage of me,” said my companion quietly. “I am Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran.” “Indeed, Doctor,” said Holmes blandly. “Pray take a seat.” “I will do nothing of the kind. My stepdaughter has been here. I have traced her. What has she been saying to you?” “It is a little cold for the time of the year,” said Holmes. “What has she been saying to you?” screamed the old man furiously. “But I have heard that the crocuses promise well,” continued my companion imperturbably. “Ha! You put me off, do you?” said our new visitor, taking a step forward and shaking his hunting-crop. “I know you, you scoundrel! I have heard of you before. You are Holmes, the meddler.” My friend smiled. “Holmes, the busybody!” His smile broadened. “Holmes, the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!” Holmes chuckled heartily. “Your conversation is most entertaining,” said he. “When you go out close the door, for there is a decided draught.” “I will go when I have had my say. Don’t you dare to meddle with my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her! I am a dangerous man to fall foul of! See here.” He stepped swiftly forward, seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands. “See that you keep yourself out of my grip,” he snarled, and hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the room. “He seems a very amiable person,” said Holmes, laughing. “I am not quite so bulky, but if he had remained I might have shown him that my grip was not much more feeble than his own.” As he spoke he picked up the steel poker and, with a sudden effort, straightened it out again. “Fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official detective force! This incident gives zest to our investigation, however, and I only trust that our little friend will not suffer from her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her. And now, Watson, we shall order breakfast, and afterwards I shall walk down to Doctors’ Commons, where I hope to get some data which may help us in this matter.” It was nearly one o’clock when Sherlock Holmes returned from his excursion. He held in his hand a sheet of blue paper, scrawled over with notes and figures. “I have seen the will of the deceased wife,” said he. “To determine its exact meaning I have been obliged to work out the present prices of the investments with which it is concerned. The total income, which at the time of the wife’s death was little short of £ 1,100, is now, through the fall in agricultural prices, not more than £ 750. Each daughter can claim an income of £ 250, in case of marriage. It is evident, therefore, that if both girls had married, this beauty would have had a mere pittance, while even one of them would cripple him to a very serious extent. My morning’s work has not been wasted, since it has proved that he has the very strongest motives for standing in the way of anything of the sort. And now, Watson, this is too serious for dawdling, especially as the old man is aware that we are interesting ourselves in his affairs; so if you are ready, we shall call a cab and drive to Waterloo. I should be very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your pocket. An Eley’s No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and a tooth-brush are, I think, all that we need.” At Waterloo we were fortunate in catching a train for Leatherhead, where we hired a trap at the station inn and drove for four or five miles through the lovely Surrey lanes. It was a perfect day, with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the heavens. The trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out their first green shoots, and the air was full of the pleasant smell of the moist earth. To me at least there was a strange contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this sinister quest upon which we were engaged. My companion sat in the front of the trap, his arms folded, his hat pulled down over his eyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast, buried in the deepest thought. Suddenly, however, he started, tapped me on the shoulder, and pointed over the meadows. “Look there!” said he. A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, thickening into a grove at the highest point. From amid the branches there jutted out the grey gables and high roof-tree of a very old mansion. “Stoke Moran?” said he. “Yes, sir, that be the house of Dr. Grimesby Roylott,” remarked the driver. “There is some building going on there,” said Holmes; “that is where we are going.” “There’s the village,” said the driver, pointing to a cluster of roofs some distance to the left; “but if you want to get to the house, you’ll find it shorter to get over this stile, and so by the footpath over the fields. There it is, where the lady is walking.” “And the lady, I fancy, is Miss Stoner,” observed Holmes, shading his eyes. “Yes, I think we had better do as you suggest.” We got off, paid our fare, and the trap rattled back on its way to Leatherhead. “I thought it as well,” said Holmes as we climbed the stile, “that this fellow should think we had come here as architects, or on some definite business. It may stop his gossip. Good-afternoon, Miss Stoner. You see that we have been as good as our word.” Our client of the morning had hurried forward to meet us with a face which spoke her joy. “I have been waiting so eagerly for you,” she cried, shaking hands with us warmly. “All has turned out splendidly. Dr. Roylott has gone to town, and it is unlikely that he will be back before evening.” “We have had the pleasure of making the Doctor’s acquaintance,” said Holmes, and in a few words he sketched out what had occurred. Miss Stoner turned white to the lips as she listened. “Good heavens!” she cried, “he has followed me, then.” “So it appears.” “He is so cunning that I never know when I am safe from him. What will he say when he returns?” “He must guard himself, for he may find that there is someone more cunning than himself upon his track. You must lock yourself up from him to-night. If he is violent, we shall take you away to your aunt’s at Harrow. Now, we must make the best use of our time, so kindly take us at once to the rooms which we are to examine.” The building was of grey, lichen-blotched stone, with a high central portion and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab, thrown out on each side. In one of these wings the windows were broken and blocked with wooden boards, while the roof was partly caved in, a picture of ruin. The central portion was in little better repair, but the right-hand block was comparatively modern, and the blinds in the windows, with the blue smoke curling up from the chimneys, showed that this was where the family resided. Some scaffolding had been erected against the end wall, and the stone-work had been broken into, but there were no signs of any workmen at the moment of our visit. Holmes walked slowly up and down the ill-trimmed lawn and examined with deep attention the outsides of the windows. “This, I take it, belongs to the room in which you used to sleep, the centre one to your sister’s, and the one next to the main building to Dr. Roylott’s chamber?” “Exactly so. But I am now sleeping in the middle one.” “Pending the alterations, as I understand. By the way, there does not seem to be any very pressing need for repairs at that end wall.” “There were none. I believe that it was an excuse to move me from my room.” “Ah! that is suggestive. Now, on the other side of this narrow wing runs the corridor from which these three rooms open. There are windows in it, of course?” “Yes, but very small ones. Too narrow for anyone to pass through.” “As you both locked your doors at night, your rooms were unapproachable from that side. Now, would you have the kindness to go into your room and bar your shutters?” Miss Stoner did so, and Holmes, after a careful examination through the open window, endeavoured in every way to force the shutter open, but without success. There was no slit through which a knife could be passed to raise the bar. Then with his lens he tested the hinges, but they were of solid iron, built firmly into the massive masonry. “Hum!” said he, scratching his chin in some perplexity, “my theory certainly presents some difficulties. No one could pass these shutters if they were bolted. Well, we shall see if the inside throws any light upon the matter.” A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which the three bedrooms opened. Holmes refused to examine the third chamber, so we passed at once to the second, that in which Miss Stoner was now sleeping, and in which her sister had met with her fate. It was a homely little room, with a low ceiling and a gaping fireplace, after the fashion of old country-houses. A brown chest of drawers stood in one corner, a narrow white-counterpaned bed in another, and a dressing-table on the left-hand side of the window. These articles, with two small wicker-work chairs, made up all the furniture in the room save for a square of Wilton carpet in the centre. The boards round and the panelling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old and discoloured that it may have dated from the original building of the house. Holmes drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat silent, while his eyes travelled round and round and up and down, taking in every detail of the apartment. “Where does that bell communicate with?” he asked at last pointing to a thick bell-rope which hung down beside the bed, the tassel actually lying upon the pillow. “It goes to the housekeeper’s room.” “It looks newer than the other things?” “Yes, it was only put there a couple of years ago.” “Your sister asked for it, I suppose?” “No, I never heard of her using it. We used always to get what we wanted for ourselves.” “Indeed, it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bell-pull there. You will excuse me for a few minutes while I satisfy myself as to this floor.” He threw himself down upon his face with his lens in his hand and crawled swiftly backward and forward, examining minutely the cracks between the boards. Then he did the same with the wood-work with which the chamber was panelled. Finally he walked over to the bed and spent some time in staring at it and in running his eye up and down the wall. Finally he took the bell-rope in his hand and gave it a brisk tug. “Why, it’s a dummy,” said he. “Won’t it ring?” “No, it is not even attached to a wire. This is very interesting. You can see now that it is fastened to a hook just above where the little opening for the ventilator is.” “How very absurd! I never noticed that before.” “Very strange!” muttered Holmes, pulling at the rope. “There are one or two very singular points about this room. For example, what a fool a builder must be to open a ventilator into another room, when, with the same trouble, he might have communicated with the outside air!” “That is also quite modern,” said the lady. “Done about the same time as the bell-rope?” remarked Holmes. “Yes, there were several little changes carried out about that time.” “They seem to have been of a most interesting character—dummy bell-ropes, and ventilators which do not ventilate. With your permission, Miss Stoner, we shall now carry our researches into the inner apartment.” Dr. Grimesby Roylott’s chamber was larger than that of his step-daughter, but was as plainly furnished. A camp-bed, a small wooden shelf full of books, mostly of a technical character, an armchair beside the bed, a plain wooden chair against the wall, a round table, and a large iron safe were the principal things which met the eye. Holmes walked slowly round and examined each and all of them with the keenest interest. “What’s in here?” he asked, tapping the safe. “My stepfather’s business papers.” “Oh! you have seen inside, then?” “Only once, some years ago. I remember that it was full of papers.” “There isn’t a cat in it, for example?” “No. What a strange idea!” “Well, look at this!” He took up a small saucer of milk which stood on the top of it. “No; we don’t keep a cat. But there is a cheetah and a baboon.” “Ah, yes, of course! Well, a cheetah is just a big cat, and yet a saucer of milk does not go very far in satisfying its wants, I daresay. There is one point which I should wish to determine.” He squatted down in front of the wooden chair and examined the seat of it with the greatest attention. “Thank you. That is quite settled,” said he, rising and putting his lens in his pocket. “Hullo! Here is something interesting!” The object which had caught his eye was a small dog lash hung on one corner of the bed. The lash, however, was curled upon itself and tied so as to make a loop of whipcord. “What do you make of that, Watson?” “It’s a common enough lash. But I don’t know why it should be tied.” “That is not quite so common, is it? Ah, me! it’s a wicked world, and when a clever man turns his brains to crime it is the worst of all. I think that I have seen enough now, Miss Stoner, and with your permission we shall walk out upon the lawn.” I had never seen my friend’s face so grim or his brow so dark as it was when we turned from the scene of this investigation. We had walked several times up and down the lawn, neither Miss Stoner nor myself liking to break in upon his thoughts before he roused himself from his reverie. “It is very essential, Miss Stoner,” said he, “that you should absolutely follow my advice in every respect.” “I shall most certainly do so.” “The matter is too serious for any hesitation. Your life may depend upon your compliance.” “I assure you that I am in your hands.” “In the first place, both my friend and I must spend the night in your room.” Both Miss Stoner and I gazed at him in astonishment. “Yes, it must be so. Let me explain. I believe that that is the village inn over there?” “Yes, that is the Crown.” “Very good. Your windows would be visible from there?” “Certainly.” “You must confine yourself to your room, on pretence of a headache, when your stepfather comes back. Then when you hear him retire for the night, you must open the shutters of your window, undo the hasp, put your lamp there as a signal to us, and then withdraw quietly with everything which you are likely to want into the room which you used to occupy. I have no doubt that, in spite of the repairs, you could manage there for one night.” “Oh, yes, easily.” “The rest you will leave in our hands.” “But what will you do?” “We shall spend the night in your room, and we shall investigate the cause of this noise which has disturbed you.” “I believe, Mr. Holmes, that you have already made up your mind,” said Miss Stoner, laying her hand upon my companion’s sleeve. “Perhaps I have.” “Then, for pity’s sake, tell me what was the cause of my sister’s death.” “I should prefer to have clearer proofs before I speak.” “You can at least tell me whether my own thought is correct, and if she died from some sudden fright.” “No, I do not think so. I think that there was probably some more tangible cause. And now, Miss Stoner, we must leave you for if Dr. Roylott returned and saw us our journey would be in vain. Good-bye, and be brave, for if you will do what I have told you, you may rest assured that we shall soon drive away the dangers that threaten you.” Sherlock Holmes and I had no difficulty in engaging a bedroom and sitting-room at the Crown Inn. They were on the upper floor, and from our window we could command a view of the avenue gate, and of the inhabited wing of Stoke Moran Manor House. At dusk we saw Dr. Grimesby Roylott drive past, his huge form looming up beside the little figure of the lad who drove him. The boy had some slight difficulty in undoing the heavy iron gates, and we heard the hoarse roar of the Doctor’s voice and saw the fury with which he shook his clinched fists at him. The trap drove on, and a few minutes later we saw a sudden light spring up among the trees as the lamp was lit in one of the sitting-rooms. “Do you know, Watson,” said Holmes as we sat together in the gathering darkness, “I have really some scruples as to taking you to-night. There is a distinct element of danger.” “Can I be of assistance?” “Your presence might be invaluable.” “Then I shall certainly come.” “It is very kind of you.” “You speak of danger. You have evidently seen more in these rooms than was visible to me.” “No, but I fancy that I may have deduced a little more. I imagine that you saw all that I did.” “I saw nothing remarkable save the bell-rope, and what purpose that could answer I confess is more than I can imagine.” “You saw the ventilator, too?” “Yes, but I do not think that it is such a very unusual thing to have a small opening between two rooms. It was so small that a rat could hardly pass through.” “I knew that we should find a ventilator before ever we came to Stoke Moran.” “My dear Holmes!” “Oh, yes, I did. You remember in her statement she said that her sister could smell Dr. Roylott’s cigar. Now, of course that suggested at once that there must be a communication between the two rooms. It could only be a small one, or it would have been remarked upon at the coroner’s inquiry. I deduced a ventilator.” “But what harm can there be in that?” “Well, there is at least a curious coincidence of dates. A ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and a lady who sleeps in the bed dies. Does not that strike you?” “I cannot as yet see any connection.” “Did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed?” “No.” “It was clamped to the floor. Did you ever see a bed fastened like that before?” “I cannot say that I have.” “The lady could not move her bed. It must always be in the same relative position to the ventilator and to the rope—or so we may call it, since it was clearly never meant for a bell-pull.” “Holmes,” I cried, “I seem to see dimly what you are hinting at. We are only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible crime.” “Subtle enough and horrible enough. When a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge. Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession. This man strikes even deeper, but I think, Watson, that we shall be able to strike deeper still. But we shall have horrors enough before the night is over; for goodness’ sake let us have a quiet pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more cheerful.” About nine o’clock the light among the trees was extinguished, and all was dark in the direction of the Manor House. Two hours passed slowly away, and then, suddenly, just at the stroke of eleven, a single bright light shone out right in front of us. “That is our signal,” said Holmes, springing to his feet; “it comes from the middle window.” As we passed out he exchanged a few words with the landlord, explaining that we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance, and that it was possible that we might spend the night there. A moment later we were out on the dark road, a chill wind blowing in our faces, and one yellow light twinkling in front of us through the gloom to guide us on our sombre errand. There was little difficulty in entering the grounds, for unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall. Making our way among the trees, we reached the lawn, crossed it, and were about to enter through the window when out from a clump of laurel bushes there darted what seemed to be a hideous and distorted child, who threw itself upon the grass with writhing limbs and then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness. “My God!” I whispered; “did you see it?” Holmes was for the moment as startled as I. His hand closed like a vice upon my wrist in his agitation. Then he broke into a low laugh and put his lips to my ear. “It is a nice household,” he murmured. “That is the baboon.” I had forgotten the strange pets which the Doctor affected. There was a cheetah, too; perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders at any moment. I confess that I felt easier in my mind when, after following Holmes’ example and slipping off my shoes, I found myself inside the bedroom. My companion noiselessly closed the shutters, moved the lamp onto the table, and cast his eyes round the room. All was as we had seen it in the daytime. Then creeping up to me and making a trumpet of his hand, he whispered into my ear again so gently that it was all that I could do to distinguish the words: “The least sound would be fatal to our plans.” I nodded to show that I had heard. “We must sit without light. He would see it through the ventilator.” I nodded again. “Do not go asleep; your very life may depend upon it. Have your pistol ready in case we should need it. I will sit on the side of the bed, and you in that chair.” I took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table. Holmes had brought up a long thin cane, and this he placed upon the bed beside him. By it he laid the box of matches and the stump of a candle. Then he turned down the lamp, and we were left in darkness. How shall I ever forget that dreadful vigil? I could not hear a sound, not even the drawing of a breath, and yet I knew that my companion sat open-eyed, within a few feet of me, in the same state of nervous tension in which I was myself. The shutters cut off the least ray of light, and we waited in absolute darkness. From outside came the occasional cry of a night-bird, and once at our very window a long drawn catlike whine, which told us that the cheetah was indeed at liberty. Far away we could hear the deep tones of the parish clock, which boomed out every quarter of an hour. How long they seemed, those quarters! Twelve struck, and one and two and three, and still we sat waiting silently for whatever might befall. Suddenly there was the momentary gleam of a light up in the direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately, but was succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal. Someone in the next room had lit a dark-lantern. I heard a gentle sound of movement, and then all was silent once more, though the smell grew stronger. For half an hour I sat with straining ears. Then suddenly another sound became audible—a very gentle, soothing sound, like that of a small jet of steam escaping continually from a kettle. The instant that we heard it, Holmes sprang from the bed, struck a match, and lashed furiously with his cane at the bell-pull. “You see it, Watson?” he yelled. “You see it?” But I saw nothing. At the moment when Holmes struck the light I heard a low, clear whistle, but the sudden glare flashing into my weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which my friend lashed so savagely. I could, however, see that his face was deadly pale and filled with horror and loathing. He had ceased to strike and was gazing up at the ventilator when suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the most horrible cry to which I have ever listened. It swelled up louder and louder, a hoarse yell of pain and fear and anger all mingled in the one dreadful shriek. They say that away down in the village, and even in the distant parsonage, that cry raised the sleepers from their beds. It struck cold to our hearts, and I stood gazing at Holmes, and he at me, until the last echoes of it had died away into the silence from which it rose. “What can it mean?” I gasped. “It means that it is all over,” Holmes answered. “And perhaps, after all, it is for the best. Take your pistol, and we will enter Dr. Roylott’s room.” With a grave face he lit the lamp and led the way down the corridor. Twice he struck at the chamber door without any reply from within. Then he turned the handle and entered, I at his heels, with the cocked pistol in my hand. It was a singular sight which met our eyes. On the table stood a dark-lantern with the shutter half open, throwing a brilliant beam of light upon the iron safe, the door of which was ajar. Beside this table, on the wooden chair, sat Dr. Grimesby Roylott clad in a long grey dressing-gown, his bare ankles protruding beneath, and his feet thrust into red heelless Turkish slippers. Across his lap lay the short stock with the long lash which we had noticed during the day. His chin was cocked upward and his eyes were fixed in a dreadful, rigid stare at the corner of the ceiling. Round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band, with brownish speckles, which seemed to be bound tightly round his head. As we entered he made neither sound nor motion. “The band! the speckled band!” whispered Holmes. I took a step forward. In an instant his strange headgear began to move, and there reared itself from among his hair the squat diamond-shaped head and puffed neck of a loathsome serpent. “It is a swamp adder!” cried Holmes; “the deadliest snake in India. He has died within ten seconds of being bitten. Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another. Let us thrust this creature back into its den, and we can then remove Miss Stoner to some place of shelter and let the county police know what has happened.” As he spoke he drew the dog-whip swiftly from the dead man’s lap, and throwing the noose round the reptile’s neck he drew it from its horrid perch and, carrying it at arm’s length, threw it into the iron safe, which he closed upon it. Such are the true facts of the death of Dr. Grimesby Roylott, of Stoke Moran. It is not necessary that I should prolong a narrative which has already run to too great a length by telling how we broke the sad news to the terrified girl, how we conveyed her by the morning train to the care of her good aunt at Harrow, of how the slow process of official inquiry came to the conclusion that the doctor met his fate while indiscreetly playing with a dangerous pet. The little which I had yet to learn of the case was told me by Sherlock Holmes as we travelled back next day. “I had,” said he, “come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data. The presence of the gipsies, and the use of the word ‘band,’ which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to explain the appearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of by the light of her match, were sufficient to put me upon an entirely wrong scent. I can only claim the merit that I instantly reconsidered my position when, however, it became clear to me that whatever danger threatened an occupant of the room could not come either from the window or the door. My attention was speedily drawn, as I have already remarked to you, to this ventilator, and to the bell-rope which hung down to the bed. The discovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to the floor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was there as a bridge for something passing through the hole and coming to the bed. The idea of a snake instantly occurred to me, and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I was probably on the right track. The idea of using a form of poison which could not possibly be discovered by any chemical test was just such a one as would occur to a clever and ruthless man who had had an Eastern training. The rapidity with which such a poison would take effect would also, from his point of view, be an advantage. It would be a sharp-eyed coroner, indeed, who could distinguish the two little dark punctures which would show where the poison fangs had done their work. Then I thought of the whistle. Of course he must recall the snake before the morning light revealed it to the victim. He had trained it, probably by the use of the milk which we saw, to return to him when summoned. He would put it through this ventilator at the hour that he thought best, with the certainty that it would crawl down the rope and land on the bed. It might or might not bite the occupant, perhaps she might escape every night for a week, but sooner or later she must fall a victim. “I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his room. An inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in the habit of standing on it, which of course would be necessary in order that he should reach the ventilator. The sight of the safe, the saucer of milk, and the loop of whipcord were enough to finally dispel any doubts which may have remained. The metallic clang heard by Miss Stoner was obviously caused by her stepfather hastily closing the door of his safe upon its terrible occupant. Having once made up my mind, you know the steps which I took in order to put the matter to the proof. I heard the creature hiss as I have no doubt that you did also, and I instantly lit the light and attacked it.” “With the result of driving it through the ventilator.” “And also with the result of causing it to turn upon its master at the other side. Some of the blows of my cane came home and roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott’s death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience.” IX. THE ADVENTURE OF THE ENGINEER’S THUMB Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, for solution during the years of our intimacy, there were only two which I was the means of introducing to his notice—that of Mr. Hatherley’s thumb, and that of Colonel Warburton’s madness. Of these the latter may have afforded a finer field for an acute and original observer, but the other was so strange in its inception and so dramatic in its details that it may be the more worthy of being placed upon record, even if it gave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of reasoning by which he achieved such remarkable results. The story has, I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers, but, like all such narratives, its effect is much less striking when set forth _en bloc_ in a single half-column of print than when the facts slowly evolve before your own eyes, and the mystery clears gradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which leads on to the complete truth. At the time the circumstances made a deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly served to weaken the effect. It was in the summer of ’89, not long after my marriage, that the events occurred which I am now about to summarise. I had returned to civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his Baker Street rooms, although I continually visited him and occasionally even persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to come and visit us. My practice had steadily increased, and as I happened to live at no very great distance from Paddington Station, I got a few patients from among the officials. One of these, whom I had cured of a painful and lingering disease, was never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavouring to send me on every sufferer over whom he might have any influence. One morning, at a little before seven o’clock, I was awakened by the maid tapping at the door to announce that two men had come from Paddington and were waiting in the consulting-room. I dressed hurriedly, for I knew by experience that railway cases were seldom trivial, and hastened downstairs. As I descended, my old ally, the guard, came out of the room and closed the door tightly behind him. “I’ve got him here,” he whispered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder; “he’s all right.” “What is it, then?” I asked, for his manner suggested that it was some strange creature which he had caged up in my room. “It’s a new patient,” he whispered. “I thought I’d bring him round myself; then he couldn’t slip away. There he is, all safe and sound. I must go now, Doctor; I have my dooties, just the same as you.” And off he went, this trusty tout, without even giving me time to thank him. I entered my consulting-room and found a gentleman seated by the table. He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with a soft cloth cap which he had laid down upon my books. Round one of his hands he had a handkerchief wrapped, which was mottled all over with bloodstains. He was young, not more than five-and-twenty, I should say, with a strong, masculine face; but he was exceedingly pale and gave me the impression of a man who was suffering from some strong agitation, which it took all his strength of mind to control. “I am sorry to knock you up so early, Doctor,” said he, “but I have had a very serious accident during the night. I came in by train this morning, and on inquiring at Paddington as to where I might find a doctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me here. I gave the maid a card, but I see that she has left it upon the side-table.” I took it up and glanced at it. “Mr. Victor Hatherley, hydraulic engineer, 16A, Victoria Street (3rd floor).” That was the name, style, and abode of my morning visitor. “I regret that I have kept you waiting,” said I, sitting down in my library-chair. “You are fresh from a night journey, I understand, which is in itself a monotonous occupation.” “Oh, my night could not be called monotonous,” said he, and laughed. He laughed very heartily, with a high, ringing note, leaning back in his chair and shaking his sides. All my medical instincts rose up against that laugh. “Stop it!” I cried; “pull yourself together!” and I poured out some water from a caraffe. It was useless, however. He was off in one of those hysterical outbursts which come upon a strong nature when some great crisis is over and gone. Presently he came to himself once more, very weary and pale-looking. “I have been making a fool of myself,” he gasped. “Not at all. Drink this.” I dashed some brandy into the water, and the colour began to come back to his bloodless cheeks. “That’s better!” said he. “And now, Doctor, perhaps you would kindly attend to my thumb, or rather to the place where my thumb used to be.” He unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. It gave even my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it. There were four protruding fingers and a horrid red, spongy surface where the thumb should have been. It had been hacked or torn right out from the roots. “Good heavens!” I cried, “this is a terrible injury. It must have bled considerably.” “Yes, it did. I fainted when it was done, and I think that I must have been senseless for a long time. When I came to I found that it was still bleeding, so I tied one end of my handkerchief very tightly round the wrist and braced it up with a twig.” “Excellent! You should have been a surgeon.” “It is a question of hydraulics, you see, and came within my own province.” “This has been done,” said I, examining the wound, “by a very heavy and sharp instrument.” “A thing like a cleaver,” said he. “An accident, I presume?” “By no means.” “What! a murderous attack?” “Very murderous indeed.” “You horrify me.” I sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it, and finally covered it over with cotton wadding and carbolised bandages. He lay back without wincing, though he bit his lip from time to time. “How is that?” I asked when I had finished. “Capital! Between your brandy and your bandage, I feel a new man. I was very weak, but I have had a good deal to go through.” “Perhaps you had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently trying to your nerves.” “Oh, no, not now. I shall have to tell my tale to the police; but, between ourselves, if it were not for the convincing evidence of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if they believed my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one, and I have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up; and, even if they believe me, the clues which I can give them are so vague that it is a question whether justice will be done.” “Ha!” cried I, “if it is anything in the nature of a problem which you desire to see solved, I should strongly recommend you to come to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, before you go to the official police.” “Oh, I have heard of that fellow,” answered my visitor, “and I should be very glad if he would take the matter up, though of course I must use the official police as well. Would you give me an introduction to him?” “I’ll do better. I’ll take you round to him myself.” “I should be immensely obliged to you.” “We’ll call a cab and go together. We shall just be in time to have a little breakfast with him. Do you feel equal to it?” “Yes; I shall not feel easy until I have told my story.” “Then my servant will call a cab, and I shall be with you in an instant.” I rushed upstairs, explained the matter shortly to my wife, and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with my new acquaintance to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes was, as I expected, lounging about his sitting-room in his dressing-gown, reading the agony column of _The Times_ and smoking his before-breakfast pipe, which was composed of all the plugs and dottles left from his smokes of the day before, all carefully dried and collected on the corner of the mantelpiece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion, ordered fresh rashers and eggs, and joined us in a hearty meal. When it was concluded he settled our new acquaintance upon the sofa, placed a pillow beneath his head, and laid a glass of brandy and water within his reach. “It is easy to see that your experience has been no common one, Mr. Hatherley,” said he. “Pray, lie down there and make yourself absolutely at home. Tell us what you can, but stop when you are tired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant.” “Thank you,” said my patient, “but I have felt another man since the doctor bandaged me, and I think that your breakfast has completed the cure. I shall take up as little of your valuable time as possible, so I shall start at once upon my peculiar experiences.” Holmes sat in his big armchair with the weary, heavy-lidded expression which veiled his keen and eager nature, while I sat opposite to him, and we listened in silence to the strange story which our visitor detailed to us. “You must know,” said he, “that I am an orphan and a bachelor, residing alone in lodgings in London. By profession I am a hydraulic engineer, and I have had considerable experience of my work during the seven years that I was apprenticed to Venner & Matheson, the well-known firm, of Greenwich. Two years ago, having served my time, and having also come into a fair sum of money through my poor father’s death, I determined to start in business for myself and took professional chambers in Victoria Street. “I suppose that everyone finds his first independent start in business a dreary experience. To me it has been exceptionally so. During two years I have had three consultations and one small job, and that is absolutely all that my profession has brought me. My gross takings amount to £ 27 10_s_. Every day, from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, I waited in my little den, until at last my heart began to sink, and I came to believe that I should never have any practice at all. “Yesterday, however, just as I was thinking of leaving the office, my clerk entered to say there was a gentleman waiting who wished to see me upon business. He brought up a card, too, with the name of ‘Colonel Lysander Stark’ engraved upon it. Close at his heels came the colonel himself, a man rather over the middle size, but of an exceeding thinness. I do not think that I have ever seen so thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into nose and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn quite tense over his outstanding bones. Yet this emaciation seemed to be his natural habit, and due to no disease, for his eye was bright, his step brisk, and his bearing assured. He was plainly but neatly dressed, and his age, I should judge, would be nearer forty than thirty. “‘Mr. Hatherley?’ said he, with something of a German accent. ‘You have been recommended to me, Mr. Hatherley, as being a man who is not only proficient in his profession but is also discreet and capable of preserving a secret.’ “I bowed, feeling as flattered as any young man would at such an address. ‘May I ask who it was who gave me so good a character?’ “‘Well, perhaps it is better that I should not tell you that just at this moment. I have it from the same source that you are both an orphan and a bachelor and are residing alone in London.’ “‘That is quite correct,’ I answered; ‘but you will excuse me if I say that I cannot see how all this bears upon my professional qualifications. I understand that it was on a professional matter that you wished to speak to me?’ “‘Undoubtedly so. But you will find that all I say is really to the point. I have a professional commission for you, but absolute secrecy is quite essential—absolute secrecy, you understand, and of course we may expect that more from a man who is alone than from one who lives in the bosom of his family.’ “‘If I promise to keep a secret,’ said I, ‘you may absolutely depend upon my doing so.’ “He looked very hard at me as I spoke, and it seemed to me that I had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye. “‘Do you promise, then?’ said he at last. “‘Yes, I promise.’ “‘Absolute and complete silence before, during, and after? No reference to the matter at all, either in word or writing?’ “‘I have already given you my word.’ “‘Very good.’ He suddenly sprang up, and darting like lightning across the room he flung open the door. The passage outside was empty. “‘That’s all right,’ said he, coming back. ‘I know that clerks are sometimes curious as to their master’s affairs. Now we can talk in safety.’ He drew up his chair very close to mine and began to stare at me again with the same questioning and thoughtful look. “A feeling of repulsion, and of something akin to fear had begun to rise within me at the strange antics of this fleshless man. Even my dread of losing a client could not restrain me from showing my impatience. “‘I beg that you will state your business, sir,’ said I; ‘my time is of value.’ Heaven forgive me for that last sentence, but the words came to my lips. “‘How would fifty guineas for a night’s work suit you?’ he asked. “‘Most admirably.’ “‘I say a night’s work, but an hour’s would be nearer the mark. I simply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine which has got out of gear. If you show us what is wrong we shall soon set it right ourselves. What do you think of such a commission as that?’ “‘The work appears to be light and the pay munificent.’ “‘Precisely so. We shall want you to come to-night by the last train.’ “‘Where to?’ “‘To Eyford, in Berkshire. It is a little place near the borders of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of Reading. There is a train from Paddington which would bring you there at about 11:15.’ “‘Very good.’ “‘I shall come down in a carriage to meet you.’ “‘There is a drive, then?’ “‘Yes, our little place is quite out in the country. It is a good seven miles from Eyford Station.’ “‘Then we can hardly get there before midnight. I suppose there would be no chance of a train back. I should be compelled to stop the night.’ “‘Yes, we could easily give you a shake-down.’ “‘That is very awkward. Could I not come at some more convenient hour?’ “‘We have judged it best that you should come late. It is to recompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a young and unknown man, a fee which would buy an opinion from the very heads of your profession. Still, of course, if you would like to draw out of the business, there is plenty of time to do so.’ “I thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful they would be to me. ‘Not at all,’ said I, ‘I shall be very happy to accommodate myself to your wishes. I should like, however, to understand a little more clearly what it is that you wish me to do.’ “‘Quite so. It is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity. I have no wish to commit you to anything without your having it all laid before you. I suppose that we are absolutely safe from eavesdroppers?’ “‘Entirely.’ “‘Then the matter stands thus. You are probably aware that fuller’s-earth is a valuable product, and that it is only found in one or two places in England?’ “‘I have heard so.’ “‘Some little time ago I bought a small place—a very small place—within ten miles of Reading. I was fortunate enough to discover that there was a deposit of fuller’s-earth in one of my fields. On examining it, however, I found that this deposit was a comparatively small one, and that it formed a link between two very much larger ones upon the right and left—both of them, however, in the grounds of my neighbours. These good people were absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was quite as valuable as a gold-mine. Naturally, it was to my interest to buy their land before they discovered its true value, but unfortunately I had no capital by which I could do this. I took a few of my friends into the secret, however, and they suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little deposit and that in this way we should earn the money which would enable us to buy the neighbouring fields. This we have now been doing for some time, and in order to help us in our operations we erected a hydraulic press. This press, as I have already explained, has got out of order, and we wish your advice upon the subject. We guard our secret very jealously, however, and if it once became known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our little house, it would soon rouse inquiry, and then, if the facts came out, it would be good-bye to any chance of getting these fields and carrying out our plans. That is why I have made you promise me that you will not tell a human being that you are going to Eyford to-night. I hope that I make it all plain?’ “‘I quite follow you,’ said I. ‘The only point which I could not quite understand was what use you could make of a hydraulic press in excavating fuller’s-earth, which, as I understand, is dug out like gravel from a pit.’ “‘Ah!’ said he carelessly, ‘we have our own process. We compress the earth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealing what they are. But that is a mere detail. I have taken you fully into my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley, and I have shown you how I trust you.’ He rose as he spoke. ‘I shall expect you, then, at Eyford at 11:15.’ “‘I shall certainly be there.’ “‘And not a word to a soul.’ He looked at me with a last long, questioning gaze, and then, pressing my hand in a cold, dank grasp, he hurried from the room. “Well, when I came to think it all over in cool blood I was very much astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission which had been intrusted to me. On the one hand, of course, I was glad, for the fee was at least tenfold what I should have asked had I set a price upon my own services, and it was possible that this order might lead to other ones. On the other hand, the face and manner of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon me, and I could not think that his explanation of the fuller’s-earth was sufficient to explain the necessity for my coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should tell anyone of my errand. However, I threw all fears to the winds, ate a hearty supper, drove to Paddington, and started off, having obeyed to the letter the injunction as to holding my tongue. “At Reading I had to change not only my carriage but my station. However, I was in time for the last train to Eyford, and I reached the little dim-lit station after eleven o’clock. I was the only passenger who got out there, and there was no one upon the platform save a single sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passed out through the wicket gate, however, I found my acquaintance of the morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without a word he grasped my arm and hurried me into a carriage, the door of which was standing open. He drew up the windows on either side, tapped on the wood-work, and away we went as fast as the horse could go.” “One horse?” interjected Holmes. “Yes, only one.” “Did you observe the colour?” “Yes, I saw it by the side-lights when I was stepping into the carriage. It was a chestnut.” “Tired-looking or fresh?” “Oh, fresh and glossy.” “Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue your most interesting statement.” “Away we went then, and we drove for at least an hour. Colonel Lysander Stark had said that it was only seven miles, but I should think, from the rate that we seemed to go, and from the time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He sat at my side in silence all the time, and I was aware, more than once when I glanced in his direction, that he was looking at me with great intensity. The country roads seem to be not very good in that part of the world, for we lurched and jolted terribly. I tried to look out of the windows to see something of where we were, but they were made of frosted glass, and I could make out nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light. Now and then I hazarded some remark to break the monotony of the journey, but the colonel answered only in monosyllables, and the conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping of the road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a gravel-drive, and the carriage came to a stand. Colonel Lysander Stark sprang out, and, as I followed after him, pulled me swiftly into a porch which gaped in front of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed to catch the most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant that I had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us, and I heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage drove away. “It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled about looking for matches and muttering under his breath. Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and a long, golden bar of light shot out in our direction. It grew broader, and a woman appeared with a lamp in her hand, which she held above her head, pushing her face forward and peering at us. I could see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with which the light shone upon her dark dress I knew that it was a rich material. She spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as though asking a question, and when my companion answered in a gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her, whispered something in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the room from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the lamp in his hand. “‘Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a few minutes,’ said he, throwing open another door. It was a quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the centre, on which several German books were scattered. Colonel Stark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the door. ‘I shall not keep you waiting an instant,’ said he, and vanished into the darkness. “I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my ignorance of German I could see that two of them were treatises on science, the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of the country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There was an old clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise everything was deadly still. A vague feeling of uneasiness began to steal over me. Who were these German people, and what were they doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? And where was the place? I was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or west I had no idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other large towns, were within that radius, so the place might not be so secluded, after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness, that we were in the country. I paced up and down the room, humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling that I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee. “Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the utter stillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind her, the yellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager and beautiful face. I could see at a glance that she was sick with fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one shaking finger to warn me to be silent, and she shot a few whispered words of broken English at me, her eyes glancing back, like those of a frightened horse, into the gloom behind her. “‘I would go,’ said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, to speak calmly; ‘I would go. I should not stay here. There is no good for you to do.’ “‘But, madam,’ said I, ‘I have not yet done what I came for. I cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.’ “‘It is not worth your while to wait,’ she went on. ‘You can pass through the door; no one hinders.’ And then, seeing that I smiled and shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and made a step forward, with her hands wrung together. ‘For the love of Heaven!’ she whispered, ‘get away from here before it is too late!’ “But I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready to engage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I thought of my fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to go for nothing? Why should I slink away without having carried out my commission, and without the payment which was my due? This woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout bearing, therefore, though her manner had shaken me more than I cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention of remaining where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several footsteps was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as she had come. “The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick man with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double chin, who was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson. “‘This is my secretary and manager,’ said the colonel. ‘By the way, I was under the impression that I left this door shut just now. I fear that you have felt the draught.’ “‘On the contrary,’ said I, ‘I opened the door myself because I felt the room to be a little close.’ “He shot one of his suspicious looks at me. ‘Perhaps we had better proceed to business, then,’ said he. ‘Mr. Ferguson and I will take you up to see the machine.’ “‘I had better put my hat on, I suppose.’ “‘Oh, no, it is in the house.’ “‘What, you dig fuller’s-earth in the house?’ “‘No, no. This is only where we compress it. But never mind that. All we wish you to do is to examine the machine and to let us know what is wrong with it.’ “We went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, the fat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house, with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the generations who had crossed them. There were no carpets and no signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in green, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned an air as possible, but I had not forgotten the warnings of the lady, even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen eye upon my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent man, but I could see from the little that he said that he was at least a fellow-countryman. “Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door, which he unlocked. Within was a small, square room, in which the three of us could hardly get at one time. Ferguson remained outside, and the colonel ushered me in. “‘We are now,’ said he, ‘actually within the hydraulic press, and it would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the end of the descending piston, and it comes down with the force of many tons upon this metal floor. There are small lateral columns of water outside which receive the force, and which transmit and multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The machine goes readily enough, but there is some stiffness in the working of it, and it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you will have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set it right.’ “I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very thoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of exercising enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and pressed down the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by the whishing sound that there was a slight leakage, which allowed a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders. An examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was round the head of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not quite to fill the socket along which it worked. This was clearly the cause of the loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions, who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When I had made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the machine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller’s-earth was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose that so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate a purpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a large iron trough, and when I came to examine it I could see a crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was scraping at this to see exactly what it was when I heard a muttered exclamation in German and saw the cadaverous face of the colonel looking down at me. “‘What are you doing there?’ he asked. “I felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as that which he had told me. ‘I was admiring your fuller’s-earth,’ said I; ‘I think that I should be better able to advise you as to your machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which it was used.’ “The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of my speech. His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in his grey eyes. “‘Very well,’ said he, ‘you shall know all about the machine.’ He took a step backward, slammed the little door, and turned the key in the lock. I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle, but it was quite secure, and did not give in the least to my kicks and shoves. ‘Hullo!’ I yelled. ‘Hullo! Colonel! Let me out!’ “And then suddenly in the silence I heard a sound which sent my heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lamp still stood upon the floor where I had placed it when examining the trough. By its light I saw that the black ceiling was coming down upon me, slowly, jerkily, but, as none knew better than myself, with a force which must within a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp. I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and dragged with my nails at the lock. I implored the colonel to let me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my cries. The ceiling was only a foot or two above my head, and with my hand upraised I could feel its hard, rough surface. Then it flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend very much upon the position in which I met it. If I lay on my face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to think of that dreadful snap. Easier the other way, perhaps; and yet, had I the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering down upon me? Already I was unable to stand erect, when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope back to my heart. “I have said that though the floor and ceiling were of iron, the walls were of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around, I saw a thin line of yellow light between two of the boards, which broadened and broadened as a small panel was pushed backward. For an instant I could hardly believe that here was indeed a door which led away from death. The next instant I threw myself through, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel had closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp, and a few moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told me how narrow had been my escape. “I was recalled to myself by a frantic plucking at my wrist, and I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor, while a woman bent over me and tugged at me with her left hand, while she held a candle in her right. It was the same good friend whose warning I had so foolishly rejected. “‘Come! come!’ she cried breathlessly. ‘They will be here in a moment. They will see that you are not there. Oh, do not waste the so-precious time, but come!’ “This time, at least, I did not scorn her advice. I staggered to my feet and ran with her along the corridor and down a winding stair. The latter led to another broad passage, and just as we reached it we heard the sound of running feet and the shouting of two voices, one answering the other from the floor on which we were and from the one beneath. My guide stopped and looked about her like one who is at her wit’s end. Then she threw open a door which led into a bedroom, through the window of which the moon was shining brightly. “‘It is your only chance,’ said she. ‘It is high, but it may be that you can jump it.’ “As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a butcher’s cleaver in the other. I rushed across the bedroom, flung open the window, and looked out. How quiet and sweet and wholesome the garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but I hesitated to jump until I should have heard what passed between my saviour and the ruffian who pursued me. If she were ill-used, then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance. The thought had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at the door, pushing his way past her; but she threw her arms round him and tried to hold him back. “‘Fritz! Fritz!’ she cried in English, ‘remember your promise after the last time. You said it should not be again. He will be silent! Oh, he will be silent!’ “‘You are mad, Elise!’ he shouted, struggling to break away from her. ‘You will be the ruin of us. He has seen too much. Let me pass, I say!’ He dashed her to one side, and, rushing to the window, cut at me with his heavy weapon. I had let myself go, and was hanging by the hands to the sill, when his blow fell. I was conscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into the garden below. “I was shaken but not hurt by the fall; so I picked myself up and rushed off among the bushes as hard as I could run, for I understood that I was far from being out of danger yet. Suddenly, however, as I ran, a deadly dizziness and sickness came over me. I glanced down at my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and then, for the first time, saw that my thumb had been cut off and that the blood was pouring from my wound. I endeavoured to tie my handkerchief round it, but there came a sudden buzzing in my ears, and next moment I fell in a dead faint among the rose-bushes. “How long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have been a very long time, for the moon had sunk, and a bright morning was breaking when I came to myself. My clothes were all sodden with dew, and my coat-sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded thumb. The smarting of it recalled in an instant all the particulars of my night’s adventure, and I sprang to my feet with the feeling that I might hardly yet be safe from my pursuers. But to my astonishment, when I came to look round me, neither house nor garden were to be seen. I had been lying in an angle of the hedge close by the highroad, and just a little lower down was a long building, which proved, upon my approaching it, to be the very station at which I had arrived upon the previous night. Were it not for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had passed during those dreadful hours might have been an evil dream. “Half dazed, I went into the station and asked about the morning train. There would be one to Reading in less than an hour. The same porter was on duty, I found, as had been there when I arrived. I inquired of him whether he had ever heard of Colonel Lysander Stark. The name was strange to him. Had he observed a carriage the night before waiting for me? No, he had not. Was there a police-station anywhere near? There was one about three miles off. “It was too far for me to go, weak and ill as I was. I determined to wait until I got back to town before telling my story to the police. It was a little past six when I arrived, so I went first to have my wound dressed, and then the doctor was kind enough to bring me along here. I put the case into your hands and shall do exactly what you advise.” We both sat in silence for some little time after listening to this extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down from the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in which he placed his cuttings. “Here is an advertisement which will interest you,” said he. “It appeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this: ‘Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, aged twenty-six, a hydraulic engineer. Left his lodgings at ten o’clock at night, and has not been heard of since. Was dressed in,’ etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time that the colonel needed to have his machine overhauled, I fancy.” “Good heavens!” cried my patient. “Then that explains what the girl said.” “Undoubtedly. It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and desperate man, who was absolutely determined that nothing should stand in the way of his little game, like those out-and-out pirates who will leave no survivor from a captured ship. Well, every moment now is precious, so if you feel equal to it we shall go down to Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary to starting for Eyford.” Some three hours or so afterwards we were all in the train together, bound from Reading to the little Berkshire village. There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector Bradstreet, of Scotland Yard, a plain-clothes man, and myself. Bradstreet had spread an ordnance map of the county out upon the seat and was busy with his compasses drawing a circle with Eyford for its centre. “There you are,” said he. “That circle is drawn at a radius of ten miles from the village. The place we want must be somewhere near that line. You said ten miles, I think, sir.” “It was an hour’s good drive.” “And you think that they brought you back all that way when you were unconscious?” “They must have done so. I have a confused memory, too, of having been lifted and conveyed somewhere.” “What I cannot understand,” said I, “is why they should have spared you when they found you lying fainting in the garden. Perhaps the villain was softened by the woman’s entreaties.” “I hardly think that likely. I never saw a more inexorable face in my life.” “Oh, we shall soon clear up all that,” said Bradstreet. “Well, I have drawn my circle, and I only wish I knew at what point upon it the folk that we are in search of are to be found.” “I think I could lay my finger on it,” said Holmes quietly. “Really, now!” cried the inspector, “you have formed your opinion! Come, now, we shall see who agrees with you. I say it is south, for the country is more deserted there.” “And I say east,” said my patient. “I am for west,” remarked the plain-clothes man. “There are several quiet little villages up there.” “And I am for north,” said I, “because there are no hills there, and our friend says that he did not notice the carriage go up any.” “Come,” cried the inspector, laughing; “it’s a very pretty diversity of opinion. We have boxed the compass among us. Who do you give your casting vote to?” “You are all wrong.” “But we can’t all be.” “Oh, yes, you can. This is my point.” He placed his finger in the centre of the circle. “This is where we shall find them.” “But the twelve-mile drive?” gasped Hatherley. “Six out and six back. Nothing simpler. You say yourself that the horse was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be that if it had gone twelve miles over heavy roads?” “Indeed, it is a likely ruse enough,” observed Bradstreet thoughtfully. “Of course there can be no doubt as to the nature of this gang.” “None at all,” said Holmes. “They are coiners on a large scale, and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the place of silver.” “We have known for some time that a clever gang was at work,” said the inspector. “They have been turning out half-crowns by the thousand. We even traced them as far as Reading, but could get no farther, for they had covered their traces in a way that showed that they were very old hands. But now, thanks to this lucky chance, I think that we have got them right enough.” But the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not destined to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled into Eyford Station we saw a gigantic column of smoke which streamed up from behind a small clump of trees in the neighbourhood and hung like an immense ostrich feather over the landscape. “A house on fire?” asked Bradstreet as the train steamed off again on its way. “Yes, sir!” said the station-master. “When did it break out?” “I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse, and the whole place is in a blaze.” “Whose house is it?” “Dr. Becher’s.” “Tell me,” broke in the engineer, “is Dr. Becher a German, very thin, with a long, sharp nose?” The station-master laughed heartily. “No, sir, Dr. Becher is an Englishman, and there isn’t a man in the parish who has a better-lined waistcoat. But he has a gentleman staying with him, a patient, as I understand, who is a foreigner, and he looks as if a little good Berkshire beef would do him no harm.” The station-master had not finished his speech before we were all hastening in the direction of the fire. The road topped a low hill, and there was a great widespread whitewashed building in front of us, spouting fire at every chink and window, while in the garden in front three fire-engines were vainly striving to keep the flames under. “That’s it!” cried Hatherley, in intense excitement. “There is the gravel-drive, and there are the rose-bushes where I lay. That second window is the one that I jumped from.” “Well, at least,” said Holmes, “you have had your revenge upon them. There can be no question that it was your oil-lamp which, when it was crushed in the press, set fire to the wooden walls, though no doubt they were too excited in the chase after you to observe it at the time. Now keep your eyes open in this crowd for your friends of last night, though I very much fear that they are a good hundred miles off by now.” And Holmes’ fears came to be realised, for from that day to this no word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, the sinister German, or the morose Englishman. Early that morning a peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very bulky boxes driving rapidly in the direction of Reading, but there all traces of the fugitives disappeared, and even Holmes’ ingenuity failed ever to discover the least clue as to their whereabouts. The firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements which they had found within, and still more so by discovering a newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor. About sunset, however, their efforts were at last successful, and they subdued the flames, but not before the roof had fallen in, and the whole place been reduced to such absolute ruin that, save some twisted cylinders and iron piping, not a trace remained of the machinery which had cost our unfortunate acquaintance so dearly. Large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered stored in an out-house, but no coins were to be found, which may have explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have been already referred to. How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed from the garden to the spot where he recovered his senses might have remained forever a mystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us a very plain tale. He had evidently been carried down by two persons, one of whom had remarkably small feet and the other unusually large ones. On the whole, it was most probable that the silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than his companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious man out of the way of danger. “Well,” said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to return once more to London, “it has been a pretty business for me! I have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what have I gained?” “Experience,” said Holmes, laughing. “Indirectly it may be of value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.” X. THE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELOR The Lord St. Simon marriage, and its curious termination, have long ceased to be a subject of interest in those exalted circles in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves. Fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have drawn the gossips away from this four-year-old drama. As I have reason to believe, however, that the full facts have never been revealed to the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a considerable share in clearing the matter up, I feel that no memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of this remarkable episode. It was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I was still sharing rooms with Holmes in Baker Street, that he came home from an afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table waiting for him. I had remained indoors all day, for the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain, with high autumnal winds, and the jezail bullet which I had brought back in one of my limbs as a relic of my Afghan campaign throbbed with dull persistence. With my body in one easy-chair and my legs upon another, I had surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers until at last, saturated with the news of the day, I tossed them all aside and lay listless, watching the huge crest and monogram upon the envelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friend’s noble correspondent could be. “Here is a very fashionable epistle,” I remarked as he entered. “Your morning letters, if I remember right, were from a fish-monger and a tide-waiter.” “Yes, my correspondence has certainly the charm of variety,” he answered, smiling, “and the humbler are usually the more interesting. This looks like one of those unwelcome social summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie.” He broke the seal and glanced over the contents. “Oh, come, it may prove to be something of interest, after all.” “Not social, then?” “No, distinctly professional.” “And from a noble client?” “One of the highest in England.” “My dear fellow, I congratulate you.” “I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that the status of my client is a matter of less moment to me than the interest of his case. It is just possible, however, that that also may not be wanting in this new investigation. You have been reading the papers diligently of late, have you not?” “It looks like it,” said I ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in the corner. “I have had nothing else to do.” “It is fortunate, for you will perhaps be able to post me up. I read nothing except the criminal news and the agony column. The latter is always instructive. But if you have followed recent events so closely you must have read about Lord St. Simon and his wedding?” “Oh, yes, with the deepest interest.” “That is well. The letter which I hold in my hand is from Lord St. Simon. I will read it to you, and in return you must turn over these papers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter. This is what he says: “‘MY DEAR MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES,—Lord Backwater tells me that I may place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion. I have determined, therefore, to call upon you and to consult you in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in connection with my wedding. Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, is acting already in the matter, but he assures me that he sees no objection to your co-operation, and that he even thinks that it might be of some assistance. I will call at four o’clock in the afternoon, and, should you have any other engagement at that time, I hope that you will postpone it, as this matter is of paramount importance. Yours faithfully, “‘ROBERT ST. SIMON.’ “It is dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink upon the outer side of his right little finger,” remarked Holmes as he folded up the epistle. “He says four o’clock. It is three now. He will be here in an hour.” “Then I have just time, with your assistance, to get clear upon the subject. Turn over those papers and arrange the extracts in their order of time, while I take a glance as to who our client is.” He picked a red-covered volume from a line of books of reference beside the mantelpiece. “Here he is,” said he, sitting down and flattening it out upon his knee. “‘Lord Robert Walsingham de Vere St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral.’ Hum! ‘Arms: Azure, three caltrops in chief over a fess sable. Born in 1846.’ He’s forty-one years of age, which is mature for marriage. Was Under-Secretary for the colonies in a late administration. The Duke, his father, was at one time Secretary for Foreign Affairs. They inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent, and Tudor on the distaff side. Ha! Well, there is nothing very instructive in all this. I think that I must turn to you Watson, for something more solid.” “I have very little difficulty in finding what I want,” said I, “for the facts are quite recent, and the matter struck me as remarkable. I feared to refer them to you, however, as I knew that you had an inquiry on hand and that you disliked the intrusion of other matters.” “Oh, you mean the little problem of the Grosvenor Square furniture van. That is quite cleared up now—though, indeed, it was obvious from the first. Pray give me the results of your newspaper selections.” “Here is the first notice which I can find. It is in the personal column of the _Morning Post_, and dates, as you see, some weeks back: ‘A marriage has been arranged,’ it says, ‘and will, if rumour is correct, very shortly take place, between Lord Robert St. Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral, and Miss Hatty Doran, the only daughter of Aloysius Doran. Esq., of San Francisco, Cal., U.S.A.’ That is all.” “Terse and to the point,” remarked Holmes, stretching his long, thin legs towards the fire. “There was a paragraph amplifying this in one of the society papers of the same week. Ah, here it is: ‘There will soon be a call for protection in the marriage market, for the present free-trade principle appears to tell heavily against our home product. One by one the management of the noble houses of Great Britain is passing into the hands of our fair cousins from across the Atlantic. An important addition has been made during the last week to the list of the prizes which have been borne away by these charming invaders. Lord St. Simon, who has shown himself for over twenty years proof against the little god’s arrows, has now definitely announced his approaching marriage with Miss Hatty Doran, the fascinating daughter of a California millionaire. Miss Doran, whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much attention at the Westbury House festivities, is an only child, and it is currently reported that her dowry will run to considerably over the six figures, with expectancies for the future. As it is an open secret that the Duke of Balmoral has been compelled to sell his pictures within the last few years, and as Lord St. Simon has no property of his own save the small estate of Birchmoor, it is obvious that the Californian heiress is not the only gainer by an alliance which will enable her to make the easy and common transition from a Republican lady to a British peeress.’” “Anything else?” asked Holmes, yawning. “Oh, yes; plenty. Then there is another note in the _Morning Post_ to say that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet one, that it would be at St. George’s, Hanover Square, that only half a dozen intimate friends would be invited, and that the party would return to the furnished house at Lancaster Gate which has been taken by Mr. Aloysius Doran. Two days later—that is, on Wednesday last—there is a curt announcement that the wedding had taken place, and that the honeymoon would be passed at Lord Backwater’s place, near Petersfield. Those are all the notices which appeared before the disappearance of the bride.” “Before the what?” asked Holmes with a start. “The vanishing of the lady.” “When did she vanish, then?” “At the wedding breakfast.” “Indeed. This is more interesting than it promised to be; quite dramatic, in fact.” “Yes; it struck me as being a little out of the common.” “They often vanish before the ceremony, and occasionally during the honeymoon; but I cannot call to mind anything quite so prompt as this. Pray let me have the details.” “I warn you that they are very incomplete.” “Perhaps we may make them less so.” “Such as they are, they are set forth in a single article of a morning paper of yesterday, which I will read to you. It is headed, ‘Singular Occurrence at a Fashionable Wedding’: “‘The family of Lord Robert St. Simon has been thrown into the greatest consternation by the strange and painful episodes which have taken place in connection with his wedding. The ceremony, as shortly announced in the papers of yesterday, occurred on the previous morning; but it is only now that it has been possible to confirm the strange rumours which have been so persistently floating about. In spite of the attempts of the friends to hush the matter up, so much public attention has now been drawn to it that no good purpose can be served by affecting to disregard what is a common subject for conversation. “‘The ceremony, which was performed at St. George’s, Hanover Square, was a very quiet one, no one being present save the father of the bride, Mr. Aloysius Doran, the Duchess of Balmoral, Lord Backwater, Lord Eustace and Lady Clara St. Simon (the younger brother and sister of the bridegroom), and Lady Alicia Whittington. The whole party proceeded afterwards to the house of Mr. Aloysius Doran, at Lancaster Gate, where breakfast had been prepared. It appears that some little trouble was caused by a woman, whose name has not been ascertained, who endeavoured to force her way into the house after the bridal party, alleging that she had some claim upon Lord St. Simon. It was only after a painful and prolonged scene that she was ejected by the butler and the footman. The bride, who had fortunately entered the house before this unpleasant interruption, had sat down to breakfast with the rest, when she complained of a sudden indisposition and retired to her room. Her prolonged absence having caused some comment, her father followed her, but learned from her maid that she had only come up to her chamber for an instant, caught up an ulster and bonnet, and hurried down to the passage. One of the footmen declared that he had seen a lady leave the house thus apparelled, but had refused to credit that it was his mistress, believing her to be with the company. On ascertaining that his daughter had disappeared, Mr. Aloysius Doran, in conjunction with the bridegroom, instantly put themselves in communication with the police, and very energetic inquiries are being made, which will probably result in a speedy clearing up of this very singular business. Up to a late hour last night, however, nothing had transpired as to the whereabouts of the missing lady. There are rumours of foul play in the matter, and it is said that the police have caused the arrest of the woman who had caused the original disturbance, in the belief that, from jealousy or some other motive, she may have been concerned in the strange disappearance of the bride.’” “And is that all?” “Only one little item in another of the morning papers, but it is a suggestive one.” “And it is—” “That Miss Flora Millar, the lady who had caused the disturbance, has actually been arrested. It appears that she was formerly a _danseuse_ at the Allegro, and that she has known the bridegroom for some years. There are no further particulars, and the whole case is in your hands now—so far as it has been set forth in the public press.” “And an exceedingly interesting case it appears to be. I would not have missed it for worlds. But there is a ring at the bell, Watson, and as the clock makes it a few minutes after four, I have no doubt that this will prove to be our noble client. Do not dream of going, Watson, for I very much prefer having a witness, if only as a check to my own memory.” “Lord Robert St. Simon,” announced our page-boy, throwing open the door. A gentleman entered, with a pleasant, cultured face, high-nosed and pale, with something perhaps of petulance about the mouth, and with the steady, well-opened eye of a man whose pleasant lot it had ever been to command and to be obeyed. His manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an undue impression of age, for he had a slight forward stoop and a little bend of the knees as he walked. His hair, too, as he swept off his very curly-brimmed hat, was grizzled round the edges and thin upon the top. As to his dress, it was careful to the verge of foppishness, with high collar, black frock-coat, white waistcoat, yellow gloves, patent-leather shoes, and light-coloured gaiters. He advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from left to right, and swinging in his right hand the cord which held his golden eyeglasses. “Good-day, Lord St. Simon,” said Holmes, rising and bowing. “Pray take the basket-chair. This is my friend and colleague, Dr. Watson. Draw up a little to the fire, and we will talk this matter over.” “A most painful matter to me, as you can most readily imagine, Mr. Holmes. I have been cut to the quick. I understand that you have already managed several delicate cases of this sort, sir, though I presume that they were hardly from the same class of society.” “No, I am descending.” “I beg pardon.” “My last client of the sort was a king.” “Oh, really! I had no idea. And which king?” “The King of Scandinavia.” “What! Had he lost his wife?” “You can understand,” said Holmes suavely, “that I extend to the affairs of my other clients the same secrecy which I promise to you in yours.” “Of course! Very right! very right! I’m sure I beg pardon. As to my own case, I am ready to give you any information which may assist you in forming an opinion.” “Thank you. I have already learned all that is in the public prints, nothing more. I presume that I may take it as correct—this article, for example, as to the disappearance of the bride.” Lord St. Simon glanced over it. “Yes, it is correct, as far as it goes.” “But it needs a great deal of supplementing before anyone could offer an opinion. I think that I may arrive at my facts most directly by questioning you.” “Pray do so.” “When did you first meet Miss Hatty Doran?” “In San Francisco, a year ago.” “You were travelling in the States?” “Yes.” “Did you become engaged then?” “No.” “But you were on a friendly footing?” “I was amused by her society, and she could see that I was amused.” “Her father is very rich?” “He is said to be the richest man on the Pacific slope.” “And how did he make his money?” “In mining. He had nothing a few years ago. Then he struck gold, invested it, and came up by leaps and bounds.” “Now, what is your own impression as to the young lady’s—your wife’s character?” The nobleman swung his glasses a little faster and stared down into the fire. “You see, Mr. Holmes,” said he, “my wife was twenty before her father became a rich man. During that time she ran free in a mining camp and wandered through woods or mountains, so that her education has come from Nature rather than from the schoolmaster. She is what we call in England a tomboy, with a strong nature, wild and free, unfettered by any sort of traditions. She is impetuous—volcanic, I was about to say. She is swift in making up her mind and fearless in carrying out her resolutions. On the other hand, I would not have given her the name which I have the honour to bear”—he gave a little stately cough—“had I not thought her to be at bottom a noble woman. I believe that she is capable of heroic self-sacrifice and that anything dishonourable would be repugnant to her.” “Have you her photograph?” “I brought this with me.” He opened a locket and showed us the full face of a very lovely woman. It was not a photograph but an ivory miniature, and the artist had brought out the full effect of the lustrous black hair, the large dark eyes, and the exquisite mouth. Holmes gazed long and earnestly at it. Then he closed the locket and handed it back to Lord St. Simon. “The young lady came to London, then, and you renewed your acquaintance?” “Yes, her father brought her over for this last London season. I met her several times, became engaged to her, and have now married her.” “She brought, I understand, a considerable dowry?” “A fair dowry. Not more than is usual in my family.” “And this, of course, remains to you, since the marriage is a _fait accompli_?” “I really have made no inquiries on the subject.” “Very naturally not. Did you see Miss Doran on the day before the wedding?” “Yes.” “Was she in good spirits?” “Never better. She kept talking of what we should do in our future lives.” “Indeed! That is very interesting. And on the morning of the wedding?” “She was as bright as possible—at least until after the ceremony.” “And did you observe any change in her then?” “Well, to tell the truth, I saw then the first signs that I had ever seen that her temper was just a little sharp. The incident however, was too trivial to relate and can have no possible bearing upon the case.” “Pray let us have it, for all that.” “Oh, it is childish. She dropped her bouquet as we went towards the vestry. She was passing the front pew at the time, and it fell over into the pew. There was a moment’s delay, but the gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again, and it did not appear to be the worse for the fall. Yet when I spoke to her of the matter, she answered me abruptly; and in the carriage, on our way home, she seemed absurdly agitated over this trifling cause.” “Indeed! You say that there was a gentleman in the pew. Some of the general public were present, then?” “Oh, yes. It is impossible to exclude them when the church is open.” “This gentleman was not one of your wife’s friends?” “No, no; I call him a gentleman by courtesy, but he was quite a common-looking person. I hardly noticed his appearance. But really I think that we are wandering rather far from the point.” “Lady St. Simon, then, returned from the wedding in a less cheerful frame of mind than she had gone to it. What did she do on re-entering her father’s house?” “I saw her in conversation with her maid.” “And who is her maid?” “Alice is her name. She is an American and came from California with her.” “A confidential servant?” “A little too much so. It seemed to me that her mistress allowed her to take great liberties. Still, of course, in America they look upon these things in a different way.” “How long did she speak to this Alice?” “Oh, a few minutes. I had something else to think of.” “You did not overhear what they said?” “Lady St. Simon said something about ‘jumping a claim.’ She was accustomed to use slang of the kind. I have no idea what she meant.” “American slang is very expressive sometimes. And what did your wife do when she finished speaking to her maid?” “She walked into the breakfast-room.” “On your arm?” “No, alone. She was very independent in little matters like that. Then, after we had sat down for ten minutes or so, she rose hurriedly, muttered some words of apology, and left the room. She never came back.” “But this maid, Alice, as I understand, deposes that she went to her room, covered her bride’s dress with a long ulster, put on a bonnet, and went out.” “Quite so. And she was afterwards seen walking into Hyde Park in company with Flora Millar, a woman who is now in custody, and who had already made a disturbance at Mr. Doran’s house that morning.” “Ah, yes. I should like a few particulars as to this young lady, and your relations to her.” Lord St. Simon shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows. “We have been on a friendly footing for some years—I may say on a _very_ friendly footing. She used to be at the Allegro. I have not treated her ungenerously, and she had no just cause of complaint against me, but you know what women are, Mr. Holmes. Flora was a dear little thing, but exceedingly hot-headed and devotedly attached to me. She wrote me dreadful letters when she heard that I was about to be married, and, to tell the truth, the reason why I had the marriage celebrated so quietly was that I feared lest there might be a scandal in the church. She came to Mr. Doran’s door just after we returned, and she endeavoured to push her way in, uttering very abusive expressions towards my wife, and even threatening her, but I had foreseen the possibility of something of the sort, and I had two police fellows there in private clothes, who soon pushed her out again. She was quiet when she saw that there was no good in making a row.” “Did your wife hear all this?” “No, thank goodness, she did not.” “And she was seen walking with this very woman afterwards?” “Yes. That is what Mr. Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, looks upon as so serious. It is thought that Flora decoyed my wife out and laid some terrible trap for her.” “Well, it is a possible supposition.” “You think so, too?” “I did not say a probable one. But you do not yourself look upon this as likely?” “I do not think Flora would hurt a fly.” “Still, jealousy is a strange transformer of characters. Pray what is your own theory as to what took place?” “Well, really, I came to seek a theory, not to propound one. I have given you all the facts. Since you ask me, however, I may say that it has occurred to me as possible that the excitement of this affair, the consciousness that she had made so immense a social stride, had the effect of causing some little nervous disturbance in my wife.” “In short, that she had become suddenly deranged?” “Well, really, when I consider that she has turned her back—I will not say upon me, but upon so much that many have aspired to without success—I can hardly explain it in any other fashion.” “Well, certainly that is also a conceivable hypothesis,” said Holmes, smiling. “And now, Lord St. Simon, I think that I have nearly all my data. May I ask whether you were seated at the breakfast-table so that you could see out of the window?” “We could see the other side of the road and the Park.” “Quite so. Then I do not think that I need to detain you longer. I shall communicate with you.” “Should you be fortunate enough to solve this problem,” said our client, rising. “I have solved it.” “Eh? What was that?” “I say that I have solved it.” “Where, then, is my wife?” “That is a detail which I shall speedily supply.” Lord St. Simon shook his head. “I am afraid that it will take wiser heads than yours or mine,” he remarked, and bowing in a stately, old-fashioned manner he departed. “It is very good of Lord St. Simon to honour my head by putting it on a level with his own,” said Sherlock Holmes, laughing. “I think that I shall have a whisky and soda and a cigar after all this cross-questioning. I had formed my conclusions as to the case before our client came into the room.” “My dear Holmes!” “I have notes of several similar cases, though none, as I remarked before, which were quite as prompt. My whole examination served to turn my conjecture into a certainty. Circumstantial evidence is occasionally very convincing, as when you find a trout in the milk, to quote Thoreau’s example.” “But I have heard all that you have heard.” “Without, however, the knowledge of pre-existing cases which serves me so well. There was a parallel instance in Aberdeen some years back, and something on very much the same lines at Munich the year after the Franco-Prussian War. It is one of these cases—but, hullo, here is Lestrade! Good-afternoon, Lestrade! You will find an extra tumbler upon the sideboard, and there are cigars in the box.” The official detective was attired in a pea-jacket and cravat, which gave him a decidedly nautical appearance, and he carried a black canvas bag in his hand. With a short greeting he seated himself and lit the cigar which had been offered to him. “What’s up, then?” asked Holmes with a twinkle in his eye. “You look dissatisfied.” “And I feel dissatisfied. It is this infernal St. Simon marriage case. I can make neither head nor tail of the business.” “Really! You surprise me.” “Who ever heard of such a mixed affair? Every clue seems to slip through my fingers. I have been at work upon it all day.” “And very wet it seems to have made you,” said Holmes laying his hand upon the arm of the pea-jacket. “Yes, I have been dragging the Serpentine.” “In Heaven’s name, what for?” “In search of the body of Lady St. Simon.” Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily. “Have you dragged the basin of Trafalgar Square fountain?” he asked. “Why? What do you mean?” “Because you have just as good a chance of finding this lady in the one as in the other.” Lestrade shot an angry glance at my companion. “I suppose you know all about it,” he snarled. “Well, I have only just heard the facts, but my mind is made up.” “Oh, indeed! Then you think that the Serpentine plays no part in the matter?” “I think it very unlikely.” “Then perhaps you will kindly explain how it is that we found this in it?” He opened his bag as he spoke, and tumbled onto the floor a wedding-dress of watered silk, a pair of white satin shoes and a bride’s wreath and veil, all discoloured and soaked in water. “There,” said he, putting a new wedding-ring upon the top of the pile. “There is a little nut for you to crack, Master Holmes.” “Oh, indeed!” said my friend, blowing blue rings into the air. “You dragged them from the Serpentine?” “No. They were found floating near the margin by a park-keeper. They have been identified as her clothes, and it seemed to me that if the clothes were there the body would not be far off.” “By the same brilliant reasoning, every man’s body is to be found in the neighbourhood of his wardrobe. And pray what did you hope to arrive at through this?” “At some evidence implicating Flora Millar in the disappearance.” “I am afraid that you will find it difficult.” “Are you, indeed, now?” cried Lestrade with some bitterness. “I am afraid, Holmes, that you are not very practical with your deductions and your inferences. You have made two blunders in as many minutes. This dress does implicate Miss Flora Millar.” “And how?” “In the dress is a pocket. In the pocket is a card-case. In the card-case is a note. And here is the very note.” He slapped it down upon the table in front of him. “Listen to this: ‘You will see me when all is ready. Come at once. F. H. M.’ Now my theory all along has been that Lady St. Simon was decoyed away by Flora Millar, and that she, with confederates, no doubt, was responsible for her disappearance. Here, signed with her initials, is the very note which was no doubt quietly slipped into her hand at the door and which lured her within their reach.” “Very good, Lestrade,” said Holmes, laughing. “You really are very fine indeed. Let me see it.” He took up the paper in a listless way, but his attention instantly became riveted, and he gave a little cry of satisfaction. “This is indeed important,” said he. “Ha! you find it so?” “Extremely so. I congratulate you warmly.” Lestrade rose in his triumph and bent his head to look. “Why,” he shrieked, “you’re looking at the wrong side!” “On the contrary, this is the right side.” “The right side? You’re mad! Here is the note written in pencil over here.” “And over here is what appears to be the fragment of a hotel bill, which interests me deeply.” “There’s nothing in it. I looked at it before,” said Lestrade. “‘Oct. 4th, rooms 8_s_., breakfast 2_s_. 6_d_., cocktail 1_s_., lunch 2_s_. 6_d_., glass sherry, 8_d_.’ I see nothing in that.” “Very likely not. It is most important, all the same. As to the note, it is important also, or at least the initials are, so I congratulate you again.” “I’ve wasted time enough,” said Lestrade, rising. “I believe in hard work and not in sitting by the fire spinning fine theories. Good-day, Mr. Holmes, and we shall see which gets to the bottom of the matter first.” He gathered up the garments, thrust them into the bag, and made for the door. “Just one hint to you, Lestrade,” drawled Holmes before his rival vanished; “I will tell you the true solution of the matter. Lady St. Simon is a myth. There is not, and there never has been, any such person.” Lestrade looked sadly at my companion. Then he turned to me, tapped his forehead three times, shook his head solemnly, and hurried away. He had hardly shut the door behind him when Holmes rose to put on his overcoat. “There is something in what the fellow says about outdoor work,” he remarked, “so I think, Watson, that I must leave you to your papers for a little.” It was after five o’clock when Sherlock Holmes left me, but I had no time to be lonely, for within an hour there arrived a confectioner’s man with a very large flat box. This he unpacked with the help of a youth whom he had brought with him, and presently, to my very great astonishment, a quite epicurean little cold supper began to be laid out upon our humble lodging-house mahogany. There were a couple of brace of cold woodcock, a pheasant, a _pâté de foie gras_ pie with a group of ancient and cobwebby bottles. Having laid out all these luxuries, my two visitors vanished away, like the genii of the Arabian Nights, with no explanation save that the things had been paid for and were ordered to this address. Just before nine o’clock Sherlock Holmes stepped briskly into the room. His features were gravely set, but there was a light in his eye which made me think that he had not been disappointed in his conclusions. “They have laid the supper, then,” he said, rubbing his hands. “You seem to expect company. They have laid for five.” “Yes, I fancy we may have some company dropping in,” said he. “I am surprised that Lord St. Simon has not already arrived. Ha! I fancy that I hear his step now upon the stairs.” It was indeed our visitor of the afternoon who came bustling in, dangling his glasses more vigorously than ever, and with a very perturbed expression upon his aristocratic features. “My messenger reached you, then?” asked Holmes. “Yes, and I confess that the contents startled me beyond measure. Have you good authority for what you say?” “The best possible.” Lord St. Simon sank into a chair and passed his hand over his forehead. “What will the Duke say,” he murmured, “when he hears that one of the family has been subjected to such humiliation?” “It is the purest accident. I cannot allow that there is any humiliation.” “Ah, you look on these things from another standpoint.” “I fail to see that anyone is to blame. I can hardly see how the lady could have acted otherwise, though her abrupt method of doing it was undoubtedly to be regretted. Having no mother, she had no one to advise her at such a crisis.” “It was a slight, sir, a public slight,” said Lord St. Simon, tapping his fingers upon the table. “You must make allowance for this poor girl, placed in so unprecedented a position.” “I will make no allowance. I am very angry indeed, and I have been shamefully used.” “I think that I heard a ring,” said Holmes. “Yes, there are steps on the landing. If I cannot persuade you to take a lenient view of the matter, Lord St. Simon, I have brought an advocate here who may be more successful.” He opened the door and ushered in a lady and gentleman. “Lord St. Simon,” said he “allow me to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Francis Hay Moulton. The lady, I think, you have already met.” At the sight of these newcomers our client had sprung from his seat and stood very erect, with his eyes cast down and his hand thrust into the breast of his frock-coat, a picture of offended dignity. The lady had taken a quick step forward and had held out her hand to him, but he still refused to raise his eyes. It was as well for his resolution, perhaps, for her pleading face was one which it was hard to resist. “You’re angry, Robert,” said she. “Well, I guess you have every cause to be.” “Pray make no apology to me,” said Lord St. Simon bitterly. “Oh, yes, I know that I have treated you real bad and that I should have spoken to you before I went; but I was kind of rattled, and from the time when I saw Frank here again I just didn’t know what I was doing or saying. I only wonder I didn’t fall down and do a faint right there before the altar.” “Perhaps, Mrs. Moulton, you would like my friend and me to leave the room while you explain this matter?” “If I may give an opinion,” remarked the strange gentleman, “we’ve had just a little too much secrecy over this business already. For my part, I should like all Europe and America to hear the rights of it.” He was a small, wiry, sunburnt man, clean-shaven, with a sharp face and alert manner. “Then I’ll tell our story right away,” said the lady. “Frank here and I met in ’84, in McQuire’s camp, near the Rockies, where Pa was working a claim. We were engaged to each other, Frank and I; but then one day father struck a rich pocket and made a pile, while poor Frank here had a claim that petered out and came to nothing. The richer Pa grew the poorer was Frank; so at last Pa wouldn’t hear of our engagement lasting any longer, and he took me away to ’Frisco. Frank wouldn’t throw up his hand, though; so he followed me there, and he saw me without Pa knowing anything about it. It would only have made him mad to know, so we just fixed it all up for ourselves. Frank said that he would go and make his pile, too, and never come back to claim me until he had as much as Pa. So then I promised to wait for him to the end of time and pledged myself not to marry anyone else while he lived. ‘Why shouldn’t we be married right away, then,’ said he, ‘and then I will feel sure of you; and I won’t claim to be your husband until I come back?’ Well, we talked it over, and he had fixed it all up so nicely, with a clergyman all ready in waiting, that we just did it right there; and then Frank went off to seek his fortune, and I went back to Pa. “The next I heard of Frank was that he was in Montana, and then he went prospecting in Arizona, and then I heard of him from New Mexico. After that came a long newspaper story about how a miners’ camp had been attacked by Apache Indians, and there was my Frank’s name among the killed. I fainted dead away, and I was very sick for months after. Pa thought I had a decline and took me to half the doctors in ’Frisco. Not a word of news came for a year and more, so that I never doubted that Frank was really dead. Then Lord St. Simon came to ’Frisco, and we came to London, and a marriage was arranged, and Pa was very pleased, but I felt all the time that no man on this earth would ever take the place in my heart that had been given to my poor Frank. “Still, if I had married Lord St. Simon, of course I’d have done my duty by him. We can’t command our love, but we can our actions. I went to the altar with him with the intention to make him just as good a wife as it was in me to be. But you may imagine what I felt when, just as I came to the altar rails, I glanced back and saw Frank standing and looking at me out of the first pew. I thought it was his ghost at first; but when I looked again there he was still, with a kind of question in his eyes, as if to ask me whether I were glad or sorry to see him. I wonder I didn’t drop. I know that everything was turning round, and the words of the clergyman were just like the buzz of a bee in my ear. I didn’t know what to do. Should I stop the service and make a scene in the church? I glanced at him again, and he seemed to know what I was thinking, for he raised his finger to his lips to tell me to be still. Then I saw him scribble on a piece of paper, and I knew that he was writing me a note. As I passed his pew on the way out I dropped my bouquet over to him, and he slipped the note into my hand when he returned me the flowers. It was only a line asking me to join him when he made the sign to me to do so. Of course I never doubted for a moment that my first duty was now to him, and I determined to do just whatever he might direct. “When I got back I told my maid, who had known him in California, and had always been his friend. I ordered her to say nothing, but to get a few things packed and my ulster ready. I know I ought to have spoken to Lord St. Simon, but it was dreadful hard before his mother and all those great people. I just made up my mind to run away and explain afterwards. I hadn’t been at the table ten minutes before I saw Frank out of the window at the other side of the road. He beckoned to me and then began walking into the Park. I slipped out, put on my things, and followed him. Some woman came talking something or other about Lord St. Simon to me—seemed to me from the little I heard as if he had a little secret of his own before marriage also—but I managed to get away from her and soon overtook Frank. We got into a cab together, and away we drove to some lodgings he had taken in Gordon Square, and that was my true wedding after all those years of waiting. Frank had been a prisoner among the Apaches, had escaped, came on to ’Frisco, found that I had given him up for dead and had gone to England, followed me there, and had come upon me at last on the very morning of my second wedding.” “I saw it in a paper,” explained the American. “It gave the name and the church but not where the lady lived.” “Then we had a talk as to what we should do, and Frank was all for openness, but I was so ashamed of it all that I felt as if I should like to vanish away and never see any of them again—just sending a line to Pa, perhaps, to show him that I was alive. It was awful to me to think of all those lords and ladies sitting round that breakfast-table and waiting for me to come back. So Frank took my wedding-clothes and things and made a bundle of them, so that I should not be traced, and dropped them away somewhere where no one could find them. It is likely that we should have gone on to Paris to-morrow, only that this good gentleman, Mr. Holmes, came round to us this evening, though how he found us is more than I can think, and he showed us very clearly and kindly that I was wrong and that Frank was right, and that we should be putting ourselves in the wrong if we were so secret. Then he offered to give us a chance of talking to Lord St. Simon alone, and so we came right away round to his rooms at once. Now, Robert, you have heard it all, and I am very sorry if I have given you pain, and I hope that you do not think very meanly of me.” Lord St. Simon had by no means relaxed his rigid attitude, but had listened with a frowning brow and a compressed lip to this long narrative. “Excuse me,” he said, “but it is not my custom to discuss my most intimate personal affairs in this public manner.” “Then you won’t forgive me? You won’t shake hands before I go?” “Oh, certainly, if it would give you any pleasure.” He put out his hand and coldly grasped that which she extended to him. “I had hoped,” suggested Holmes, “that you would have joined us in a friendly supper.” “I think that there you ask a little too much,” responded his Lordship. “I may be forced to acquiesce in these recent developments, but I can hardly be expected to make merry over them. I think that with your permission I will now wish you all a very good-night.” He included us all in a sweeping bow and stalked out of the room. “Then I trust that you at least will honour me with your company,” said Sherlock Holmes. “It is always a joy to meet an American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes.” “The case has been an interesting one,” remarked Holmes when our visitors had left us, “because it serves to show very clearly how simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight seems to be almost inexplicable. Nothing could be more natural than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady, and nothing stranger than the result when viewed, for instance, by Mr. Lestrade of Scotland Yard.” “You were not yourself at fault at all, then?” “From the first, two facts were very obvious to me, the one that the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony, the other that she had repented of it within a few minutes of returning home. Obviously something had occurred during the morning, then, to cause her to change her mind. What could that something be? She could not have spoken to anyone when she was out, for she had been in the company of the bridegroom. Had she seen someone, then? If she had, it must be someone from America because she had spent so short a time in this country that she could hardly have allowed anyone to acquire so deep an influence over her that the mere sight of him would induce her to change her plans so completely. You see we have already arrived, by a process of exclusion, at the idea that she might have seen an American. Then who could this American be, and why should he possess so much influence over her? It might be a lover; it might be a husband. Her young womanhood had, I knew, been spent in rough scenes and under strange conditions. So far I had got before I ever heard Lord St. Simon’s narrative. When he told us of a man in a pew, of the change in the bride’s manner, of so transparent a device for obtaining a note as the dropping of a bouquet, of her resort to her confidential maid, and of her very significant allusion to claim-jumping—which in miners’ parlance means taking possession of that which another person has a prior claim to—the whole situation became absolutely clear. She had gone off with a man, and the man was either a lover or was a previous husband—the chances being in favour of the latter.” “And how in the world did you find them?” “It might have been difficult, but friend Lestrade held information in his hands the value of which he did not himself know. The initials were, of course, of the highest importance, but more valuable still was it to know that within a week he had settled his bill at one of the most select London hotels.” “How did you deduce the select?” “By the select prices. Eight shillings for a bed and eightpence for a glass of sherry pointed to one of the most expensive hotels. There are not many in London which charge at that rate. In the second one which I visited in Northumberland Avenue, I learned by an inspection of the book that Francis H. Moulton, an American gentleman, had left only the day before, and on looking over the entries against him, I came upon the very items which I had seen in the duplicate bill. His letters were to be forwarded to 226 Gordon Square; so thither I travelled, and being fortunate enough to find the loving couple at home, I ventured to give them some paternal advice and to point out to them that it would be better in every way that they should make their position a little clearer both to the general public and to Lord St. Simon in particular. I invited them to meet him here, and, as you see, I made him keep the appointment.” “But with no very good result,” I remarked. “His conduct was certainly not very gracious.” “Ah, Watson,” said Holmes, smiling, “perhaps you would not be very gracious either, if, after all the trouble of wooing and wedding, you found yourself deprived in an instant of wife and of fortune. I think that we may judge Lord St. Simon very mercifully and thank our stars that we are never likely to find ourselves in the same position. Draw your chair up and hand me my violin, for the only problem we have still to solve is how to while away these bleak autumnal evenings.” XI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORONET “Holmes,” said I as I stood one morning in our bow-window looking down the street, “here is a madman coming along. It seems rather sad that his relatives should allow him to come out alone.” My friend rose lazily from his armchair and stood with his hands in the pockets of his dressing-gown, looking over my shoulder. It was a bright, crisp February morning, and the snow of the day before still lay deep upon the ground, shimmering brightly in the wintry sun. Down the centre of Baker Street it had been ploughed into a brown crumbly band by the traffic, but at either side and on the heaped-up edges of the footpaths it still lay as white as when it fell. The grey pavement had been cleaned and scraped, but was still dangerously slippery, so that there were fewer passengers than usual. Indeed, from the direction of the Metropolitan Station no one was coming save the single gentleman whose eccentric conduct had drawn my attention. He was a man of about fifty, tall, portly, and imposing, with a massive, strongly marked face and a commanding figure. He was dressed in a sombre yet rich style, in black frock-coat, shining hat, neat brown gaiters, and well-cut pearl-grey trousers. Yet his actions were in absurd contrast to the dignity of his dress and features, for he was running hard, with occasional little springs, such as a weary man gives who is little accustomed to set any tax upon his legs. As he ran he jerked his hands up and down, waggled his head, and writhed his face into the most extraordinary contortions. “What on earth can be the matter with him?” I asked. “He is looking up at the numbers of the houses.” “I believe that he is coming here,” said Holmes, rubbing his hands. “Here?” “Yes; I rather think he is coming to consult me professionally. I think that I recognise the symptoms. Ha! did I not tell you?” As he spoke, the man, puffing and blowing, rushed at our door and pulled at our bell until the whole house resounded with the clanging. A few moments later he was in our room, still puffing, still gesticulating, but with so fixed a look of grief and despair in his eyes that our smiles were turned in an instant to horror and pity. For a while he could not get his words out, but swayed his body and plucked at his hair like one who has been driven to the extreme limits of his reason. Then, suddenly springing to his feet, he beat his head against the wall with such force that we both rushed upon him and tore him away to the centre of the room. Sherlock Holmes pushed him down into the easy-chair and, sitting beside him, patted his hand and chatted with him in the easy, soothing tones which he knew so well how to employ. “You have come to me to tell your story, have you not?” said he. “You are fatigued with your haste. Pray wait until you have recovered yourself, and then I shall be most happy to look into any little problem which you may submit to me.” The man sat for a minute or more with a heaving chest, fighting against his emotion. Then he passed his handkerchief over his brow, set his lips tight, and turned his face towards us. “No doubt you think me mad?” said he. “I see that you have had some great trouble,” responded Holmes. “God knows I have!—a trouble which is enough to unseat my reason, so sudden and so terrible is it. Public disgrace I might have faced, although I am a man whose character has never yet borne a stain. Private affliction also is the lot of every man; but the two coming together, and in so frightful a form, have been enough to shake my very soul. Besides, it is not I alone. The very noblest in the land may suffer unless some way be found out of this horrible affair.” “Pray compose yourself, sir,” said Holmes, “and let me have a clear account of who you are and what it is that has befallen you.” “My name,” answered our visitor, “is probably familiar to your ears. I am Alexander Holder, of the banking firm of Holder & Stevenson, of Threadneedle Street.” The name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior partner in the second largest private banking concern in the City of London. What could have happened, then, to bring one of the foremost citizens of London to this most pitiable pass? We waited, all curiosity, until with another effort he braced himself to tell his story. “I feel that time is of value,” said he; “that is why I hastened here when the police inspector suggested that I should secure your co-operation. I came to Baker Street by the Underground and hurried from there on foot, for the cabs go slowly through this snow. That is why I was so out of breath, for I am a man who takes very little exercise. I feel better now, and I will put the facts before you as shortly and yet as clearly as I can. “It is, of course, well known to you that in a successful banking business as much depends upon our being able to find remunerative investments for our funds as upon our increasing our connection and the number of our depositors. One of our most lucrative means of laying out money is in the shape of loans, where the security is unimpeachable. We have done a good deal in this direction during the last few years, and there are many noble families to whom we have advanced large sums upon the security of their pictures, libraries, or plate. “Yesterday morning I was seated in my office at the bank when a card was brought in to me by one of the clerks. I started when I saw the name, for it was that of none other than—well, perhaps even to you I had better say no more than that it was a name which is a household word all over the earth—one of the highest, noblest, most exalted names in England. I was overwhelmed by the honour and attempted, when he entered, to say so, but he plunged at once into business with the air of a man who wishes to hurry quickly through a disagreeable task. “‘Mr. Holder,’ said he, ‘I have been informed that you are in the habit of advancing money.’ “‘The firm does so when the security is good.’ I answered. “‘It is absolutely essential to me,’ said he, ‘that I should have £ 50,000 at once. I could, of course, borrow so trifling a sum ten times over from my friends, but I much prefer to make it a matter of business and to carry out that business myself. In my position you can readily understand that it is unwise to place one’s self under obligations.’ “‘For how long, may I ask, do you want this sum?’ I asked. “‘Next Monday I have a large sum due to me, and I shall then most certainly repay what you advance, with whatever interest you think it right to charge. But it is very essential to me that the money should be paid at once.’ “‘I should be happy to advance it without further parley from my own private purse,’ said I, ‘were it not that the strain would be rather more than it could bear. If, on the other hand, I am to do it in the name of the firm, then in justice to my partner I must insist that, even in your case, every businesslike precaution should be taken.’ “‘I should much prefer to have it so,’ said he, raising up a square, black morocco case which he had laid beside his chair. ‘You have doubtless heard of the Beryl Coronet?’ “‘One of the most precious public possessions of the empire,’ said I. “‘Precisely.’ He opened the case, and there, imbedded in soft, flesh-coloured velvet, lay the magnificent piece of jewellery which he had named. ‘There are thirty-nine enormous beryls,’ said he, ‘and the price of the gold chasing is incalculable. The lowest estimate would put the worth of the coronet at double the sum which I have asked. I am prepared to leave it with you as my security.’ “I took the precious case into my hands and looked in some perplexity from it to my illustrious client. “‘You doubt its value?’ he asked. “‘Not at all. I only doubt—’ “‘The propriety of my leaving it. You may set your mind at rest about that. I should not dream of doing so were it not absolutely certain that I should be able in four days to reclaim it. It is a pure matter of form. Is the security sufficient?’ “‘Ample.’ “‘You understand, Mr. Holder, that I am giving you a strong proof of the confidence which I have in you, founded upon all that I have heard of you. I rely upon you not only to be discreet and to refrain from all gossip upon the matter but, above all, to preserve this coronet with every possible precaution because I need not say that a great public scandal would be caused if any harm were to befall it. Any injury to it would be almost as serious as its complete loss, for there are no beryls in the world to match these, and it would be impossible to replace them. I leave it with you, however, with every confidence, and I shall call for it in person on Monday morning.’ “Seeing that my client was anxious to leave, I said no more but, calling for my cashier, I ordered him to pay over fifty £ 1000 notes. When I was alone once more, however, with the precious case lying upon the table in front of me, I could not but think with some misgivings of the immense responsibility which it entailed upon me. There could be no doubt that, as it was a national possession, a horrible scandal would ensue if any misfortune should occur to it. I already regretted having ever consented to take charge of it. However, it was too late to alter the matter now, so I locked it up in my private safe and turned once more to my work. “When evening came I felt that it would be an imprudence to leave so precious a thing in the office behind me. Bankers’ safes had been forced before now, and why should not mine be? If so, how terrible would be the position in which I should find myself! I determined, therefore, that for the next few days I would always carry the case backward and forward with me, so that it might never be really out of my reach. With this intention, I called a cab and drove out to my house at Streatham, carrying the jewel with me. I did not breathe freely until I had taken it upstairs and locked it in the bureau of my dressing-room. “And now a word as to my household, Mr. Holmes, for I wish you to thoroughly understand the situation. My groom and my page sleep out of the house, and may be set aside altogether. I have three maid-servants who have been with me a number of years and whose absolute reliability is quite above suspicion. Another, Lucy Parr, the second waiting-maid, has only been in my service a few months. She came with an excellent character, however, and has always given me satisfaction. She is a very pretty girl and has attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about the place. That is the only drawback which we have found to her, but we believe her to be a thoroughly good girl in every way. “So much for the servants. My family itself is so small that it will not take me long to describe it. I am a widower and have an only son, Arthur. He has been a disappointment to me, Mr. Holmes—a grievous disappointment. I have no doubt that I am myself to blame. People tell me that I have spoiled him. Very likely I have. When my dear wife died I felt that he was all I had to love. I could not bear to see the smile fade even for a moment from his face. I have never denied him a wish. Perhaps it would have been better for both of us had I been sterner, but I meant it for the best. “It was naturally my intention that he should succeed me in my business, but he was not of a business turn. He was wild, wayward, and, to speak the truth, I could not trust him in the handling of large sums of money. When he was young he became a member of an aristocratic club, and there, having charming manners, he was soon the intimate of a number of men with long purses and expensive habits. He learned to play heavily at cards and to squander money on the turf, until he had again and again to come to me and implore me to give him an advance upon his allowance, that he might settle his debts of honour. He tried more than once to break away from the dangerous company which he was keeping, but each time the influence of his friend, Sir George Burnwell, was enough to draw him back again. “And, indeed, I could not wonder that such a man as Sir George Burnwell should gain an influence over him, for he has frequently brought him to my house, and I have found myself that I could hardly resist the fascination of his manner. He is older than Arthur, a man of the world to his finger-tips, one who had been everywhere, seen everything, a brilliant talker, and a man of great personal beauty. Yet when I think of him in cold blood, far away from the glamour of his presence, I am convinced from his cynical speech and the look which I have caught in his eyes that he is one who should be deeply distrusted. So I think, and so, too, thinks my little Mary, who has a woman’s quick insight into character. “And now there is only she to be described. She is my niece; but when my brother died five years ago and left her alone in the world I adopted her, and have looked upon her ever since as my daughter. She is a sunbeam in my house—sweet, loving, beautiful, a wonderful manager and housekeeper, yet as tender and quiet and gentle as a woman could be. She is my right hand. I do not know what I could do without her. In only one matter has she ever gone against my wishes. Twice my boy has asked her to marry him, for he loves her devotedly, but each time she has refused him. I think that if anyone could have drawn him into the right path it would have been she, and that his marriage might have changed his whole life; but now, alas! it is too late—forever too late! “Now, Mr. Holmes, you know the people who live under my roof, and I shall continue with my miserable story. “When we were taking coffee in the drawing-room that night after dinner, I told Arthur and Mary my experience, and of the precious treasure which we had under our roof, suppressing only the name of my client. Lucy Parr, who had brought in the coffee, had, I am sure, left the room; but I cannot swear that the door was closed. Mary and Arthur were much interested and wished to see the famous coronet, but I thought it better not to disturb it. “‘Where have you put it?’ asked Arthur. “‘In my own bureau.’ “‘Well, I hope to goodness the house won’t be burgled during the night.’ said he. “‘It is locked up,’ I answered. “‘Oh, any old key will fit that bureau. When I was a youngster I have opened it myself with the key of the box-room cupboard.’ “He often had a wild way of talking, so that I thought little of what he said. He followed me to my room, however, that night with a very grave face. “‘Look here, dad,’ said he with his eyes cast down, ‘can you let me have £ 200?’ “‘No, I cannot!’ I answered sharply. ‘I have been far too generous with you in money matters.’ “‘You have been very kind,’ said he, ‘but I must have this money, or else I can never show my face inside the club again.’ “‘And a very good thing, too!’ I cried. “‘Yes, but you would not have me leave it a dishonoured man,’ said he. ‘I could not bear the disgrace. I must raise the money in some way, and if you will not let me have it, then I must try other means.’ “I was very angry, for this was the third demand during the month. ‘You shall not have a farthing from me,’ I cried, on which he bowed and left the room without another word. “When he was gone I unlocked my bureau, made sure that my treasure was safe, and locked it again. Then I started to go round the house to see that all was secure—a duty which I usually leave to Mary but which I thought it well to perform myself that night. As I came down the stairs I saw Mary herself at the side window of the hall, which she closed and fastened as I approached. “‘Tell me, dad,’ said she, looking, I thought, a little disturbed, ‘did you give Lucy, the maid, leave to go out to-night?’ “‘Certainly not.’ “‘She came in just now by the back door. I have no doubt that she has only been to the side gate to see someone, but I think that it is hardly safe and should be stopped.’ “‘You must speak to her in the morning, or I will if you prefer it. Are you sure that everything is fastened?’ “‘Quite sure, dad.’ “‘Then, good-night.’ I kissed her and went up to my bedroom again, where I was soon asleep. “I am endeavouring to tell you everything, Mr. Holmes, which may have any bearing upon the case, but I beg that you will question me upon any point which I do not make clear.” “On the contrary, your statement is singularly lucid.” “I come to a part of my story now in which I should wish to be particularly so. I am not a very heavy sleeper, and the anxiety in my mind tended, no doubt, to make me even less so than usual. About two in the morning, then, I was awakened by some sound in the house. It had ceased ere I was wide awake, but it had left an impression behind it as though a window had gently closed somewhere. I lay listening with all my ears. Suddenly, to my horror, there was a distinct sound of footsteps moving softly in the next room. I slipped out of bed, all palpitating with fear, and peeped round the corner of my dressing-room door. “‘Arthur!’ I screamed, ‘you villain! you thief! How dare you touch that coronet?’ “The gas was half up, as I had left it, and my unhappy boy, dressed only in his shirt and trousers, was standing beside the light, holding the coronet in his hands. He appeared to be wrenching at it, or bending it with all his strength. At my cry he dropped it from his grasp and turned as pale as death. I snatched it up and examined it. One of the gold corners, with three of the beryls in it, was missing. “‘You blackguard!’ I shouted, beside myself with rage. ‘You have destroyed it! You have dishonoured me forever! Where are the jewels which you have stolen?’ “‘Stolen!’ he cried. “‘Yes, thief!’ I roared, shaking him by the shoulder. “‘There are none missing. There cannot be any missing,’ said he. “‘There are three missing. And you know where they are. Must I call you a liar as well as a thief? Did I not see you trying to tear off another piece?’ “‘You have called me names enough,’ said he, ‘I will not stand it any longer. I shall not say another word about this business, since you have chosen to insult me. I will leave your house in the morning and make my own way in the world.’ “‘You shall leave it in the hands of the police!’ I cried half-mad with grief and rage. ‘I shall have this matter probed to the bottom.’ “‘You shall learn nothing from me,’ said he with a passion such as I should not have thought was in his nature. ‘If you choose to call the police, let the police find what they can.’ “By this time the whole house was astir, for I had raised my voice in my anger. Mary was the first to rush into my room, and, at the sight of the coronet and of Arthur’s face, she read the whole story and, with a scream, fell down senseless on the ground. I sent the housemaid for the police and put the investigation into their hands at once. When the inspector and a constable entered the house, Arthur, who had stood sullenly with his arms folded, asked me whether it was my intention to charge him with theft. I answered that it had ceased to be a private matter, but had become a public one, since the ruined coronet was national property. I was determined that the law should have its way in everything. “‘At least,’ said he, ‘you will not have me arrested at once. It would be to your advantage as well as mine if I might leave the house for five minutes.’ “‘That you may get away, or perhaps that you may conceal what you have stolen,’ said I. And then, realising the dreadful position in which I was placed, I implored him to remember that not only my honour but that of one who was far greater than I was at stake; and that he threatened to raise a scandal which would convulse the nation. He might avert it all if he would but tell me what he had done with the three missing stones. “‘You may as well face the matter,’ said I; ‘you have been caught in the act, and no confession could make your guilt more heinous. If you but make such reparation as is in your power, by telling us where the beryls are, all shall be forgiven and forgotten.’ “‘Keep your forgiveness for those who ask for it,’ he answered, turning away from me with a sneer. I saw that he was too hardened for any words of mine to influence him. There was but one way for it. I called in the inspector and gave him into custody. A search was made at once not only of his person but of his room and of every portion of the house where he could possibly have concealed the gems; but no trace of them could be found, nor would the wretched boy open his mouth for all our persuasions and our threats. This morning he was removed to a cell, and I, after going through all the police formalities, have hurried round to you to implore you to use your skill in unravelling the matter. The police have openly confessed that they can at present make nothing of it. You may go to any expense which you think necessary. I have already offered a reward of £ 1000. My God, what shall I do! I have lost my honour, my gems, and my son in one night. Oh, what shall I do!” He put a hand on either side of his head and rocked himself to and fro, droning to himself like a child whose grief has got beyond words. Sherlock Holmes sat silent for some few minutes, with his brows knitted and his eyes fixed upon the fire. “Do you receive much company?” he asked. “None save my partner with his family and an occasional friend of Arthur’s. Sir George Burnwell has been several times lately. No one else, I think.” “Do you go out much in society?” “Arthur does. Mary and I stay at home. We neither of us care for it.” “That is unusual in a young girl.” “She is of a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young. She is four-and-twenty.” “This matter, from what you say, seems to have been a shock to her also.” “Terrible! She is even more affected than I.” “You have neither of you any doubt as to your son’s guilt?” “How can we have when I saw him with my own eyes with the coronet in his hands.” “I hardly consider that a conclusive proof. Was the remainder of the coronet at all injured?” “Yes, it was twisted.” “Do you not think, then, that he might have been trying to straighten it?” “God bless you! You are doing what you can for him and for me. But it is too heavy a task. What was he doing there at all? If his purpose were innocent, why did he not say so?” “Precisely. And if it were guilty, why did he not invent a lie? His silence appears to me to cut both ways. There are several singular points about the case. What did the police think of the noise which awoke you from your sleep?” “They considered that it might be caused by Arthur’s closing his bedroom door.” “A likely story! As if a man bent on felony would slam his door so as to wake a household. What did they say, then, of the disappearance of these gems?” “They are still sounding the planking and probing the furniture in the hope of finding them.” “Have they thought of looking outside the house?” “Yes, they have shown extraordinary energy. The whole garden has already been minutely examined.” “Now, my dear sir,” said Holmes, “is it not obvious to you now that this matter really strikes very much deeper than either you or the police were at first inclined to think? It appeared to you to be a simple case; to me it seems exceedingly complex. Consider what is involved by your theory. You suppose that your son came down from his bed, went, at great risk, to your dressing-room, opened your bureau, took out your coronet, broke off by main force a small portion of it, went off to some other place, concealed three gems out of the thirty-nine, with such skill that nobody can find them, and then returned with the other thirty-six into the room in which he exposed himself to the greatest danger of being discovered. I ask you now, is such a theory tenable?” “But what other is there?” cried the banker with a gesture of despair. “If his motives were innocent, why does he not explain them?” “It is our task to find that out,” replied Holmes; “so now, if you please, Mr. Holder, we will set off for Streatham together, and devote an hour to glancing a little more closely into details.” My friend insisted upon my accompanying them in their expedition, which I was eager enough to do, for my curiosity and sympathy were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened. I confess that the guilt of the banker’s son appeared to me to be as obvious as it did to his unhappy father, but still I had such faith in Holmes’ judgment that I felt that there must be some grounds for hope as long as he was dissatisfied with the accepted explanation. He hardly spoke a word the whole way out to the southern suburb, but sat with his chin upon his breast and his hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought. Our client appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope which had been presented to him, and he even broke into a desultory chat with me over his business affairs. A short railway journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the modest residence of the great financier. Fairbank was a good-sized square house of white stone, standing back a little from the road. A double carriage-sweep, with a snow-clad lawn, stretched down in front to two large iron gates which closed the entrance. On the right side was a small wooden thicket, which led into a narrow path between two neat hedges stretching from the road to the kitchen door, and forming the tradesmen’s entrance. On the left ran a lane which led to the stables, and was not itself within the grounds at all, being a public, though little used, thoroughfare. Holmes left us standing at the door and walked slowly all round the house, across the front, down the tradesmen’s path, and so round by the garden behind into the stable lane. So long was he that Mr. Holder and I went into the dining-room and waited by the fire until he should return. We were sitting there in silence when the door opened and a young lady came in. She was rather above the middle height, slim, with dark hair and eyes, which seemed the darker against the absolute pallor of her skin. I do not think that I have ever seen such deadly paleness in a woman’s face. Her lips, too, were bloodless, but her eyes were flushed with crying. As she swept silently into the room she impressed me with a greater sense of grief than the banker had done in the morning, and it was the more striking in her as she was evidently a woman of strong character, with immense capacity for self-restraint. Disregarding my presence, she went straight to her uncle and passed her hand over his head with a sweet womanly caress. “You have given orders that Arthur should be liberated, have you not, dad?” she asked. “No, no, my girl, the matter must be probed to the bottom.” “But I am so sure that he is innocent. You know what woman’s instincts are. I know that he has done no harm and that you will be sorry for having acted so harshly.” “Why is he silent, then, if he is innocent?” “Who knows? Perhaps because he was so angry that you should suspect him.” “How could I help suspecting him, when I actually saw him with the coronet in his hand?” “Oh, but he had only picked it up to look at it. Oh, do, do take my word for it that he is innocent. Let the matter drop and say no more. It is so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in prison!” “I shall never let it drop until the gems are found—never, Mary! Your affection for Arthur blinds you as to the awful consequences to me. Far from hushing the thing up, I have brought a gentleman down from London to inquire more deeply into it.” “This gentleman?” she asked, facing round to me. “No, his friend. He wished us to leave him alone. He is round in the stable lane now.” “The stable lane?” She raised her dark eyebrows. “What can he hope to find there? Ah! this, I suppose, is he. I trust, sir, that you will succeed in proving, what I feel sure is the truth, that my cousin Arthur is innocent of this crime.” “I fully share your opinion, and I trust, with you, that we may prove it,” returned Holmes, going back to the mat to knock the snow from his shoes. “I believe I have the honour of addressing Miss Mary Holder. Might I ask you a question or two?” “Pray do, sir, if it may help to clear this horrible affair up.” “You heard nothing yourself last night?” “Nothing, until my uncle here began to speak loudly. I heard that, and I came down.” “You shut up the windows and doors the night before. Did you fasten all the windows?” “Yes.” “Were they all fastened this morning?” “Yes.” “You have a maid who has a sweetheart? I think that you remarked to your uncle last night that she had been out to see him?” “Yes, and she was the girl who waited in the drawing-room, and who may have heard uncle’s remarks about the coronet.” “I see. You infer that she may have gone out to tell her sweetheart, and that the two may have planned the robbery.” “But what is the good of all these vague theories,” cried the banker impatiently, “when I have told you that I saw Arthur with the coronet in his hands?” “Wait a little, Mr. Holder. We must come back to that. About this girl, Miss Holder. You saw her return by the kitchen door, I presume?” “Yes; when I went to see if the door was fastened for the night I met her slipping in. I saw the man, too, in the gloom.” “Do you know him?” “Oh, yes! he is the greengrocer who brings our vegetables round. His name is Francis Prosper.” “He stood,” said Holmes, “to the left of the door—that is to say, farther up the path than is necessary to reach the door?” “Yes, he did.” “And he is a man with a wooden leg?” Something like fear sprang up in the young lady’s expressive black eyes. “Why, you are like a magician,” said she. “How do you know that?” She smiled, but there was no answering smile in Holmes’ thin, eager face. “I should be very glad now to go upstairs,” said he. “I shall probably wish to go over the outside of the house again. Perhaps I had better take a look at the lower windows before I go up.” He walked swiftly round from one to the other, pausing only at the large one which looked from the hall onto the stable lane. This he opened and made a very careful examination of the sill with his powerful magnifying lens. “Now we shall go upstairs,” said he at last. The banker’s dressing-room was a plainly furnished little chamber, with a grey carpet, a large bureau, and a long mirror. Holmes went to the bureau first and looked hard at the lock. “Which key was used to open it?” he asked. “That which my son himself indicated—that of the cupboard of the lumber-room.” “Have you it here?” “That is it on the dressing-table.” Sherlock Holmes took it up and opened the bureau. “It is a noiseless lock,” said he. “It is no wonder that it did not wake you. This case, I presume, contains the coronet. We must have a look at it.” He opened the case, and taking out the diadem he laid it upon the table. It was a magnificent specimen of the jeweller’s art, and the thirty-six stones were the finest that I have ever seen. At one side of the coronet was a cracked edge, where a corner holding three gems had been torn away. “Now, Mr. Holder,” said Holmes, “here is the corner which corresponds to that which has been so unfortunately lost. Might I beg that you will break it off.” The banker recoiled in horror. “I should not dream of trying,” said he. “Then I will.” Holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it, but without result. “I feel it give a little,” said he; “but, though I am exceptionally strong in the fingers, it would take me all my time to break it. An ordinary man could not do it. Now, what do you think would happen if I did break it, Mr. Holder? There would be a noise like a pistol shot. Do you tell me that all this happened within a few yards of your bed and that you heard nothing of it?” “I do not know what to think. It is all dark to me.” “But perhaps it may grow lighter as we go. What do you think, Miss Holder?” “I confess that I still share my uncle’s perplexity.” “Your son had no shoes or slippers on when you saw him?” “He had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt.” “Thank you. We have certainly been favoured with extraordinary luck during this inquiry, and it will be entirely our own fault if we do not succeed in clearing the matter up. With your permission, Mr. Holder, I shall now continue my investigations outside.” He went alone, at his own request, for he explained that any unnecessary footmarks might make his task more difficult. For an hour or more he was at work, returning at last with his feet heavy with snow and his features as inscrutable as ever. “I think that I have seen now all that there is to see, Mr. Holder,” said he; “I can serve you best by returning to my rooms.” “But the gems, Mr. Holmes. Where are they?” “I cannot tell.” The banker wrung his hands. “I shall never see them again!” he cried. “And my son? You give me hopes?” “My opinion is in no way altered.” “Then, for God’s sake, what was this dark business which was acted in my house last night?” “If you can call upon me at my Baker Street rooms to-morrow morning between nine and ten I shall be happy to do what I can to make it clearer. I understand that you give me _carte blanche_ to act for you, provided only that I get back the gems, and that you place no limit on the sum I may draw.” “I would give my fortune to have them back.” “Very good. I shall look into the matter between this and then. Good-bye; it is just possible that I may have to come over here again before evening.” It was obvious to me that my companion’s mind was now made up about the case, although what his conclusions were was more than I could even dimly imagine. Several times during our homeward journey I endeavoured to sound him upon the point, but he always glided away to some other topic, until at last I gave it over in despair. It was not yet three when we found ourselves in our rooms once more. He hurried to his chamber and was down again in a few minutes dressed as a common loafer. With his collar turned up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots, he was a perfect sample of the class. “I think that this should do,” said he, glancing into the glass above the fireplace. “I only wish that you could come with me, Watson, but I fear that it won’t do. I may be on the trail in this matter, or I may be following a will-o’-the-wisp, but I shall soon know which it is. I hope that I may be back in a few hours.” He cut a slice of beef from the joint upon the sideboard, sandwiched it between two rounds of bread, and thrusting this rude meal into his pocket he started off upon his expedition. I had just finished my tea when he returned, evidently in excellent spirits, swinging an old elastic-sided boot in his hand. He chucked it down into a corner and helped himself to a cup of tea. “I only looked in as I passed,” said he. “I am going right on.” “Where to?” “Oh, to the other side of the West End. It may be some time before I get back. Don’t wait up for me in case I should be late.” “How are you getting on?” “Oh, so so. Nothing to complain of. I have been out to Streatham since I saw you last, but I did not call at the house. It is a very sweet little problem, and I would not have missed it for a good deal. However, I must not sit gossiping here, but must get these disreputable clothes off and return to my highly respectable self.” I could see by his manner that he had stronger reasons for satisfaction than his words alone would imply. His eyes twinkled, and there was even a touch of colour upon his sallow cheeks. He hastened upstairs, and a few minutes later I heard the slam of the hall door, which told me that he was off once more upon his congenial hunt. I waited until midnight, but there was no sign of his return, so I retired to my room. It was no uncommon thing for him to be away for days and nights on end when he was hot upon a scent, so that his lateness caused me no surprise. I do not know at what hour he came in, but when I came down to breakfast in the morning there he was with a cup of coffee in one hand and the paper in the other, as fresh and trim as possible. “You will excuse my beginning without you, Watson,” said he, “but you remember that our client has rather an early appointment this morning.” “Why, it is after nine now,” I answered. “I should not be surprised if that were he. I thought I heard a ring.” It was, indeed, our friend the financier. I was shocked by the change which had come over him, for his face which was naturally of a broad and massive mould, was now pinched and fallen in, while his hair seemed to me at least a shade whiter. He entered with a weariness and lethargy which was even more painful than his violence of the morning before, and he dropped heavily into the armchair which I pushed forward for him. “I do not know what I have done to be so severely tried,” said he. “Only two days ago I was a happy and prosperous man, without a care in the world. Now I am left to a lonely and dishonoured age. One sorrow comes close upon the heels of another. My niece, Mary, has deserted me.” “Deserted you?” “Yes. Her bed this morning had not been slept in, her room was empty, and a note for me lay upon the hall table. I had said to her last night, in sorrow and not in anger, that if she had married my boy all might have been well with him. Perhaps it was thoughtless of me to say so. It is to that remark that she refers in this note: “‘MY DEAREST UNCLE,—I feel that I have brought trouble upon you, and that if I had acted differently this terrible misfortune might never have occurred. I cannot, with this thought in my mind, ever again be happy under your roof, and I feel that I must leave you forever. Do not worry about my future, for that is provided for; and, above all, do not search for me, for it will be fruitless labour and an ill-service to me. In life or in death, I am ever your loving, “‘MARY.’ “What could she mean by that note, Mr. Holmes? Do you think it points to suicide?” “No, no, nothing of the kind. It is perhaps the best possible solution. I trust, Mr. Holder, that you are nearing the end of your troubles.” “Ha! You say so! You have heard something, Mr. Holmes; you have learned something! Where are the gems?” “You would not think £ 1000 apiece an excessive sum for them?” “I would pay ten.” “That would be unnecessary. Three thousand will cover the matter. And there is a little reward, I fancy. Have you your cheque-book? Here is a pen. Better make it out for £ 4000.” With a dazed face the banker made out the required check. Holmes walked over to his desk, took out a little triangular piece of gold with three gems in it, and threw it down upon the table. With a shriek of joy our client clutched it up. “You have it!” he gasped. “I am saved! I am saved!” The reaction of joy was as passionate as his grief had been, and he hugged his recovered gems to his bosom. “There is one other thing you owe, Mr. Holder,” said Sherlock Holmes rather sternly. “Owe!” He caught up a pen. “Name the sum, and I will pay it.” “No, the debt is not to me. You owe a very humble apology to that noble lad, your son, who has carried himself in this matter as I should be proud to see my own son do, should I ever chance to have one.” “Then it was not Arthur who took them?” “I told you yesterday, and I repeat to-day, that it was not.” “You are sure of it! Then let us hurry to him at once to let him know that the truth is known.” “He knows it already. When I had cleared it all up I had an interview with him, and finding that he would not tell me the story, I told it to him, on which he had to confess that I was right and to add the very few details which were not yet quite clear to me. Your news of this morning, however, may open his lips.” “For Heaven’s sake, tell me, then, what is this extraordinary mystery!” “I will do so, and I will show you the steps by which I reached it. And let me say to you, first, that which it is hardest for me to say and for you to hear: there has been an understanding between Sir George Burnwell and your niece Mary. They have now fled together.” “My Mary? Impossible!” “It is unfortunately more than possible; it is certain. Neither you nor your son knew the true character of this man when you admitted him into your family circle. He is one of the most dangerous men in England—a ruined gambler, an absolutely desperate villain, a man without heart or conscience. Your niece knew nothing of such men. When he breathed his vows to her, as he had done to a hundred before her, she flattered herself that she alone had touched his heart. The devil knows best what he said, but at least she became his tool and was in the habit of seeing him nearly every evening.” “I cannot, and I will not, believe it!” cried the banker with an ashen face. “I will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night. Your niece, when you had, as she thought, gone to your room, slipped down and talked to her lover through the window which leads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right through the snow, so long had he stood there. She told him of the coronet. His wicked lust for gold kindled at the news, and he bent her to his will. I have no doubt that she loved you, but there are women in whom the love of a lover extinguishes all other loves, and I think that she must have been one. She had hardly listened to his instructions when she saw you coming downstairs, on which she closed the window rapidly and told you about one of the servants’ escapade with her wooden-legged lover, which was all perfectly true. “Your boy, Arthur, went to bed after his interview with you but he slept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts. In the middle of the night he heard a soft tread pass his door, so he rose and, looking out, was surprised to see his cousin walking very stealthily along the passage until she disappeared into your dressing-room. Petrified with astonishment, the lad slipped on some clothes and waited there in the dark to see what would come of this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the room again, and in the light of the passage-lamp your son saw that she carried the precious coronet in her hands. She passed down the stairs, and he, thrilling with horror, ran along and slipped behind the curtain near your door, whence he could see what passed in the hall beneath. He saw her stealthily open the window, hand out the coronet to someone in the gloom, and then closing it once more hurry back to her room, passing quite close to where he stood hid behind the curtain. “As long as she was on the scene he could not take any action without a horrible exposure of the woman whom he loved. But the instant that she was gone he realised how crushing a misfortune this would be for you, and how all-important it was to set it right. He rushed down, just as he was, in his bare feet, opened the window, sprang out into the snow, and ran down the lane, where he could see a dark figure in the moonlight. Sir George Burnwell tried to get away, but Arthur caught him, and there was a struggle between them, your lad tugging at one side of the coronet, and his opponent at the other. In the scuffle, your son struck Sir George and cut him over the eye. Then something suddenly snapped, and your son, finding that he had the coronet in his hands, rushed back, closed the window, ascended to your room, and had just observed that the coronet had been twisted in the struggle and was endeavouring to straighten it when you appeared upon the scene.” “Is it possible?” gasped the banker. “You then roused his anger by calling him names at a moment when he felt that he had deserved your warmest thanks. He could not explain the true state of affairs without betraying one who certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands. He took the more chivalrous view, however, and preserved her secret.” “And that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw the coronet,” cried Mr. Holder. “Oh, my God! what a blind fool I have been! And his asking to be allowed to go out for five minutes! The dear fellow wanted to see if the missing piece were at the scene of the struggle. How cruelly I have misjudged him!” “When I arrived at the house,” continued Holmes, “I at once went very carefully round it to observe if there were any traces in the snow which might help me. I knew that none had fallen since the evening before, and also that there had been a strong frost to preserve impressions. I passed along the tradesmen’s path, but found it all trampled down and indistinguishable. Just beyond it, however, at the far side of the kitchen door, a woman had stood and talked with a man, whose round impressions on one side showed that he had a wooden leg. I could even tell that they had been disturbed, for the woman had run back swiftly to the door, as was shown by the deep toe and light heel marks, while Wooden-leg had waited a little, and then had gone away. I thought at the time that this might be the maid and her sweetheart, of whom you had already spoken to me, and inquiry showed it was so. I passed round the garden without seeing anything more than random tracks, which I took to be the police; but when I got into the stable lane a very long and complex story was written in the snow in front of me. “There was a double line of tracks of a booted man, and a second double line which I saw with delight belonged to a man with naked feet. I was at once convinced from what you had told me that the latter was your son. The first had walked both ways, but the other had run swiftly, and as his tread was marked in places over the depression of the boot, it was obvious that he had passed after the other. I followed them up and found they led to the hall window, where Boots had worn all the snow away while waiting. Then I walked to the other end, which was a hundred yards or more down the lane. I saw where Boots had faced round, where the snow was cut up as though there had been a struggle, and, finally, where a few drops of blood had fallen, to show me that I was not mistaken. Boots had then run down the lane, and another little smudge of blood showed that it was he who had been hurt. When he came to the highroad at the other end, I found that the pavement had been cleared, so there was an end to that clue. “On entering the house, however, I examined, as you remember, the sill and framework of the hall window with my lens, and I could at once see that someone had passed out. I could distinguish the outline of an instep where the wet foot had been placed in coming in. I was then beginning to be able to form an opinion as to what had occurred. A man had waited outside the window; someone had brought the gems; the deed had been overseen by your son; he had pursued the thief; had struggled with him; they had each tugged at the coronet, their united strength causing injuries which neither alone could have effected. He had returned with the prize, but had left a fragment in the grasp of his opponent. So far I was clear. The question now was, who was the man and who was it brought him the coronet? “It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Now, I knew that it was not you who had brought it down, so there only remained your niece and the maids. But if it were the maids, why should your son allow himself to be accused in their place? There could be no possible reason. As he loved his cousin, however, there was an excellent explanation why he should retain her secret—the more so as the secret was a disgraceful one. When I remembered that you had seen her at that window, and how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again, my conjecture became a certainty. “And who could it be who was her confederate? A lover evidently, for who else could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must feel to you? I knew that you went out little, and that your circle of friends was a very limited one. But among them was Sir George Burnwell. I had heard of him before as being a man of evil reputation among women. It must have been he who wore those boots and retained the missing gems. Even though he knew that Arthur had discovered him, he might still flatter himself that he was safe, for the lad could not say a word without compromising his own family. “Well, your own good sense will suggest what measures I took next. I went in the shape of a loafer to Sir George’s house, managed to pick up an acquaintance with his valet, learned that his master had cut his head the night before, and, finally, at the expense of six shillings, made all sure by buying a pair of his cast-off shoes. With these I journeyed down to Streatham and saw that they exactly fitted the tracks.” “I saw an ill-dressed vagabond in the lane yesterday evening,” said Mr. Holder. “Precisely. It was I. I found that I had my man, so I came home and changed my clothes. It was a delicate part which I had to play then, for I saw that a prosecution must be avoided to avert scandal, and I knew that so astute a villain would see that our hands were tied in the matter. I went and saw him. At first, of course, he denied everything. But when I gave him every particular that had occurred, he tried to bluster and took down a life-preserver from the wall. I knew my man, however, and I clapped a pistol to his head before he could strike. Then he became a little more reasonable. I told him that we would give him a price for the stones he held—£ 1000 apiece. That brought out the first signs of grief that he had shown. ‘Why, dash it all!’ said he, ‘I’ve let them go at six hundred for the three!’ I soon managed to get the address of the receiver who had them, on promising him that there would be no prosecution. Off I set to him, and after much chaffering I got our stones at £ 1000 apiece. Then I looked in upon your son, told him that all was right, and eventually got to my bed about two o’clock, after what I may call a really hard day’s work.” “A day which has saved England from a great public scandal,” said the banker, rising. “Sir, I cannot find words to thank you, but you shall not find me ungrateful for what you have done. Your skill has indeed exceeded all that I have heard of it. And now I must fly to my dear boy to apologise to him for the wrong which I have done him. As to what you tell me of poor Mary, it goes to my very heart. Not even your skill can inform me where she is now.” “I think that we may safely say,” returned Holmes, “that she is wherever Sir George Burnwell is. It is equally certain, too, that whatever her sins are, they will soon receive a more than sufficient punishment.” XII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHES “To the man who loves art for its own sake,” remarked Sherlock Holmes, tossing aside the advertisement sheet of _The Daily Telegraph_, “it is frequently in its least important and lowliest manifestations that the keenest pleasure is to be derived. It is pleasant to me to observe, Watson, that you have so far grasped this truth that in these little records of our cases which you have been good enough to draw up, and, I am bound to say, occasionally to embellish, you have given prominence not so much to the many _causes célèbres_ and sensational trials in which I have figured but rather to those incidents which may have been trivial in themselves, but which have given room for those faculties of deduction and of logical synthesis which I have made my special province.” “And yet,” said I, smiling, “I cannot quite hold myself absolved from the charge of sensationalism which has been urged against my records.” “You have erred, perhaps,” he observed, taking up a glowing cinder with the tongs and lighting with it the long cherry-wood pipe which was wont to replace his clay when he was in a disputatious rather than a meditative mood—“you have erred perhaps in attempting to put colour and life into each of your statements instead of confining yourself to the task of placing upon record that severe reasoning from cause to effect which is really the only notable feature about the thing.” “It seems to me that I have done you full justice in the matter,” I remarked with some coldness, for I was repelled by the egotism which I had more than once observed to be a strong factor in my friend’s singular character. “No, it is not selfishness or conceit,” said he, answering, as was his wont, my thoughts rather than my words. “If I claim full justice for my art, it is because it is an impersonal thing—a thing beyond myself. Crime is common. Logic is rare. Therefore it is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should dwell. You have degraded what should have been a course of lectures into a series of tales.” It was a cold morning of the early spring, and we sat after breakfast on either side of a cheery fire in the old room at Baker Street. A thick fog rolled down between the lines of dun-coloured houses, and the opposing windows loomed like dark, shapeless blurs through the heavy yellow wreaths. Our gas was lit and shone on the white cloth and glimmer of china and metal, for the table had not been cleared yet. Sherlock Holmes had been silent all the morning, dipping continuously into the advertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last, having apparently given up his search, he had emerged in no very sweet temper to lecture me upon my literary shortcomings. “At the same time,” he remarked after a pause, during which he had sat puffing at his long pipe and gazing down into the fire, “you can hardly be open to a charge of sensationalism, for out of these cases which you have been so kind as to interest yourself in, a fair proportion do not treat of crime, in its legal sense, at all. The small matter in which I endeavoured to help the King of Bohemia, the singular experience of Miss Mary Sutherland, the problem connected with the man with the twisted lip, and the incident of the noble bachelor, were all matters which are outside the pale of the law. But in avoiding the sensational, I fear that you may have bordered on the trivial.” “The end may have been so,” I answered, “but the methods I hold to have been novel and of interest.” “Pshaw, my dear fellow, what do the public, the great unobservant public, who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a compositor by his left thumb, care about the finer shades of analysis and deduction! But, indeed, if you are trivial, I cannot blame you, for the days of the great cases are past. Man, or at least criminal man, has lost all enterprise and originality. As to my own little practice, it seems to be degenerating into an agency for recovering lost lead pencils and giving advice to young ladies from boarding-schools. I think that I have touched bottom at last, however. This note I had this morning marks my zero-point, I fancy. Read it!” He tossed a crumpled letter across to me. It was dated from Montague Place upon the preceding evening, and ran thus: “DEAR MR. HOLMES,—I am very anxious to consult you as to whether I should or should not accept a situation which has been offered to me as governess. I shall call at half-past ten to-morrow if I do not inconvenience you. Yours faithfully, “VIOLET HUNTER.” “Do you know the young lady?” I asked. “Not I.” “It is half-past ten now.” “Yes, and I have no doubt that is her ring.” “It may turn out to be of more interest than you think. You remember that the affair of the blue carbuncle, which appeared to be a mere whim at first, developed into a serious investigation. It may be so in this case, also.” “Well, let us hope so. But our doubts will very soon be solved, for here, unless I am much mistaken, is the person in question.” As he spoke the door opened and a young lady entered the room. She was plainly but neatly dressed, with a bright, quick face, freckled like a plover’s egg, and with the brisk manner of a woman who has had her own way to make in the world. “You will excuse my troubling you, I am sure,” said she, as my companion rose to greet her, “but I have had a very strange experience, and as I have no parents or relations of any sort from whom I could ask advice, I thought that perhaps you would be kind enough to tell me what I should do.” “Pray take a seat, Miss Hunter. I shall be happy to do anything that I can to serve you.” I could see that Holmes was favourably impressed by the manner and speech of his new client. He looked her over in his searching fashion, and then composed himself, with his lids drooping and his finger-tips together, to listen to her story. “I have been a governess for five years,” said she, “in the family of Colonel Spence Munro, but two months ago the colonel received an appointment at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and took his children over to America with him, so that I found myself without a situation. I advertised, and I answered advertisements, but without success. At last the little money which I had saved began to run short, and I was at my wit’s end as to what I should do. “There is a well-known agency for governesses in the West End called Westaway’s, and there I used to call about once a week in order to see whether anything had turned up which might suit me. Westaway was the name of the founder of the business, but it is really managed by Miss Stoper. She sits in her own little office, and the ladies who are seeking employment wait in an anteroom, and are then shown in one by one, when she consults her ledgers and sees whether she has anything which would suit them. “Well, when I called last week I was shown into the little office as usual, but I found that Miss Stoper was not alone. A prodigiously stout man with a very smiling face and a great heavy chin which rolled down in fold upon fold over his throat sat at her elbow with a pair of glasses on his nose, looking very earnestly at the ladies who entered. As I came in he gave quite a jump in his chair and turned quickly to Miss Stoper. “‘That will do,’ said he; ‘I could not ask for anything better. Capital! capital!’ He seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his hands together in the most genial fashion. He was such a comfortable-looking man that it was quite a pleasure to look at him. “‘You are looking for a situation, miss?’ he asked. “‘Yes, sir.’ “‘As governess?’ “‘Yes, sir.’ “‘And what salary do you ask?’ “‘I had £ 4 a month in my last place with Colonel Spence Munro.’ “‘Oh, tut, tut! sweating—rank sweating!’ he cried, throwing his fat hands out into the air like a man who is in a boiling passion. ‘How could anyone offer so pitiful a sum to a lady with such attractions and accomplishments?’ “‘My accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,’ said I. ‘A little French, a little German, music, and drawing—’ “‘Tut, tut!’ he cried. ‘This is all quite beside the question. The point is, have you or have you not the bearing and deportment of a lady? There it is in a nutshell. If you have not, you are not fitted for the rearing of a child who may some day play a considerable part in the history of the country. But if you have why, then, how could any gentleman ask you to condescend to accept anything under the three figures? Your salary with me, madam, would commence at £ 100 a year.’ “You may imagine, Mr. Holmes, that to me, destitute as I was, such an offer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman, however, seeing perhaps the look of incredulity upon my face, opened a pocket-book and took out a note. “‘It is also my custom,’ said he, smiling in the most pleasant fashion until his eyes were just two little shining slits amid the white creases of his face, ‘to advance to my young ladies half their salary beforehand, so that they may meet any little expenses of their journey and their wardrobe.’ “It seemed to me that I had never met so fascinating and so thoughtful a man. As I was already in debt to my tradesmen, the advance was a great convenience, and yet there was something unnatural about the whole transaction which made me wish to know a little more before I quite committed myself. “‘May I ask where you live, sir?’ said I. “‘Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper Beeches, five miles on the far side of Winchester. It is the most lovely country, my dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.’ “‘And my duties, sir? I should be glad to know what they would be.’ “‘One child—one dear little romper just six years old. Oh, if you could see him killing cockroaches with a slipper! Smack! smack! smack! Three gone before you could wink!’ He leaned back in his chair and laughed his eyes into his head again. “I was a little startled at the nature of the child’s amusement, but the father’s laughter made me think that perhaps he was joking. “‘My sole duties, then,’ I asked, ‘are to take charge of a single child?’ “‘No, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,’ he cried. ‘Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would suggest, to obey any little commands my wife might give, provided always that they were such commands as a lady might with propriety obey. You see no difficulty, heh?’ “‘I should be happy to make myself useful.’ “‘Quite so. In dress now, for example. We are faddy people, you know—faddy but kind-hearted. If you were asked to wear any dress which we might give you, you would not object to our little whim. Heh?’ “‘No,’ said I, considerably astonished at his words. “‘Or to sit here, or sit there, that would not be offensive to you?’ “‘Oh, no.’ “‘Or to cut your hair quite short before you come to us?’ “I could hardly believe my ears. As you may observe, Mr. Holmes, my hair is somewhat luxuriant, and of a rather peculiar tint of chestnut. It has been considered artistic. I could not dream of sacrificing it in this offhand fashion. “‘I am afraid that that is quite impossible,’ said I. He had been watching me eagerly out of his small eyes, and I could see a shadow pass over his face as I spoke. “‘I am afraid that it is quite essential,’ said he. ‘It is a little fancy of my wife’s, and ladies’ fancies, you know, madam, ladies’ fancies must be consulted. And so you won’t cut your hair?’ “‘No, sir, I really could not,’ I answered firmly. “‘Ah, very well; then that quite settles the matter. It is a pity, because in other respects you would really have done very nicely. In that case, Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a few more of your young ladies.’ “The manageress had sat all this while busy with her papers without a word to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so much annoyance upon her face that I could not help suspecting that she had lost a handsome commission through my refusal. “‘Do you desire your name to be kept upon the books?’ she asked. “‘If you please, Miss Stoper.’ “‘Well, really, it seems rather useless, since you refuse the most excellent offers in this fashion,’ said she sharply. ‘You can hardly expect us to exert ourselves to find another such opening for you. Good-day to you, Miss Hunter.’ She struck a gong upon the table, and I was shown out by the page. “Well, Mr. Holmes, when I got back to my lodgings and found little enough in the cupboard, and two or three bills upon the table, I began to ask myself whether I had not done a very foolish thing. After all, if these people had strange fads and expected obedience on the most extraordinary matters, they were at least ready to pay for their eccentricity. Very few governesses in England are getting £ 100 a year. Besides, what use was my hair to me? Many people are improved by wearing it short and perhaps I should be among the number. Next day I was inclined to think that I had made a mistake, and by the day after I was sure of it. I had almost overcome my pride so far as to go back to the agency and inquire whether the place was still open when I received this letter from the gentleman himself. I have it here and I will read it to you: “‘The Copper Beeches, near Winchester. “‘DEAR MISS HUNTER,—Miss Stoper has very kindly given me your address, and I write from here to ask you whether you have reconsidered your decision. My wife is very anxious that you should come, for she has been much attracted by my description of you. We are willing to give £ 30 a quarter, or £ 120 a year, so as to recompense you for any little inconvenience which our fads may cause you. They are not very exacting, after all. My wife is fond of a particular shade of electric blue and would like you to wear such a dress indoors in the morning. You need not, however, go to the expense of purchasing one, as we have one belonging to my dear daughter Alice (now in Philadelphia), which would, I should think, fit you very well. Then, as to sitting here or there, or amusing yourself in any manner indicated, that need cause you no inconvenience. As regards your hair, it is no doubt a pity, especially as I could not help remarking its beauty during our short interview, but I am afraid that I must remain firm upon this point, and I only hope that the increased salary may recompense you for the loss. Your duties, as far as the child is concerned, are very light. Now do try to come, and I shall meet you with the dog-cart at Winchester. Let me know your train. Yours faithfully, “‘JEPHRO RUCASTLE.’ “That is the letter which I have just received, Mr. Holmes, and my mind is made up that I will accept it. I thought, however, that before taking the final step I should like to submit the whole matter to your consideration.” “Well, Miss Hunter, if your mind is made up, that settles the question,” said Holmes, smiling. “But you would not advise me to refuse?” “I confess that it is not the situation which I should like to see a sister of mine apply for.” “What is the meaning of it all, Mr. Holmes?” “Ah, I have no data. I cannot tell. Perhaps you have yourself formed some opinion?” “Well, there seems to me to be only one possible solution. Mr. Rucastle seemed to be a very kind, good-natured man. Is it not possible that his wife is a lunatic, that he desires to keep the matter quiet for fear she should be taken to an asylum, and that he humours her fancies in every way in order to prevent an outbreak?” “That is a possible solution—in fact, as matters stand, it is the most probable one. But in any case it does not seem to be a nice household for a young lady.” “But the money, Mr. Holmes, the money!” “Well, yes, of course the pay is good—too good. That is what makes me uneasy. Why should they give you £ 120 a year, when they could have their pick for £ 40? There must be some strong reason behind.” “I thought that if I told you the circumstances you would understand afterwards if I wanted your help. I should feel so much stronger if I felt that you were at the back of me.” “Oh, you may carry that feeling away with you. I assure you that your little problem promises to be the most interesting which has come my way for some months. There is something distinctly novel about some of the features. If you should find yourself in doubt or in danger—” “Danger! What danger do you foresee?” Holmes shook his head gravely. “It would cease to be a danger if we could define it,” said he. “But at any time, day or night, a telegram would bring me down to your help.” “That is enough.” She rose briskly from her chair with the anxiety all swept from her face. “I shall go down to Hampshire quite easy in my mind now. I shall write to Mr. Rucastle at once, sacrifice my poor hair to-night, and start for Winchester to-morrow.” With a few grateful words to Holmes she bade us both good-night and bustled off upon her way. “At least,” said I as we heard her quick, firm steps descending the stairs, “she seems to be a young lady who is very well able to take care of herself.” “And she would need to be,” said Holmes gravely. “I am much mistaken if we do not hear from her before many days are past.” It was not very long before my friend’s prediction was fulfilled. A fortnight went by, during which I frequently found my thoughts turning in her direction and wondering what strange side-alley of human experience this lonely woman had strayed into. The unusual salary, the curious conditions, the light duties, all pointed to something abnormal, though whether a fad or a plot, or whether the man were a philanthropist or a villain, it was quite beyond my powers to determine. As to Holmes, I observed that he sat frequently for half an hour on end, with knitted brows and an abstracted air, but he swept the matter away with a wave of his hand when I mentioned it. “Data! data! data!” he cried impatiently. “I can’t make bricks without clay.” And yet he would always wind up by muttering that no sister of his should ever have accepted such a situation. The telegram which we eventually received came late one night just as I was thinking of turning in and Holmes was settling down to one of those all-night chemical researches which he frequently indulged in, when I would leave him stooping over a retort and a test-tube at night and find him in the same position when I came down to breakfast in the morning. He opened the yellow envelope, and then, glancing at the message, threw it across to me. “Just look up the trains in Bradshaw,” said he, and turned back to his chemical studies. The summons was a brief and urgent one. “Please be at the Black Swan Hotel at Winchester at midday to-morrow,” it said. “Do come! I am at my wit’s end. “HUNTER.” “Will you come with me?” asked Holmes, glancing up. “I should wish to.” “Just look it up, then.” “There is a train at half-past nine,” said I, glancing over my Bradshaw. “It is due at Winchester at 11:30.” “That will do very nicely. Then perhaps I had better postpone my analysis of the acetones, as we may need to be at our best in the morning.” By eleven o’clock the next day we were well upon our way to the old English capital. Holmes had been buried in the morning papers all the way down, but after we had passed the Hampshire border he threw them down and began to admire the scenery. It was an ideal spring day, a light blue sky, flecked with little fleecy white clouds drifting across from west to east. The sun was shining very brightly, and yet there was an exhilarating nip in the air, which set an edge to a man’s energy. All over the countryside, away to the rolling hills around Aldershot, the little red and grey roofs of the farm-steadings peeped out from amid the light green of the new foliage. “Are they not fresh and beautiful?” I cried with all the enthusiasm of a man fresh from the fogs of Baker Street. But Holmes shook his head gravely. “Do you know, Watson,” said he, “that it is one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine that I must look at everything with reference to my own special subject. You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there.” “Good heavens!” I cried. “Who would associate crime with these dear old homesteads?” “They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.” “You horrify me!” “But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion can do in the town what the law cannot accomplish. There is no lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of a drunkard’s blow, does not beget sympathy and indignation among the neighbours, and then the whole machinery of justice is ever so close that a word of complaint can set it going, and there is but a step between the crime and the dock. But look at these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser. Had this lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in Winchester, I should never have had a fear for her. It is the five miles of country which makes the danger. Still, it is clear that she is not personally threatened.” “No. If she can come to Winchester to meet us she can get away.” “Quite so. She has her freedom.” “What _can_ be the matter, then? Can you suggest no explanation?” “I have devised seven separate explanations, each of which would cover the facts as far as we know them. But which of these is correct can only be determined by the fresh information which we shall no doubt find waiting for us. Well, there is the tower of the cathedral, and we shall soon learn all that Miss Hunter has to tell.” The Black Swan is an inn of repute in the High Street, at no distance from the station, and there we found the young lady waiting for us. She had engaged a sitting-room, and our lunch awaited us upon the table. “I am so delighted that you have come,” she said earnestly. “It is so very kind of you both; but indeed I do not know what I should do. Your advice will be altogether invaluable to me.” “Pray tell us what has happened to you.” “I will do so, and I must be quick, for I have promised Mr. Rucastle to be back before three. I got his leave to come into town this morning, though he little knew for what purpose.” “Let us have everything in its due order.” Holmes thrust his long thin legs out towards the fire and composed himself to listen. “In the first place, I may say that I have met, on the whole, with no actual ill-treatment from Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle. It is only fair to them to say that. But I cannot understand them, and I am not easy in my mind about them.” “What can you not understand?” “Their reasons for their conduct. But you shall have it all just as it occurred. When I came down, Mr. Rucastle met me here and drove me in his dog-cart to the Copper Beeches. It is, as he said, beautifully situated, but it is not beautiful in itself, for it is a large square block of a house, whitewashed, but all stained and streaked with damp and bad weather. There are grounds round it, woods on three sides, and on the fourth a field which slopes down to the Southampton highroad, which curves past about a hundred yards from the front door. This ground in front belongs to the house, but the woods all round are part of Lord Southerton’s preserves. A clump of copper beeches immediately in front of the hall door has given its name to the place. “I was driven over by my employer, who was as amiable as ever, and was introduced by him that evening to his wife and the child. There was no truth, Mr. Holmes, in the conjecture which seemed to us to be probable in your rooms at Baker Street. Mrs. Rucastle is not mad. I found her to be a silent, pale-faced woman, much younger than her husband, not more than thirty, I should think, while he can hardly be less than forty-five. From their conversation I have gathered that they have been married about seven years, that he was a widower, and that his only child by the first wife was the daughter who has gone to Philadelphia. Mr. Rucastle told me in private that the reason why she had left them was that she had an unreasoning aversion to her stepmother. As the daughter could not have been less than twenty, I can quite imagine that her position must have been uncomfortable with her father’s young wife. “Mrs. Rucastle seemed to me to be colourless in mind as well as in feature. She impressed me neither favourably nor the reverse. She was a nonentity. It was easy to see that she was passionately devoted both to her husband and to her little son. Her light grey eyes wandered continually from one to the other, noting every little want and forestalling it if possible. He was kind to her also in his bluff, boisterous fashion, and on the whole they seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secret sorrow, this woman. She would often be lost in deep thought, with the saddest look upon her face. More than once I have surprised her in tears. I have thought sometimes that it was the disposition of her child which weighed upon her mind, for I have never met so utterly spoiled and so ill-natured a little creature. He is small for his age, with a head which is quite disproportionately large. His whole life appears to be spent in an alternation between savage fits of passion and gloomy intervals of sulking. Giving pain to any creature weaker than himself seems to be his one idea of amusement, and he shows quite remarkable talent in planning the capture of mice, little birds, and insects. But I would rather not talk about the creature, Mr. Holmes, and, indeed, he has little to do with my story.” “I am glad of all details,” remarked my friend, “whether they seem to you to be relevant or not.” “I shall try not to miss anything of importance. The one unpleasant thing about the house, which struck me at once, was the appearance and conduct of the servants. There are only two, a man and his wife. Toller, for that is his name, is a rough, uncouth man, with grizzled hair and whiskers, and a perpetual smell of drink. Twice since I have been with them he has been quite drunk, and yet Mr. Rucastle seemed to take no notice of it. His wife is a very tall and strong woman with a sour face, as silent as Mrs. Rucastle and much less amiable. They are a most unpleasant couple, but fortunately I spend most of my time in the nursery and my own room, which are next to each other in one corner of the building. “For two days after my arrival at the Copper Beeches my life was very quiet; on the third, Mrs. Rucastle came down just after breakfast and whispered something to her husband. “‘Oh, yes,’ said he, turning to me, ‘we are very much obliged to you, Miss Hunter, for falling in with our whims so far as to cut your hair. I assure you that it has not detracted in the tiniest iota from your appearance. We shall now see how the electric-blue dress will become you. You will find it laid out upon the bed in your room, and if you would be so good as to put it on we should both be extremely obliged.’ “The dress which I found waiting for me was of a peculiar shade of blue. It was of excellent material, a sort of beige, but it bore unmistakable signs of having been worn before. It could not have been a better fit if I had been measured for it. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle expressed a delight at the look of it, which seemed quite exaggerated in its vehemence. They were waiting for me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching along the entire front of the house, with three long windows reaching down to the floor. A chair had been placed close to the central window, with its back turned towards it. In this I was asked to sit, and then Mr. Rucastle, walking up and down on the other side of the room, began to tell me a series of the funniest stories that I have ever listened to. You cannot imagine how comical he was, and I laughed until I was quite weary. Mrs. Rucastle, however, who has evidently no sense of humour, never so much as smiled, but sat with her hands in her lap, and a sad, anxious look upon her face. After an hour or so, Mr. Rucastle suddenly remarked that it was time to commence the duties of the day, and that I might change my dress and go to little Edward in the nursery. “Two days later this same performance was gone through under exactly similar circumstances. Again I changed my dress, again I sat in the window, and again I laughed very heartily at the funny stories of which my employer had an immense _répertoire_, and which he told inimitably. Then he handed me a yellow-backed novel, and moving my chair a little sideways, that my own shadow might not fall upon the page, he begged me to read aloud to him. I read for about ten minutes, beginning in the heart of a chapter, and then suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he ordered me to cease and to change my dress. “You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, how curious I became as to what the meaning of this extraordinary performance could possibly be. They were always very careful, I observed, to turn my face away from the window, so that I became consumed with the desire to see what was going on behind my back. At first it seemed to be impossible, but I soon devised a means. My hand-mirror had been broken, so a happy thought seized me, and I concealed a piece of the glass in my handkerchief. On the next occasion, in the midst of my laughter, I put my handkerchief up to my eyes, and was able with a little management to see all that there was behind me. I confess that I was disappointed. There was nothing. At least that was my first impression. At the second glance, however, I perceived that there was a man standing in the Southampton Road, a small bearded man in a grey suit, who seemed to be looking in my direction. The road is an important highway, and there are usually people there. This man, however, was leaning against the railings which bordered our field and was looking earnestly up. I lowered my handkerchief and glanced at Mrs. Rucastle to find her eyes fixed upon me with a most searching gaze. She said nothing, but I am convinced that she had divined that I had a mirror in my hand and had seen what was behind me. She rose at once. “‘Jephro,’ said she, ‘there is an impertinent fellow upon the road there who stares up at Miss Hunter.’ “‘No friend of yours, Miss Hunter?’ he asked. “‘No, I know no one in these parts.’ “‘Dear me! How very impertinent! Kindly turn round and motion to him to go away.’ “‘Surely it would be better to take no notice.’ “‘No, no, we should have him loitering here always. Kindly turn round and wave him away like that.’ “I did as I was told, and at the same instant Mrs. Rucastle drew down the blind. That was a week ago, and from that time I have not sat again in the window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor seen the man in the road.” “Pray continue,” said Holmes. “Your narrative promises to be a most interesting one.” “You will find it rather disconnected, I fear, and there may prove to be little relation between the different incidents of which I speak. On the very first day that I was at the Copper Beeches, Mr. Rucastle took me to a small outhouse which stands near the kitchen door. As we approached it I heard the sharp rattling of a chain, and the sound as of a large animal moving about. “‘Look in here!’ said Mr. Rucastle, showing me a slit between two planks. ‘Is he not a beauty?’ “I looked through and was conscious of two glowing eyes, and of a vague figure huddled up in the darkness. “‘Don’t be frightened,’ said my employer, laughing at the start which I had given. ‘It’s only Carlo, my mastiff. I call him mine, but really old Toller, my groom, is the only man who can do anything with him. We feed him once a day, and not too much then, so that he is always as keen as mustard. Toller lets him loose every night, and God help the trespasser whom he lays his fangs upon. For goodness’ sake don’t you ever on any pretext set your foot over the threshold at night, for it’s as much as your life is worth.’ “The warning was no idle one, for two nights later I happened to look out of my bedroom window about two o’clock in the morning. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and the lawn in front of the house was silvered over and almost as bright as day. I was standing, rapt in the peaceful beauty of the scene, when I was aware that something was moving under the shadow of the copper beeches. As it emerged into the moonshine I saw what it was. It was a giant dog, as large as a calf, tawny tinted, with hanging jowl, black muzzle, and huge projecting bones. It walked slowly across the lawn and vanished into the shadow upon the other side. That dreadful sentinel sent a chill to my heart which I do not think that any burglar could have done. “And now I have a very strange experience to tell you. I had, as you know, cut off my hair in London, and I had placed it in a great coil at the bottom of my trunk. One evening, after the child was in bed, I began to amuse myself by examining the furniture of my room and by rearranging my own little things. There was an old chest of drawers in the room, the two upper ones empty and open, the lower one locked. I had filled the first two with my linen, and as I had still much to pack away I was naturally annoyed at not having the use of the third drawer. It struck me that it might have been fastened by a mere oversight, so I took out my bunch of keys and tried to open it. The very first key fitted to perfection, and I drew the drawer open. There was only one thing in it, but I am sure that you would never guess what it was. It was my coil of hair. “I took it up and examined it. It was of the same peculiar tint, and the same thickness. But then the impossibility of the thing obtruded itself upon me. How could my hair have been locked in the drawer? With trembling hands I undid my trunk, turned out the contents, and drew from the bottom my own hair. I laid the two tresses together, and I assure you that they were identical. Was it not extraordinary? Puzzle as I would, I could make nothing at all of what it meant. I returned the strange hair to the drawer, and I said nothing of the matter to the Rucastles as I felt that I had put myself in the wrong by opening a drawer which they had locked. “I am naturally observant, as you may have remarked, Mr. Holmes, and I soon had a pretty good plan of the whole house in my head. There was one wing, however, which appeared not to be inhabited at all. A door which faced that which led into the quarters of the Tollers opened into this suite, but it was invariably locked. One day, however, as I ascended the stair, I met Mr. Rucastle coming out through this door, his keys in his hand, and a look on his face which made him a very different person to the round, jovial man to whom I was accustomed. His cheeks were red, his brow was all crinkled with anger, and the veins stood out at his temples with passion. He locked the door and hurried past me without a word or a look. “This aroused my curiosity, so when I went out for a walk in the grounds with my charge, I strolled round to the side from which I could see the windows of this part of the house. There were four of them in a row, three of which were simply dirty, while the fourth was shuttered up. They were evidently all deserted. As I strolled up and down, glancing at them occasionally, Mr. Rucastle came out to me, looking as merry and jovial as ever. “‘Ah!’ said he, ‘you must not think me rude if I passed you without a word, my dear young lady. I was preoccupied with business matters.’ “I assured him that I was not offended. ‘By the way,’ said I, ‘you seem to have quite a suite of spare rooms up there, and one of them has the shutters up.’ “He looked surprised and, as it seemed to me, a little startled at my remark. “‘Photography is one of my hobbies,’ said he. ‘I have made my dark room up there. But, dear me! what an observant young lady we have come upon. Who would have believed it? Who would have ever believed it?’ He spoke in a jesting tone, but there was no jest in his eyes as he looked at me. I read suspicion there and annoyance, but no jest. “Well, Mr. Holmes, from the moment that I understood that there was something about that suite of rooms which I was not to know, I was all on fire to go over them. It was not mere curiosity, though I have my share of that. It was more a feeling of duty—a feeling that some good might come from my penetrating to this place. They talk of woman’s instinct; perhaps it was woman’s instinct which gave me that feeling. At any rate, it was there, and I was keenly on the lookout for any chance to pass the forbidden door. “It was only yesterday that the chance came. I may tell you that, besides Mr. Rucastle, both Toller and his wife find something to do in these deserted rooms, and I once saw him carrying a large black linen bag with him through the door. Recently he has been drinking hard, and yesterday evening he was very drunk; and when I came upstairs there was the key in the door. I have no doubt at all that he had left it there. Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle were both downstairs, and the child was with them, so that I had an admirable opportunity. I turned the key gently in the lock, opened the door, and slipped through. “There was a little passage in front of me, unpapered and uncarpeted, which turned at a right angle at the farther end. Round this corner were three doors in a line, the first and third of which were open. They each led into an empty room, dusty and cheerless, with two windows in the one and one in the other, so thick with dirt that the evening light glimmered dimly through them. The centre door was closed, and across the outside of it had been fastened one of the broad bars of an iron bed, padlocked at one end to a ring in the wall, and fastened at the other with stout cord. The door itself was locked as well, and the key was not there. This barricaded door corresponded clearly with the shuttered window outside, and yet I could see by the glimmer from beneath it that the room was not in darkness. Evidently there was a skylight which let in light from above. As I stood in the passage gazing at the sinister door and wondering what secret it might veil, I suddenly heard the sound of steps within the room and saw a shadow pass backward and forward against the little slit of dim light which shone out from under the door. A mad, unreasoning terror rose up in me at the sight, Mr. Holmes. My overstrung nerves failed me suddenly, and I turned and ran—ran as though some dreadful hand were behind me clutching at the skirt of my dress. I rushed down the passage, through the door, and straight into the arms of Mr. Rucastle, who was waiting outside. “‘So,’ said he, smiling, ‘it was you, then. I thought that it must be when I saw the door open.’ “‘Oh, I am so frightened!’ I panted. “‘My dear young lady! my dear young lady!’—you cannot think how caressing and soothing his manner was—‘and what has frightened you, my dear young lady?’ “But his voice was just a little too coaxing. He overdid it. I was keenly on my guard against him. “‘I was foolish enough to go into the empty wing,’ I answered. ‘But it is so lonely and eerie in this dim light that I was frightened and ran out again. Oh, it is so dreadfully still in there!’ “‘Only that?’ said he, looking at me keenly. “‘Why, what did you think?’ I asked. “‘Why do you think that I lock this door?’ “‘I am sure that I do not know.’ “‘It is to keep people out who have no business there. Do you see?’ He was still smiling in the most amiable manner. “‘I am sure if I had known—’ “‘Well, then, you know now. And if you ever put your foot over that threshold again’—here in an instant the smile hardened into a grin of rage, and he glared down at me with the face of a demon—‘I’ll throw you to the mastiff.’ “I was so terrified that I do not know what I did. I suppose that I must have rushed past him into my room. I remember nothing until I found myself lying on my bed trembling all over. Then I thought of you, Mr. Holmes. I could not live there longer without some advice. I was frightened of the house, of the man, of the woman, of the servants, even of the child. They were all horrible to me. If I could only bring you down all would be well. Of course I might have fled from the house, but my curiosity was almost as strong as my fears. My mind was soon made up. I would send you a wire. I put on my hat and cloak, went down to the office, which is about half a mile from the house, and then returned, feeling very much easier. A horrible doubt came into my mind as I approached the door lest the dog might be loose, but I remembered that Toller had drunk himself into a state of insensibility that evening, and I knew that he was the only one in the household who had any influence with the savage creature, or who would venture to set him free. I slipped in in safety and lay awake half the night in my joy at the thought of seeing you. I had no difficulty in getting leave to come into Winchester this morning, but I must be back before three o’clock, for Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle are going on a visit, and will be away all the evening, so that I must look after the child. Now I have told you all my adventures, Mr. Holmes, and I should be very glad if you could tell me what it all means, and, above all, what I should do.” Holmes and I had listened spellbound to this extraordinary story. My friend rose now and paced up and down the room, his hands in his pockets, and an expression of the most profound gravity upon his face. “Is Toller still drunk?” he asked. “Yes. I heard his wife tell Mrs. Rucastle that she could do nothing with him.” “That is well. And the Rucastles go out to-night?” “Yes.” “Is there a cellar with a good strong lock?” “Yes, the wine-cellar.” “You seem to me to have acted all through this matter like a very brave and sensible girl, Miss Hunter. Do you think that you could perform one more feat? I should not ask it of you if I did not think you a quite exceptional woman.” “I will try. What is it?” “We shall be at the Copper Beeches by seven o’clock, my friend and I. The Rucastles will be gone by that time, and Toller will, we hope, be incapable. There only remains Mrs. Toller, who might give the alarm. If you could send her into the cellar on some errand, and then turn the key upon her, you would facilitate matters immensely.” “I will do it.” “Excellent! We shall then look thoroughly into the affair. Of course there is only one feasible explanation. You have been brought there to personate someone, and the real person is imprisoned in this chamber. That is obvious. As to who this prisoner is, I have no doubt that it is the daughter, Miss Alice Rucastle, if I remember right, who was said to have gone to America. You were chosen, doubtless, as resembling her in height, figure, and the colour of your hair. Hers had been cut off, very possibly in some illness through which she has passed, and so, of course, yours had to be sacrificed also. By a curious chance you came upon her tresses. The man in the road was undoubtedly some friend of hers—possibly her _fiancé_—and no doubt, as you wore the girl’s dress and were so like her, he was convinced from your laughter, whenever he saw you, and afterwards from your gesture, that Miss Rucastle was perfectly happy, and that she no longer desired his attentions. The dog is let loose at night to prevent him from endeavouring to communicate with her. So much is fairly clear. The most serious point in the case is the disposition of the child.” “What on earth has that to do with it?” I ejaculated. “My dear Watson, you as a medical man are continually gaining light as to the tendencies of a child by the study of the parents. Don’t you see that the converse is equally valid. I have frequently gained my first real insight into the character of parents by studying their children. This child’s disposition is abnormally cruel, merely for cruelty’s sake, and whether he derives this from his smiling father, as I should suspect, or from his mother, it bodes evil for the poor girl who is in their power.” “I am sure that you are right, Mr. Holmes,” cried our client. “A thousand things come back to me which make me certain that you have hit it. Oh, let us lose not an instant in bringing help to this poor creature.” “We must be circumspect, for we are dealing with a very cunning man. We can do nothing until seven o’clock. At that hour we shall be with you, and it will not be long before we solve the mystery.” We were as good as our word, for it was just seven when we reached the Copper Beeches, having put up our trap at a wayside public-house. The group of trees, with their dark leaves shining like burnished metal in the light of the setting sun, were sufficient to mark the house even had Miss Hunter not been standing smiling on the door-step. “Have you managed it?” asked Holmes. A loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs. “That is Mrs. Toller in the cellar,” said she. “Her husband lies snoring on the kitchen rug. Here are his keys, which are the duplicates of Mr. Rucastle’s.” “You have done well indeed!” cried Holmes with enthusiasm. “Now lead the way, and we shall soon see the end of this black business.” We passed up the stair, unlocked the door, followed on down a passage, and found ourselves in front of the barricade which Miss Hunter had described. Holmes cut the cord and removed the transverse bar. Then he tried the various keys in the lock, but without success. No sound came from within, and at the silence Holmes’ face clouded over. “I trust that we are not too late,” said he. “I think, Miss Hunter, that we had better go in without you. Now, Watson, put your shoulder to it, and we shall see whether we cannot make our way in.” It was an old rickety door and gave at once before our united strength. Together we rushed into the room. It was empty. There was no furniture save a little pallet bed, a small table, and a basketful of linen. The skylight above was open, and the prisoner gone. “There has been some villainy here,” said Holmes; “this beauty has guessed Miss Hunter’s intentions and has carried his victim off.” “But how?” “Through the skylight. We shall soon see how he managed it.” He swung himself up onto the roof. “Ah, yes,” he cried, “here’s the end of a long light ladder against the eaves. That is how he did it.” “But it is impossible,” said Miss Hunter; “the ladder was not there when the Rucastles went away.” “He has come back and done it. I tell you that he is a clever and dangerous man. I should not be very much surprised if this were he whose step I hear now upon the stair. I think, Watson, that it would be as well for you to have your pistol ready.” The words were hardly out of his mouth before a man appeared at the door of the room, a very fat and burly man, with a heavy stick in his hand. Miss Hunter screamed and shrunk against the wall at the sight of him, but Sherlock Holmes sprang forward and confronted him. “You villain!” said he, “where’s your daughter?” The fat man cast his eyes round, and then up at the open skylight. “It is for me to ask you that,” he shrieked, “you thieves! Spies and thieves! I have caught you, have I? You are in my power. I’ll serve you!” He turned and clattered down the stairs as hard as he could go. “He’s gone for the dog!” cried Miss Hunter. “I have my revolver,” said I. “Better close the front door,” cried Holmes, and we all rushed down the stairs together. We had hardly reached the hall when we heard the baying of a hound, and then a scream of agony, with a horrible worrying sound which it was dreadful to listen to. An elderly man with a red face and shaking limbs came staggering out at a side door. “My God!” he cried. “Someone has loosed the dog. It’s not been fed for two days. Quick, quick, or it’ll be too late!” Holmes and I rushed out and round the angle of the house, with Toller hurrying behind us. There was the huge famished brute, its black muzzle buried in Rucastle’s throat, while he writhed and screamed upon the ground. Running up, I blew its brains out, and it fell over with its keen white teeth still meeting in the great creases of his neck. With much labour we separated them and carried him, living but horribly mangled, into the house. We laid him upon the drawing-room sofa, and having dispatched the sobered Toller to bear the news to his wife, I did what I could to relieve his pain. We were all assembled round him when the door opened, and a tall, gaunt woman entered the room. “Mrs. Toller!” cried Miss Hunter. “Yes, miss. Mr. Rucastle let me out when he came back before he went up to you. Ah, miss, it is a pity you didn’t let me know what you were planning, for I would have told you that your pains were wasted.” “Ha!” said Holmes, looking keenly at her. “It is clear that Mrs. Toller knows more about this matter than anyone else.” “Yes, sir, I do, and I am ready enough to tell what I know.” “Then, pray, sit down, and let us hear it for there are several points on which I must confess that I am still in the dark.” “I will soon make it clear to you,” said she; “and I’d have done so before now if I could ha’ got out from the cellar. If there’s police-court business over this, you’ll remember that I was the one that stood your friend, and that I was Miss Alice’s friend too. “She was never happy at home, Miss Alice wasn’t, from the time that her father married again. She was slighted like and had no say in anything, but it never really became bad for her until after she met Mr. Fowler at a friend’s house. As well as I could learn, Miss Alice had rights of her own by will, but she was so quiet and patient, she was, that she never said a word about them but just left everything in Mr. Rucastle’s hands. He knew he was safe with her; but when there was a chance of a husband coming forward, who would ask for all that the law would give him, then her father thought it time to put a stop on it. He wanted her to sign a paper, so that whether she married or not, he could use her money. When she wouldn’t do it, he kept on worrying her until she got brain-fever, and for six weeks was at death’s door. Then she got better at last, all worn to a shadow, and with her beautiful hair cut off; but that didn’t make no change in her young man, and he stuck to her as true as man could be.” “Ah,” said Holmes, “I think that what you have been good enough to tell us makes the matter fairly clear, and that I can deduce all that remains. Mr. Rucastle then, I presume, took to this system of imprisonment?” “Yes, sir.” “And brought Miss Hunter down from London in order to get rid of the disagreeable persistence of Mr. Fowler.” “That was it, sir.” “But Mr. Fowler being a persevering man, as a good seaman should be, blockaded the house, and having met you succeeded by certain arguments, metallic or otherwise, in convincing you that your interests were the same as his.” “Mr. Fowler was a very kind-spoken, free-handed gentleman,” said Mrs. Toller serenely. “And in this way he managed that your good man should have no want of drink, and that a ladder should be ready at the moment when your master had gone out.” “You have it, sir, just as it happened.” “I am sure we owe you an apology, Mrs. Toller,” said Holmes, “for you have certainly cleared up everything which puzzled us. And here comes the country surgeon and Mrs. Rucastle, so I think, Watson, that we had best escort Miss Hunter back to Winchester, as it seems to me that our _locus standi_ now is rather a questionable one.” And thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the copper beeches in front of the door. Mr. Rucastle survived, but was always a broken man, kept alive solely through the care of his devoted wife. They still live with their old servants, who probably know so much of Rucastle’s past life that he finds it difficult to part from them. Mr. Fowler and Miss Rucastle were married, by special license, in Southampton the day after their flight, and he is now the holder of a government appointment in the island of Mauritius. As to Miss Violet Hunter, my friend Holmes, rather to my disappointment, manifested no further interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one of his problems, and she is now the head of a private school at Walsall, where I believe that she has met with considerable success. *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES *** Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. START: FULL LICENSE THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license. Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works 1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. 1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. 1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. 1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States. 1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: 1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed: This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. 1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. 1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg-tm License. 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. 1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided that: * You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." * You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm works. * You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work. * You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. 1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. 1.F. 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. 1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. 1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem. 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you \'AS-IS\', WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. 1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life. Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm\'s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation\'s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state\'s laws. The Foundation\'s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation\'s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS. The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate. International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. '
In [5]:
#Function to do basic pre-processing on the text
def pre_process(str):
# Converting entire string to lowercase
str = str.lower()
# Removing all punctuations by replacing everyhting other than whitespace characters, a-z, A-Z, 0-9 and '_' by empty string
# followed by replacing '_' by empty string
str = re.sub(r"[^\w\s]", "", str)
str = re.sub(r"_", "", str)
#Removing chapter number headings if any
str = re.sub(r"chapter [0-9]{1,3}", "", str)
# Replacing whitespace characters by space
str = re.sub(r"[\s]", " ", str)
return str
In [6]:
# Pre-processing T1
T1 = pre_process(T1)
T1
Out[6]:
'the project gutenberg ebook of pride and prejudice by jane austen this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the united states and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever you may copy it give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at wwwgutenbergorg if you are not located in the united states you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook title pride and prejudice author jane austen release date june 1998 ebook 1342 most recently updated august 23 2021 language english character set encoding utf8 produced by anonymous volunteers and david widger start of the project gutenberg ebook pride and prejudice there is an illustrated edition of this title which may viewed at ebook 42671 cover pride and prejudice by jane austen contents it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife however little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters my dear mr bennet said his lady to him one day have you heard that netherfield park is let at last mr bennet replied that he had not but it is returned she for mrs long has just been here and she told me all about it mr bennet made no answer do not you want to know who has taken it cried his wife impatiently you want to tell me and i have no objection to hearing it this was invitation enough why my dear you must know mrs long says that netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of england that he came down on monday in a chaise and four to see the place and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with mr morris immediately that he is to take possession before michaelmas and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week what is his name bingley is he married or single oh single my dear to be sure a single man of large fortune four or five thousand a year what a fine thing for our girls how so how can it affect them my dear mr bennet replied his wife how can you be so tiresome you must know that i am thinking of his marrying one of them is that his design in settling here design nonsense how can you talk so but it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes i see no occasion for that you and the girls may go or you may send them by themselves which perhaps will be still better for as you are as handsome as any of them mr bingley might like you the best of the party my dear you flatter me i certainly have had my share of beauty but i do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now when a woman has five grownup daughters she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty in such cases a woman has not often much beauty to think of but my dear you must indeed go and see mr bingley when he comes into the neighbourhood it is more than i engage for i assure you but consider your daughters only think what an establishment it would be for one of them sir william and lady lucas are determined to go merely on that account for in general you know they visit no newcomers indeed you must go for it will be impossible for us to visit him if you do not you are over scrupulous surely i dare say mr bingley will be very glad to see you and i will send a few lines by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying whichever he chooses of the girls though i must throw in a good word for my little lizzy i desire you will do no such thing lizzy is not a bit better than the others and i am sure she is not half so handsome as jane nor half so goodhumoured as lydia but you are always giving her the preference they have none of them much to recommend them replied he they are all silly and ignorant like other girls but lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters mr bennet how can you abuse your own children in such a way you take delight in vexing me you have no compassion on my poor nerves you mistake me my dear i have a high respect for your nerves they are my old friends i have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least ah you do not know what i suffer but i hope you will get over it and live to see many young men of four thousand a year come into the neighbourhood it will be no use to us if twenty such should come since you will not visit them depend upon it my dear that when there are twenty i will visit them all mr bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts sarcastic humour reserve and caprice that the experience of threeandtwenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character her mind was less difficult to develop she was a woman of mean understanding little information and uncertain temper when she was discontented she fancied herself nervous the business of her life was to get her daughters married its solace was visiting and news mr bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on mr bingley he had always intended to visit him though to the last always assuring his wife that he should not go and till the evening after the visit was paid she had no knowledge of it it was then disclosed in the following manner observing his second daughter employed in trimming a hat he suddenly addressed her with i hope mr bingley will like it lizzy we are not in a way to know what mr bingley likes said her mother resentfully since we are not to visit but you forget mamma said elizabeth that we shall meet him at the assemblies and that mrs long has promised to introduce him i do not believe mrs long will do any such thing she has two nieces of her own she is a selfish hypocritical woman and i have no opinion of her no more have i said mr bennet and i am glad to find that you do not depend on her serving you mrs bennet deigned not to make any reply but unable to contain herself began scolding one of her daughters dont keep coughing so kitty for heavens sake have a little compassion on my nerves you tear them to pieces kitty has no discretion in her coughs said her father she times them ill i do not cough for my own amusement replied kitty fretfully when is your next ball to be lizzy tomorrow fortnight aye so it is cried her mother and mrs long does not come back till the day before so it will be impossible for her to introduce him for she will not know him herself then my dear you may have the advantage of your friend and introduce mr bingley to her impossible mr bennet impossible when i am not acquainted with him myself how can you be so teasing i honour your circumspection a fortnights acquaintance is certainly very little one cannot know what a man really is by the end of a fortnight but if we do not venture somebody else will and after all mrs long and her nieces must stand their chance and therefore as she will think it an act of kindness if you decline the office i will take it on myself the girls stared at their father mrs bennet said only nonsense nonsense what can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation cried he do you consider the forms of introduction and the stress that is laid on them as nonsense i cannot quite agree with you there what say you mary for you are a young lady of deep reflection i know and read great books and make extracts mary wished to say something very sensible but knew not how while mary is adjusting her ideas he continued let us return to mr bingley i am sick of mr bingley cried his wife i am sorry to hear that but why did not you tell me so before if i had known as much this morning i certainly would not have called on him it is very unlucky but as i have actually paid the visit we cannot escape the acquaintance now the astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished that of mrs bennet perhaps surpassing the rest though when the first tumult of joy was over she began to declare that it was what she had expected all the while how good it was in you my dear mr bennet but i knew i should persuade you at last i was sure you loved your girls too well to neglect such an acquaintance well how pleased i am and it is such a good joke too that you should have gone this morning and never said a word about it till now now kitty you may cough as much as you choose said mr bennet and as he spoke he left the room fatigued with the raptures of his wife what an excellent father you have girls said she when the door was shut i do not know how you will ever make him amends for his kindness or me either for that matter at our time of life it is not so pleasant i can tell you to be making new acquaintance every day but for your sakes we would do anything lydia my love though you are the youngest i dare say mr bingley will dance with you at the next ball oh said lydia stoutly i am not afraid for though i am the youngest im the tallest the rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how soon he would return mr bennets visit and determining when they should ask him to dinner not all that mrs bennet however with the assistance of her five daughters could ask on the subject was sufficient to draw from her husband any satisfactory description of mr bingley they attacked him in various ways with barefaced questions ingenious suppositions and distant surmises but he eluded the skill of them all and they were at last obliged to accept the secondhand intelligence of their neighbour lady lucas her report was highly favourable sir william had been delighted with him he was quite young wonderfully handsome extremely agreeable and to crown the whole he meant to be at the next assembly with a large party nothing could be more delightful to be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love and very lively hopes of mr bingleys heart were entertained if i can but see one of my daughters happily settled at netherfield said mrs bennet to her husband and all the others equally well married i shall have nothing to wish for in a few days mr bingley returned mr bennets visit and sat about ten minutes with him in his library he had entertained hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies of whose beauty he had heard much but he saw only the father the ladies were somewhat more fortunate for they had the advantage of ascertaining from an upper window that he wore a blue coat and rode a black horse an invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched and already had mrs bennet planned the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping when an answer arrived which deferred it all mr bingley was obliged to be in town the following day and consequently unable to accept the honour of their invitation etc mrs bennet was quite disconcerted she could not imagine what business he could have in town so soon after his arrival in hertfordshire and she began to fear that he might be always flying about from one place to another and never settled at netherfield as he ought to be lady lucas quieted her fears a little by starting the idea of his being gone to london only to get a large party for the ball and a report soon followed that mr bingley was to bring twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with him to the assembly the girls grieved over such a number of ladies but were comforted the day before the ball by hearing that instead of twelve he had brought only six with him from london his five sisters and a cousin and when the party entered the assembly room it consisted of only five altogether mr bingley his two sisters the husband of the eldest and another young man mr bingley was goodlooking and gentlemanlike he had a pleasant countenance and easy unaffected manners his sisters were fine women with an air of decided fashion his brotherinlaw mr hurst merely looked the gentleman but his friend mr darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine tall person handsome features noble mien and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance of his having ten thousand a year the gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man the ladies declared he was much handsomer than mr bingley and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity for he was discovered to be proud to be above his company and above being pleased and not all his large estate in derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding disagreeable countenance and being unworthy to be compared with his friend mr bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal people in the room he was lively and unreserved danced every dance was angry that the ball closed so early and talked of giving one himself at netherfield such amiable qualities must speak for themselves what a contrast between him and his friend mr darcy danced only once with mrs hurst and once with miss bingley declined being introduced to any other lady and spent the rest of the evening in walking about the room speaking occasionally to one of his own party his character was decided he was the proudest most disagreeable man in the world and everybody hoped that he would never come there again amongst the most violent against him was mrs bennet whose dislike of his general behaviour was sharpened into particular resentment by his having slighted one of her daughters elizabeth bennet had been obliged by the scarcity of gentlemen to sit down for two dances and during part of that time mr darcy had been standing near enough for her to overhear a conversation between him and mr bingley who came from the dance for a few minutes to press his friend to join it come darcy said he i must have you dance i hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner you had much better dance i certainly shall not you know how i detest it unless i am particularly acquainted with my partner at such an assembly as this it would be insupportable your sisters are engaged and there is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with i would not be so fastidious as you are cried bingley for a kingdom upon my honour i never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as i have this evening and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty you are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room said mr darcy looking at the eldest miss bennet oh she is the most beautiful creature i ever beheld but there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you who is very pretty and i dare say very agreeable do let me ask my partner to introduce you which do you mean and turning round he looked for a moment at elizabeth till catching her eye he withdrew his own and coldly said she is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me and i am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men you had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles for you are wasting your time with me mr bingley followed his advice mr darcy walked off and elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him she told the story however with great spirit among her friends for she had a lively playful disposition which delighted in anything ridiculous the evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family mrs bennet had seen her eldest daughter much admired by the netherfield party mr bingley had danced with her twice and she had been distinguished by his sisters jane was as much gratified by this as her mother could be though in a quieter way elizabeth felt janes pleasure mary had heard herself mentioned to miss bingley as the most accomplished girl in the neighbourhood and catherine and lydia had been fortunate enough to be never without partners which was all that they had yet learnt to care for at a ball they returned therefore in good spirits to longbourn the village where they lived and of which they were the principal inhabitants they found mr bennet still up with a book he was regardless of time and on the present occasion he had a good deal of curiosity as to the event of an evening which had raised such splendid expectations he had rather hoped that all his wifes views on the stranger would be disappointed but he soon found that he had a very different story to hear oh my dear mr bennet as she entered the room we have had a most delightful evening a most excellent ball i wish you had been there jane was so admired nothing could be like it everybody said how well she looked and mr bingley thought her quite beautiful and danced with her twice only think of that my dear he actually danced with her twice and she was the only creature in the room that he asked a second time first of all he asked miss lucas i was so vexed to see him stand up with her but however he did not admire her at all indeed nobody can you know and he seemed quite struck with jane as she was going down the dance so he enquired who she was and got introduced and asked her for the two next then the two third he danced with miss king and the two fourth with maria lucas and the two fifth with jane again and the two sixth with lizzy and the boulanger if he had had any compassion for me cried her husband impatiently he would not have danced half so much for gods sake say no more of his partners oh that he had sprained his ankle in the first dance oh my dear continued mrs bennet i am quite delighted with him he is so excessively handsome and his sisters are charming women i never in my life saw anything more elegant than their dresses i dare say the lace upon mrs hursts gown here she was interrupted again mr bennet protested against any description of finery she was therefore obliged to seek another branch of the subject and related with much bitterness of spirit and some exaggeration the shocking rudeness of mr darcy but i can assure you she added that lizzy does not lose much by not suiting his fancy for he is a most disagreeable horrid man not at all worth pleasing so high and so conceited that there was no enduring him he walked here and he walked there fancying himself so very great not handsome enough to dance with i wish you had been there my dear to have given him one of your setdowns i quite detest the man when jane and elizabeth were alone the former who had been cautious in her praise of mr bingley before expressed to her sister how very much she admired him he is just what a young man ought to be said she sensible goodhumoured lively and i never saw such happy mannersso much ease with such perfect good breeding he is also handsome replied elizabeth which a young man ought likewise to be if he possibly can his character is thereby complete i was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time i did not expect such a compliment did not you i did for you but that is one great difference between us compliments always take you by surprise and me never what could be more natural than his asking you again he could not help seeing that you were about five times as pretty as every other woman in the room no thanks to his gallantry for that well he certainly is very agreeable and i give you leave to like him you have liked many a stupider person dear lizzy oh you are a great deal too apt you know to like people in general you never see a fault in anybody all the world are good and agreeable in your eyes i never heard you speak ill of a human being in my life i would wish not to be hasty in censuring any one but i always speak what i think i know you do and it is that which makes the wonder with your good sense to be so honestly blind to the follies and nonsense of others affectation of candour is common enoughone meets with it everywhere but to be candid without ostentation or designto take the good of everybodys character and make it still better and say nothing of the badbelongs to you alone and so you like this mans sisters too do you their manners are not equal to his certainly not at first but they are very pleasing women when you converse with them miss bingley is to live with her brother and keep his house and i am much mistaken if we shall not find a very charming neighbour in her elizabeth listened in silence but was not convinced their behaviour at the assembly had not been calculated to please in general and with more quickness of observation and less pliancy of temper than her sister and with a judgment too unassailed by any attention to herself she was very little disposed to approve them they were in fact very fine ladies not deficient in good humour when they were pleased nor in the power of being agreeable where they chose it but proud and conceited they were rather handsome had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds were in the habit of spending more than they ought and of associating with people of rank and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves and meanly of others they were of a respectable family in the north of england a circumstance more deeply impressed on their memories than that their brothers fortune and their own had been acquired by trade mr bingley inherited property to the amount of nearly a hundred thousand pounds from his father who had intended to purchase an estate but did not live to do it mr bingley intended it likewise and sometimes made choice of his county but as he was now provided with a good house and the liberty of a manor it was doubtful to many of those who best knew the easiness of his temper whether he might not spend the remainder of his days at netherfield and leave the next generation to purchase his sisters were very anxious for his having an estate of his own but though he was now established only as a tenant miss bingley was by no means unwilling to preside at his table nor was mrs hurst who had married a man of more fashion than fortune less disposed to consider his house as her home when it suited her mr bingley had not been of age two years when he was tempted by an accidental recommendation to look at netherfield house he did look at it and into it for half an hour was pleased with the situation and the principal rooms satisfied with what the owner said in its praise and took it immediately between him and darcy there was a very steady friendship in spite of great opposition of character bingley was endeared to darcy by the easiness openness and ductility of his temper though no disposition could offer a greater contrast to his own and though with his own he never appeared dissatisfied on the strength of darcys regard bingley had the firmest reliance and of his judgment the highest opinion in understanding darcy was the superior bingley was by no means deficient but darcy was clever he was at the same time haughty reserved and fastidious and his manners though well bred were not inviting in that respect his friend had greatly the advantage bingley was sure of being liked wherever he appeared darcy was continually giving offence the manner in which they spoke of the meryton assembly was sufficiently characteristic bingley had never met with pleasanter people or prettier girls in his life everybody had been most kind and attentive to him there had been no formality no stiffness he had soon felt acquainted with all the room and as to miss bennet he could not conceive an angel more beautiful darcy on the contrary had seen a collection of people in whom there was little beauty and no fashion for none of whom he had felt the smallest interest and from none received either attention or pleasure miss bennet he acknowledged to be pretty but she smiled too much mrs hurst and her sister allowed it to be sobut still they admired her and liked her and pronounced her to be a sweet girl and one whom they should not object to know more of miss bennet was therefore established as a sweet girl and their brother felt authorised by such commendation to think of her as he chose within a short walk of longbourn lived a family with whom the bennets were particularly intimate sir william lucas had been formerly in trade in meryton where he had made a tolerable fortune and risen to the honour of knighthood by an address to the king during his mayoralty the distinction had perhaps been felt too strongly it had given him a disgust to his business and to his residence in a small market town and quitting them both he had removed with his family to a house about a mile from meryton denominated from that period lucas lodge where he could think with pleasure of his own importance and unshackled by business occupy himself solely in being civil to all the world for though elated by his rank it did not render him supercilious on the contrary he was all attention to everybody by nature inoffensive friendly and obliging his presentation at st jamess had made him courteous lady lucas was a very good kind of woman not too clever to be a valuable neighbour to mrs bennet they had several children the eldest of them a sensible intelligent young woman about twentyseven was elizabeths intimate friend that the miss lucases and the miss bennets should meet to talk over a ball was absolutely necessary and the morning after the assembly brought the former to longbourn to hear and to communicate you began the evening well charlotte said mrs bennet with civil selfcommand to miss lucas you were mr bingleys first choice yes but he seemed to like his second better oh you mean jane i suppose because he danced with her twice to be sure that did seem as if he admired herindeed i rather believe he didi heard something about itbut i hardly know whatsomething about mr robinson perhaps you mean what i overheard between him and mr robinson did not i mention it to you mr robinsons asking him how he liked our meryton assemblies and whether he did not think there were a great many pretty women in the room and which he thought the prettiest and his answering immediately to the last questionoh the eldest miss bennet beyond a doubt there cannot be two opinions on that point upon my word well that was very decided indeedthat does seem as ifbut however it may all come to nothing you know my overhearings were more to the purpose than yours eliza said charlotte mr darcy is not so well worth listening to as his friend is hepoor elizato be only just tolerable i beg you would not put it into lizzys head to be vexed by his illtreatment for he is such a disagreeable man that it would be quite a misfortune to be liked by him mrs long told me last night that he sat close to her for half an hour without once opening his lips are you quite sure maamis not there a little mistake said jane i certainly saw mr darcy speaking to her ayebecause she asked him at last how he liked netherfield and he could not help answering her but she said he seemed very angry at being spoke to miss bingley told me said jane that he never speaks much unless among his intimate acquaintance with them he is remarkably agreeable i do not believe a word of it my dear if he had been so very agreeable he would have talked to mrs long but i can guess how it was everybody says that he is eat up with pride and i dare say he had heard somehow that mrs long does not keep a carriage and had come to the ball in a hack chaise i do not mind his not talking to mrs long said miss lucas but i wish he had danced with eliza another time lizzy said her mother i would not dance with him if i were you i believe maam i may safely promise you never to dance with him his pride said miss lucas does not offend me so much as pride often does because there is an excuse for it one cannot wonder that so very fine a young man with family fortune everything in his favour should think highly of himself if i may so express it he has a right to be proud that is very true replied elizabeth and i could easily forgive his pride if he had not mortified mine pride observed mary who piqued herself upon the solidity of her reflections is a very common failing i believe by all that i have ever read i am convinced that it is very common indeed that human nature is particularly prone to it and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of selfcomplacency on the score of some quality or other real or imaginary vanity and pride are different things though the words are often used synonymously a person may be proud without being vain pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves vanity to what we would have others think of us if i were as rich as mr darcy cried a young lucas who came with his sisters i should not care how proud i was i would keep a pack of foxhounds and drink a bottle of wine every day then you would drink a great deal more than you ought said mrs bennet and if i were to see you at it i should take away your bottle directly the boy protested that she should not she continued to declare that she would and the argument ended only with the visit the ladies of longbourn soon waited on those of netherfield the visit was returned in due form miss bennets pleasing manners grew on the goodwill of mrs hurst and miss bingley and though the mother was found to be intolerable and the younger sisters not worth speaking to a wish of being better acquainted with them was expressed towards the two eldest by jane this attention was received with the greatest pleasure but elizabeth still saw superciliousness in their treatment of everybody hardly excepting even her sister and could not like them though their kindness to jane such as it was had a value as arising in all probability from the influence of their brothers admiration it was generally evident whenever they met that he did admire her and to her it was equally evident that jane was yielding to the preference which she had begun to entertain for him from the first and was in a way to be very much in love but she considered with pleasure that it was not likely to be discovered by the world in general since jane united with great strength of feeling a composure of temper and a uniform cheerfulness of manner which would guard her from the suspicions of the impertinent she mentioned this to her friend miss lucas it may perhaps be pleasant replied charlotte to be able to impose on the public in such a case but it is sometimes a disadvantage to be so very guarded if a woman conceals her affection with the same skill from the object of it she may lose the opportunity of fixing him and it will then be but poor consolation to believe the world equally in the dark there is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment that it is not safe to leave any to itself we can all begin freelya slight preference is natural enough but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement in nine cases out of ten a woman had better show more affection than she feels bingley likes your sister undoubtedly but he may never do more than like her if she does not help him on but she does help him on as much as her nature will allow if i can perceive her regard for him he must be a simpleton indeed not to discover it too remember eliza that he does not know janes disposition as you do but if a woman is partial to a man and does not endeavour to conceal it he must find it out perhaps he must if he sees enough of her but though bingley and jane meet tolerably often it is never for many hours together and as they always see each other in large mixed parties it is impossible that every moment should be employed in conversing together jane should therefore make the most of every halfhour in which she can command his attention when she is secure of him there will be leisure for falling in love as much as she chooses your plan is a good one replied elizabeth where nothing is in question but the desire of being well married and if i were determined to get a rich husband or any husband i dare say i should adopt it but these are not janes feelings she is not acting by design as yet she cannot even be certain of the degree of her own regard nor of its reasonableness she has known him only a fortnight she danced four dances with him at meryton she saw him one morning at his own house and has since dined in company with him four times this is not quite enough to make her understand his character not as you represent it had she merely dined with him she might only have discovered whether he had a good appetite but you must remember that four evenings have been also spent togetherand four evenings may do a great deal yes these four evenings have enabled them to ascertain that they both like vingtun better than commerce but with respect to any other leading characteristic i do not imagine that much has been unfolded well said charlotte i wish jane success with all my heart and if she were married to him tomorrow i should think she had as good a chance of happiness as if she were to be studying his character for a twelvemonth happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance if the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other or ever so similar beforehand it does not advance their felicity in the least they always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life you make me laugh charlotte but it is not sound you know it is not sound and that you would never act in this way yourself occupied in observing mr bingleys attentions to her sister elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend mr darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty he had looked at her without admiration at the ball and when they next met he looked at her only to criticise but no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good feature in her face than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes to this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world he was caught by their easy playfulness of this she was perfectly unawareto her he was only the man who made himself agreeable nowhere and who had not thought her handsome enough to dance with he began to wish to know more of her and as a step towards conversing with her himself attended to her conversation with others his doing so drew her notice it was at sir william lucass where a large party were assembled what does mr darcy mean said she to charlotte by listening to my conversation with colonel forster that is a question which mr darcy only can answer but if he does it any more i shall certainly let him know that i see what he is about he has a very satirical eye and if i do not begin by being impertinent myself i shall soon grow afraid of him on his approaching them soon afterwards though without seeming to have any intention of speaking miss lucas defied her friend to mention such a subject to him which immediately provoking elizabeth to do it she turned to him and said did not you think mr darcy that i expressed myself uncommonly well just now when i was teasing colonel forster to give us a ball at meryton with great energy but it is a subject which always makes a lady energetic you are severe on us it will be her turn soon to be teased said miss lucas i am going to open the instrument eliza and you know what follows you are a very strange creature by way of a friendalways wanting me to play and sing before anybody and everybody if my vanity had taken a musical turn you would have been invaluable but as it is i would really rather not sit down before those who must be in the habit of hearing the very best performers on miss lucass persevering however she added very well if it must be so it must and gravely glancing at mr darcy there is a fine old saying which everybody here is of course familiar withkeep your breath to cool your porridgeand i shall keep mine to swell my song her performance was pleasing though by no means capital after a song or two and before she could reply to the entreaties of several that she would sing again she was eagerly succeeded at the instrument by her sister mary who having in consequence of being the only plain one in the family worked hard for knowledge and accomplishments was always impatient for display mary had neither genius nor taste and though vanity had given her application it had given her likewise a pedantic air and conceited manner which would have injured a higher degree of excellence than she had reached elizabeth easy and unaffected had been listened to with much more pleasure though not playing half so well and mary at the end of a long concerto was glad to purchase praise and gratitude by scotch and irish airs at the request of her younger sisters who with some of the lucases and two or three officers joined eagerly in dancing at one end of the room mr darcy stood near them in silent indignation at such a mode of passing the evening to the exclusion of all conversation and was too much engrossed by his own thoughts to perceive that sir william lucas was his neighbour till sir william thus began what a charming amusement for young people this is mr darcy there is nothing like dancing after all i consider it as one of the first refinements of polished societies certainly sir and it has the advantage also of being in vogue amongst the less polished societies of the worldevery savage can dance sir william only smiled your friend performs delightfully he continued after a pause on seeing bingley join the group and i doubt not that you are an adept in the science yourself mr darcy you saw me dance at meryton i believe sir yes indeed and received no inconsiderable pleasure from the sight do you often dance at st jamess never sir do you not think it would be a proper compliment to the place it is a compliment which i never pay to any place if i can avoid it you have a house in town i conclude mr darcy bowed i had once some thoughts of fixing in town myselffor i am fond of superior society but i did not feel quite certain that the air of london would agree with lady lucas he paused in hopes of an answer but his companion was not disposed to make any and elizabeth at that instant moving towards them he was struck with the notion of doing a very gallant thing and called out to her my dear miss eliza why are not you dancing mr darcy you must allow me to present this young lady to you as a very desirable partner you cannot refuse to dance i am sure when so much beauty is before you and taking her hand he would have given it to mr darcy who though extremely surprised was not unwilling to receive it when she instantly drew back and said with some discomposure to sir william indeed sir i have not the least intention of dancing i entreat you not to suppose that i moved this way in order to beg for a partner mr darcy with grave propriety requested to be allowed the honour of her hand but in vain elizabeth was determined nor did sir william at all shake her purpose by his attempt at persuasion you excel so much in the dance miss eliza that it is cruel to deny me the happiness of seeing you and though this gentleman dislikes the amusement in general he can have no objection i am sure to oblige us for one halfhour mr darcy is all politeness said elizabeth smiling he is indeedbut considering the inducement my dear miss eliza we cannot wonder at his complaisance for who would object to such a partner elizabeth looked archly and turned away her resistance had not injured her with the gentleman and he was thinking of her with some complacency when thus accosted by miss bingley i can guess the subject of your reverie i should imagine not you are considering how insupportable it would be to pass many evenings in this mannerin such society and indeed i am quite of your opinion i was never more annoyed the insipidity and yet the noise the nothingness and yet the selfimportance of all these people what would i give to hear your strictures on them your conjecture is totally wrong i assure you my mind was more agreeably engaged i have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow miss bingley immediately fixed her eyes on his face and desired he would tell her what lady had the credit of inspiring such reflections mr darcy replied with great intrepidity miss elizabeth bennet miss elizabeth bennet repeated miss bingley i am all astonishment how long has she been such a favouriteand pray when am i to wish you joy that is exactly the question which i expected you to ask a ladys imagination is very rapid it jumps from admiration to love from love to matrimony in a moment i knew you would be wishing me joy nay if you are so serious about it i shall consider the matter as absolutely settled you will have a charming motherinlaw indeed and of course she will be always at pemberley with you he listened to her with perfect indifference while she chose to entertain herself in this manner and as his composure convinced her that all was safe her wit flowed long mr bennets property consisted almost entirely in an estate of two thousand a year which unfortunately for his daughters was entailed in default of heirs male on a distant relation and their mothers fortune though ample for her situation in life could but ill supply the deficiency of his her father had been an attorney in meryton and had left her four thousand pounds she had a sister married to a mr phillips who had been a clerk to their father and succeeded him in the business and a brother settled in london in a respectable line of trade the village of longbourn was only one mile from meryton a most convenient distance for the young ladies who were usually tempted thither three or four times a week to pay their duty to their aunt and to a milliners shop just over the way the two youngest of the family catherine and lydia were particularly frequent in these attentions their minds were more vacant than their sisters and when nothing better offered a walk to meryton was necessary to amuse their morning hours and furnish conversation for the evening and however bare of news the country in general might be they always contrived to learn some from their aunt at present indeed they were well supplied both with news and happiness by the recent arrival of a militia regiment in the neighbourhood it was to remain the whole winter and meryton was the headquarters their visits to mrs philips were now productive of the most interesting intelligence every day added something to their knowledge of the officers names and connections their lodgings were not long a secret and at length they began to know the officers themselves mr philips visited them all and this opened to his nieces a source of felicity unknown before they could talk of nothing but officers and mr bingleys large fortune the mention of which gave animation to their mother was worthless in their eyes when opposed to the regimentals of an ensign after listening one morning to their effusions on this subject mr bennet coolly observed from all that i can collect by your manner of talking you must be two of the silliest girls in the country i have suspected it some time but i am now convinced catherine was disconcerted and made no answer but lydia with perfect indifference continued to express her admiration of captain carter and her hope of seeing him in the course of the day as he was going the next morning to london i am astonished my dear said mrs bennet that you should be so ready to think your own children silly if i wished to think slightingly of anybodys children it should not be of my own however if my children are silly i must hope to be always sensible of it yesbut as it happens they are all of them very clever this is the only point i flatter myself on which we do not agree i had hoped that our sentiments coincided in every particular but i must so far differ from you as to think our two youngest daughters uncommonly foolish my dear mr bennet you must not expect such girls to have the sense of their father and mother when they get to our age i dare say they will not think about officers any more than we do i remember the time when i liked a red coat myself very welland indeed so i do still at my heart and if a smart young colonel with five or six thousand a year should want one of my girls i shall not say nay to him and i thought colonel forster looked very becoming the other night at sir williams in his regimentals mamma cried lydia my aunt says that colonel forster and captain carter do not go so often to miss watsons as they did when they first came she sees them now very often standing in clarkes library mrs bennet was prevented replying by the entrance of the footman with a note for miss bennet it came from netherfield and the servant waited for an answer mrs bennets eyes sparkled with pleasure and she was eagerly calling out while her daughter read well jane who is it from what is it about what does he say well jane make haste and tell us make haste my love it is from miss bingley said jane and then read it aloud my dear friend if you are not so compassionate as to dine today with louisa and me we shall be in danger of hating each other for the rest of our lives for a whole days têteàtête between two women can never end without a quarrel come as soon as you can on the receipt of this my brother and the gentlemen are to dine with the officersyours ever caroline bingley with the officers cried lydia i wonder my aunt did not tell us of that dining out said mrs bennet that is very unlucky can i have the carriage said jane no my dear you had better go on horseback because it seems likely to rain and then you must stay all night that would be a good scheme said elizabeth if you were sure that they would not offer to send her home oh but the gentlemen will have mr bingleys chaise to go to meryton and the hursts have no horses to theirs i had much rather go in the coach but my dear your father cannot spare the horses i am sure they are wanted in the farm mr bennet are not they they are wanted in the farm much oftener than i can get them but if you have got them today said elizabeth my mothers purpose will be answered she did at last extort from her father an acknowledgment that the horses were engaged jane was therefore obliged to go on horseback and her mother attended her to the door with many cheerful prognostics of a bad day her hopes were answered jane had not been gone long before it rained hard her sisters were uneasy for her but her mother was delighted the rain continued the whole evening without intermission jane certainly could not come back this was a lucky idea of mine indeed said mrs bennet more than once as if the credit of making it rain were all her own till the next morning however she was not aware of all the felicity of her contrivance breakfast was scarcely over when a servant from netherfield brought the following note for elizabeth my dearest lizzy i find myself very unwell this morning which i suppose is to be imputed to my getting wet through yesterday my kind friends will not hear of my returning home till i am better they insist also on my seeing mr jonestherefore do not be alarmed if you should hear of his having been to meand excepting a sore throat and headache there is not much the matter with meyours c well my dear said mr bennet when elizabeth had read the note aloud if your daughter should have a dangerous fit of illnessif she should die it would be a comfort to know that it was all in pursuit of mr bingley and under your orders oh i am not at all afraid of her dying people do not die of little trifling colds she will be taken good care of as long as she stays there it is all very well i would go and see her if i could have the carriage elizabeth feeling really anxious was determined to go to her though the carriage was not to be had and as she was no horsewoman walking was her only alternative she declared her resolution how can you be so silly cried her mother as to think of such a thing in all this dirt you will not be fit to be seen when you get there i shall be very fit to see janewhich is all i want is this a hint to me lizzy said her father to send for the horses no indeed i do not wish to avoid the walk the distance is nothing when one has a motive only three miles i shall be back by dinner i admire the activity of your benevolence observed mary but every impulse of feeling should be guided by reason and in my opinion exertion should always be in proportion to what is required we will go as far as meryton with you said catherine and lydia elizabeth accepted their company and the three young ladies set off together if we make haste said lydia as they walked along perhaps we may see something of captain carter before he goes in meryton they parted the two youngest repaired to the lodgings of one of the officers wives and elizabeth continued her walk alone crossing field after field at a quick pace jumping over stiles and springing over puddles with impatient activity and finding herself at last within view of the house with weary ankles dirty stockings and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise she was shown into the breakfastparlour where all but jane were assembled and where her appearance created a great deal of surprise that she should have walked three miles so early in the day in such dirty weather and by herself was almost incredible to mrs hurst and miss bingley and elizabeth was convinced that they held her in contempt for it she was received however very politely by them and in their brothers manners there was something better than politeness there was good humour and kindness mr darcy said very little and mr hurst nothing at all the former was divided between admiration of the brilliancy which exercise had given to her complexion and doubt as to the occasions justifying her coming so far alone the latter was thinking only of his breakfast her enquiries after her sister were not very favourably answered miss bennet had slept ill and though up was very feverish and not well enough to leave her room elizabeth was glad to be taken to her immediately and jane who had only been withheld by the fear of giving alarm or inconvenience from expressing in her note how much she longed for such a visit was delighted at her entrance she was not equal however to much conversation and when miss bingley left them together could attempt little beside expressions of gratitude for the extraordinary kindness she was treated with elizabeth silently attended her when breakfast was over they were joined by the sisters and elizabeth began to like them herself when she saw how much affection and solicitude they showed for jane the apothecary came and having examined his patient said as might be supposed that she had caught a violent cold and that they must endeavour to get the better of it advised her to return to bed and promised her some draughts the advice was followed readily for the feverish symptoms increased and her head ached acutely elizabeth did not quit her room for a moment nor were the other ladies often absent the gentlemen being out they had in fact nothing to do elsewhere when the clock struck three elizabeth felt that she must go and very unwillingly said so miss bingley offered her the carriage and she only wanted a little pressing to accept it when jane testified such concern in parting with her that miss bingley was obliged to convert the offer of the chaise to an invitation to remain at netherfield for the present elizabeth most thankfully consented and a servant was dispatched to longbourn to acquaint the family with her stay and bring back a supply of clothes at five oclock the two ladies retired to dress and at halfpast six elizabeth was summoned to dinner to the civil enquiries which then poured in and amongst which she had the pleasure of distinguishing the much superior solicitude of mr bingleys she could not make a very favourable answer jane was by no means better the sisters on hearing this repeated three or four times how much they were grieved how shocking it was to have a bad cold and how excessively they disliked being ill themselves and then thought no more of the matter and their indifference towards jane when not immediately before them restored elizabeth to the enjoyment of all her original dislike their brother indeed was the only one of the party whom she could regard with any complacency his anxiety for jane was evident and his attentions to herself most pleasing and they prevented her feeling herself so much an intruder as she believed she was considered by the others she had very little notice from any but him miss bingley was engrossed by mr darcy her sister scarcely less so and as for mr hurst by whom elizabeth sat he was an indolent man who lived only to eat drink and play at cards who when he found her prefer a plain dish to a ragout had nothing to say to her when dinner was over she returned directly to jane and miss bingley began abusing her as soon as she was out of the room her manners were pronounced to be very bad indeed a mixture of pride and impertinence she had no conversation no style no taste no beauty mrs hurst thought the same and added she has nothing in short to recommend her but being an excellent walker i shall never forget her appearance this morning she really looked almost wild she did indeed louisa i could hardly keep my countenance very nonsensical to come at all why must she be scampering about the country because her sister had a cold her hair so untidy so blowsy yes and her petticoat i hope you saw her petticoat six inches deep in mud i am absolutely certain and the gown which had been let down to hide it not doing its office your picture may be very exact louisa said bingley but this was all lost upon me i thought miss elizabeth bennet looked remarkably well when she came into the room this morning her dirty petticoat quite escaped my notice you observed it mr darcy i am sure said miss bingley and i am inclined to think that you would not wish to see your sister make such an exhibition certainly not to walk three miles or four miles or five miles or whatever it is above her ankles in dirt and alone quite alone what could she mean by it it seems to me to show an abominable sort of conceited independence a most countrytown indifference to decorum it shows an affection for her sister that is very pleasing said bingley i am afraid mr darcy observed miss bingley in a half whisper that this adventure has rather affected your admiration of her fine eyes not at all he replied they were brightened by the exercise a short pause followed this speech and mrs hurst began again i have an excessive regard for miss jane bennet she is really a very sweet girl and i wish with all my heart she were well settled but with such a father and mother and such low connections i am afraid there is no chance of it i think i have heard you say that their uncle is an attorney in meryton yes and they have another who lives somewhere near cheapside that is capital added her sister and they both laughed heartily if they had uncles enough to fill all cheapside cried bingley it would not make them one jot less agreeable but it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world replied darcy to this speech bingley made no answer but his sisters gave it their hearty assent and indulged their mirth for some time at the expense of their dear friends vulgar relations with a renewal of tenderness however they repaired to her room on leaving the diningparlour and sat with her till summoned to coffee she was still very poorly and elizabeth would not quit her at all till late in the evening when she had the comfort of seeing her asleep and when it appeared to her rather right than pleasant that she should go downstairs herself on entering the drawingroom she found the whole party at loo and was immediately invited to join them but suspecting them to be playing high she declined it and making her sister the excuse said she would amuse herself for the short time she could stay below with a book mr hurst looked at her with astonishment do you prefer reading to cards said he that is rather singular miss eliza bennet said miss bingley despises cards she is a great reader and has no pleasure in anything else i deserve neither such praise nor such censure cried elizabeth i am not a great reader and i have pleasure in many things in nursing your sister i am sure you have pleasure said bingley and i hope it will soon be increased by seeing her quite well elizabeth thanked him from her heart and then walked towards a table where a few books were lying he immediately offered to fetch her others all that his library afforded and i wish my collection were larger for your benefit and my own credit but i am an idle fellow and though i have not many i have more than i ever looked into elizabeth assured him that she could suit herself perfectly with those in the room i am astonished said miss bingley that my father should have left so small a collection of books what a delightful library you have at pemberley mr darcy it ought to be good he replied it has been the work of many generations and then you have added so much to it yourself you are always buying books i cannot comprehend the neglect of a family library in such days as these neglect i am sure you neglect nothing that can add to the beauties of that noble place charles when you build your house i wish it may be half as delightful as pemberley i wish it may but i would really advise you to make your purchase in that neighbourhood and take pemberley for a kind of model there is not a finer county in england than derbyshire with all my heart i will buy pemberley itself if darcy will sell it i am talking of possibilities charles upon my word caroline i should think it more possible to get pemberley by purchase than by imitation elizabeth was so much caught by what passed as to leave her very little attention for her book and soon laying it wholly aside she drew near the cardtable and stationed herself between mr bingley and his eldest sister to observe the game is miss darcy much grown since the spring said miss bingley will she be as tall as i am i think she will she is now about miss elizabeth bennets height or rather taller how i long to see her again i never met with anybody who delighted me so much such a countenance such mannersand so extremely accomplished for her age her performance on the pianoforte is exquisite it is amazing to me said bingley how young ladies can have patience to be so very accomplished as they all are all young ladies accomplished my dear charles what do you mean yes all of them i think they all paint tables cover screens and net purses i scarcely know any one who cannot do all this and i am sure i never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time without being informed that she was very accomplished your list of the common extent of accomplishments said darcy has too much truth the word is applied to many a woman who deserves it no otherwise than by netting a purse or covering a screen but i am very far from agreeing with you in your estimation of ladies in general i cannot boast of knowing more than half a dozen in the whole range of my acquaintance that are really accomplished nor i i am sure said miss bingley then observed elizabeth you must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman yes i do comprehend a great deal in it oh certainly cried his faithful assistant no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with a woman must have a thorough knowledge of music singing drawing dancing and the modern languages to deserve the word and besides all this she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking the tone of her voice her address and expressions or the word will be but half deserved all this she must possess added darcy and to all this she must yet add something more substantial in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading i am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women i rather wonder now at your knowing any are you so severe upon your own sex as to doubt the possibility of all this i never saw such a woman i never saw such capacity and taste and application and elegance as you describe united mrs hurst and miss bingley both cried out against the injustice of her implied doubt and were both protesting that they knew many women who answered this description when mr hurst called them to order with bitter complaints of their inattention to what was going forward as all conversation was thereby at an end elizabeth soon afterwards left the room eliza bennet said miss bingley when the door was closed on her is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own and with many men i dare say it succeeds but in my opinion it is a paltry device a very mean art undoubtedly replied darcy to whom this remark was chiefly addressed there is meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable miss bingley was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject elizabeth joined them again only to say that her sister was worse and that she could not leave her bingley urged mr joness being sent for immediately while his sisters convinced that no country advice could be of any service recommended an express to town for one of the most eminent physicians this she would not hear of but she was not so unwilling to comply with their brothers proposal and it was settled that mr jones should be sent for early in the morning if miss bennet were not decidedly better bingley was quite uncomfortable his sisters declared that they were miserable they solaced their wretchedness however by duets after supper while he could find no better relief to his feelings than by giving his housekeeper directions that every possible attention might be paid to the sick lady and her sister elizabeth passed the chief of the night in her sisters room and in the morning had the pleasure of being able to send a tolerable answer to the enquiries which she very early received from mr bingley by a housemaid and some time afterwards from the two elegant ladies who waited on his sisters in spite of this amendment however she requested to have a note sent to longbourn desiring her mother to visit jane and form her own judgment of her situation the note was immediately dispatched and its contents as quickly complied with mrs bennet accompanied by her two youngest girls reached netherfield soon after the family breakfast had she found jane in any apparent danger mrs bennet would have been very miserable but being satisfied on seeing her that her illness was not alarming she had no wish of her recovering immediately as her restoration to health would probably remove her from netherfield she would not listen therefore to her daughters proposal of being carried home neither did the apothecary who arrived about the same time think it at all advisable after sitting a little while with jane on miss bingleys appearance and invitation the mother and three daughters all attended her into the breakfast parlour bingley met them with hopes that mrs bennet had not found miss bennet worse than she expected indeed i have sir was her answer she is a great deal too ill to be moved mr jones says we must not think of moving her we must trespass a little longer on your kindness removed cried bingley it must not be thought of my sister i am sure will not hear of her removal you may depend upon it madam said miss bingley with cold civility that miss bennet shall receive every possible attention while she remains with us mrs bennet was profuse in her acknowledgments i am sure she added if it was not for such good friends i do not know what would become of her for she is very ill indeed and suffers a vast deal though with the greatest patience in the world which is always the way with her for she has without exception the sweetest temper i ever met with i often tell my other girls they are nothing to her you have a sweet room here mr bingley and a charming prospect over that gravel walk i do not know a place in the country that is equal to netherfield you will not think of quitting it in a hurry i hope though you have but a short lease whatever i do is done in a hurry replied he and therefore if i should resolve to quit netherfield i should probably be off in five minutes at present however i consider myself as quite fixed here that is exactly what i should have supposed of you said elizabeth you begin to comprehend me do you cried he turning towards her oh yesi understand you perfectly i wish i might take this for a compliment but to be so easily seen through i am afraid is pitiful that is as it happens it does not necessarily follow that a deep intricate character is more or less estimable than such a one as yours lizzy cried her mother remember where you are and do not run on in the wild manner that you are suffered to do at home i did not know before continued bingley immediately that you were a studier of character it must be an amusing study yes but intricate characters are the most amusing they have at least that advantage the country said darcy can in general supply but few subjects for such a study in a country neighbourhood you move in a very confined and unvarying society but people themselves alter so much that there is something new to be observed in them for ever yes indeed cried mrs bennet offended by his manner of mentioning a country neighbourhood i assure you there is quite as much of that going on in the country as in town everybody was surprised and darcy after looking at her for a moment turned silently away mrs bennet who fancied she had gained a complete victory over him continued her triumph i cannot see that london has any great advantage over the country for my part except the shops and public places the country is a vast deal pleasanter is not it mr bingley when i am in the country he replied i never wish to leave it and when i am in town it is pretty much the same they have each their advantages and i can be equally happy in either ayethat is because you have the right disposition but that gentleman looking at darcy seemed to think the country was nothing at all indeed mama you are mistaken said elizabeth blushing for her mother you quite mistook mr darcy he only meant that there was not such a variety of people to be met with in the country as in town which you must acknowledge to be true certainly my dear nobody said there were but as to not meeting with many people in this neighbourhood i believe there are few neighbourhoods larger i know we dine with fourandtwenty families nothing but concern for elizabeth could enable bingley to keep his countenance his sister was less delicate and directed her eye towards mr darcy with a very expressive smile elizabeth for the sake of saying something that might turn her mothers thoughts now asked her if charlotte lucas had been at longbourn since her coming away yes she called yesterday with her father what an agreeable man sir william is mr bingleyis not he so much the man of fashion so genteel and so easy he has always something to say to everybody that is my idea of good breeding and those persons who fancy themselves very important and never open their mouths quite mistake the matter did charlotte dine with you no she would go home i fancy she was wanted about the mincepies for my part mr bingley i always keep servants that can do their own work my daughters are brought up differently but everybody is to judge for themselves and the lucases are a very good sort of girls i assure you it is a pity they are not handsome not that i think charlotte so very plainbut then she is our particular friend she seems a very pleasant young woman said bingley oh dear yes but you must own she is very plain lady lucas herself has often said so and envied me janes beauty i do not like to boast of my own child but to be sure janeone does not often see anybody better looking it is what everybody says i do not trust my own partiality when she was only fifteen there was a gentleman at my brother gardiners in town so much in love with her that my sisterinlaw was sure he would make her an offer before we came away but however he did not perhaps he thought her too young however he wrote some verses on her and very pretty they were and so ended his affection said elizabeth impatiently there has been many a one i fancy overcome in the same way i wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love i have been used to consider poetry as the food of love said darcy of a fine stout healthy love it may everything nourishes what is strong already but if it be only a slight thin sort of inclination i am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away darcy only smiled and the general pause which ensued made elizabeth tremble lest her mother should be exposing herself again she longed to speak but could think of nothing to say and after a short silence mrs bennet began repeating her thanks to mr bingley for his kindness to jane with an apology for troubling him also with lizzy mr bingley was unaffectedly civil in his answer and forced his younger sister to be civil also and say what the occasion required she performed her part indeed without much graciousness but mrs bennet was satisfied and soon afterwards ordered her carriage upon this signal the youngest of her daughters put herself forward the two girls had been whispering to each other during the whole visit and the result of it was that the youngest should tax mr bingley with having promised on his first coming into the country to give a ball at netherfield lydia was a stout wellgrown girl of fifteen with a fine complexion and goodhumoured countenance a favourite with her mother whose affection had brought her into public at an early age she had high animal spirits and a sort of natural selfconsequence which the attentions of the officers to whom her uncles good dinners and her own easy manners recommended her had increased into assurance she was very equal therefore to address mr bingley on the subject of the ball and abruptly reminded him of his promise adding that it would be the most shameful thing in the world if he did not keep it his answer to this sudden attack was delightful to their mothers ear i am perfectly ready i assure you to keep my engagement and when your sister is recovered you shall if you please name the very day of the ball but you would not wish to be dancing while she is ill lydia declared herself satisfied oh yesit would be much better to wait till jane was well and by that time most likely captain carter would be at meryton again and when you have given your ball she added i shall insist on their giving one also i shall tell colonel forster it will be quite a shame if he does not mrs bennet and her daughters then departed and elizabeth returned instantly to jane leaving her own and her relations behaviour to the remarks of the two ladies and mr darcy the latter of whom however could not be prevailed on to join in their censure of her in spite of all miss bingleys witticisms on fine eyes the day passed much as the day before had done mrs hurst and miss bingley had spent some hours of the morning with the invalid who continued though slowly to mend and in the evening elizabeth joined their party in the drawingroom the loo table however did not appear mr darcy was writing and miss bingley seated near him was watching the progress of his letter and repeatedly calling off his attention by messages to his sister mr hurst and mr bingley were at piquet and mrs hurst was observing their game elizabeth took up some needlework and was sufficiently amused in attending to what passed between darcy and his companion the perpetual commendations of the lady either on his handwriting or on the evenness of his lines or on the length of his letter with the perfect unconcern with which her praises were received formed a curious dialogue and was exactly in unison with her opinion of each how delighted miss darcy will be to receive such a letter he made no answer you write uncommonly fast you are mistaken i write rather slowly how many letters you must have occasion to write in the course of a year letters of business too how odious i should think them it is fortunate then that they fall to my lot instead of to yours pray tell your sister that i long to see her i have already told her so once by your desire i am afraid you do not like your pen let me mend it for you i mend pens remarkably well thank youbut i always mend my own how can you contrive to write so even he was silent tell your sister i am delighted to hear of her improvement on the harp and pray let her know that i am quite in raptures with her beautiful little design for a table and i think it infinitely superior to miss grantleys will you give me leave to defer your raptures till i write again at present i have not room to do them justice oh it is of no consequence i shall see her in january but do you always write such charming long letters to her mr darcy they are generally long but whether always charming it is not for me to determine it is a rule with me that a person who can write a long letter with ease cannot write ill that will not do for a compliment to darcy caroline cried her brother because he does not write with ease he studies too much for words of four syllables do not you darcy my style of writing is very different from yours oh cried miss bingley charles writes in the most careless way imaginable he leaves out half his words and blots the rest my ideas flow so rapidly that i have not time to express themby which means my letters sometimes convey no ideas at all to my correspondents your humility mr bingley said elizabeth must disarm reproof nothing is more deceitful said darcy than the appearance of humility it is often only carelessness of opinion and sometimes an indirect boast and which of the two do you call my little recent piece of modesty the indirect boast for you are really proud of your defects in writing because you consider them as proceeding from a rapidity of thought and carelessness of execution which if not estimable you think at least highly interesting the power of doing anything with quickness is always much prized by the possessor and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance when you told mrs bennet this morning that if you ever resolved on quitting netherfield you should be gone in five minutes you meant it to be a sort of panegyric of compliment to yourselfand yet what is there so very laudable in a precipitance which must leave very necessary business undone and can be of no real advantage to yourself or any one else nay cried bingley this is too much to remember at night all the foolish things that were said in the morning and yet upon my honour i believed what i said of myself to be true and i believe it at this moment at least therefore i did not assume the character of needless precipitance merely to show off before the ladies i dare say you believed it but i am by no means convinced that you would be gone with such celerity your conduct would be quite as dependent on chance as that of any man i know and if as you were mounting your horse a friend were to say bingley you had better stay till next week you would probably do it you would probably not goand at another word might stay a month you have only proved by this cried elizabeth that mr bingley did not do justice to his own disposition you have shown him off now much more than he did himself i am exceedingly gratified said bingley by your converting what my friend says into a compliment on the sweetness of my temper but i am afraid you are giving it a turn which that gentleman did by no means intend for he would certainly think the better of me if under such a circumstance i were to give a flat denial and ride off as fast as i could would mr darcy then consider the rashness of your original intention as atoned for by your obstinacy in adhering to it upon my word i cannot exactly explain the matter darcy must speak for himself you expect me to account for opinions which you choose to call mine but which i have never acknowledged allowing the case however to stand according to your representation you must remember miss bennet that the friend who is supposed to desire his return to the house and the delay of his plan has merely desired it asked it without offering one argument in favour of its propriety to yield readilyeasilyto the persuasion of a friend is no merit with you to yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either you appear to me mr darcy to allow nothing for the influence of friendship and affection a regard for the requester would often make one readily yield to a request without waiting for arguments to reason one into it i am not particularly speaking of such a case as you have supposed about mr bingley we may as well wait perhaps till the circumstance occurs before we discuss the discretion of his behaviour thereupon but in general and ordinary cases between friend and friend where one of them is desired by the other to change a resolution of no very great moment should you think ill of that person for complying with the desire without waiting to be argued into it will it not be advisable before we proceed on this subject to arrange with rather more precision the degree of importance which is to appertain to this request as well as the degree of intimacy subsisting between the parties by all means cried bingley let us hear all the particulars not forgetting their comparative height and size for that will have more weight in the argument miss bennet than you may be aware of i assure you that if darcy were not such a great tall fellow in comparison with myself i should not pay him half so much deference i declare i do not know a more awful object than darcy on particular occasions and in particular places at his own house especially and of a sunday evening when he has nothing to do mr darcy smiled but elizabeth thought she could perceive that he was rather offended and therefore checked her laugh miss bingley warmly resented the indignity he had received in an expostulation with her brother for talking such nonsense i see your design bingley said his friend you dislike an argument and want to silence this perhaps i do arguments are too much like disputes if you and miss bennet will defer yours till i am out of the room i shall be very thankful and then you may say whatever you like of me what you ask said elizabeth is no sacrifice on my side and mr darcy had much better finish his letter mr darcy took her advice and did finish his letter when that business was over he applied to miss bingley and elizabeth for the indulgence of some music miss bingley moved with alacrity to the pianoforte and after a polite request that elizabeth would lead the way which the other as politely and more earnestly negatived she seated herself mrs hurst sang with her sister and while they were thus employed elizabeth could not help observing as she turned over some musicbooks that lay on the instrument how frequently mr darcys eyes were fixed on her she hardly knew how to suppose that she could be an object of admiration to so great a man and yet that he should look at her because he disliked her was still more strange she could only imagine however at last that she drew his notice because there was a something about her more wrong and reprehensible according to his ideas of right than in any other person present the supposition did not pain her she liked him too little to care for his approbation after playing some italian songs miss bingley varied the charm by a lively scotch air and soon afterwards mr darcy drawing near elizabeth said to her do not you feel a great inclination miss bennet to seize such an opportunity of dancing a reel she smiled but made no answer he repeated the question with some surprise at her silence oh said she i heard you before but i could not immediately determine what to say in reply you wanted me i know to say yes that you might have the pleasure of despising my taste but i always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes and cheating a person of their premeditated contempt i have therefore made up my mind to tell you that i do not want to dance a reel at alland now despise me if you dare indeed i do not dare elizabeth having rather expected to affront him was amazed at his gallantry but there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody and darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her he really believed that were it not for the inferiority of her connections he should be in some danger miss bingley saw or suspected enough to be jealous and her great anxiety for the recovery of her dear friend jane received some assistance from her desire of getting rid of elizabeth she often tried to provoke darcy into disliking her guest by talking of their supposed marriage and planning his happiness in such an alliance i hope said she as they were walking together in the shrubbery the next day you will give your motherinlaw a few hints when this desirable event takes place as to the advantage of holding her tongue and if you can compass it do cure the younger girls of running after the officers and if i may mention so delicate a subject endeavour to check that little something bordering on conceit and impertinence which your lady possesses have you anything else to propose for my domestic felicity oh yes do let the portraits of your uncle and aunt philips be placed in the gallery at pemberley put them next to your great uncle the judge they are in the same profession you know only in different lines as for your elizabeths picture you must not attempt to have it taken for what painter could do justice to those beautiful eyes it would not be easy indeed to catch their expression but their colour and shape and the eyelashes so remarkably fine might be copied at that moment they were met from another walk by mrs hurst and elizabeth herself i did not know that you intended to walk said miss bingley in some confusion lest they had been overheard you used us abominably ill answered mrs hurst running away without telling us that you were coming out then taking the disengaged arm of mr darcy she left elizabeth to walk by herself the path just admitted three mr darcy felt their rudeness and immediately said this walk is not wide enough for our party we had better go into the avenue but elizabeth who had not the least inclination to remain with them laughingly answered no no stay where you are you are charmingly grouped and appear to uncommon advantage the picturesque would be spoilt by admitting a fourth goodbye she then ran gaily off rejoicing as she rambled about in the hope of being at home again in a day or two jane was already so much recovered as to intend leaving her room for a couple of hours that evening when the ladies removed after dinner elizabeth ran up to her sister and seeing her well guarded from cold attended her into the drawingroom where she was welcomed by her two friends with many professions of pleasure and elizabeth had never seen them so agreeable as they were during the hour which passed before the gentlemen appeared their powers of conversation were considerable they could describe an entertainment with accuracy relate an anecdote with humour and laugh at their acquaintance with spirit but when the gentlemen entered jane was no longer the first object miss bingleys eyes were instantly turned toward darcy and she had something to say to him before he had advanced many steps he addressed himself to miss bennet with a polite congratulation mr hurst also made her a slight bow and said he was very glad but diffuseness and warmth remained for bingleys salutation he was full of joy and attention the first halfhour was spent in piling up the fire lest she should suffer from the change of room and she removed at his desire to the other side of the fireplace that she might be further from the door he then sat down by her and talked scarcely to anyone else elizabeth at work in the opposite corner saw it all with great delight when tea was over mr hurst reminded his sisterinlaw of the cardtablebut in vain she had obtained private intelligence that mr darcy did not wish for cards and mr hurst soon found even his open petition rejected she assured him that no one intended to play and the silence of the whole party on the subject seemed to justify her mr hurst had therefore nothing to do but to stretch himself on one of the sofas and go to sleep darcy took up a book miss bingley did the same and mrs hurst principally occupied in playing with her bracelets and rings joined now and then in her brothers conversation with miss bennet miss bingleys attention was quite as much engaged in watching mr darcys progress through his book as in reading her own and she was perpetually either making some enquiry or looking at his page she could not win him however to any conversation he merely answered her question and read on at length quite exhausted by the attempt to be amused with her own book which she had only chosen because it was the second volume of his she gave a great yawn and said how pleasant it is to spend an evening in this way i declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading how much sooner one tires of anything than of a book when i have a house of my own i shall be miserable if i have not an excellent library no one made any reply she then yawned again threw aside her book and cast her eyes round the room in quest for some amusement when hearing her brother mentioning a ball to miss bennet she turned suddenly towards him and said by the bye charles are you really serious in meditating a dance at netherfield i would advise you before you determine on it to consult the wishes of the present party i am much mistaken if there are not some among us to whom a ball would be rather a punishment than a pleasure if you mean darcy cried her brother he may go to bed if he chooses before it beginsbut as for the ball it is quite a settled thing and as soon as nicholls has made white soup enough i shall send round my cards i should like balls infinitely better she replied if they were carried on in a different manner but there is something insufferably tedious in the usual process of such a meeting it would surely be much more rational if conversation instead of dancing were made the order of the day much more rational my dear caroline i dare say but it would not be near so much like a ball miss bingley made no answer and soon afterwards she got up and walked about the room her figure was elegant and she walked well but darcy at whom it was all aimed was still inflexibly studious in the desperation of her feelings she resolved on one effort more and turning to elizabeth said miss eliza bennet let me persuade you to follow my example and take a turn about the room i assure you it is very refreshing after sitting so long in one attitude elizabeth was surprised but agreed to it immediately miss bingley succeeded no less in the real object of her civility mr darcy looked up he was as much awake to the novelty of attention in that quarter as elizabeth herself could be and unconsciously closed his book he was directly invited to join their party but he declined it observing that he could imagine but two motives for their choosing to walk up and down the room together with either of which motives his joining them would interfere what could he mean she was dying to know what could be his meaningand asked elizabeth whether she could at all understand him not at all was her answer but depend upon it he means to be severe on us and our surest way of disappointing him will be to ask nothing about it miss bingley however was incapable of disappointing mr darcy in anything and persevered therefore in requiring an explanation of his two motives i have not the smallest objection to explaining them said he as soon as she allowed him to speak you either choose this method of passing the evening because you are in each others confidence and have secret affairs to discuss or because you are conscious that your figures appear to the greatest advantage in walking if the first i would be completely in your way and if the second i can admire you much better as i sit by the fire oh shocking cried miss bingley i never heard anything so abominable how shall we punish him for such a speech nothing so easy if you have but the inclination said elizabeth we can all plague and punish one another tease himlaugh at him intimate as you are you must know how it is to be done but upon my honour i do not i do assure you that my intimacy has not yet taught me that tease calmness of manner and presence of mind no no i feel he may defy us there and as to laughter we will not expose ourselves if you please by attempting to laugh without a subject mr darcy may hug himself mr darcy is not to be laughed at cried elizabeth that is an uncommon advantage and uncommon i hope it will continue for it would be a great loss to me to have many such acquaintances i dearly love a laugh miss bingley said he has given me more credit than can be the wisest and the best of mennay the wisest and best of their actionsmay be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first object in life is a joke certainly replied elizabeththere are such people but i hope i am not one of them i hope i never ridicule what is wise and good follies and nonsense whims and inconsistencies do divert me i own and i laugh at them whenever i can but these i suppose are precisely what you are without perhaps that is not possible for anyone but it has been the study of my life to avoid those weaknesses which often expose a strong understanding to ridicule such as vanity and pride yes vanity is a weakness indeed but pridewhere there is a real superiority of mind pride will be always under good regulation elizabeth turned away to hide a smile your examination of mr darcy is over i presume said miss bingley and pray what is the result i am perfectly convinced by it that mr darcy has no defect he owns it himself without disguise no said darcy i have made no such pretension i have faults enough but they are not i hope of understanding my temper i dare not vouch for it is i believe too little yieldingcertainly too little for the convenience of the world i cannot forget the follies and vices of others so soon as i ought nor their offenses against myself my feelings are not puffed about with every attempt to move them my temper would perhaps be called resentful my good opinion once lost is lost forever that is a failing indeed cried elizabeth implacable resentment is a shade in a character but you have chosen your fault well i really cannot laugh at it you are safe from me there is i believe in every disposition a tendency to some particular evila natural defect which not even the best education can overcome and your defect is to hate everybody and yours he replied with a smile is willfully to misunderstand them do let us have a little music cried miss bingley tired of a conversation in which she had no share louisa you will not mind my waking mr hurst her sister had not the smallest objection and the pianoforte was opened and darcy after a few moments recollection was not sorry for it he began to feel the danger of paying elizabeth too much attention in consequence of an agreement between the sisters elizabeth wrote the next morning to their mother to beg that the carriage might be sent for them in the course of the day but mrs bennet who had calculated on her daughters remaining at netherfield till the following tuesday which would exactly finish janes week could not bring herself to receive them with pleasure before her answer therefore was not propitious at least not to elizabeths wishes for she was impatient to get home mrs bennet sent them word that they could not possibly have the carriage before tuesday and in her postscript it was added that if mr bingley and his sister pressed them to stay longer she could spare them very well against staying longer however elizabeth was positively resolvednor did she much expect it would be asked and fearful on the contrary as being considered as intruding themselves needlessly long she urged jane to borrow mr bingleys carriage immediately and at length it was settled that their original design of leaving netherfield that morning should be mentioned and the request made the communication excited many professions of concern and enough was said of wishing them to stay at least till the following day to work on jane and till the morrow their going was deferred miss bingley was then sorry that she had proposed the delay for her jealousy and dislike of one sister much exceeded her affection for the other the master of the house heard with real sorrow that they were to go so soon and repeatedly tried to persuade miss bennet that it would not be safe for herthat she was not enough recovered but jane was firm where she felt herself to be right to mr darcy it was welcome intelligenceelizabeth had been at netherfield long enough she attracted him more than he likedand miss bingley was uncivil to her and more teasing than usual to himself he wisely resolved to be particularly careful that no sign of admiration should now escape him nothing that could elevate her with the hope of influencing his felicity sensible that if such an idea had been suggested his behaviour during the last day must have material weight in confirming or crushing it steady to his purpose he scarcely spoke ten words to her through the whole of saturday and though they were at one time left by themselves for halfanhour he adhered most conscientiously to his book and would not even look at her on sunday after morning service the separation so agreeable to almost all took place miss bingleys civility to elizabeth increased at last very rapidly as well as her affection for jane and when they parted after assuring the latter of the pleasure it would always give her to see her either at longbourn or netherfield and embracing her most tenderly she even shook hands with the former elizabeth took leave of the whole party in the liveliest of spirits they were not welcomed home very cordially by their mother mrs bennet wondered at their coming and thought them very wrong to give so much trouble and was sure jane would have caught cold again but their father though very laconic in his expressions of pleasure was really glad to see them he had felt their importance in the family circle the evening conversation when they were all assembled had lost much of its animation and almost all its sense by the absence of jane and elizabeth they found mary as usual deep in the study of thoroughbass and human nature and had some extracts to admire and some new observations of threadbare morality to listen to catherine and lydia had information for them of a different sort much had been done and much had been said in the regiment since the preceding wednesday several of the officers had dined lately with their uncle a private had been flogged and it had actually been hinted that colonel forster was going to be married i hope my dear said mr bennet to his wife as they were at breakfast the next morning that you have ordered a good dinner today because i have reason to expect an addition to our family party who do you mean my dear i know of nobody that is coming i am sure unless charlotte lucas should happen to call inand i hope my dinners are good enough for her i do not believe she often sees such at home the person of whom i speak is a gentleman and a stranger mrs bennets eyes sparkled a gentleman and a stranger it is mr bingley i am sure well i am sure i shall be extremely glad to see mr bingley butgood lord how unlucky there is not a bit of fish to be got today lydia my love ring the belli must speak to hill this moment it is not mr bingley said her husband it is a person whom i never saw in the whole course of my life this roused a general astonishment and he had the pleasure of being eagerly questioned by his wife and his five daughters at once after amusing himself some time with their curiosity he thus explained about a month ago i received this letter and about a fortnight ago i answered it for i thought it a case of some delicacy and requiring early attention it is from my cousin mr collins who when i am dead may turn you all out of this house as soon as he pleases oh my dear cried his wife i cannot bear to hear that mentioned pray do not talk of that odious man i do think it is the hardest thing in the world that your estate should be entailed away from your own children and i am sure if i had been you i should have tried long ago to do something or other about it jane and elizabeth tried to explain to her the nature of an entail they had often attempted to do it before but it was a subject on which mrs bennet was beyond the reach of reason and she continued to rail bitterly against the cruelty of settling an estate away from a family of five daughters in favour of a man whom nobody cared anything about it certainly is a most iniquitous affair said mr bennet and nothing can clear mr collins from the guilt of inheriting longbourn but if you will listen to his letter you may perhaps be a little softened by his manner of expressing himself no that i am sure i shall not and i think it is very impertinent of him to write to you at all and very hypocritical i hate such false friends why could he not keep on quarreling with you as his father did before him why indeed he does seem to have had some filial scruples on that head as you will hear hunsford near westerham kent 15th october dear sir the disagreement subsisting between yourself and my late honoured father always gave me much uneasiness and since i have had the misfortune to lose him i have frequently wished to heal the breach but for some time i was kept back by my own doubts fearing lest it might seem disrespectful to his memory for me to be on good terms with anyone with whom it had always pleased him to be at variancethere mrs bennetmy mind however is now made up on the subject for having received ordination at easter i have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the right honourable lady catherine de bourgh widow of sir lewis de bourgh whose bounty and beneficence has preferred me to the valuable rectory of this parish where it shall be my earnest endeavour to demean myself with grateful respect towards her ladyship and be ever ready to perform those rites and ceremonies which are instituted by the church of england as a clergyman moreover i feel it my duty to promote and establish the blessing of peace in all families within the reach of my influence and on these grounds i flatter myself that my present overtures are highly commendable and that the circumstance of my being next in the entail of longbourn estate will be kindly overlooked on your side and not lead you to reject the offered olivebranch i cannot be otherwise than concerned at being the means of injuring your amiable daughters and beg leave to apologise for it as well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every possible amendsbut of this hereafter if you should have no objection to receive me into your house i propose myself the satisfaction of waiting on you and your family monday november 18th by four oclock and shall probably trespass on your hospitality till the saturday seennight following which i can do without any inconvenience as lady catherine is far from objecting to my occasional absence on a sunday provided that some other clergyman is engaged to do the duty of the dayi remain dear sir with respectful compliments to your lady and daughters your wellwisher and friend william collins at four oclock therefore we may expect this peacemaking gentleman said mr bennet as he folded up the letter he seems to be a most conscientious and polite young man upon my word and i doubt not will prove a valuable acquaintance especially if lady catherine should be so indulgent as to let him come to us again there is some sense in what he says about the girls however and if he is disposed to make them any amends i shall not be the person to discourage him though it is difficult said jane to guess in what way he can mean to make us the atonement he thinks our due the wish is certainly to his credit elizabeth was chiefly struck by his extraordinary deference for lady catherine and his kind intention of christening marrying and burying his parishioners whenever it were required he must be an oddity i think said she i cannot make him outthere is something very pompous in his styleand what can he mean by apologising for being next in the entailwe cannot suppose he would help it if he couldcould he be a sensible man sir no my dear i think not i have great hopes of finding him quite the reverse there is a mixture of servility and selfimportance in his letter which promises well i am impatient to see him in point of composition said mary the letter does not seem defective the idea of the olivebranch perhaps is not wholly new yet i think it is well expressed to catherine and lydia neither the letter nor its writer were in any degree interesting it was next to impossible that their cousin should come in a scarlet coat and it was now some weeks since they had received pleasure from the society of a man in any other colour as for their mother mr collinss letter had done away much of her illwill and she was preparing to see him with a degree of composure which astonished her husband and daughters mr collins was punctual to his time and was received with great politeness by the whole family mr bennet indeed said little but the ladies were ready enough to talk and mr collins seemed neither in need of encouragement nor inclined to be silent himself he was a tall heavylooking young man of fiveandtwenty his air was grave and stately and his manners were very formal he had not been long seated before he complimented mrs bennet on having so fine a family of daughters said he had heard much of their beauty but that in this instance fame had fallen short of the truth and added that he did not doubt her seeing them all in due time disposed of in marriage this gallantry was not much to the taste of some of his hearers but mrs bennet who quarreled with no compliments answered most readily you are very kind i am sure and i wish with all my heart it may prove so for else they will be destitute enough things are settled so oddly you allude perhaps to the entail of this estate ah sir i do indeed it is a grievous affair to my poor girls you must confess not that i mean to find fault with you for such things i know are all chance in this world there is no knowing how estates will go when once they come to be entailed i am very sensible madam of the hardship to my fair cousins and could say much on the subject but that i am cautious of appearing forward and precipitate but i can assure the young ladies that i come prepared to admire them at present i will not say more but perhaps when we are better acquainted he was interrupted by a summons to dinner and the girls smiled on each other they were not the only objects of mr collinss admiration the hall the diningroom and all its furniture were examined and praised and his commendation of everything would have touched mrs bennets heart but for the mortifying supposition of his viewing it all as his own future property the dinner too in its turn was highly admired and he begged to know to which of his fair cousins the excellency of its cooking was owing but he was set right there by mrs bennet who assured him with some asperity that they were very well able to keep a good cook and that her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen he begged pardon for having displeased her in a softened tone she declared herself not at all offended but he continued to apologise for about a quarter of an hour during dinner mr bennet scarcely spoke at all but when the servants were withdrawn he thought it time to have some conversation with his guest and therefore started a subject in which he expected him to shine by observing that he seemed very fortunate in his patroness lady catherine de bourghs attention to his wishes and consideration for his comfort appeared very remarkable mr bennet could not have chosen better mr collins was eloquent in her praise the subject elevated him to more than usual solemnity of manner and with a most important aspect he protested that he had never in his life witnessed such behaviour in a person of ranksuch affability and condescension as he had himself experienced from lady catherine she had been graciously pleased to approve of both of the discourses which he had already had the honour of preaching before her she had also asked him twice to dine at rosings and had sent for him only the saturday before to make up her pool of quadrille in the evening lady catherine was reckoned proud by many people he knew but he had never seen anything but affability in her she had always spoken to him as she would to any other gentleman she made not the smallest objection to his joining in the society of the neighbourhood nor to his leaving the parish occasionally for a week or two to visit his relations she had even condescended to advise him to marry as soon as he could provided he chose with discretion and had once paid him a visit in his humble parsonage where she had perfectly approved all the alterations he had been making and had even vouchsafed to suggest some herselfsome shelves in the closet up stairs that is all very proper and civil i am sure said mrs bennet and i dare say she is a very agreeable woman it is a pity that great ladies in general are not more like her does she live near you sir the garden in which stands my humble abode is separated only by a lane from rosings park her ladyships residence i think you said she was a widow sir has she any family she has only one daughter the heiress of rosings and of very extensive property ah said mrs bennet shaking her head then she is better off than many girls and what sort of young lady is she is she handsome she is a most charming young lady indeed lady catherine herself says that in point of true beauty miss de bourgh is far superior to the handsomest of her sex because there is that in her features which marks the young lady of distinguished birth she is unfortunately of a sickly constitution which has prevented her from making that progress in many accomplishments which she could not have otherwise failed of as i am informed by the lady who superintended her education and who still resides with them but she is perfectly amiable and often condescends to drive by my humble abode in her little phaeton and ponies has she been presented i do not remember her name among the ladies at court her indifferent state of health unhappily prevents her being in town and by that means as i told lady catherine one day has deprived the british court of its brightest ornament her ladyship seemed pleased with the idea and you may imagine that i am happy on every occasion to offer those little delicate compliments which are always acceptable to ladies i have more than once observed to lady catherine that her charming daughter seemed born to be a duchess and that the most elevated rank instead of giving her consequence would be adorned by her these are the kind of little things which please her ladyship and it is a sort of attention which i conceive myself peculiarly bound to pay you judge very properly said mr bennet and it is happy for you that you possess the talent of flattering with delicacy may i ask whether these pleasing attentions proceed from the impulse of the moment or are the result of previous study they arise chiefly from what is passing at the time and though i sometimes amuse myself with suggesting and arranging such little elegant compliments as may be adapted to ordinary occasions i always wish to give them as unstudied an air as possible mr bennets expectations were fully answered his cousin was as absurd as he had hoped and he listened to him with the keenest enjoyment maintaining at the same time the most resolute composure of countenance and except in an occasional glance at elizabeth requiring no partner in his pleasure by teatime however the dose had been enough and mr bennet was glad to take his guest into the drawingroom again and when tea was over glad to invite him to read aloud to the ladies mr collins readily assented and a book was produced but on beholding it for everything announced it to be from a circulating library he started back and begging pardon protested that he never read novels kitty stared at him and lydia exclaimed other books were produced and after some deliberation he chose fordyces sermons lydia gaped as he opened the volume and before he had with very monotonous solemnity read three pages she interrupted him with do you know mamma that my uncle phillips talks of turning away richard and if he does colonel forster will hire him my aunt told me so herself on saturday i shall walk to meryton tomorrow to hear more about it and to ask when mr denny comes back from town lydia was bid by her two eldest sisters to hold her tongue but mr collins much offended laid aside his book and said i have often observed how little young ladies are interested by books of a serious stamp though written solely for their benefit it amazes me i confess for certainly there can be nothing so advantageous to them as instruction but i will no longer importune my young cousin then turning to mr bennet he offered himself as his antagonist at backgammon mr bennet accepted the challenge observing that he acted very wisely in leaving the girls to their own trifling amusements mrs bennet and her daughters apologised most civilly for lydias interruption and promised that it should not occur again if he would resume his book but mr collins after assuring them that he bore his young cousin no illwill and should never resent her behaviour as any affront seated himself at another table with mr bennet and prepared for backgammon mr collins was not a sensible man and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society the greatest part of his life having been spent under the guidance of an illiterate and miserly father and though he belonged to one of the universities he had merely kept the necessary terms without forming at it any useful acquaintance the subjection in which his father had brought him up had given him originally great humility of manner but it was now a good deal counteracted by the selfconceit of a weak head living in retirement and the consequential feelings of early and unexpected prosperity a fortunate chance had recommended him to lady catherine de bourgh when the living of hunsford was vacant and the respect which he felt for her high rank and his veneration for her as his patroness mingling with a very good opinion of himself of his authority as a clergyman and his right as a rector made him altogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness selfimportance and humility having now a good house and a very sufficient income he intended to marry and in seeking a reconciliation with the longbourn family he had a wife in view as he meant to choose one of the daughters if he found them as handsome and amiable as they were represented by common report this was his plan of amendsof atonementfor inheriting their fathers estate and he thought it an excellent one full of eligibility and suitableness and excessively generous and disinterested on his own part his plan did not vary on seeing them miss bennets lovely face confirmed his views and established all his strictest notions of what was due to seniority and for the first evening she was his settled choice the next morning however made an alteration for in a quarter of an hours têteàtête with mrs bennet before breakfast a conversation beginning with his parsonagehouse and leading naturally to the avowal of his hopes that a mistress might be found for it at longbourn produced from her amid very complaisant smiles and general encouragement a caution against the very jane he had fixed on as to her younger daughters she could not take upon her to sayshe could not positively answerbut she did not know of any prepossession her eldest daughter she must just mentionshe felt it incumbent on her to hint was likely to be very soon engaged mr collins had only to change from jane to elizabethand it was soon donedone while mrs bennet was stirring the fire elizabeth equally next to jane in birth and beauty succeeded her of course mrs bennet treasured up the hint and trusted that she might soon have two daughters married and the man whom she could not bear to speak of the day before was now high in her good graces lydias intention of walking to meryton was not forgotten every sister except mary agreed to go with her and mr collins was to attend them at the request of mr bennet who was most anxious to get rid of him and have his library to himself for thither mr collins had followed him after breakfast and there he would continue nominally engaged with one of the largest folios in the collection but really talking to mr bennet with little cessation of his house and garden at hunsford such doings discomposed mr bennet exceedingly in his library he had been always sure of leisure and tranquillity and though prepared as he told elizabeth to meet with folly and conceit in every other room of the house he was used to be free from them there his civility therefore was most prompt in inviting mr collins to join his daughters in their walk and mr collins being in fact much better fitted for a walker than a reader was extremely pleased to close his large book and go in pompous nothings on his side and civil assents on that of his cousins their time passed till they entered meryton the attention of the younger ones was then no longer to be gained by him their eyes were immediately wandering up in the street in quest of the officers and nothing less than a very smart bonnet indeed or a really new muslin in a shop window could recall them but the attention of every lady was soon caught by a young man whom they had never seen before of most gentlemanlike appearance walking with another officer on the other side of the way the officer was the very mr denny concerning whose return from london lydia came to enquire and he bowed as they passed all were struck with the strangers air all wondered who he could be and kitty and lydia determined if possible to find out led the way across the street under pretense of wanting something in an opposite shop and fortunately had just gained the pavement when the two gentlemen turning back had reached the same spot mr denny addressed them directly and entreated permission to introduce his friend mr wickham who had returned with him the day before from town and he was happy to say had accepted a commission in their corps this was exactly as it should be for the young man wanted only regimentals to make him completely charming his appearance was greatly in his favour he had all the best part of beauty a fine countenance a good figure and very pleasing address the introduction was followed up on his side by a happy readiness of conversationa readiness at the same time perfectly correct and unassuming and the whole party were still standing and talking together very agreeably when the sound of horses drew their notice and darcy and bingley were seen riding down the street on distinguishing the ladies of the group the two gentlemen came directly towards them and began the usual civilities bingley was the principal spokesman and miss bennet the principal object he was then he said on his way to longbourn on purpose to enquire after her mr darcy corroborated it with a bow and was beginning to determine not to fix his eyes on elizabeth when they were suddenly arrested by the sight of the stranger and elizabeth happening to see the countenance of both as they looked at each other was all astonishment at the effect of the meeting both changed colour one looked white the other red mr wickham after a few moments touched his hata salutation which mr darcy just deigned to return what could be the meaning of it it was impossible to imagine it was impossible not to long to know in another minute mr bingley but without seeming to have noticed what passed took leave and rode on with his friend mr denny and mr wickham walked with the young ladies to the door of mr phillips house and then made their bows in spite of miss lydias pressing entreaties that they should come in and even in spite of mrs phillipss throwing up the parlour window and loudly seconding the invitation mrs phillips was always glad to see her nieces and the two eldest from their recent absence were particularly welcome and she was eagerly expressing her surprise at their sudden return home which as their own carriage had not fetched them she should have known nothing about if she had not happened to see mr joness shopboy in the street who had told her that they were not to send any more draughts to netherfield because the miss bennets were come away when her civility was claimed towards mr collins by janes introduction of him she received him with her very best politeness which he returned with as much more apologising for his intrusion without any previous acquaintance with her which he could not help flattering himself however might be justified by his relationship to the young ladies who introduced him to her notice mrs phillips was quite awed by such an excess of good breeding but her contemplation of one stranger was soon put to an end by exclamations and enquiries about the other of whom however she could only tell her nieces what they already knew that mr denny had brought him from london and that he was to have a lieutenants commission in the shire she had been watching him the last hour she said as he walked up and down the street and had mr wickham appeared kitty and lydia would certainly have continued the occupation but unluckily no one passed windows now except a few of the officers who in comparison with the stranger were become stupid disagreeable fellows some of them were to dine with the phillipses the next day and their aunt promised to make her husband call on mr wickham and give him an invitation also if the family from longbourn would come in the evening this was agreed to and mrs phillips protested that they would have a nice comfortable noisy game of lottery tickets and a little bit of hot supper afterwards the prospect of such delights was very cheering and they parted in mutual good spirits mr collins repeated his apologies in quitting the room and was assured with unwearying civility that they were perfectly needless as they walked home elizabeth related to jane what she had seen pass between the two gentlemen but though jane would have defended either or both had they appeared to be in the wrong she could no more explain such behaviour than her sister mr collins on his return highly gratified mrs bennet by admiring mrs phillipss manners and politeness he protested that except lady catherine and her daughter he had never seen a more elegant woman for she had not only received him with the utmost civility but even pointedly included him in her invitation for the next evening although utterly unknown to her before something he supposed might be attributed to his connection with them but yet he had never met with so much attention in the whole course of his life as no objection was made to the young peoples engagement with their aunt and all mr collinss scruples of leaving mr and mrs bennet for a single evening during his visit were most steadily resisted the coach conveyed him and his five cousins at a suitable hour to meryton and the girls had the pleasure of hearing as they entered the drawingroom that mr wickham had accepted their uncles invitation and was then in the house when this information was given and they had all taken their seats mr collins was at leisure to look around him and admire and he was so much struck with the size and furniture of the apartment that he declared he might almost have supposed himself in the small summer breakfast parlour at rosings a comparison that did not at first convey much gratification but when mrs phillips understood from him what rosings was and who was its proprietorwhen she had listened to the description of only one of lady catherines drawingrooms and found that the chimneypiece alone had cost eight hundred pounds she felt all the force of the compliment and would hardly have resented a comparison with the housekeepers room in describing to her all the grandeur of lady catherine and her mansion with occasional digressions in praise of his own humble abode and the improvements it was receiving he was happily employed until the gentlemen joined them and he found in mrs phillips a very attentive listener whose opinion of his consequence increased with what she heard and who was resolving to retail it all among her neighbours as soon as she could to the girls who could not listen to their cousin and who had nothing to do but to wish for an instrument and examine their own indifferent imitations of china on the mantelpiece the interval of waiting appeared very long it was over at last however the gentlemen did approach and when mr wickham walked into the room elizabeth felt that she had neither been seeing him before nor thinking of him since with the smallest degree of unreasonable admiration the officers of the shire were in general a very creditable gentlemanlike set and the best of them were of the present party but mr wickham was as far beyond them all in person countenance air and walk as they were superior to the broadfaced stuffy uncle phillips breathing port wine who followed them into the room mr wickham was the happy man towards whom almost every female eye was turned and elizabeth was the happy woman by whom he finally seated himself and the agreeable manner in which he immediately fell into conversation though it was only on its being a wet night made her feel that the commonest dullest most threadbare topic might be rendered interesting by the skill of the speaker with such rivals for the notice of the fair as mr wickham and the officers mr collins seemed to sink into insignificance to the young ladies he certainly was nothing but he had still at intervals a kind listener in mrs phillips and was by her watchfulness most abundantly supplied with coffee and muffin when the cardtables were placed he had the opportunity of obliging her in turn by sitting down to whist i know little of the game at present said he but i shall be glad to improve myself for in my situation in life mrs phillips was very glad for his compliance but could not wait for his reason mr wickham did not play at whist and with ready delight was he received at the other table between elizabeth and lydia at first there seemed danger of lydias engrossing him entirely for she was a most determined talker but being likewise extremely fond of lottery tickets she soon grew too much interested in the game too eager in making bets and exclaiming after prizes to have attention for anyone in particular allowing for the common demands of the game mr wickham was therefore at leisure to talk to elizabeth and she was very willing to hear him though what she chiefly wished to hear she could not hope to be toldthe history of his acquaintance with mr darcy she dared not even mention that gentleman her curiosity however was unexpectedly relieved mr wickham began the subject himself he enquired how far netherfield was from meryton and after receiving her answer asked in a hesitating manner how long mr darcy had been staying there about a month said elizabeth and then unwilling to let the subject drop added he is a man of very large property in derbyshire i understand yes replied mr wickham his estate there is a noble one a clear ten thousand per annum you could not have met with a person more capable of giving you certain information on that head than myself for i have been connected with his family in a particular manner from my infancy elizabeth could not but look surprised you may well be surprised miss bennet at such an assertion after seeing as you probably might the very cold manner of our meeting yesterday are you much acquainted with mr darcy as much as i ever wish to be cried elizabeth very warmly i have spent four days in the same house with him and i think him very disagreeable i have no right to give my opinion said wickham as to his being agreeable or otherwise i am not qualified to form one i have known him too long and too well to be a fair judge it is impossible for me to be impartial but i believe your opinion of him would in general astonishand perhaps you would not express it quite so strongly anywhere else here you are in your own family upon my word i say no more here than i might say in any house in the neighbourhood except netherfield he is not at all liked in hertfordshire everybody is disgusted with his pride you will not find him more favourably spoken of by anyone i cannot pretend to be sorry said wickham after a short interruption that he or that any man should not be estimated beyond their deserts but with him i believe it does not often happen the world is blinded by his fortune and consequence or frightened by his high and imposing manners and sees him only as he chooses to be seen i should take him even on my slight acquaintance to be an illtempered man wickham only shook his head i wonder said he at the next opportunity of speaking whether he is likely to be in this country much longer i do not at all know but i heard nothing of his going away when i was at netherfield i hope your plans in favour of the shire will not be affected by his being in the neighbourhood oh noit is not for me to be driven away by mr darcy if he wishes to avoid seeing me he must go we are not on friendly terms and it always gives me pain to meet him but i have no reason for avoiding him but what i might proclaim before all the world a sense of very great illusage and most painful regrets at his being what he is his father miss bennet the late mr darcy was one of the best men that ever breathed and the truest friend i ever had and i can never be in company with this mr darcy without being grieved to the soul by a thousand tender recollections his behaviour to myself has been scandalous but i verily believe i could forgive him anything and everything rather than his disappointing the hopes and disgracing the memory of his father elizabeth found the interest of the subject increase and listened with all her heart but the delicacy of it prevented further enquiry mr wickham began to speak on more general topics meryton the neighbourhood the society appearing highly pleased with all that he had yet seen and speaking of the latter with gentle but very intelligible gallantry it was the prospect of constant society and good society he added which was my chief inducement to enter the shire i knew it to be a most respectable agreeable corps and my friend denny tempted me further by his account of their present quarters and the very great attentions and excellent acquaintances meryton had procured them society i own is necessary to me i have been a disappointed man and my spirits will not bear solitude i must have employment and society a military life is not what i was intended for but circumstances have now made it eligible the church ought to have been my professioni was brought up for the church and i should at this time have been in possession of a most valuable living had it pleased the gentleman we were speaking of just now indeed yesthe late mr darcy bequeathed me the next presentation of the best living in his gift he was my godfather and excessively attached to me i cannot do justice to his kindness he meant to provide for me amply and thought he had done it but when the living fell it was given elsewhere good heavens cried elizabeth but how could that be how could his will be disregarded why did you not seek legal redress there was just such an informality in the terms of the bequest as to give me no hope from law a man of honour could not have doubted the intention but mr darcy chose to doubt itor to treat it as a merely conditional recommendation and to assert that i had forfeited all claim to it by extravagance imprudencein short anything or nothing certain it is that the living became vacant two years ago exactly as i was of an age to hold it and that it was given to another man and no less certain is it that i cannot accuse myself of having really done anything to deserve to lose it i have a warm unguarded temper and i may have spoken my opinion of him and to him too freely i can recall nothing worse but the fact is that we are very different sort of men and that he hates me this is quite shocking he deserves to be publicly disgraced some time or other he will bebut it shall not be by me till i can forget his father i can never defy or expose him elizabeth honoured him for such feelings and thought him handsomer than ever as he expressed them but what said she after a pause can have been his motive what can have induced him to behave so cruelly a thorough determined dislike of mea dislike which i cannot but attribute in some measure to jealousy had the late mr darcy liked me less his son might have borne with me better but his fathers uncommon attachment to me irritated him i believe very early in life he had not a temper to bear the sort of competition in which we stoodthe sort of preference which was often given me i had not thought mr darcy so bad as thisthough i have never liked him i had not thought so very ill of him i had supposed him to be despising his fellowcreatures in general but did not suspect him of descending to such malicious revenge such injustice such inhumanity as this after a few minutes reflection however she continued i do remember his boasting one day at netherfield of the implacability of his resentments of his having an unforgiving temper his disposition must be dreadful i will not trust myself on the subject replied wickham i can hardly be just to him elizabeth was again deep in thought and after a time exclaimed to treat in such a manner the godson the friend the favourite of his father she could have added a young man too like you whose very countenance may vouch for your being amiablebut she contented herself with and one too who had probably been his companion from childhood connected together as i think you said in the closest manner we were born in the same parish within the same park the greatest part of our youth was passed together inmates of the same house sharing the same amusements objects of the same parental care my father began life in the profession which your uncle mr phillips appears to do so much credit tobut he gave up everything to be of use to the late mr darcy and devoted all his time to the care of the pemberley property he was most highly esteemed by mr darcy a most intimate confidential friend mr darcy often acknowledged himself to be under the greatest obligations to my fathers active superintendence and when immediately before my fathers death mr darcy gave him a voluntary promise of providing for me i am convinced that he felt it to be as much a debt of gratitude to him as of his affection to myself how strange cried elizabeth how abominable i wonder that the very pride of this mr darcy has not made him just to you if from no better motive that he should not have been too proud to be dishonestfor dishonesty i must call it it is wonderful replied wickham for almost all his actions may be traced to pride and pride had often been his best friend it has connected him nearer with virtue than with any other feeling but we are none of us consistent and in his behaviour to me there were stronger impulses even than pride can such abominable pride as his have ever done him good yes it has often led him to be liberal and generous to give his money freely to display hospitality to assist his tenants and relieve the poor family pride and filial pridefor he is very proud of what his father washave done this not to appear to disgrace his family to degenerate from the popular qualities or lose the influence of the pemberley house is a powerful motive he has also brotherly pride which with some brotherly affection makes him a very kind and careful guardian of his sister and you will hear him generally cried up as the most attentive and best of brothers what sort of girl is miss darcy he shook his head i wish i could call her amiable it gives me pain to speak ill of a darcy but she is too much like her brothervery very proud as a child she was affectionate and pleasing and extremely fond of me and i have devoted hours and hours to her amusement but she is nothing to me now she is a handsome girl about fifteen or sixteen and i understand highly accomplished since her fathers death her home has been london where a lady lives with her and superintends her education after many pauses and many trials of other subjects elizabeth could not help reverting once more to the first and saying i am astonished at his intimacy with mr bingley how can mr bingley who seems good humour itself and is i really believe truly amiable be in friendship with such a man how can they suit each other do you know mr bingley not at all he is a sweettempered amiable charming man he cannot know what mr darcy is probably not but mr darcy can please where he chooses he does not want abilities he can be a conversible companion if he thinks it worth his while among those who are at all his equals in consequence he is a very different man from what he is to the less prosperous his pride never deserts him but with the rich he is liberalminded just sincere rational honourable and perhaps agreeableallowing something for fortune and figure the whist party soon afterwards breaking up the players gathered round the other table and mr collins took his station between his cousin elizabeth and mrs phillips the usual enquiries as to his success were made by the latter it had not been very great he had lost every point but when mrs phillips began to express her concern thereupon he assured her with much earnest gravity that it was not of the least importance that he considered the money as a mere trifle and begged that she would not make herself uneasy i know very well madam said he that when persons sit down to a cardtable they must take their chances of these things and happily i am not in such circumstances as to make five shillings any object there are undoubtedly many who could not say the same but thanks to lady catherine de bourgh i am removed far beyond the necessity of regarding little matters mr wickhams attention was caught and after observing mr collins for a few moments he asked elizabeth in a low voice whether her relation was very intimately acquainted with the family of de bourgh lady catherine de bourgh she replied has very lately given him a living i hardly know how mr collins was first introduced to her notice but he certainly has not known her long you know of course that lady catherine de bourgh and lady anne darcy were sisters consequently that she is aunt to the present mr darcy no indeed i did not i knew nothing at all of lady catherines connections i never heard of her existence till the day before yesterday her daughter miss de bourgh will have a very large fortune and it is believed that she and her cousin will unite the two estates this information made elizabeth smile as she thought of poor miss bingley vain indeed must be all her attentions vain and useless her affection for his sister and her praise of himself if he were already selfdestined for another mr collins said she speaks highly both of lady catherine and her daughter but from some particulars that he has related of her ladyship i suspect his gratitude misleads him and that in spite of her being his patroness she is an arrogant conceited woman i believe her to be both in a great degree replied wickham i have not seen her for many years but i very well remember that i never liked her and that her manners were dictatorial and insolent she has the reputation of being remarkably sensible and clever but i rather believe she derives part of her abilities from her rank and fortune part from her authoritative manner and the rest from the pride of her nephew who chooses that everyone connected with him should have an understanding of the first class elizabeth allowed that he had given a very rational account of it and they continued talking together with mutual satisfaction till supper put an end to cards and gave the rest of the ladies their share of mr wickhams attentions there could be no conversation in the noise of mrs phillipss supper party but his manners recommended him to everybody whatever he said was said well and whatever he did done gracefully elizabeth went away with her head full of him she could think of nothing but of mr wickham and of what he had told her all the way home but there was not time for her even to mention his name as they went for neither lydia nor mr collins were once silent lydia talked incessantly of lottery tickets of the fish she had lost and the fish she had won and mr collins in describing the civility of mr and mrs phillips protesting that he did not in the least regard his losses at whist enumerating all the dishes at supper and repeatedly fearing that he crowded his cousins had more to say than he could well manage before the carriage stopped at longbourn house elizabeth related to jane the next day what had passed between mr wickham and herself jane listened with astonishment and concern she knew not how to believe that mr darcy could be so unworthy of mr bingleys regard and yet it was not in her nature to question the veracity of a young man of such amiable appearance as wickham the possibility of his having endured such unkindness was enough to interest all her tender feelings and nothing remained therefore to be done but to think well of them both to defend the conduct of each and throw into the account of accident or mistake whatever could not be otherwise explained they have both said she been deceived i dare say in some way or other of which we can form no idea interested people have perhaps misrepresented each to the other it is in short impossible for us to conjecture the causes or circumstances which may have alienated them without actual blame on either side very true indeed and now my dear jane what have you got to say on behalf of the interested people who have probably been concerned in the business do clear them too or we shall be obliged to think ill of somebody laugh as much as you choose but you will not laugh me out of my opinion my dearest lizzy do but consider in what a disgraceful light it places mr darcy to be treating his fathers favourite in such a manner one whom his father had promised to provide for it is impossible no man of common humanity no man who had any value for his character could be capable of it can his most intimate friends be so excessively deceived in him oh no i can much more easily believe mr bingleys being imposed on than that mr wickham should invent such a history of himself as he gave me last night names facts everything mentioned without ceremony if it be not so let mr darcy contradict it besides there was truth in his looks it is difficult indeedit is distressing one does not know what to think i beg your pardon one knows exactly what to think but jane could think with certainty on only one pointthat mr bingley if he had been imposed on would have much to suffer when the affair became public the two young ladies were summoned from the shrubbery where this conversation passed by the arrival of the very persons of whom they had been speaking mr bingley and his sisters came to give their personal invitation for the longexpected ball at netherfield which was fixed for the following tuesday the two ladies were delighted to see their dear friend again called it an age since they had met and repeatedly asked what she had been doing with herself since their separation to the rest of the family they paid little attention avoiding mrs bennet as much as possible saying not much to elizabeth and nothing at all to the others they were soon gone again rising from their seats with an activity which took their brother by surprise and hurrying off as if eager to escape from mrs bennets civilities the prospect of the netherfield ball was extremely agreeable to every female of the family mrs bennet chose to consider it as given in compliment to her eldest daughter and was particularly flattered by receiving the invitation from mr bingley himself instead of a ceremonious card jane pictured to herself a happy evening in the society of her two friends and the attentions of their brother and elizabeth thought with pleasure of dancing a great deal with mr wickham and of seeing a confirmation of everything in mr darcys look and behaviour the happiness anticipated by catherine and lydia depended less on any single event or any particular person for though they each like elizabeth meant to dance half the evening with mr wickham he was by no means the only partner who could satisfy them and a ball was at any rate a ball and even mary could assure her family that she had no disinclination for it while i can have my mornings to myself said she it is enoughi think it is no sacrifice to join occasionally in evening engagements society has claims on us all and i profess myself one of those who consider intervals of recreation and amusement as desirable for everybody elizabeths spirits were so high on this occasion that though she did not often speak unnecessarily to mr collins she could not help asking him whether he intended to accept mr bingleys invitation and if he did whether he would think it proper to join in the evenings amusement and she was rather surprised to find that he entertained no scruple whatever on that head and was very far from dreading a rebuke either from the archbishop or lady catherine de bourgh by venturing to dance i am by no means of the opinion i assure you said he that a ball of this kind given by a young man of character to respectable people can have any evil tendency and i am so far from objecting to dancing myself that i shall hope to be honoured with the hands of all my fair cousins in the course of the evening and i take this opportunity of soliciting yours miss elizabeth for the two first dances especially a preference which i trust my cousin jane will attribute to the right cause and not to any disrespect for her elizabeth felt herself completely taken in she had fully proposed being engaged by mr wickham for those very dances and to have mr collins instead her liveliness had never been worse timed there was no help for it however mr wickhams happiness and her own were perforce delayed a little longer and mr collinss proposal accepted with as good a grace as she could she was not the better pleased with his gallantry from the idea it suggested of something more it now first struck her that she was selected from among her sisters as worthy of being mistress of hunsford parsonage and of assisting to form a quadrille table at rosings in the absence of more eligible visitors the idea soon reached to conviction as she observed his increasing civilities toward herself and heard his frequent attempt at a compliment on her wit and vivacity and though more astonished than gratified herself by this effect of her charms it was not long before her mother gave her to understand that the probability of their marriage was extremely agreeable to her elizabeth however did not choose to take the hint being well aware that a serious dispute must be the consequence of any reply mr collins might never make the offer and till he did it was useless to quarrel about him if there had not been a netherfield ball to prepare for and talk of the younger miss bennets would have been in a very pitiable state at this time for from the day of the invitation to the day of the ball there was such a succession of rain as prevented their walking to meryton once no aunt no officers no news could be sought afterthe very shoeroses for netherfield were got by proxy even elizabeth might have found some trial of her patience in weather which totally suspended the improvement of her acquaintance with mr wickham and nothing less than a dance on tuesday could have made such a friday saturday sunday and monday endurable to kitty and lydia till elizabeth entered the drawingroom at netherfield and looked in vain for mr wickham among the cluster of red coats there assembled a doubt of his being present had never occurred to her the certainty of meeting him had not been checked by any of those recollections that might not unreasonably have alarmed her she had dressed with more than usual care and prepared in the highest spirits for the conquest of all that remained unsubdued of his heart trusting that it was not more than might be won in the course of the evening but in an instant arose the dreadful suspicion of his being purposely omitted for mr darcys pleasure in the bingleys invitation to the officers and though this was not exactly the case the absolute fact of his absence was pronounced by his friend denny to whom lydia eagerly applied and who told them that wickham had been obliged to go to town on business the day before and was not yet returned adding with a significant smile i do not imagine his business would have called him away just now if he had not wanted to avoid a certain gentleman here this part of his intelligence though unheard by lydia was caught by elizabeth and as it assured her that darcy was not less answerable for wickhams absence than if her first surmise had been just every feeling of displeasure against the former was so sharpened by immediate disappointment that she could hardly reply with tolerable civility to the polite enquiries which he directly afterwards approached to make attendance forbearance patience with darcy was injury to wickham she was resolved against any sort of conversation with him and turned away with a degree of illhumour which she could not wholly surmount even in speaking to mr bingley whose blind partiality provoked her but elizabeth was not formed for illhumour and though every prospect of her own was destroyed for the evening it could not dwell long on her spirits and having told all her griefs to charlotte lucas whom she had not seen for a week she was soon able to make a voluntary transition to the oddities of her cousin and to point him out to her particular notice the first two dances however brought a return of distress they were dances of mortification mr collins awkward and solemn apologising instead of attending and often moving wrong without being aware of it gave her all the shame and misery which a disagreeable partner for a couple of dances can give the moment of her release from him was ecstasy she danced next with an officer and had the refreshment of talking of wickham and of hearing that he was universally liked when those dances were over she returned to charlotte lucas and was in conversation with her when she found herself suddenly addressed by mr darcy who took her so much by surprise in his application for her hand that without knowing what she did she accepted him he walked away again immediately and she was left to fret over her own want of presence of mind charlotte tried to console her i dare say you will find him very agreeable heaven forbid that would be the greatest misfortune of all to find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate do not wish me such an evil when the dancing recommenced however and darcy approached to claim her hand charlotte could not help cautioning her in a whisper not to be a simpleton and allow her fancy for wickham to make her appear unpleasant in the eyes of a man ten times his consequence elizabeth made no answer and took her place in the set amazed at the dignity to which she was arrived in being allowed to stand opposite to mr darcy and reading in her neighbours looks their equal amazement in beholding it they stood for some time without speaking a word and she began to imagine that their silence was to last through the two dances and at first was resolved not to break it till suddenly fancying that it would be the greater punishment to her partner to oblige him to talk she made some slight observation on the dance he replied and was again silent after a pause of some minutes she addressed him a second time withit is your turn to say something now mr darcy i talked about the dance and you ought to make some sort of remark on the size of the room or the number of couples he smiled and assured her that whatever she wished him to say should be said very well that reply will do for the present perhaps by and by i may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones but now we may be silent do you talk by rule then while you are dancing sometimes one must speak a little you know it would look odd to be entirely silent for half an hour together and yet for the advantage of some conversation ought to be so arranged as that they may have the trouble of saying as little as possible are you consulting your own feelings in the present case or do you imagine that you are gratifying mine both replied elizabeth archly for i have always seen a great similarity in the turn of our minds we are each of an unsocial taciturn disposition unwilling to speak unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room and be handed down to posterity with all the éclat of a proverb this is no very striking resemblance of your own character i am sure said he how near it may be to mine i cannot pretend to say you think it a faithful portrait undoubtedly i must not decide on my own performance he made no answer and they were again silent till they had gone down the dance when he asked her if she and her sisters did not very often walk to meryton she answered in the affirmative and unable to resist the temptation added when you met us there the other day we had just been forming a new acquaintance the effect was immediate a deeper shade of hauteur overspread his features but he said not a word and elizabeth though blaming herself for her own weakness could not go on at length darcy spoke and in a constrained manner said mr wickham is blessed with such happy manners as may ensure his making friendswhether he may be equally capable of retaining them is less certain he has been so unlucky as to lose your friendship replied elizabeth with emphasis and in a manner which he is likely to suffer from all his life darcy made no answer and seemed desirous of changing the subject at that moment sir william lucas appeared close to them meaning to pass through the set to the other side of the room but on perceiving mr darcy he stopped with a bow of superior courtesy to compliment him on his dancing and his partner i have been most highly gratified indeed my dear sir such very superior dancing is not often seen it is evident that you belong to the first circles allow me to say however that your fair partner does not disgrace you and that i must hope to have this pleasure often repeated especially when a certain desirable event my dear eliza glancing at her sister and bingley shall take place what congratulations will then flow in i appeal to mr darcybut let me not interrupt you sir you will not thank me for detaining you from the bewitching converse of that young lady whose bright eyes are also upbraiding me the latter part of this address was scarcely heard by darcy but sir williams allusion to his friend seemed to strike him forcibly and his eyes were directed with a very serious expression towards bingley and jane who were dancing together recovering himself however shortly he turned to his partner and said sir williams interruption has made me forget what we were talking of i do not think we were speaking at all sir william could not have interrupted two people in the room who had less to say for themselves we have tried two or three subjects already without success and what we are to talk of next i cannot imagine what think you of books said he smiling booksoh no i am sure we never read the same or not with the same feelings i am sorry you think so but if that be the case there can at least be no want of subject we may compare our different opinions noi cannot talk of books in a ballroom my head is always full of something else the present always occupies you in such scenesdoes it said he with a look of doubt yes always she replied without knowing what she said for her thoughts had wandered far from the subject as soon afterwards appeared by her suddenly exclaiming i remember hearing you once say mr darcy that you hardly ever forgave that your resentment once created was unappeasable you are very cautious i suppose as to its being created i am said he with a firm voice and never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice i hope not it is particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion to be secure of judging properly at first may i ask to what these questions tend merely to the illustration of your character said she endeavouring to shake off her gravity i am trying to make it out and what is your success she shook her head i do not get on at all i hear such different accounts of you as puzzle me exceedingly i can readily believe answered he gravely that reports may vary greatly with respect to me and i could wish miss bennet that you were not to sketch my character at the present moment as there is reason to fear that the performance would reflect no credit on either but if i do not take your likeness now i may never have another opportunity i would by no means suspend any pleasure of yours he coldly replied she said no more and they went down the other dance and parted in silence and on each side dissatisfied though not to an equal degree for in darcys breast there was a tolerably powerful feeling towards her which soon procured her pardon and directed all his anger against another they had not long separated when miss bingley came towards her and with an expression of civil disdain accosted her so miss eliza i hear you are quite delighted with george wickham your sister has been talking to me about him and asking me a thousand questions and i find that the young man quite forgot to tell you among his other communication that he was the son of old wickham the late mr darcys steward let me recommend you however as a friend not to give implicit confidence to all his assertions for as to mr darcys using him ill it is perfectly false for on the contrary he has always been remarkably kind to him though george wickham has treated mr darcy in a most infamous manner i do not know the particulars but i know very well that mr darcy is not in the least to blame that he cannot bear to hear george wickham mentioned and that though my brother thought that he could not well avoid including him in his invitation to the officers he was excessively glad to find that he had taken himself out of the way his coming into the country at all is a most insolent thing indeed and i wonder how he could presume to do it i pity you miss eliza for this discovery of your favourites guilt but really considering his descent one could not expect much better his guilt and his descent appear by your account to be the same said elizabeth angrily for i have heard you accuse him of nothing worse than of being the son of mr darcys steward and of that i can assure you he informed me himself i beg your pardon replied miss bingley turning away with a sneer excuse my interferenceit was kindly meant insolent girl said elizabeth to herself you are much mistaken if you expect to influence me by such a paltry attack as this i see nothing in it but your own wilful ignorance and the malice of mr darcy she then sought her eldest sister who had undertaken to make enquiries on the same subject of bingley jane met her with a smile of such sweet complacency a glow of such happy expression as sufficiently marked how well she was satisfied with the occurrences of the evening elizabeth instantly read her feelings and at that moment solicitude for wickham resentment against his enemies and everything else gave way before the hope of janes being in the fairest way for happiness i want to know said she with a countenance no less smiling than her sisters what you have learnt about mr wickham but perhaps you have been too pleasantly engaged to think of any third person in which case you may be sure of my pardon no replied jane i have not forgotten him but i have nothing satisfactory to tell you mr bingley does not know the whole of his history and is quite ignorant of the circumstances which have principally offended mr darcy but he will vouch for the good conduct the probity and honour of his friend and is perfectly convinced that mr wickham has deserved much less attention from mr darcy than he has received and i am sorry to say by his account as well as his sisters mr wickham is by no means a respectable young man i am afraid he has been very imprudent and has deserved to lose mr darcys regard mr bingley does not know mr wickham himself no he never saw him till the other morning at meryton this account then is what he has received from mr darcy i am satisfied but what does he say of the living he does not exactly recollect the circumstances though he has heard them from mr darcy more than once but he believes that it was left to him conditionally only i have not a doubt of mr bingleys sincerity said elizabeth warmly but you must excuse my not being convinced by assurances only mr bingleys defense of his friend was a very able one i dare say but since he is unacquainted with several parts of the story and has learnt the rest from that friend himself i shall venture to still think of both gentlemen as i did before she then changed the discourse to one more gratifying to each and on which there could be no difference of sentiment elizabeth listened with delight to the happy though modest hopes which jane entertained of mr bingleys regard and said all in her power to heighten her confidence in it on their being joined by mr bingley himself elizabeth withdrew to miss lucas to whose enquiry after the pleasantness of her last partner she had scarcely replied before mr collins came up to them and told her with great exultation that he had just been so fortunate as to make a most important discovery i have found out said he by a singular accident that there is now in the room a near relation of my patroness i happened to overhear the gentleman himself mentioning to the young lady who does the honours of the house the names of his cousin miss de bourgh and of her mother lady catherine how wonderfully these sort of things occur who would have thought of my meeting with perhaps a nephew of lady catherine de bourgh in this assembly i am most thankful that the discovery is made in time for me to pay my respects to him which i am now going to do and trust he will excuse my not having done it before my total ignorance of the connection must plead my apology you are not going to introduce yourself to mr darcy indeed i am i shall entreat his pardon for not having done it earlier i believe him to be lady catherines nephew it will be in my power to assure him that her ladyship was quite well yesterday sennight elizabeth tried hard to dissuade him from such a scheme assuring him that mr darcy would consider his addressing him without introduction as an impertinent freedom rather than a compliment to his aunt that it was not in the least necessary there should be any notice on either side and that if it were it must belong to mr darcy the superior in consequence to begin the acquaintance mr collins listened to her with the determined air of following his own inclination and when she ceased speaking replied thus my dear miss elizabeth i have the highest opinion in the world in your excellent judgement in all matters within the scope of your understanding but permit me to say that there must be a wide difference between the established forms of ceremony amongst the laity and those which regulate the clergy for give me leave to observe that i consider the clerical office as equal in point of dignity with the highest rank in the kingdomprovided that a proper humility of behaviour is at the same time maintained you must therefore allow me to follow the dictates of my conscience on this occasion which leads me to perform what i look on as a point of duty pardon me for neglecting to profit by your advice which on every other subject shall be my constant guide though in the case before us i consider myself more fitted by education and habitual study to decide on what is right than a young lady like yourself and with a low bow he left her to attack mr darcy whose reception of his advances she eagerly watched and whose astonishment at being so addressed was very evident her cousin prefaced his speech with a solemn bow and though she could not hear a word of it she felt as if hearing it all and saw in the motion of his lips the words apology hunsford and lady catherine de bourgh it vexed her to see him expose himself to such a man mr darcy was eyeing him with unrestrained wonder and when at last mr collins allowed him time to speak replied with an air of distant civility mr collins however was not discouraged from speaking again and mr darcys contempt seemed abundantly increasing with the length of his second speech and at the end of it he only made him a slight bow and moved another way mr collins then returned to elizabeth i have no reason i assure you said he to be dissatisfied with my reception mr darcy seemed much pleased with the attention he answered me with the utmost civility and even paid me the compliment of saying that he was so well convinced of lady catherines discernment as to be certain she could never bestow a favour unworthily it was really a very handsome thought upon the whole i am much pleased with him as elizabeth had no longer any interest of her own to pursue she turned her attention almost entirely on her sister and mr bingley and the train of agreeable reflections which her observations gave birth to made her perhaps almost as happy as jane she saw her in idea settled in that very house in all the felicity which a marriage of true affection could bestow and she felt capable under such circumstances of endeavouring even to like bingleys two sisters her mothers thoughts she plainly saw were bent the same way and she determined not to venture near her lest she might hear too much when they sat down to supper therefore she considered it a most unlucky perverseness which placed them within one of each other and deeply was she vexed to find that her mother was talking to that one person lady lucas freely openly and of nothing else but her expectation that jane would soon be married to mr bingley it was an animating subject and mrs bennet seemed incapable of fatigue while enumerating the advantages of the match his being such a charming young man and so rich and living but three miles from them were the first points of selfgratulation and then it was such a comfort to think how fond the two sisters were of jane and to be certain that they must desire the connection as much as she could do it was moreover such a promising thing for her younger daughters as janes marrying so greatly must throw them in the way of other rich men and lastly it was so pleasant at her time of life to be able to consign her single daughters to the care of their sister that she might not be obliged to go into company more than she liked it was necessary to make this circumstance a matter of pleasure because on such occasions it is the etiquette but no one was less likely than mrs bennet to find comfort in staying home at any period of her life she concluded with many good wishes that lady lucas might soon be equally fortunate though evidently and triumphantly believing there was no chance of it in vain did elizabeth endeavour to check the rapidity of her mothers words or persuade her to describe her felicity in a less audible whisper for to her inexpressible vexation she could perceive that the chief of it was overheard by mr darcy who sat opposite to them her mother only scolded her for being nonsensical what is mr darcy to me pray that i should be afraid of him i am sure we owe him no such particular civility as to be obliged to say nothing he may not like to hear for heavens sake madam speak lower what advantage can it be for you to offend mr darcy you will never recommend yourself to his friend by so doing nothing that she could say however had any influence her mother would talk of her views in the same intelligible tone elizabeth blushed and blushed again with shame and vexation she could not help frequently glancing her eye at mr darcy though every glance convinced her of what she dreaded for though he was not always looking at her mother she was convinced that his attention was invariably fixed by her the expression of his face changed gradually from indignant contempt to a composed and steady gravity at length however mrs bennet had no more to say and lady lucas who had been long yawning at the repetition of delights which she saw no likelihood of sharing was left to the comforts of cold ham and chicken elizabeth now began to revive but not long was the interval of tranquillity for when supper was over singing was talked of and she had the mortification of seeing mary after very little entreaty preparing to oblige the company by many significant looks and silent entreaties did she endeavour to prevent such a proof of complaisance but in vain mary would not understand them such an opportunity of exhibiting was delightful to her and she began her song elizabeths eyes were fixed on her with most painful sensations and she watched her progress through the several stanzas with an impatience which was very ill rewarded at their close for mary on receiving amongst the thanks of the table the hint of a hope that she might be prevailed on to favour them again after the pause of half a minute began another marys powers were by no means fitted for such a display her voice was weak and her manner affected elizabeth was in agonies she looked at jane to see how she bore it but jane was very composedly talking to bingley she looked at his two sisters and saw them making signs of derision at each other and at darcy who continued however imperturbably grave she looked at her father to entreat his interference lest mary should be singing all night he took the hint and when mary had finished her second song said aloud that will do extremely well child you have delighted us long enough let the other young ladies have time to exhibit mary though pretending not to hear was somewhat disconcerted and elizabeth sorry for her and sorry for her fathers speech was afraid her anxiety had done no good others of the party were now applied to if i said mr collins were so fortunate as to be able to sing i should have great pleasure i am sure in obliging the company with an air for i consider music as a very innocent diversion and perfectly compatible with the profession of a clergyman i do not mean however to assert that we can be justified in devoting too much of our time to music for there are certainly other things to be attended to the rector of a parish has much to do in the first place he must make such an agreement for tithes as may be beneficial to himself and not offensive to his patron he must write his own sermons and the time that remains will not be too much for his parish duties and the care and improvement of his dwelling which he cannot be excused from making as comfortable as possible and i do not think it of light importance that he should have attentive and conciliatory manners towards everybody especially towards those to whom he owes his preferment i cannot acquit him of that duty nor could i think well of the man who should omit an occasion of testifying his respect towards anybody connected with the family and with a bow to mr darcy he concluded his speech which had been spoken so loud as to be heard by half the room many staredmany smiled but no one looked more amused than mr bennet himself while his wife seriously commended mr collins for having spoken so sensibly and observed in a halfwhisper to lady lucas that he was a remarkably clever good kind of young man to elizabeth it appeared that had her family made an agreement to expose themselves as much as they could during the evening it would have been impossible for them to play their parts with more spirit or finer success and happy did she think it for bingley and her sister that some of the exhibition had escaped his notice and that his feelings were not of a sort to be much distressed by the folly which he must have witnessed that his two sisters and mr darcy however should have such an opportunity of ridiculing her relations was bad enough and she could not determine whether the silent contempt of the gentleman or the insolent smiles of the ladies were more intolerable the rest of the evening brought her little amusement she was teased by mr collins who continued most perseveringly by her side and though he could not prevail on her to dance with him again put it out of her power to dance with others in vain did she entreat him to stand up with somebody else and offer to introduce him to any young lady in the room he assured her that as to dancing he was perfectly indifferent to it that his chief object was by delicate attentions to recommend himself to her and that he should therefore make a point of remaining close to her the whole evening there was no arguing upon such a project she owed her greatest relief to her friend miss lucas who often joined them and goodnaturedly engaged mr collinss conversation to herself she was at least free from the offense of mr darcys further notice though often standing within a very short distance of her quite disengaged he never came near enough to speak she felt it to be the probable consequence of her allusions to mr wickham and rejoiced in it the longbourn party were the last of all the company to depart and by a manoeuvre of mrs bennet had to wait for their carriage a quarter of an hour after everybody else was gone which gave them time to see how heartily they were wished away by some of the family mrs hurst and her sister scarcely opened their mouths except to complain of fatigue and were evidently impatient to have the house to themselves they repulsed every attempt of mrs bennet at conversation and by so doing threw a languor over the whole party which was very little relieved by the long speeches of mr collins who was complimenting mr bingley and his sisters on the elegance of their entertainment and the hospitality and politeness which had marked their behaviour to their guests darcy said nothing at all mr bennet in equal silence was enjoying the scene mr bingley and jane were standing together a little detached from the rest and talked only to each other elizabeth preserved as steady a silence as either mrs hurst or miss bingley and even lydia was too much fatigued to utter more than the occasional exclamation of lord how tired i am accompanied by a violent yawn when at length they arose to take leave mrs bennet was most pressingly civil in her hope of seeing the whole family soon at longbourn and addressed herself especially to mr bingley to assure him how happy he would make them by eating a family dinner with them at any time without the ceremony of a formal invitation bingley was all grateful pleasure and he readily engaged for taking the earliest opportunity of waiting on her after his return from london whither he was obliged to go the next day for a short time mrs bennet was perfectly satisfied and quitted the house under the delightful persuasion that allowing for the necessary preparations of settlements new carriages and wedding clothes she should undoubtedly see her daughter settled at netherfield in the course of three or four months of having another daughter married to mr collins she thought with equal certainty and with considerable though not equal pleasure elizabeth was the least dear to her of all her children and though the man and the match were quite good enough for her the worth of each was eclipsed by mr bingley and netherfield the next day opened a new scene at longbourn mr collins made his declaration in form having resolved to do it without loss of time as his leave of absence extended only to the following saturday and having no feelings of diffidence to make it distressing to himself even at the moment he set about it in a very orderly manner with all the observances which he supposed a regular part of the business on finding mrs bennet elizabeth and one of the younger girls together soon after breakfast he addressed the mother in these words may i hope madam for your interest with your fair daughter elizabeth when i solicit for the honour of a private audience with her in the course of this morning before elizabeth had time for anything but a blush of surprise mrs bennet answered instantly oh dearyescertainly i am sure lizzy will be very happyi am sure she can have no objection come kitty i want you up stairs and gathering her work together she was hastening away when elizabeth called out dear madam do not go i beg you will not go mr collins must excuse me he can have nothing to say to me that anybody need not hear i am going away myself no no nonsense lizzy i desire you to stay where you are and upon elizabeths seeming really with vexed and embarrassed looks about to escape she added lizzy i insist upon your staying and hearing mr collins elizabeth would not oppose such an injunctionand a moments consideration making her also sensible that it would be wisest to get it over as soon and as quietly as possible she sat down again and tried to conceal by incessant employment the feelings which were divided between distress and diversion mrs bennet and kitty walked off and as soon as they were gone mr collins began believe me my dear miss elizabeth that your modesty so far from doing you any disservice rather adds to your other perfections you would have been less amiable in my eyes had there not been this little unwillingness but allow me to assure you that i have your respected mothers permission for this address you can hardly doubt the purport of my discourse however your natural delicacy may lead you to dissemble my attentions have been too marked to be mistaken almost as soon as i entered the house i singled you out as the companion of my future life but before i am run away with by my feelings on this subject perhaps it would be advisable for me to state my reasons for marryingand moreover for coming into hertfordshire with the design of selecting a wife as i certainly did the idea of mr collins with all his solemn composure being run away with by his feelings made elizabeth so near laughing that she could not use the short pause he allowed in any attempt to stop him further and he continued my reasons for marrying are first that i think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances like myself to set the example of matrimony in his parish secondly that i am convinced that it will add very greatly to my happiness and thirdlywhich perhaps i ought to have mentioned earlier that it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom i have the honour of calling patroness twice has she condescended to give me her opinion unasked too on this subject and it was but the very saturday night before i left hunsfordbetween our pools at quadrille while mrs jenkinson was arranging miss de bourghs footstool that she said mr collins you must marry a clergyman like you must marry choose properly choose a gentlewoman for my sake and for your own let her be an active useful sort of person not brought up high but able to make a small income go a good way this is my advice find such a woman as soon as you can bring her to hunsford and i will visit her allow me by the way to observe my fair cousin that i do not reckon the notice and kindness of lady catherine de bourgh as among the least of the advantages in my power to offer you will find her manners beyond anything i can describe and your wit and vivacity i think must be acceptable to her especially when tempered with the silence and respect which her rank will inevitably excite thus much for my general intention in favour of matrimony it remains to be told why my views were directed towards longbourn instead of my own neighbourhood where i can assure you there are many amiable young women but the fact is that being as i am to inherit this estate after the death of your honoured father who however may live many years longer i could not satisfy myself without resolving to choose a wife from among his daughters that the loss to them might be as little as possible when the melancholy event takes placewhich however as i have already said may not be for several years this has been my motive my fair cousin and i flatter myself it will not sink me in your esteem and now nothing remains for me but to assure you in the most animated language of the violence of my affection to fortune i am perfectly indifferent and shall make no demand of that nature on your father since i am well aware that it could not be complied with and that one thousand pounds in the four per cents which will not be yours till after your mothers decease is all that you may ever be entitled to on that head therefore i shall be uniformly silent and you may assure yourself that no ungenerous reproach shall ever pass my lips when we are married it was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now you are too hasty sir she cried you forget that i have made no answer let me do it without further loss of time accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me i am very sensible of the honour of your proposals but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than to decline them i am not now to learn replied mr collins with a formal wave of the hand that it is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept when he first applies for their favour and that sometimes the refusal is repeated a second or even a third time i am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have just said and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere long upon my word sir cried elizabeth your hope is a rather extraordinary one after my declaration i do assure you that i am not one of those young ladies if such young ladies there are who are so daring as to risk their happiness on the chance of being asked a second time i am perfectly serious in my refusal you could not make me happy and i am convinced that i am the last woman in the world who could make you so nay were your friend lady catherine to know me i am persuaded she would find me in every respect ill qualified for the situation were it certain that lady catherine would think so said mr collins very gravelybut i cannot imagine that her ladyship would at all disapprove of you and you may be certain when i have the honour of seeing her again i shall speak in the very highest terms of your modesty economy and other amiable qualification indeed mr collins all praise of me will be unnecessary you must give me leave to judge for myself and pay me the compliment of believing what i say i wish you very happy and very rich and by refusing your hand do all in my power to prevent your being otherwise in making me the offer you must have satisfied the delicacy of your feelings with regard to my family and may take possession of longbourn estate whenever it falls without any selfreproach this matter may be considered therefore as finally settled and rising as she thus spoke she would have quitted the room had mr collins not thus addressed her when i do myself the honour of speaking to you next on the subject i shall hope to receive a more favourable answer than you have now given me though i am far from accusing you of cruelty at present because i know it to be the established custom of your sex to reject a man on the first application and perhaps you have even now said as much to encourage my suit as would be consistent with the true delicacy of the female character really mr collins cried elizabeth with some warmth you puzzle me exceedingly if what i have hitherto said can appear to you in the form of encouragement i know not how to express my refusal in such a way as to convince you of its being one you must give me leave to flatter myself my dear cousin that your refusal of my addresses is merely words of course my reasons for believing it are briefly these it does not appear to me that my hand is unworthy of your acceptance or that the establishment i can offer would be any other than highly desirable my situation in life my connections with the family of de bourgh and my relationship to your own are circumstances highly in my favour and you should take it into further consideration that in spite of your manifold attractions it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made you your portion is unhappily so small that it will in all likelihood undo the effects of your loveliness and amiable qualifications as i must therefore conclude that you are not serious in your rejection of me i shall choose to attribute it to your wish of increasing my love by suspense according to the usual practice of elegant females i do assure you sir that i have no pretensions whatever to that kind of elegance which consists in tormenting a respectable man i would rather be paid the compliment of being believed sincere i thank you again and again for the honour you have done me in your proposals but to accept them is absolutely impossible my feelings in every respect forbid it can i speak plainer do not consider me now as an elegant female intending to plague you but as a rational creature speaking the truth from her heart you are uniformly charming cried he with an air of awkward gallantry and i am persuaded that when sanctioned by the express authority of both your excellent parents my proposals will not fail of being acceptable to such perseverance in wilful selfdeception elizabeth would make no reply and immediately and in silence withdrew determined if he persisted in considering her repeated refusals as flattering encouragement to apply to her father whose negative might be uttered in such a manner as to be decisive and whose behaviour at least could not be mistaken for the affectation and coquetry of an elegant female mr collins was not left long to the silent contemplation of his successful love for mrs bennet having dawdled about in the vestibule to watch for the end of the conference no sooner saw elizabeth open the door and with quick step pass her towards the staircase than she entered the breakfastroom and congratulated both him and herself in warm terms on the happy prospect of their nearer connection mr collins received and returned these felicitations with equal pleasure and then proceeded to relate the particulars of their interview with the result of which he trusted he had every reason to be satisfied since the refusal which his cousin had steadfastly given him would naturally flow from her bashful modesty and the genuine delicacy of her character this information however startled mrs bennet she would have been glad to be equally satisfied that her daughter had meant to encourage him by protesting against his proposals but she dared not believe it and could not help saying so but depend upon it mr collins she added that lizzy shall be brought to reason i will speak to her about it directly she is a very headstrong foolish girl and does not know her own interest but i will make her know it pardon me for interrupting you madam cried mr collins but if she is really headstrong and foolish i know not whether she would altogether be a very desirable wife to a man in my situation who naturally looks for happiness in the marriage state if therefore she actually persists in rejecting my suit perhaps it were better not to force her into accepting me because if liable to such defects of temper she could not contribute much to my felicity sir you quite misunderstand me said mrs bennet alarmed lizzy is only headstrong in such matters as these in everything else she is as goodnatured a girl as ever lived i will go directly to mr bennet and we shall very soon settle it with her i am sure she would not give him time to reply but hurrying instantly to her husband called out as she entered the library oh mr bennet you are wanted immediately we are all in an uproar you must come and make lizzy marry mr collins for she vows she will not have him and if you do not make haste he will change his mind and not have her mr bennet raised his eyes from his book as she entered and fixed them on her face with a calm unconcern which was not in the least altered by her communication i have not the pleasure of understanding you said he when she had finished her speech of what are you talking of mr collins and lizzy lizzy declares she will not have mr collins and mr collins begins to say that he will not have lizzy and what am i to do on the occasion it seems an hopeless business speak to lizzy about it yourself tell her that you insist upon her marrying him let her be called down she shall hear my opinion mrs bennet rang the bell and miss elizabeth was summoned to the library come here child cried her father as she appeared i have sent for you on an affair of importance i understand that mr collins has made you an offer of marriage is it true elizabeth replied that it was very welland this offer of marriage you have refused i have sir very well we now come to the point your mother insists upon your accepting it is it not so mrs bennet yes or i will never see her again an unhappy alternative is before you elizabeth from this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents your mother will never see you again if you do not marry mr collins and i will never see you again if you do elizabeth could not but smile at such a conclusion of such a beginning but mrs bennet who had persuaded herself that her husband regarded the affair as she wished was excessively disappointed what do you mean mr bennet in talking this way you promised me to insist upon her marrying him my dear replied her husband i have two small favours to request first that you will allow me the free use of my understanding on the present occasion and secondly of my room i shall be glad to have the library to myself as soon as may be not yet however in spite of her disappointment in her husband did mrs bennet give up the point she talked to elizabeth again and again coaxed and threatened her by turns she endeavoured to secure jane in her interest but jane with all possible mildness declined interfering and elizabeth sometimes with real earnestness and sometimes with playful gaiety replied to her attacks though her manner varied however her determination never did mr collins meanwhile was meditating in solitude on what had passed he thought too well of himself to comprehend on what motives his cousin could refuse him and though his pride was hurt he suffered in no other way his regard for her was quite imaginary and the possibility of her deserving her mothers reproach prevented his feeling any regret while the family were in this confusion charlotte lucas came to spend the day with them she was met in the vestibule by lydia who flying to her cried in a half whisper i am glad you are come for there is such fun here what do you think has happened this morning mr collins has made an offer to lizzy and she will not have him charlotte hardly had time to answer before they were joined by kitty who came to tell the same news and no sooner had they entered the breakfastroom where mrs bennet was alone than she likewise began on the subject calling on miss lucas for her compassion and entreating her to persuade her friend lizzy to comply with the wishes of all her family pray do my dear miss lucas she added in a melancholy tone for nobody is on my side nobody takes part with me i am cruelly used nobody feels for my poor nerves charlottes reply was spared by the entrance of jane and elizabeth aye there she comes continued mrs bennet looking as unconcerned as may be and caring no more for us than if we were at york provided she can have her own way but i tell you miss lizzyif you take it into your head to go on refusing every offer of marriage in this way you will never get a husband at alland i am sure i do not know who is to maintain you when your father is dead i shall not be able to keep youand so i warn you i have done with you from this very day i told you in the library you know that i should never speak to you again and you will find me as good as my word i have no pleasure in talking to undutiful children not that i have much pleasure indeed in talking to anybody people who suffer as i do from nervous complaints can have no great inclination for talking nobody can tell what i suffer but it is always so those who do not complain are never pitied her daughters listened in silence to this effusion sensible that any attempt to reason with her or soothe her would only increase the irritation she talked on therefore without interruption from any of them till they were joined by mr collins who entered the room with an air more stately than usual and on perceiving whom she said to the girls now i do insist upon it that you all of you hold your tongues and let me and mr collins have a little conversation together elizabeth passed quietly out of the room jane and kitty followed but lydia stood her ground determined to hear all she could and charlotte detained first by the civility of mr collins whose enquiries after herself and all her family were very minute and then by a little curiosity satisfied herself with walking to the window and pretending not to hear in a doleful voice mrs bennet began the projected conversation oh mr collins my dear madam replied he let us be for ever silent on this point far be it from me he presently continued in a voice that marked his displeasure to resent the behaviour of your daughter resignation to inevitable evils is the duty of us all the peculiar duty of a young man who has been so fortunate as i have been in early preferment and i trust i am resigned perhaps not the less so from feeling a doubt of my positive happiness had my fair cousin honoured me with her hand for i have often observed that resignation is never so perfect as when the blessing denied begins to lose somewhat of its value in our estimation you will not i hope consider me as showing any disrespect to your family my dear madam by thus withdrawing my pretensions to your daughters favour without having paid yourself and mr bennet the compliment of requesting you to interpose your authority in my behalf my conduct may i fear be objectionable in having accepted my dismission from your daughters lips instead of your own but we are all liable to error i have certainly meant well through the whole affair my object has been to secure an amiable companion for myself with due consideration for the advantage of all your family and if my manner has been at all reprehensible i here beg leave to apologise the discussion of mr collinss offer was now nearly at an end and elizabeth had only to suffer from the uncomfortable feelings necessarily attending it and occasionally from some peevish allusions of her mother as for the gentleman himself his feelings were chiefly expressed not by embarrassment or dejection or by trying to avoid her but by stiffness of manner and resentful silence he scarcely ever spoke to her and the assiduous attentions which he had been so sensible of himself were transferred for the rest of the day to miss lucas whose civility in listening to him was a seasonable relief to them all and especially to her friend the morrow produced no abatement of mrs bennets illhumour or ill health mr collins was also in the same state of angry pride elizabeth had hoped that his resentment might shorten his visit but his plan did not appear in the least affected by it he was always to have gone on saturday and to saturday he meant to stay after breakfast the girls walked to meryton to enquire if mr wickham were returned and to lament over his absence from the netherfield ball he joined them on their entering the town and attended them to their aunts where his regret and vexation and the concern of everybody was well talked over to elizabeth however he voluntarily acknowledged that the necessity of his absence had been selfimposed i found said he as the time drew near that i had better not meet mr darcy that to be in the same room the same party with him for so many hours together might be more than i could bear and that scenes might arise unpleasant to more than myself she highly approved his forbearance and they had leisure for a full discussion of it and for all the commendation which they civilly bestowed on each other as wickham and another officer walked back with them to longbourn and during the walk he particularly attended to her his accompanying them was a double advantage she felt all the compliment it offered to herself and it was most acceptable as an occasion of introducing him to her father and mother soon after their return a letter was delivered to miss bennet it came from netherfield the envelope contained a sheet of elegant little hotpressed paper well covered with a ladys fair flowing hand and elizabeth saw her sisters countenance change as she read it and saw her dwelling intently on some particular passages jane recollected herself soon and putting the letter away tried to join with her usual cheerfulness in the general conversation but elizabeth felt an anxiety on the subject which drew off her attention even from wickham and no sooner had he and his companion taken leave than a glance from jane invited her to follow her up stairs when they had gained their own room jane taking out the letter said this is from caroline bingley what it contains has surprised me a good deal the whole party have left netherfield by this time and are on their way to townand without any intention of coming back again you shall hear what she says she then read the first sentence aloud which comprised the information of their having just resolved to follow their brother to town directly and of their meaning to dine in grosvenor street where mr hurst had a house the next was in these words i do not pretend to regret anything i shall leave in hertfordshire except your society my dearest friend but we will hope at some future period to enjoy many returns of that delightful intercourse we have known and in the meanwhile may lessen the pain of separation by a very frequent and most unreserved correspondence i depend on you for that to these highflown expressions elizabeth listened with all the insensibility of distrust and though the suddenness of their removal surprised her she saw nothing in it really to lament it was not to be supposed that their absence from netherfield would prevent mr bingleys being there and as to the loss of their society she was persuaded that jane must cease to regard it in the enjoyment of his it is unlucky said she after a short pause that you should not be able to see your friends before they leave the country but may we not hope that the period of future happiness to which miss bingley looks forward may arrive earlier than she is aware and that the delightful intercourse you have known as friends will be renewed with yet greater satisfaction as sisters mr bingley will not be detained in london by them caroline decidedly says that none of the party will return into hertfordshire this winter i will read it to you when my brother left us yesterday he imagined that the business which took him to london might be concluded in three or four days but as we are certain it cannot be so and at the same time convinced that when charles gets to town he will be in no hurry to leave it again we have determined on following him thither that he may not be obliged to spend his vacant hours in a comfortless hotel many of my acquaintances are already there for the winter i wish that i could hear that you my dearest friend had any intention of making one of the crowdbut of that i despair i sincerely hope your christmas in hertfordshire may abound in the gaieties which that season generally brings and that your beaux will be so numerous as to prevent your feeling the loss of the three of whom we shall deprive you it is evident by this added jane that he comes back no more this winter it is only evident that miss bingley does not mean that he should why will you think so it must be his own doing he is his own master but you do not know all i will read you the passage which particularly hurts me i will have no reserves from you mr darcy is impatient to see his sister and to confess the truth we are scarcely less eager to meet her again i really do not think georgiana darcy has her equal for beauty elegance and accomplishments and the affection she inspires in louisa and myself is heightened into something still more interesting from the hope we dare entertain of her being hereafter our sister i do not know whether i ever before mentioned to you my feelings on this subject but i will not leave the country without confiding them and i trust you will not esteem them unreasonable my brother admires her greatly already he will have frequent opportunity now of seeing her on the most intimate footing her relations all wish the connection as much as his own and a sisters partiality is not misleading me i think when i call charles most capable of engaging any womans heart with all these circumstances to favour an attachment and nothing to prevent it am i wrong my dearest jane in indulging the hope of an event which will secure the happiness of so many what do you think of this sentence my dear lizzy said jane as she finished it is it not clear enough does it not expressly declare that caroline neither expects nor wishes me to be her sister that she is perfectly convinced of her brothers indifference and that if she suspects the nature of my feelings for him she means most kindly to put me on my guard can there be any other opinion on the subject yes there can for mine is totally different will you hear it most willingly you shall have it in a few words miss bingley sees that her brother is in love with you and wants him to marry miss darcy she follows him to town in hope of keeping him there and tries to persuade you that he does not care about you jane shook her head indeed jane you ought to believe me no one who has ever seen you together can doubt his affection miss bingley i am sure cannot she is not such a simpleton could she have seen half as much love in mr darcy for herself she would have ordered her wedding clothes but the case is this we are not rich enough or grand enough for them and she is the more anxious to get miss darcy for her brother from the notion that when there has been one intermarriage she may have less trouble in achieving a second in which there is certainly some ingenuity and i dare say it would succeed if miss de bourgh were out of the way but my dearest jane you cannot seriously imagine that because miss bingley tells you her brother greatly admires miss darcy he is in the smallest degree less sensible of your merit than when he took leave of you on tuesday or that it will be in her power to persuade him that instead of being in love with you he is very much in love with her friend if we thought alike of miss bingley replied jane your representation of all this might make me quite easy but i know the foundation is unjust caroline is incapable of wilfully deceiving anyone and all that i can hope in this case is that she is deceiving herself that is right you could not have started a more happy idea since you will not take comfort in mine believe her to be deceived by all means you have now done your duty by her and must fret no longer but my dear sister can i be happy even supposing the best in accepting a man whose sisters and friends are all wishing him to marry elsewhere you must decide for yourself said elizabeth and if upon mature deliberation you find that the misery of disobliging his two sisters is more than equivalent to the happiness of being his wife i advise you by all means to refuse him how can you talk so said jane faintly smiling you must know that though i should be exceedingly grieved at their disapprobation i could not hesitate i did not think you would and that being the case i cannot consider your situation with much compassion but if he returns no more this winter my choice will never be required a thousand things may arise in six months the idea of his returning no more elizabeth treated with the utmost contempt it appeared to her merely the suggestion of carolines interested wishes and she could not for a moment suppose that those wishes however openly or artfully spoken could influence a young man so totally independent of everyone she represented to her sister as forcibly as possible what she felt on the subject and had soon the pleasure of seeing its happy effect janes temper was not desponding and she was gradually led to hope though the diffidence of affection sometimes overcame the hope that bingley would return to netherfield and answer every wish of her heart they agreed that mrs bennet should only hear of the departure of the family without being alarmed on the score of the gentlemans conduct but even this partial communication gave her a great deal of concern and she bewailed it as exceedingly unlucky that the ladies should happen to go away just as they were all getting so intimate together after lamenting it however at some length she had the consolation that mr bingley would be soon down again and soon dining at longbourn and the conclusion of all was the comfortable declaration that though he had been invited only to a family dinner she would take care to have two full courses the bennets were engaged to dine with the lucases and again during the chief of the day was miss lucas so kind as to listen to mr collins elizabeth took an opportunity of thanking her it keeps him in good humour said she and i am more obliged to you than i can express charlotte assured her friend of her satisfaction in being useful and that it amply repaid her for the little sacrifice of her time this was very amiable but charlottes kindness extended farther than elizabeth had any conception of its object was nothing else than to secure her from any return of mr collinss addresses by engaging them towards herself such was miss lucass scheme and appearances were so favourable that when they parted at night she would have felt almost secure of success if he had not been to leave hertfordshire so very soon but here she did injustice to the fire and independence of his character for it led him to escape out of longbourn house the next morning with admirable slyness and hasten to lucas lodge to throw himself at her feet he was anxious to avoid the notice of his cousins from a conviction that if they saw him depart they could not fail to conjecture his design and he was not willing to have the attempt known till its success might be known likewise for though feeling almost secure and with reason for charlotte had been tolerably encouraging he was comparatively diffident since the adventure of wednesday his reception however was of the most flattering kind miss lucas perceived him from an upper window as he walked towards the house and instantly set out to meet him accidentally in the lane but little had she dared to hope that so much love and eloquence awaited her there in as short a time as mr collinss long speeches would allow everything was settled between them to the satisfaction of both and as they entered the house he earnestly entreated her to name the day that was to make him the happiest of men and though such a solicitation must be waived for the present the lady felt no inclination to trifle with his happiness the stupidity with which he was favoured by nature must guard his courtship from any charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance and miss lucas who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment cared not how soon that establishment were gained sir william and lady lucas were speedily applied to for their consent and it was bestowed with a most joyful alacrity mr collinss present circumstances made it a most eligible match for their daughter to whom they could give little fortune and his prospects of future wealth were exceedingly fair lady lucas began directly to calculate with more interest than the matter had ever excited before how many years longer mr bennet was likely to live and sir william gave it as his decided opinion that whenever mr collins should be in possession of the longbourn estate it would be highly expedient that both he and his wife should make their appearance at st jamess the whole family in short were properly overjoyed on the occasion the younger girls formed hopes of coming out a year or two sooner than they might otherwise have done and the boys were relieved from their apprehension of charlottes dying an old maid charlotte herself was tolerably composed she had gained her point and had time to consider of it her reflections were in general satisfactory mr collins to be sure was neither sensible nor agreeable his society was irksome and his attachment to her must be imaginary but still he would be her husband without thinking highly either of men or matrimony marriage had always been her object it was the only provision for welleducated young women of small fortune and however uncertain of giving happiness must be their pleasantest preservative from want this preservative she had now obtained and at the age of twentyseven without having ever been handsome she felt all the good luck of it the least agreeable circumstance in the business was the surprise it must occasion to elizabeth bennet whose friendship she valued beyond that of any other person elizabeth would wonder and probably would blame her and though her resolution was not to be shaken her feelings must be hurt by such a disapprobation she resolved to give her the information herself and therefore charged mr collins when he returned to longbourn to dinner to drop no hint of what had passed before any of the family a promise of secrecy was of course very dutifully given but it could not be kept without difficulty for the curiosity excited by his long absence burst forth in such very direct questions on his return as required some ingenuity to evade and he was at the same time exercising great selfdenial for he was longing to publish his prosperous love as he was to begin his journey too early on the morrow to see any of the family the ceremony of leavetaking was performed when the ladies moved for the night and mrs bennet with great politeness and cordiality said how happy they should be to see him at longbourn again whenever his engagements might allow him to visit them my dear madam he replied this invitation is particularly gratifying because it is what i have been hoping to receive and you may be very certain that i shall avail myself of it as soon as possible they were all astonished and mr bennet who could by no means wish for so speedy a return immediately said but is there not danger of lady catherines disapprobation here my good sir you had better neglect your relations than run the risk of offending your patroness my dear sir replied mr collins i am particularly obliged to you for this friendly caution and you may depend upon my not taking so material a step without her ladyships concurrence you cannot be too much upon your guard risk anything rather than her displeasure and if you find it likely to be raised by your coming to us again which i should think exceedingly probable stay quietly at home and be satisfied that we shall take no offence believe me my dear sir my gratitude is warmly excited by such affectionate attention and depend upon it you will speedily receive from me a letter of thanks for this and for every other mark of your regard during my stay in hertfordshire as for my fair cousins though my absence may not be long enough to render it necessary i shall now take the liberty of wishing them health and happiness not excepting my cousin elizabeth with proper civilities the ladies then withdrew all of them equally surprised that he meditated a quick return mrs bennet wished to understand by it that he thought of paying his addresses to one of her younger girls and mary might have been prevailed on to accept him she rated his abilities much higher than any of the others there was a solidity in his reflections which often struck her and though by no means so clever as herself she thought that if encouraged to read and improve himself by such an example as hers he might become a very agreeable companion but on the following morning every hope of this kind was done away miss lucas called soon after breakfast and in a private conference with elizabeth related the event of the day before the possibility of mr collinss fancying himself in love with her friend had once occurred to elizabeth within the last day or two but that charlotte could encourage him seemed almost as far from possibility as she could encourage him herself and her astonishment was consequently so great as to overcome at first the bounds of decorum and she could not help crying out engaged to mr collins my dear charlotteimpossible the steady countenance which miss lucas had commanded in telling her story gave way to a momentary confusion here on receiving so direct a reproach though as it was no more than she expected she soon regained her composure and calmly replied why should you be surprised my dear eliza do you think it incredible that mr collins should be able to procure any womans good opinion because he was not so happy as to succeed with you but elizabeth had now recollected herself and making a strong effort for it was able to assure with tolerable firmness that the prospect of their relationship was highly grateful to her and that she wished her all imaginable happiness i see what you are feeling replied charlotte you must be surprised very much surprisedso lately as mr collins was wishing to marry you but when you have had time to think it over i hope you will be satisfied with what i have done i am not romantic you know i never was i ask only a comfortable home and considering mr collinss character connection and situation in life i am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state elizabeth quietly answered undoubtedly and after an awkward pause they returned to the rest of the family charlotte did not stay much longer and elizabeth was then left to reflect on what she had heard it was a long time before she became at all reconciled to the idea of so unsuitable a match the strangeness of mr collinss making two offers of marriage within three days was nothing in comparison of his being now accepted she had always felt that charlottes opinion of matrimony was not exactly like her own but she had not supposed it to be possible that when called into action she would have sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage charlotte the wife of mr collins was a most humiliating picture and to the pang of a friend disgracing herself and sunk in her esteem was added the distressing conviction that it was impossible for that friend to be tolerably happy in the lot she had chosen elizabeth was sitting with her mother and sisters reflecting on what she had heard and doubting whether she was authorised to mention it when sir william lucas himself appeared sent by his daughter to announce her engagement to the family with many compliments to them and much selfgratulation on the prospect of a connection between the houses he unfolded the matterto an audience not merely wondering but incredulous for mrs bennet with more perseverance than politeness protested he must be entirely mistaken and lydia always unguarded and often uncivil boisterously exclaimed good lord sir william how can you tell such a story do not you know that mr collins wants to marry lizzy nothing less than the complaisance of a courtier could have borne without anger such treatment but sir williams good breeding carried him through it all and though he begged leave to be positive as to the truth of his information he listened to all their impertinence with the most forbearing courtesy elizabeth feeling it incumbent on her to relieve him from so unpleasant a situation now put herself forward to confirm his account by mentioning her prior knowledge of it from charlotte herself and endeavoured to put a stop to the exclamations of her mother and sisters by the earnestness of her congratulations to sir william in which she was readily joined by jane and by making a variety of remarks on the happiness that might be expected from the match the excellent character of mr collins and the convenient distance of hunsford from london mrs bennet was in fact too much overpowered to say a great deal while sir william remained but no sooner had he left them than her feelings found a rapid vent in the first place she persisted in disbelieving the whole of the matter secondly she was very sure that mr collins had been taken in thirdly she trusted that they would never be happy together and fourthly that the match might be broken off two inferences however were plainly deduced from the whole one that elizabeth was the real cause of the mischief and the other that she herself had been barbarously misused by them all and on these two points she principally dwelt during the rest of the day nothing could console and nothing could appease her nor did that day wear out her resentment a week elapsed before she could see elizabeth without scolding her a month passed away before she could speak to sir william or lady lucas without being rude and many months were gone before she could at all forgive their daughter mr bennets emotions were much more tranquil on the occasion and such as he did experience he pronounced to be of a most agreeable sort for it gratified him he said to discover that charlotte lucas whom he had been used to think tolerably sensible was as foolish as his wife and more foolish than his daughter jane confessed herself a little surprised at the match but she said less of her astonishment than of her earnest desire for their happiness nor could elizabeth persuade her to consider it as improbable kitty and lydia were far from envying miss lucas for mr collins was only a clergyman and it affected them in no other way than as a piece of news to spread at meryton lady lucas could not be insensible of triumph on being able to retort on mrs bennet the comfort of having a daughter well married and she called at longbourn rather oftener than usual to say how happy she was though mrs bennets sour looks and illnatured remarks might have been enough to drive happiness away between elizabeth and charlotte there was a restraint which kept them mutually silent on the subject and elizabeth felt persuaded that no real confidence could ever subsist between them again her disappointment in charlotte made her turn with fonder regard to her sister of whose rectitude and delicacy she was sure her opinion could never be shaken and for whose happiness she grew daily more anxious as bingley had now been gone a week and nothing more was heard of his return jane had sent caroline an early answer to her letter and was counting the days till she might reasonably hope to hear again the promised letter of thanks from mr collins arrived on tuesday addressed to their father and written with all the solemnity of gratitude which a twelvemonths abode in the family might have prompted after discharging his conscience on that head he proceeded to inform them with many rapturous expressions of his happiness in having obtained the affection of their amiable neighbour miss lucas and then explained that it was merely with the view of enjoying her society that he had been so ready to close with their kind wish of seeing him again at longbourn whither he hoped to be able to return on monday fortnight for lady catherine he added so heartily approved his marriage that she wished it to take place as soon as possible which he trusted would be an unanswerable argument with his amiable charlotte to name an early day for making him the happiest of men mr collinss return into hertfordshire was no longer a matter of pleasure to mrs bennet on the contrary she was as much disposed to complain of it as her husband it was very strange that he should come to longbourn instead of to lucas lodge it was also very inconvenient and exceedingly troublesome she hated having visitors in the house while her health was so indifferent and lovers were of all people the most disagreeable such were the gentle murmurs of mrs bennet and they gave way only to the greater distress of mr bingleys continued absence neither jane nor elizabeth were comfortable on this subject day after day passed away without bringing any other tidings of him than the report which shortly prevailed in meryton of his coming no more to netherfield the whole winter a report which highly incensed mrs bennet and which she never failed to contradict as a most scandalous falsehood even elizabeth began to fearnot that bingley was indifferentbut that his sisters would be successful in keeping him away unwilling as she was to admit an idea so destructive of janes happiness and so dishonorable to the stability of her lover she could not prevent its frequently occurring the united efforts of his two unfeeling sisters and of his overpowering friend assisted by the attractions of miss darcy and the amusements of london might be too much she feared for the strength of his attachment as for jane her anxiety under this suspense was of course more painful than elizabeths but whatever she felt she was desirous of concealing and between herself and elizabeth therefore the subject was never alluded to but as no such delicacy restrained her mother an hour seldom passed in which she did not talk of bingley express her impatience for his arrival or even require jane to confess that if he did not come back she would think herself very ill used it needed all janes steady mildness to bear these attacks with tolerable tranquillity mr collins returned most punctually on monday fortnight but his reception at longbourn was not quite so gracious as it had been on his first introduction he was too happy however to need much attention and luckily for the others the business of lovemaking relieved them from a great deal of his company the chief of every day was spent by him at lucas lodge and he sometimes returned to longbourn only in time to make an apology for his absence before the family went to bed mrs bennet was really in a most pitiable state the very mention of anything concerning the match threw her into an agony of illhumour and wherever she went she was sure of hearing it talked of the sight of miss lucas was odious to her as her successor in that house she regarded her with jealous abhorrence whenever charlotte came to see them she concluded her to be anticipating the hour of possession and whenever she spoke in a low voice to mr collins was convinced that they were talking of the longbourn estate and resolving to turn herself and her daughters out of the house as soon as mr bennet were dead she complained bitterly of all this to her husband indeed mr bennet said she it is very hard to think that charlotte lucas should ever be mistress of this house that i should be forced to make way for her and live to see her take her place in it my dear do not give way to such gloomy thoughts let us hope for better things let us flatter ourselves that i may be the survivor this was not very consoling to mrs bennet and therefore instead of making any answer she went on as before i cannot bear to think that they should have all this estate if it was not for the entail i should not mind it what should not you mind i should not mind anything at all let us be thankful that you are preserved from a state of such insensibility i never can be thankful mr bennet for anything about the entail how anyone could have the conscience to entail away an estate from ones own daughters i cannot understand and all for the sake of mr collins too why should he have it more than anybody else i leave it to yourself to determine said mr bennet miss bingleys letter arrived and put an end to doubt the very first sentence conveyed the assurance of their being all settled in london for the winter and concluded with her brothers regret at not having had time to pay his respects to his friends in hertfordshire before he left the country hope was over entirely over and when jane could attend to the rest of the letter she found little except the professed affection of the writer that could give her any comfort miss darcys praise occupied the chief of it her many attractions were again dwelt on and caroline boasted joyfully of their increasing intimacy and ventured to predict the accomplishment of the wishes which had been unfolded in her former letter she wrote also with great pleasure of her brothers being an inmate of mr darcys house and mentioned with raptures some plans of the latter with regard to new furniture elizabeth to whom jane very soon communicated the chief of all this heard it in silent indignation her heart was divided between concern for her sister and resentment against all others to carolines assertion of her brothers being partial to miss darcy she paid no credit that he was really fond of jane she doubted no more than she had ever done and much as she had always been disposed to like him she could not think without anger hardly without contempt on that easiness of temper that want of proper resolution which now made him the slave of his designing friends and led him to sacrifice of his own happiness to the caprice of their inclination had his own happiness however been the only sacrifice he might have been allowed to sport with it in whatever manner he thought best but her sisters was involved in it as she thought he must be sensible himself it was a subject in short on which reflection would be long indulged and must be unavailing she could think of nothing else and yet whether bingleys regard had really died away or were suppressed by his friends interference whether he had been aware of janes attachment or whether it had escaped his observation whatever were the case though her opinion of him must be materially affected by the difference her sisters situation remained the same her peace equally wounded a day or two passed before jane had courage to speak of her feelings to elizabeth but at last on mrs bennets leaving them together after a longer irritation than usual about netherfield and its master she could not help saying oh that my dear mother had more command over herself she can have no idea of the pain she gives me by her continual reflections on him but i will not repine it cannot last long he will be forgot and we shall all be as we were before elizabeth looked at her sister with incredulous solicitude but said nothing you doubt me cried jane slightly colouring indeed you have no reason he may live in my memory as the most amiable man of my acquaintance but that is all i have nothing either to hope or fear and nothing to reproach him with thank god i have not that pain a little time thereforei shall certainly try to get the better with a stronger voice she soon added i have this comfort immediately that it has not been more than an error of fancy on my side and that it has done no harm to anyone but myself my dear jane exclaimed elizabeth you are too good your sweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic i do not know what to say to you i feel as if i had never done you justice or loved you as you deserve miss bennet eagerly disclaimed all extraordinary merit and threw back the praise on her sisters warm affection nay said elizabeth this is not fair you wish to think all the world respectable and are hurt if i speak ill of anybody i only want to think you perfect and you set yourself against it do not be afraid of my running into any excess of my encroaching on your privilege of universal goodwill you need not there are few people whom i really love and still fewer of whom i think well the more i see of the world the more am i dissatisfied with it and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense i have met with two instances lately one i will not mention the other is charlottes marriage it is unaccountable in every view it is unaccountable my dear lizzy do not give way to such feelings as these they will ruin your happiness you do not make allowance enough for difference of situation and temper consider mr collinss respectability and charlottes steady prudent character remember that she is one of a large family that as to fortune it is a most eligible match and be ready to believe for everybodys sake that she may feel something like regard and esteem for our cousin to oblige you i would try to believe almost anything but no one else could be benefited by such a belief as this for were i persuaded that charlotte had any regard for him i should only think worse of her understanding than i now do of her heart my dear jane mr collins is a conceited pompous narrowminded silly man you know he is as well as i do and you must feel as well as i do that the woman who married him cannot have a proper way of thinking you shall not defend her though it is charlotte lucas you shall not for the sake of one individual change the meaning of principle and integrity nor endeavour to persuade yourself or me that selfishness is prudence and insensibility of danger security for happiness i must think your language too strong in speaking of both replied jane and i hope you will be convinced of it by seeing them happy together but enough of this you alluded to something else you mentioned two instances i cannot misunderstand you but i entreat you dear lizzy not to pain me by thinking that person to blame and saying your opinion of him is sunk we must not be so ready to fancy ourselves intentionally injured we must not expect a lively young man to be always so guarded and circumspect it is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us women fancy admiration means more than it does and men take care that they should if it is designedly done they cannot be justified but i have no idea of there being so much design in the world as some persons imagine i am far from attributing any part of mr bingleys conduct to design said elizabeth but without scheming to do wrong or to make others unhappy there may be error and there may be misery thoughtlessness want of attention to other peoples feelings and want of resolution will do the business and do you impute it to either of those yes to the last but if i go on i shall displease you by saying what i think of persons you esteem stop me whilst you can you persist then in supposing his sisters influence him yes in conjunction with his friend i cannot believe it why should they try to influence him they can only wish his happiness and if he is attached to me no other woman can secure it your first position is false they may wish many things besides his happiness they may wish his increase of wealth and consequence they may wish him to marry a girl who has all the importance of money great connections and pride beyond a doubt they do wish him to choose miss darcy replied jane but this may be from better feelings than you are supposing they have known her much longer than they have known me no wonder if they love her better but whatever may be their own wishes it is very unlikely they should have opposed their brothers what sister would think herself at liberty to do it unless there were something very objectionable if they believed him attached to me they would not try to part us if he were so they could not succeed by supposing such an affection you make everybody acting unnaturally and wrong and me most unhappy do not distress me by the idea i am not ashamed of having been mistakenor at least it is light it is nothing in comparison of what i should feel in thinking ill of him or his sisters let me take it in the best light in the light in which it may be understood elizabeth could not oppose such a wish and from this time mr bingleys name was scarcely ever mentioned between them mrs bennet still continued to wonder and repine at his returning no more and though a day seldom passed in which elizabeth did not account for it clearly there was little chance of her ever considering it with less perplexity her daughter endeavoured to convince her of what she did not believe herself that his attentions to jane had been merely the effect of a common and transient liking which ceased when he saw her no more but though the probability of the statement was admitted at the time she had the same story to repeat every day mrs bennets best comfort was that mr bingley must be down again in the summer mr bennet treated the matter differently so lizzy said he one day your sister is crossed in love i find i congratulate her next to being married a girl likes to be crossed a little in love now and then it is something to think of and it gives her a sort of distinction among her companions when is your turn to come you will hardly bear to be long outdone by jane now is your time here are officers enough in meryton to disappoint all the young ladies in the country let wickham be your man he is a pleasant fellow and would jilt you creditably thank you sir but a less agreeable man would satisfy me we must not all expect janes good fortune true said mr bennet but it is a comfort to think that whatever of that kind may befall you you have an affectionate mother who will make the most of it mr wickhams society was of material service in dispelling the gloom which the late perverse occurrences had thrown on many of the longbourn family they saw him often and to his other recommendations was now added that of general unreserve the whole of what elizabeth had already heard his claims on mr darcy and all that he had suffered from him was now openly acknowledged and publicly canvassed and everybody was pleased to know how much they had always disliked mr darcy before they had known anything of the matter miss bennet was the only creature who could suppose there might be any extenuating circumstances in the case unknown to the society of hertfordshire her mild and steady candour always pleaded for allowances and urged the possibility of mistakesbut by everybody else mr darcy was condemned as the worst of men after a week spent in professions of love and schemes of felicity mr collins was called from his amiable charlotte by the arrival of saturday the pain of separation however might be alleviated on his side by preparations for the reception of his bride as he had reason to hope that shortly after his return into hertfordshire the day would be fixed that was to make him the happiest of men he took leave of his relations at longbourn with as much solemnity as before wished his fair cousins health and happiness again and promised their father another letter of thanks on the following monday mrs bennet had the pleasure of receiving her brother and his wife who came as usual to spend the christmas at longbourn mr gardiner was a sensible gentlemanlike man greatly superior to his sister as well by nature as education the netherfield ladies would have had difficulty in believing that a man who lived by trade and within view of his own warehouses could have been so wellbred and agreeable mrs gardiner who was several years younger than mrs bennet and mrs phillips was an amiable intelligent elegant woman and a great favourite with all her longbourn nieces between the two eldest and herself especially there subsisted a particular regard they had frequently been staying with her in town the first part of mrs gardiners business on her arrival was to distribute her presents and describe the newest fashions when this was done she had a less active part to play it became her turn to listen mrs bennet had many grievances to relate and much to complain of they had all been very illused since she last saw her sister two of her girls had been upon the point of marriage and after all there was nothing in it i do not blame jane she continued for jane would have got mr bingley if she could but lizzy oh sister it is very hard to think that she might have been mr collinss wife by this time had it not been for her own perverseness he made her an offer in this very room and she refused him the consequence of it is that lady lucas will have a daughter married before i have and that the longbourn estate is just as much entailed as ever the lucases are very artful people indeed sister they are all for what they can get i am sorry to say it of them but so it is it makes me very nervous and poorly to be thwarted so in my own family and to have neighbours who think of themselves before anybody else however your coming just at this time is the greatest of comforts and i am very glad to hear what you tell us of long sleeves mrs gardiner to whom the chief of this news had been given before in the course of jane and elizabeths correspondence with her made her sister a slight answer and in compassion to her nieces turned the conversation when alone with elizabeth afterwards she spoke more on the subject it seems likely to have been a desirable match for jane said she i am sorry it went off but these things happen so often a young man such as you describe mr bingley so easily falls in love with a pretty girl for a few weeks and when accident separates them so easily forgets her that these sort of inconsistencies are very frequent an excellent consolation in its way said elizabeth but it will not do for us we do not suffer by accident it does not often happen that the interference of friends will persuade a young man of independent fortune to think no more of a girl whom he was violently in love with only a few days before but that expression of violently in love is so hackneyed so doubtful so indefinite that it gives me very little idea it is as often applied to feelings which arise from a halfhours acquaintance as to a real strong attachment pray how violent was mr bingleys love i never saw a more promising inclination he was growing quite inattentive to other people and wholly engrossed by her every time they met it was more decided and remarkable at his own ball he offended two or three young ladies by not asking them to dance and i spoke to him twice myself without receiving an answer could there be finer symptoms is not general incivility the very essence of love oh yesof that kind of love which i suppose him to have felt poor jane i am sorry for her because with her disposition she may not get over it immediately it had better have happened to you lizzy you would have laughed yourself out of it sooner but do you think she would be prevailed upon to go back with us change of scene might be of serviceand perhaps a little relief from home may be as useful as anything elizabeth was exceedingly pleased with this proposal and felt persuaded of her sisters ready acquiescence i hope added mrs gardiner that no consideration with regard to this young man will influence her we live in so different a part of town all our connections are so different and as you well know we go out so little that it is very improbable that they should meet at all unless he really comes to see her and that is quite impossible for he is now in the custody of his friend and mr darcy would no more suffer him to call on jane in such a part of london my dear aunt how could you think of it mr darcy may perhaps have heard of such a place as gracechurch street but he would hardly think a months ablution enough to cleanse him from its impurities were he once to enter it and depend upon it mr bingley never stirs without him so much the better i hope they will not meet at all but does not jane correspond with his sister she will not be able to help calling she will drop the acquaintance entirely but in spite of the certainty in which elizabeth affected to place this point as well as the still more interesting one of bingleys being withheld from seeing jane she felt a solicitude on the subject which convinced her on examination that she did not consider it entirely hopeless it was possible and sometimes she thought it probable that his affection might be reanimated and the influence of his friends successfully combated by the more natural influence of janes attractions miss bennet accepted her aunts invitation with pleasure and the bingleys were no otherwise in her thoughts at the same time than as she hoped by carolines not living in the same house with her brother she might occasionally spend a morning with her without any danger of seeing him the gardiners stayed a week at longbourn and what with the phillipses the lucases and the officers there was not a day without its engagement mrs bennet had so carefully provided for the entertainment of her brother and sister that they did not once sit down to a family dinner when the engagement was for home some of the officers always made part of itof which officers mr wickham was sure to be one and on these occasions mrs gardiner rendered suspicious by elizabeths warm commendation narrowly observed them both without supposing them from what she saw to be very seriously in love their preference of each other was plain enough to make her a little uneasy and she resolved to speak to elizabeth on the subject before she left hertfordshire and represent to her the imprudence of encouraging such an attachment to mrs gardiner wickham had one means of affording pleasure unconnected with his general powers about ten or a dozen years ago before her marriage she had spent a considerable time in that very part of derbyshire to which he belonged they had therefore many acquaintances in common and though wickham had been little there since the death of darcys father it was yet in his power to give her fresher intelligence of her former friends than she had been in the way of procuring mrs gardiner had seen pemberley and known the late mr darcy by character perfectly well here consequently was an inexhaustible subject of discourse in comparing her recollection of pemberley with the minute description which wickham could give and in bestowing her tribute of praise on the character of its late possessor she was delighting both him and herself on being made acquainted with the present mr darcys treatment of him she tried to remember some of that gentlemans reputed disposition when quite a lad which might agree with it and was confident at last that she recollected having heard mr fitzwilliam darcy formerly spoken of as a very proud illnatured boy mrs gardiners caution to elizabeth was punctually and kindly given on the first favourable opportunity of speaking to her alone after honestly telling her what she thought she thus went on you are too sensible a girl lizzy to fall in love merely because you are warned against it and therefore i am not afraid of speaking openly seriously i would have you be on your guard do not involve yourself or endeavour to involve him in an affection which the want of fortune would make so very imprudent i have nothing to say against him he is a most interesting young man and if he had the fortune he ought to have i should think you could not do better but as it is you must not let your fancy run away with you you have sense and we all expect you to use it your father would depend on your resolution and good conduct i am sure you must not disappoint your father my dear aunt this is being serious indeed yes and i hope to engage you to be serious likewise well then you need not be under any alarm i will take care of myself and of mr wickham too he shall not be in love with me if i can prevent it elizabeth you are not serious now i beg your pardon i will try again at present i am not in love with mr wickham no i certainly am not but he is beyond all comparison the most agreeable man i ever sawand if he becomes really attached to mei believe it will be better that he should not i see the imprudence of it oh that abominable mr darcy my fathers opinion of me does me the greatest honour and i should be miserable to forfeit it my father however is partial to mr wickham in short my dear aunt i should be very sorry to be the means of making any of you unhappy but since we see every day that where there is affection young people are seldom withheld by immediate want of fortune from entering into engagements with each other how can i promise to be wiser than so many of my fellowcreatures if i am tempted or how am i even to know that it would be wisdom to resist all that i can promise you therefore is not to be in a hurry i will not be in a hurry to believe myself his first object when i am in company with him i will not be wishing in short i will do my best perhaps it will be as well if you discourage his coming here so very often at least you should not remind your mother of inviting him as i did the other day said elizabeth with a conscious smile very true it will be wise in me to refrain from that but do not imagine that he is always here so often it is on your account that he has been so frequently invited this week you know my mothers ideas as to the necessity of constant company for her friends but really and upon my honour i will try to do what i think to be the wisest and now i hope you are satisfied her aunt assured her that she was and elizabeth having thanked her for the kindness of her hints they parted a wonderful instance of advice being given on such a point without being resented mr collins returned into hertfordshire soon after it had been quitted by the gardiners and jane but as he took up his abode with the lucases his arrival was no great inconvenience to mrs bennet his marriage was now fast approaching and she was at length so far resigned as to think it inevitable and even repeatedly to say in an illnatured tone that she wished they might be happy thursday was to be the wedding day and on wednesday miss lucas paid her farewell visit and when she rose to take leave elizabeth ashamed of her mothers ungracious and reluctant good wishes and sincerely affected herself accompanied her out of the room as they went downstairs together charlotte said i shall depend on hearing from you very often eliza that you certainly shall and i have another favour to ask you will you come and see me we shall often meet i hope in hertfordshire i am not likely to leave kent for some time promise me therefore to come to hunsford elizabeth could not refuse though she foresaw little pleasure in the visit my father and maria are coming to me in march added charlotte and i hope you will consent to be of the party indeed eliza you will be as welcome as either of them the wedding took place the bride and bridegroom set off for kent from the church door and everybody had as much to say or to hear on the subject as usual elizabeth soon heard from her friend and their correspondence was as regular and frequent as it had ever been that it should be equally unreserved was impossible elizabeth could never address her without feeling that all the comfort of intimacy was over and though determined not to slacken as a correspondent it was for the sake of what had been rather than what was charlottes first letters were received with a good deal of eagerness there could not but be curiosity to know how she would speak of her new home how she would like lady catherine and how happy she would dare pronounce herself to be though when the letters were read elizabeth felt that charlotte expressed herself on every point exactly as she might have foreseen she wrote cheerfully seemed surrounded with comforts and mentioned nothing which she could not praise the house furniture neighbourhood and roads were all to her taste and lady catherines behaviour was most friendly and obliging it was mr collinss picture of hunsford and rosings rationally softened and elizabeth perceived that she must wait for her own visit there to know the rest jane had already written a few lines to her sister to announce their safe arrival in london and when she wrote again elizabeth hoped it would be in her power to say something of the bingleys her impatience for this second letter was as well rewarded as impatience generally is jane had been a week in town without either seeing or hearing from caroline she accounted for it however by supposing that her last letter to her friend from longbourn had by some accident been lost my aunt she continued is going tomorrow into that part of the town and i shall take the opportunity of calling in grosvenor street she wrote again when the visit was paid and she had seen miss bingley i did not think caroline in spirits were her words but she was very glad to see me and reproached me for giving her no notice of my coming to london i was right therefore my last letter had never reached her i enquired after their brother of course he was well but so much engaged with mr darcy that they scarcely ever saw him i found that miss darcy was expected to dinner i wish i could see her my visit was not long as caroline and mrs hurst were going out i dare say i shall see them soon here elizabeth shook her head over this letter it convinced her that accident only could discover to mr bingley her sisters being in town four weeks passed away and jane saw nothing of him she endeavoured to persuade herself that she did not regret it but she could no longer be blind to miss bingleys inattention after waiting at home every morning for a fortnight and inventing every evening a fresh excuse for her the visitor did at last appear but the shortness of her stay and yet more the alteration of her manner would allow jane to deceive herself no longer the letter which she wrote on this occasion to her sister will prove what she felt my dearest lizzy will i am sure be incapable of triumphing in her better judgement at my expense when i confess myself to have been entirely deceived in miss bingleys regard for me but my dear sister though the event has proved you right do not think me obstinate if i still assert that considering what her behaviour was my confidence was as natural as your suspicion i do not at all comprehend her reason for wishing to be intimate with me but if the same circumstances were to happen again i am sure i should be deceived again caroline did not return my visit till yesterday and not a note not a line did i receive in the meantime when she did come it was very evident that she had no pleasure in it she made a slight formal apology for not calling before said not a word of wishing to see me again and was in every respect so altered a creature that when she went away i was perfectly resolved to continue the acquaintance no longer i pity though i cannot help blaming her she was very wrong in singling me out as she did i can safely say that every advance to intimacy began on her side but i pity her because she must feel that she has been acting wrong and because i am very sure that anxiety for her brother is the cause of it i need not explain myself farther and though we know this anxiety to be quite needless yet if she feels it it will easily account for her behaviour to me and so deservedly dear as he is to his sister whatever anxiety she must feel on his behalf is natural and amiable i cannot but wonder however at her having any such fears now because if he had at all cared about me we must have met long ago he knows of my being in town i am certain from something she said herself and yet it would seem by her manner of talking as if she wanted to persuade herself that he is really partial to miss darcy i cannot understand it if i were not afraid of judging harshly i should be almost tempted to say that there is a strong appearance of duplicity in all this but i will endeavour to banish every painful thought and think only of what will make me happyyour affection and the invariable kindness of my dear uncle and aunt let me hear from you very soon miss bingley said something of his never returning to netherfield again of giving up the house but not with any certainty we had better not mention it i am extremely glad that you have such pleasant accounts from our friends at hunsford pray go to see them with sir william and maria i am sure you will be very comfortable thereyours etc this letter gave elizabeth some pain but her spirits returned as she considered that jane would no longer be duped by the sister at least all expectation from the brother was now absolutely over she would not even wish for a renewal of his attentions his character sunk on every review of it and as a punishment for him as well as a possible advantage to jane she seriously hoped he might really soon marry mr darcys sister as by wickhams account she would make him abundantly regret what he had thrown away mrs gardiner about this time reminded elizabeth of her promise concerning that gentleman and required information and elizabeth had such to send as might rather give contentment to her aunt than to herself his apparent partiality had subsided his attentions were over he was the admirer of some one else elizabeth was watchful enough to see it all but she could see it and write of it without material pain her heart had been but slightly touched and her vanity was satisfied with believing that she would have been his only choice had fortune permitted it the sudden acquisition of ten thousand pounds was the most remarkable charm of the young lady to whom he was now rendering himself agreeable but elizabeth less clearsighted perhaps in this case than in charlottes did not quarrel with him for his wish of independence nothing on the contrary could be more natural and while able to suppose that it cost him a few struggles to relinquish her she was ready to allow it a wise and desirable measure for both and could very sincerely wish him happy all this was acknowledged to mrs gardiner and after relating the circumstances she thus went on i am now convinced my dear aunt that i have never been much in love for had i really experienced that pure and elevating passion i should at present detest his very name and wish him all manner of evil but my feelings are not only cordial towards him they are even impartial towards miss king i cannot find out that i hate her at all or that i am in the least unwilling to think her a very good sort of girl there can be no love in all this my watchfulness has been effectual and though i certainly should be a more interesting object to all my acquaintances were i distractedly in love with him i cannot say that i regret my comparative insignificance importance may sometimes be purchased too dearly kitty and lydia take his defection much more to heart than i do they are young in the ways of the world and not yet open to the mortifying conviction that handsome young men must have something to live on as well as the plain with no greater events than these in the longbourn family and otherwise diversified by little beyond the walks to meryton sometimes dirty and sometimes cold did january and february pass away march was to take elizabeth to hunsford she had not at first thought very seriously of going thither but charlotte she soon found was depending on the plan and she gradually learned to consider it herself with greater pleasure as well as greater certainty absence had increased her desire of seeing charlotte again and weakened her disgust of mr collins there was novelty in the scheme and as with such a mother and such uncompanionable sisters home could not be faultless a little change was not unwelcome for its own sake the journey would moreover give her a peep at jane and in short as the time drew near she would have been very sorry for any delay everything however went on smoothly and was finally settled according to charlottes first sketch she was to accompany sir william and his second daughter the improvement of spending a night in london was added in time and the plan became perfect as plan could be the only pain was in leaving her father who would certainly miss her and who when it came to the point so little liked her going that he told her to write to him and almost promised to answer her letter the farewell between herself and mr wickham was perfectly friendly on his side even more his present pursuit could not make him forget that elizabeth had been the first to excite and to deserve his attention the first to listen and to pity the first to be admired and in his manner of bidding her adieu wishing her every enjoyment reminding her of what she was to expect in lady catherine de bourgh and trusting their opinion of hertheir opinion of everybodywould always coincide there was a solicitude an interest which she felt must ever attach her to him with a most sincere regard and she parted from him convinced that whether married or single he must always be her model of the amiable and pleasing her fellowtravellers the next day were not of a kind to make her think him less agreeable sir william lucas and his daughter maria a goodhumoured girl but as emptyheaded as himself had nothing to say that could be worth hearing and were listened to with about as much delight as the rattle of the chaise elizabeth loved absurdities but she had known sir williams too long he could tell her nothing new of the wonders of his presentation and knighthood and his civilities were worn out like his information it was a journey of only twentyfour miles and they began it so early as to be in gracechurch street by noon as they drove to mr gardiners door jane was at a drawingroom window watching their arrival when they entered the passage she was there to welcome them and elizabeth looking earnestly in her face was pleased to see it healthful and lovely as ever on the stairs were a troop of little boys and girls whose eagerness for their cousins appearance would not allow them to wait in the drawingroom and whose shyness as they had not seen her for a twelvemonth prevented their coming lower all was joy and kindness the day passed most pleasantly away the morning in bustle and shopping and the evening at one of the theatres elizabeth then contrived to sit by her aunt their first object was her sister and she was more grieved than astonished to hear in reply to her minute enquiries that though jane always struggled to support her spirits there were periods of dejection it was reasonable however to hope that they would not continue long mrs gardiner gave her the particulars also of miss bingleys visit in gracechurch street and repeated conversations occurring at different times between jane and herself which proved that the former had from her heart given up the acquaintance mrs gardiner then rallied her niece on wickhams desertion and complimented her on bearing it so well but my dear elizabeth she added what sort of girl is miss king i should be sorry to think our friend mercenary pray my dear aunt what is the difference in matrimonial affairs between the mercenary and the prudent motive where does discretion end and avarice begin last christmas you were afraid of his marrying me because it would be imprudent and now because he is trying to get a girl with only ten thousand pounds you want to find out that he is mercenary if you will only tell me what sort of girl miss king is i shall know what to think she is a very good kind of girl i believe i know no harm of her but he paid her not the smallest attention till her grandfathers death made her mistress of this fortune nowhy should he if it were not allowable for him to gain my affections because i had no money what occasion could there be for making love to a girl whom he did not care about and who was equally poor but there seems an indelicacy in directing his attentions towards her so soon after this event a man in distressed circumstances has not time for all those elegant decorums which other people may observe if she does not object to it why should we her not objecting does not justify him it only shows her being deficient in something herselfsense or feeling well cried elizabeth have it as you choose he shall be mercenary and she shall be foolish no lizzy that is what i do not choose i should be sorry you know to think ill of a young man who has lived so long in derbyshire oh if that is all i have a very poor opinion of young men who live in derbyshire and their intimate friends who live in hertfordshire are not much better i am sick of them all thank heaven i am going tomorrow where i shall find a man who has not one agreeable quality who has neither manner nor sense to recommend him stupid men are the only ones worth knowing after all take care lizzy that speech savours strongly of disappointment before they were separated by the conclusion of the play she had the unexpected happiness of an invitation to accompany her uncle and aunt in a tour of pleasure which they proposed taking in the summer we have not determined how far it shall carry us said mrs gardiner but perhaps to the lakes no scheme could have been more agreeable to elizabeth and her acceptance of the invitation was most ready and grateful oh my dear dear aunt she rapturously cried what delight what felicity you give me fresh life and vigour adieu to disappointment and spleen what are young men to rocks and mountains oh what hours of transport we shall spend and when we do return it shall not be like other travellers without being able to give one accurate idea of anything we will know where we have gonewe will recollect what we have seen lakes mountains and rivers shall not be jumbled together in our imaginations nor when we attempt to describe any particular scene will we begin quarreling about its relative situation let our first effusions be less insupportable than those of the generality of travellers every object in the next days journey was new and interesting to elizabeth and her spirits were in a state of enjoyment for she had seen her sister looking so well as to banish all fear for her health and the prospect of her northern tour was a constant source of delight when they left the high road for the lane to hunsford every eye was in search of the parsonage and every turning expected to bring it in view the palings of rosings park was their boundary on one side elizabeth smiled at the recollection of all that she had heard of its inhabitants at length the parsonage was discernible the garden sloping to the road the house standing in it the green pales and the laurel hedge everything declared they were arriving mr collins and charlotte appeared at the door and the carriage stopped at the small gate which led by a short gravel walk to the house amidst the nods and smiles of the whole party in a moment they were all out of the chaise rejoicing at the sight of each other mrs collins welcomed her friend with the liveliest pleasure and elizabeth was more and more satisfied with coming when she found herself so affectionately received she saw instantly that her cousins manners were not altered by his marriage his formal civility was just what it had been and he detained her some minutes at the gate to hear and satisfy his enquiries after all her family they were then with no other delay than his pointing out the neatness of the entrance taken into the house and as soon as they were in the parlour he welcomed them a second time with ostentatious formality to his humble abode and punctually repeated all his wifes offers of refreshment elizabeth was prepared to see him in his glory and she could not help in fancying that in displaying the good proportion of the room its aspect and its furniture he addressed himself particularly to her as if wishing to make her feel what she had lost in refusing him but though everything seemed neat and comfortable she was not able to gratify him by any sigh of repentance and rather looked with wonder at her friend that she could have so cheerful an air with such a companion when mr collins said anything of which his wife might reasonably be ashamed which certainly was not unseldom she involuntarily turned her eye on charlotte once or twice she could discern a faint blush but in general charlotte wisely did not hear after sitting long enough to admire every article of furniture in the room from the sideboard to the fender to give an account of their journey and of all that had happened in london mr collins invited them to take a stroll in the garden which was large and well laid out and to the cultivation of which he attended himself to work in this garden was one of his most respectable pleasures and elizabeth admired the command of countenance with which charlotte talked of the healthfulness of the exercise and owned she encouraged it as much as possible here leading the way through every walk and cross walk and scarcely allowing them an interval to utter the praises he asked for every view was pointed out with a minuteness which left beauty entirely behind he could number the fields in every direction and could tell how many trees there were in the most distant clump but of all the views which his garden or which the country or kingdom could boast none were to be compared with the prospect of rosings afforded by an opening in the trees that bordered the park nearly opposite the front of his house it was a handsome modern building well situated on rising ground from his garden mr collins would have led them round his two meadows but the ladies not having shoes to encounter the remains of a white frost turned back and while sir william accompanied him charlotte took her sister and friend over the house extremely well pleased probably to have the opportunity of showing it without her husbands help it was rather small but well built and convenient and everything was fitted up and arranged with a neatness and consistency of which elizabeth gave charlotte all the credit when mr collins could be forgotten there was really an air of great comfort throughout and by charlottes evident enjoyment of it elizabeth supposed he must be often forgotten she had already learnt that lady catherine was still in the country it was spoken of again while they were at dinner when mr collins joining in observed yes miss elizabeth you will have the honour of seeing lady catherine de bourgh on the ensuing sunday at church and i need not say you will be delighted with her she is all affability and condescension and i doubt not but you will be honoured with some portion of her notice when service is over i have scarcely any hesitation in saying she will include you and my sister maria in every invitation with which she honours us during your stay here her behaviour to my dear charlotte is charming we dine at rosings twice every week and are never allowed to walk home her ladyships carriage is regularly ordered for us i should say one of her ladyships carriages for she has several lady catherine is a very respectable sensible woman indeed added charlotte and a most attentive neighbour very true my dear that is exactly what i say she is the sort of woman whom one cannot regard with too much deference the evening was spent chiefly in talking over hertfordshire news and telling again what had already been written and when it closed elizabeth in the solitude of her chamber had to meditate upon charlottes degree of contentment to understand her address in guiding and composure in bearing with her husband and to acknowledge that it was all done very well she had also to anticipate how her visit would pass the quiet tenor of their usual employments the vexatious interruptions of mr collins and the gaieties of their intercourse with rosings a lively imagination soon settled it all about the middle of the next day as she was in her room getting ready for a walk a sudden noise below seemed to speak the whole house in confusion and after listening a moment she heard somebody running up stairs in a violent hurry and calling loudly after her she opened the door and met maria in the landing place who breathless with agitation cried out oh my dear eliza pray make haste and come into the diningroom for there is such a sight to be seen i will not tell you what it is make haste and come down this moment elizabeth asked questions in vain maria would tell her nothing more and down they ran into the diningroom which fronted the lane in quest of this wonder it was two ladies stopping in a low phaeton at the garden gate and is this all cried elizabeth i expected at least that the pigs were got into the garden and here is nothing but lady catherine and her daughter la my dear said maria quite shocked at the mistake it is not lady catherine the old lady is mrs jenkinson who lives with them the other is miss de bourgh only look at her she is quite a little creature who would have thought that she could be so thin and small she is abominably rude to keep charlotte out of doors in all this wind why does she not come in oh charlotte says she hardly ever does it is the greatest of favours when miss de bourgh comes in i like her appearance said elizabeth struck with other ideas she looks sickly and cross yes she will do for him very well she will make him a very proper wife mr collins and charlotte were both standing at the gate in conversation with the ladies and sir william to elizabeths high diversion was stationed in the doorway in earnest contemplation of the greatness before him and constantly bowing whenever miss de bourgh looked that way at length there was nothing more to be said the ladies drove on and the others returned into the house mr collins no sooner saw the two girls than he began to congratulate them on their good fortune which charlotte explained by letting them know that the whole party was asked to dine at rosings the next day mr collinss triumph in consequence of this invitation was complete the power of displaying the grandeur of his patroness to his wondering visitors and of letting them see her civility towards himself and his wife was exactly what he had wished for and that an opportunity of doing it should be given so soon was such an instance of lady catherines condescension as he knew not how to admire enough i confess said he that i should not have been at all surprised by her ladyships asking us on sunday to drink tea and spend the evening at rosings i rather expected from my knowledge of her affability that it would happen but who could have foreseen such an attention as this who could have imagined that we should receive an invitation to dine there an invitation moreover including the whole party so immediately after your arrival i am the less surprised at what has happened replied sir william from that knowledge of what the manners of the great really are which my situation in life has allowed me to acquire about the court such instances of elegant breeding are not uncommon scarcely anything was talked of the whole day or next morning but their visit to rosings mr collins was carefully instructing them in what they were to expect that the sight of such rooms so many servants and so splendid a dinner might not wholly overpower them when the ladies were separating for the toilette he said to elizabeth do not make yourself uneasy my dear cousin about your apparel lady catherine is far from requiring that elegance of dress in us which becomes herself and her daughter i would advise you merely to put on whatever of your clothes is superior to the restthere is no occasion for anything more lady catherine will not think the worse of you for being simply dressed she likes to have the distinction of rank preserved while they were dressing he came two or three times to their different doors to recommend their being quick as lady catherine very much objected to be kept waiting for her dinner such formidable accounts of her ladyship and her manner of living quite frightened maria lucas who had been little used to company and she looked forward to her introduction at rosings with as much apprehension as her father had done to his presentation at st jamess as the weather was fine they had a pleasant walk of about half a mile across the park every park has its beauty and its prospects and elizabeth saw much to be pleased with though she could not be in such raptures as mr collins expected the scene to inspire and was but slightly affected by his enumeration of the windows in front of the house and his relation of what the glazing altogether had originally cost sir lewis de bourgh when they ascended the steps to the hall marias alarm was every moment increasing and even sir william did not look perfectly calm elizabeths courage did not fail her she had heard nothing of lady catherine that spoke her awful from any extraordinary talents or miraculous virtue and the mere stateliness of money or rank she thought she could witness without trepidation from the entrancehall of which mr collins pointed out with a rapturous air the fine proportion and the finished ornaments they followed the servants through an antechamber to the room where lady catherine her daughter and mrs jenkinson were sitting her ladyship with great condescension arose to receive them and as mrs collins had settled it with her husband that the office of introduction should be hers it was performed in a proper manner without any of those apologies and thanks which he would have thought necessary in spite of having been at st jamess sir william was so completely awed by the grandeur surrounding him that he had but just courage enough to make a very low bow and take his seat without saying a word and his daughter frightened almost out of her senses sat on the edge of her chair not knowing which way to look elizabeth found herself quite equal to the scene and could observe the three ladies before her composedly lady catherine was a tall large woman with stronglymarked features which might once have been handsome her air was not conciliating nor was her manner of receiving them such as to make her visitors forget their inferior rank she was not rendered formidable by silence but whatever she said was spoken in so authoritative a tone as marked her selfimportance and brought mr wickham immediately to elizabeths mind and from the observation of the day altogether she believed lady catherine to be exactly what he represented when after examining the mother in whose countenance and deportment she soon found some resemblance of mr darcy she turned her eyes on the daughter she could almost have joined in marias astonishment at her being so thin and so small there was neither in figure nor face any likeness between the ladies miss de bourgh was pale and sickly her features though not plain were insignificant and she spoke very little except in a low voice to mrs jenkinson in whose appearance there was nothing remarkable and who was entirely engaged in listening to what she said and placing a screen in the proper direction before her eyes after sitting a few minutes they were all sent to one of the windows to admire the view mr collins attending them to point out its beauties and lady catherine kindly informing them that it was much better worth looking at in the summer the dinner was exceedingly handsome and there were all the servants and all the articles of plate which mr collins had promised and as he had likewise foretold he took his seat at the bottom of the table by her ladyships desire and looked as if he felt that life could furnish nothing greater he carved and ate and praised with delighted alacrity and every dish was commended first by him and then by sir william who was now enough recovered to echo whatever his soninlaw said in a manner which elizabeth wondered lady catherine could bear but lady catherine seemed gratified by their excessive admiration and gave most gracious smiles especially when any dish on the table proved a novelty to them the party did not supply much conversation elizabeth was ready to speak whenever there was an opening but she was seated between charlotte and miss de bourghthe former of whom was engaged in listening to lady catherine and the latter said not a word to her all dinnertime mrs jenkinson was chiefly employed in watching how little miss de bourgh ate pressing her to try some other dish and fearing she was indisposed maria thought speaking out of the question and the gentlemen did nothing but eat and admire when the ladies returned to the drawingroom there was little to be done but to hear lady catherine talk which she did without any intermission till coffee came in delivering her opinion on every subject in so decisive a manner as proved that she was not used to have her judgement controverted she enquired into charlottes domestic concerns familiarly and minutely gave her a great deal of advice as to the management of them all told her how everything ought to be regulated in so small a family as hers and instructed her as to the care of her cows and her poultry elizabeth found that nothing was beneath this great ladys attention which could furnish her with an occasion of dictating to others in the intervals of her discourse with mrs collins she addressed a variety of questions to maria and elizabeth but especially to the latter of whose connections she knew the least and who she observed to mrs collins was a very genteel pretty kind of girl she asked her at different times how many sisters she had whether they were older or younger than herself whether any of them were likely to be married whether they were handsome where they had been educated what carriage her father kept and what had been her mothers maiden name elizabeth felt all the impertinence of her questions but answered them very composedly lady catherine then observed your fathers estate is entailed on mr collins i think for your sake turning to charlotte i am glad of it but otherwise i see no occasion for entailing estates from the female line it was not thought necessary in sir lewis de bourghs family do you play and sing miss bennet a little oh thensome time or other we shall be happy to hear you our instrument is a capital one probably superior toyou shall try it some day do your sisters play and sing one of them does why did not you all learn you ought all to have learned the miss webbs all play and their father has not so good an income as yours do you draw no not at all what none of you not one that is very strange but i suppose you had no opportunity your mother should have taken you to town every spring for the benefit of masters my mother would have had no objection but my father hates london has your governess left you we never had any governess no governess how was that possible five daughters brought up at home without a governess i never heard of such a thing your mother must have been quite a slave to your education elizabeth could hardly help smiling as she assured her that had not been the case then who taught you who attended to you without a governess you must have been neglected compared with some families i believe we were but such of us as wished to learn never wanted the means we were always encouraged to read and had all the masters that were necessary those who chose to be idle certainly might aye no doubt but that is what a governess will prevent and if i had known your mother i should have advised her most strenuously to engage one i always say that nothing is to be done in education without steady and regular instruction and nobody but a governess can give it it is wonderful how many families i have been the means of supplying in that way i am always glad to get a young person well placed out four nieces of mrs jenkinson are most delightfully situated through my means and it was but the other day that i recommended another young person who was merely accidentally mentioned to me and the family are quite delighted with her mrs collins did i tell you of lady metcalfs calling yesterday to thank me she finds miss pope a treasure lady catherine said she you have given me a treasure are any of your younger sisters out miss bennet yes maam all all what all five out at once very odd and you only the second the younger ones out before the elder ones are married your younger sisters must be very young yes my youngest is not sixteen perhaps she is full young to be much in company but really maam i think it would be very hard upon younger sisters that they should not have their share of society and amusement because the elder may not have the means or inclination to marry early the lastborn has as good a right to the pleasures of youth as the first and to be kept back on such a motive i think it would not be very likely to promote sisterly affection or delicacy of mind upon my word said her ladyship you give your opinion very decidedly for so young a person pray what is your age with three younger sisters grown up replied elizabeth smiling your ladyship can hardly expect me to own it lady catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer and elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified impertinence you cannot be more than twenty i am sure therefore you need not conceal your age i am not oneandtwenty when the gentlemen had joined them and tea was over the cardtables were placed lady catherine sir william and mr and mrs collins sat down to quadrille and as miss de bourgh chose to play at cassino the two girls had the honour of assisting mrs jenkinson to make up her party their table was superlatively stupid scarcely a syllable was uttered that did not relate to the game except when mrs jenkinson expressed her fears of miss de bourghs being too hot or too cold or having too much or too little light a great deal more passed at the other table lady catherine was generally speakingstating the mistakes of the three others or relating some anecdote of herself mr collins was employed in agreeing to everything her ladyship said thanking her for every fish he won and apologising if he thought he won too many sir william did not say much he was storing his memory with anecdotes and noble names when lady catherine and her daughter had played as long as they chose the tables were broken up the carriage was offered to mrs collins gratefully accepted and immediately ordered the party then gathered round the fire to hear lady catherine determine what weather they were to have on the morrow from these instructions they were summoned by the arrival of the coach and with many speeches of thankfulness on mr collinss side and as many bows on sir williams they departed as soon as they had driven from the door elizabeth was called on by her cousin to give her opinion of all that she had seen at rosings which for charlottes sake she made more favourable than it really was but her commendation though costing her some trouble could by no means satisfy mr collins and he was very soon obliged to take her ladyships praise into his own hands sir william stayed only a week at hunsford but his visit was long enough to convince him of his daughters being most comfortably settled and of her possessing such a husband and such a neighbour as were not often met with while sir william was with them mr collins devoted his morning to driving him out in his gig and showing him the country but when he went away the whole family returned to their usual employments and elizabeth was thankful to find that they did not see more of her cousin by the alteration for the chief of the time between breakfast and dinner was now passed by him either at work in the garden or in reading and writing and looking out of the window in his own bookroom which fronted the road the room in which the ladies sat was backwards elizabeth had at first rather wondered that charlotte should not prefer the diningparlour for common use it was a better sized room and had a more pleasant aspect but she soon saw that her friend had an excellent reason for what she did for mr collins would undoubtedly have been much less in his own apartment had they sat in one equally lively and she gave charlotte credit for the arrangement from the drawingroom they could distinguish nothing in the lane and were indebted to mr collins for the knowledge of what carriages went along and how often especially miss de bourgh drove by in her phaeton which he never failed coming to inform them of though it happened almost every day she not unfrequently stopped at the parsonage and had a few minutes conversation with charlotte but was scarcely ever prevailed upon to get out very few days passed in which mr collins did not walk to rosings and not many in which his wife did not think it necessary to go likewise and till elizabeth recollected that there might be other family livings to be disposed of she could not understand the sacrifice of so many hours now and then they were honoured with a call from her ladyship and nothing escaped her observation that was passing in the room during these visits she examined into their employments looked at their work and advised them to do it differently found fault with the arrangement of the furniture or detected the housemaid in negligence and if she accepted any refreshment seemed to do it only for the sake of finding out that mrs collinss joints of meat were too large for her family elizabeth soon perceived that though this great lady was not in the commission of the peace of the county she was a most active magistrate in her own parish the minutest concerns of which were carried to her by mr collins and whenever any of the cottagers were disposed to be quarrelsome discontented or too poor she sallied forth into the village to settle their differences silence their complaints and scold them into harmony and plenty the entertainment of dining at rosings was repeated about twice a week and allowing for the loss of sir william and there being only one cardtable in the evening every such entertainment was the counterpart of the first their other engagements were few as the style of living in the neighbourhood in general was beyond mr collinss reach this however was no evil to elizabeth and upon the whole she spent her time comfortably enough there were halfhours of pleasant conversation with charlotte and the weather was so fine for the time of year that she had often great enjoyment out of doors her favourite walk and where she frequently went while the others were calling on lady catherine was along the open grove which edged that side of the park where there was a nice sheltered path which no one seemed to value but herself and where she felt beyond the reach of lady catherines curiosity in this quiet way the first fortnight of her visit soon passed away easter was approaching and the week preceding it was to bring an addition to the family at rosings which in so small a circle must be important elizabeth had heard soon after her arrival that mr darcy was expected there in the course of a few weeks and though there were not many of her acquaintances whom she did not prefer his coming would furnish one comparatively new to look at in their rosings parties and she might be amused in seeing how hopeless miss bingleys designs on him were by his behaviour to his cousin for whom he was evidently destined by lady catherine who talked of his coming with the greatest satisfaction spoke of him in terms of the highest admiration and seemed almost angry to find that he had already been frequently seen by miss lucas and herself his arrival was soon known at the parsonage for mr collins was walking the whole morning within view of the lodges opening into hunsford lane in order to have the earliest assurance of it and after making his bow as the carriage turned into the park hurried home with the great intelligence on the following morning he hastened to rosings to pay his respects there were two nephews of lady catherine to require them for mr darcy had brought with him a colonel fitzwilliam the younger son of his uncle lord and to the great surprise of all the party when mr collins returned the gentlemen accompanied him charlotte had seen them from her husbands room crossing the road and immediately running into the other told the girls what an honour they might expect adding i may thank you eliza for this piece of civility mr darcy would never have come so soon to wait upon me elizabeth had scarcely time to disclaim all right to the compliment before their approach was announced by the doorbell and shortly afterwards the three gentlemen entered the room colonel fitzwilliam who led the way was about thirty not handsome but in person and address most truly the gentleman mr darcy looked just as he had been used to look in hertfordshirepaid his compliments with his usual reserve to mrs collins and whatever might be his feelings toward her friend met her with every appearance of composure elizabeth merely curtseyed to him without saying a word colonel fitzwilliam entered into conversation directly with the readiness and ease of a wellbred man and talked very pleasantly but his cousin after having addressed a slight observation on the house and garden to mrs collins sat for some time without speaking to anybody at length however his civility was so far awakened as to enquire of elizabeth after the health of her family she answered him in the usual way and after a moments pause added my eldest sister has been in town these three months have you never happened to see her there she was perfectly sensible that he never had but she wished to see whether he would betray any consciousness of what had passed between the bingleys and jane and she thought he looked a little confused as he answered that he had never been so fortunate as to meet miss bennet the subject was pursued no farther and the gentlemen soon afterwards went away colonel fitzwilliams manners were very much admired at the parsonage and the ladies all felt that he must add considerably to the pleasures of their engagements at rosings it was some days however before they received any invitation thitherfor while there were visitors in the house they could not be necessary and it was not till easterday almost a week after the gentlemens arrival that they were honoured by such an attention and then they were merely asked on leaving church to come there in the evening for the last week they had seen very little of lady catherine or her daughter colonel fitzwilliam had called at the parsonage more than once during the time but mr darcy they had seen only at church the invitation was accepted of course and at a proper hour they joined the party in lady catherines drawingroom her ladyship received them civilly but it was plain that their company was by no means so acceptable as when she could get nobody else and she was in fact almost engrossed by her nephews speaking to them especially to darcy much more than to any other person in the room colonel fitzwilliam seemed really glad to see them anything was a welcome relief to him at rosings and mrs collinss pretty friend had moreover caught his fancy very much he now seated himself by her and talked so agreeably of kent and hertfordshire of travelling and staying at home of new books and music that elizabeth had never been half so well entertained in that room before and they conversed with so much spirit and flow as to draw the attention of lady catherine herself as well as of mr darcy his eyes had been soon and repeatedly turned towards them with a look of curiosity and that her ladyship after a while shared the feeling was more openly acknowledged for she did not scruple to call out what is that you are saying fitzwilliam what is it you are talking of what are you telling miss bennet let me hear what it is we are speaking of music madam said he when no longer able to avoid a reply of music then pray speak aloud it is of all subjects my delight i must have my share in the conversation if you are speaking of music there are few people in england i suppose who have more true enjoyment of music than myself or a better natural taste if i had ever learnt i should have been a great proficient and so would anne if her health had allowed her to apply i am confident that she would have performed delightfully how does georgiana get on darcy mr darcy spoke with affectionate praise of his sisters proficiency i am very glad to hear such a good account of her said lady catherine and pray tell her from me that she cannot expect to excel if she does not practice a good deal i assure you madam he replied that she does not need such advice she practises very constantly so much the better it cannot be done too much and when i next write to her i shall charge her not to neglect it on any account i often tell young ladies that no excellence in music is to be acquired without constant practice i have told miss bennet several times that she will never play really well unless she practises more and though mrs collins has no instrument she is very welcome as i have often told her to come to rosings every day and play on the pianoforte in mrs jenkinsons room she would be in nobodys way you know in that part of the house mr darcy looked a little ashamed of his aunts illbreeding and made no answer when coffee was over colonel fitzwilliam reminded elizabeth of having promised to play to him and she sat down directly to the instrument he drew a chair near her lady catherine listened to half a song and then talked as before to her other nephew till the latter walked away from her and making with his usual deliberation towards the pianoforte stationed himself so as to command a full view of the fair performers countenance elizabeth saw what he was doing and at the first convenient pause turned to him with an arch smile and said you mean to frighten me mr darcy by coming in all this state to hear me i will not be alarmed though your sister does play so well there is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others my courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me i shall not say you are mistaken he replied because you could not really believe me to entertain any design of alarming you and i have had the pleasure of your acquaintance long enough to know that you find great enjoyment in occasionally professing opinions which in fact are not your own elizabeth laughed heartily at this picture of herself and said to colonel fitzwilliam your cousin will give you a very pretty notion of me and teach you not to believe a word i say i am particularly unlucky in meeting with a person so able to expose my real character in a part of the world where i had hoped to pass myself off with some degree of credit indeed mr darcy it is very ungenerous in you to mention all that you knew to my disadvantage in hertfordshireand give me leave to say very impolitic toofor it is provoking me to retaliate and such things may come out as will shock your relations to hear i am not afraid of you said he smilingly pray let me hear what you have to accuse him of cried colonel fitzwilliam i should like to know how he behaves among strangers you shall hear thenbut prepare yourself for something very dreadful the first time of my ever seeing him in hertfordshire you must know was at a balland at this ball what do you think he did he danced only four dances though gentlemen were scarce and to my certain knowledge more than one young lady was sitting down in want of a partner mr darcy you cannot deny the fact i had not at that time the honour of knowing any lady in the assembly beyond my own party true and nobody can ever be introduced in a ballroom well colonel fitzwilliam what do i play next my fingers wait your orders perhaps said darcy i should have judged better had i sought an introduction but i am illqualified to recommend myself to strangers shall we ask your cousin the reason of this said elizabeth still addressing colonel fitzwilliam shall we ask him why a man of sense and education and who has lived in the world is ill qualified to recommend himself to strangers i can answer your question said fitzwilliam without applying to him it is because he will not give himself the trouble i certainly have not the talent which some people possess said darcy of conversing easily with those i have never seen before i cannot catch their tone of conversation or appear interested in their concerns as i often see done my fingers said elizabeth do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which i see so many womens do they have not the same force or rapidity and do not produce the same expression but then i have always supposed it to be my own faultbecause i will not take the trouble of practising it is not that i do not believe my fingers as capable as any other womans of superior execution darcy smiled and said you are perfectly right you have employed your time much better no one admitted to the privilege of hearing you can think anything wanting we neither of us perform to strangers here they were interrupted by lady catherine who called out to know what they were talking of elizabeth immediately began playing again lady catherine approached and after listening for a few minutes said to darcy miss bennet would not play at all amiss if she practised more and could have the advantage of a london master she has a very good notion of fingering though her taste is not equal to annes anne would have been a delightful performer had her health allowed her to learn elizabeth looked at darcy to see how cordially he assented to his cousins praise but neither at that moment nor at any other could she discern any symptom of love and from the whole of his behaviour to miss de bourgh she derived this comfort for miss bingley that he might have been just as likely to marry her had she been his relation lady catherine continued her remarks on elizabeths performance mixing with them many instructions on execution and taste elizabeth received them with all the forbearance of civility and at the request of the gentlemen remained at the instrument till her ladyships carriage was ready to take them all home elizabeth was sitting by herself the next morning and writing to jane while mrs collins and maria were gone on business into the village when she was startled by a ring at the door the certain signal of a visitor as she had heard no carriage she thought it not unlikely to be lady catherine and under that apprehension was putting away her halffinished letter that she might escape all impertinent questions when the door opened and to her very great surprise mr darcy and mr darcy only entered the room he seemed astonished too on finding her alone and apologised for his intrusion by letting her know that he had understood all the ladies were to be within they then sat down and when her enquiries after rosings were made seemed in danger of sinking into total silence it was absolutely necessary therefore to think of something and in this emergence recollecting when she had seen him last in hertfordshire and feeling curious to know what he would say on the subject of their hasty departure she observed how very suddenly you all quitted netherfield last november mr darcy it must have been a most agreeable surprise to mr bingley to see you all after him so soon for if i recollect right he went but the day before he and his sisters were well i hope when you left london perfectly so i thank you she found that she was to receive no other answer and after a short pause added i think i have understood that mr bingley has not much idea of ever returning to netherfield again i have never heard him say so but it is probable that he may spend very little of his time there in the future he has many friends and is at a time of life when friends and engagements are continually increasing if he means to be but little at netherfield it would be better for the neighbourhood that he should give up the place entirely for then we might possibly get a settled family there but perhaps mr bingley did not take the house so much for the convenience of the neighbourhood as for his own and we must expect him to keep it or quit it on the same principle i should not be surprised said darcy if he were to give it up as soon as any eligible purchase offers elizabeth made no answer she was afraid of talking longer of his friend and having nothing else to say was now determined to leave the trouble of finding a subject to him he took the hint and soon began with this seems a very comfortable house lady catherine i believe did a great deal to it when mr collins first came to hunsford i believe she didand i am sure she could not have bestowed her kindness on a more grateful object mr collins appears to be very fortunate in his choice of a wife yes indeed his friends may well rejoice in his having met with one of the very few sensible women who would have accepted him or have made him happy if they had my friend has an excellent understandingthough i am not certain that i consider her marrying mr collins as the wisest thing she ever did she seems perfectly happy however and in a prudential light it is certainly a very good match for her it must be very agreeable for her to be settled within so easy a distance of her own family and friends an easy distance do you call it it is nearly fifty miles and what is fifty miles of good road little more than half a days journey yes i call it a very easy distance i should never have considered the distance as one of the advantages of the match cried elizabeth i should never have said mrs collins was settled near her family it is a proof of your own attachment to hertfordshire anything beyond the very neighbourhood of longbourn i suppose would appear far as he spoke there was a sort of smile which elizabeth fancied she understood he must be supposing her to be thinking of jane and netherfield and she blushed as she answered i do not mean to say that a woman may not be settled too near her family the far and the near must be relative and depend on many varying circumstances where there is fortune to make the expenses of travelling unimportant distance becomes no evil but that is not the case here mr and mrs collins have a comfortable income but not such a one as will allow of frequent journeysand i am persuaded my friend would not call herself near her family under less than half the present distance mr darcy drew his chair a little towards her and said you cannot have a right to such very strong local attachment you cannot have been always at longbourn elizabeth looked surprised the gentleman experienced some change of feeling he drew back his chair took a newspaper from the table and glancing over it said in a colder voice are you pleased with kent a short dialogue on the subject of the country ensued on either side calm and conciseand soon put an end to by the entrance of charlotte and her sister just returned from her walk the têteàtête surprised them mr darcy related the mistake which had occasioned his intruding on miss bennet and after sitting a few minutes longer without saying much to anybody went away what can be the meaning of this said charlotte as soon as he was gone my dear eliza he must be in love with you or he would never have called on us in this familiar way but when elizabeth told of his silence it did not seem very likely even to charlottes wishes to be the case and after various conjectures they could at last only suppose his visit to proceed from the difficulty of finding anything to do which was the more probable from the time of year all field sports were over within doors there was lady catherine books and a billiardtable but gentlemen cannot always be within doors and in the nearness of the parsonage or the pleasantness of the walk to it or of the people who lived in it the two cousins found a temptation from this period of walking thither almost every day they called at various times of the morning sometimes separately sometimes together and now and then accompanied by their aunt it was plain to them all that colonel fitzwilliam came because he had pleasure in their society a persuasion which of course recommended him still more and elizabeth was reminded by her own satisfaction in being with him as well as by his evident admiration of her of her former favourite george wickham and though in comparing them she saw there was less captivating softness in colonel fitzwilliams manners she believed he might have the best informed mind but why mr darcy came so often to the parsonage it was more difficult to understand it could not be for society as he frequently sat there ten minutes together without opening his lips and when he did speak it seemed the effect of necessity rather than of choicea sacrifice to propriety not a pleasure to himself he seldom appeared really animated mrs collins knew not what to make of him colonel fitzwilliams occasionally laughing at his stupidity proved that he was generally different which her own knowledge of him could not have told her and as she would liked to have believed this change the effect of love and the object of that love her friend eliza she set herself seriously to work to find it out she watched him whenever they were at rosings and whenever he came to hunsford but without much success he certainly looked at her friend a great deal but the expression of that look was disputable it was an earnest steadfast gaze but she often doubted whether there were much admiration in it and sometimes it seemed nothing but absence of mind she had once or twice suggested to elizabeth the possibility of his being partial to her but elizabeth always laughed at the idea and mrs collins did not think it right to press the subject from the danger of raising expectations which might only end in disappointment for in her opinion it admitted not of a doubt that all her friends dislike would vanish if she could suppose him to be in her power in her kind schemes for elizabeth she sometimes planned her marrying colonel fitzwilliam he was beyond comparison the most pleasant man he certainly admired her and his situation in life was most eligible but to counterbalance these advantages mr darcy had considerable patronage in the church and his cousin could have none at all more than once did elizabeth in her ramble within the park unexpectedly meet mr darcy she felt all the perverseness of the mischance that should bring him where no one else was brought and to prevent its ever happening again took care to inform him at first that it was a favourite haunt of hers how it could occur a second time therefore was very odd yet it did and even a third it seemed like wilful illnature or a voluntary penance for on these occasions it was not merely a few formal enquiries and an awkward pause and then away but he actually thought it necessary to turn back and walk with her he never said a great deal nor did she give herself the trouble of talking or of listening much but it struck her in the course of their third rencontre that he was asking some odd unconnected questionsabout her pleasure in being at hunsford her love of solitary walks and her opinion of mr and mrs collinss happiness and that in speaking of rosings and her not perfectly understanding the house he seemed to expect that whenever she came into kent again she would be staying there too his words seemed to imply it could he have colonel fitzwilliam in his thoughts she supposed if he meant anything he must mean an allusion to what might arise in that quarter it distressed her a little and she was quite glad to find herself at the gate in the pales opposite the parsonage she was engaged one day as she walked in perusing janes last letter and dwelling on some passages which proved that jane had not written in spirits when instead of being again surprised by mr darcy she saw on looking up that colonel fitzwilliam was meeting her putting away the letter immediately and forcing a smile she said i did not know before that you ever walked this way i have been making the tour of the park he replied as i generally do every year and intend to close it with a call at the parsonage are you going much farther no i should have turned in a moment and accordingly she did turn and they walked towards the parsonage together do you certainly leave kent on saturday said she yesif darcy does not put it off again but i am at his disposal he arranges the business just as he pleases and if not able to please himself in the arrangement he has at least pleasure in the great power of choice i do not know anybody who seems more to enjoy the power of doing what he likes than mr darcy he likes to have his own way very well replied colonel fitzwilliam but so we all do it is only that he has better means of having it than many others because he is rich and many others are poor i speak feelingly a younger son you know must be inured to selfdenial and dependence in my opinion the younger son of an earl can know very little of either now seriously what have you ever known of selfdenial and dependence when have you been prevented by want of money from going wherever you chose or procuring anything you had a fancy for these are home questionsand perhaps i cannot say that i have experienced many hardships of that nature but in matters of greater weight i may suffer from want of money younger sons cannot marry where they like unless where they like women of fortune which i think they very often do our habits of expense make us too dependent and there are not many in my rank of life who can afford to marry without some attention to money is this thought elizabeth meant for me and she coloured at the idea but recovering herself said in a lively tone and pray what is the usual price of an earls younger son unless the elder brother is very sickly i suppose you would not ask above fifty thousand pounds he answered her in the same style and the subject dropped to interrupt a silence which might make him fancy her affected with what had passed she soon afterwards said i imagine your cousin brought you down with him chiefly for the sake of having someone at his disposal i wonder he does not marry to secure a lasting convenience of that kind but perhaps his sister does as well for the present and as she is under his sole care he may do what he likes with her no said colonel fitzwilliam that is an advantage which he must divide with me i am joined with him in the guardianship of miss darcy are you indeed and pray what sort of guardians do you make does your charge give you much trouble young ladies of her age are sometimes a little difficult to manage and if she has the true darcy spirit she may like to have her own way as she spoke she observed him looking at her earnestly and the manner in which he immediately asked her why she supposed miss darcy likely to give them any uneasiness convinced her that she had somehow or other got pretty near the truth she directly replied you need not be frightened i never heard any harm of her and i dare say she is one of the most tractable creatures in the world she is a very great favourite with some ladies of my acquaintance mrs hurst and miss bingley i think i have heard you say that you know them i know them a little their brother is a pleasant gentlemanlike manhe is a great friend of darcys oh yes said elizabeth drily mr darcy is uncommonly kind to mr bingley and takes a prodigious deal of care of him care of him yes i really believe darcy does take care of him in those points where he most wants care from something that he told me in our journey hither i have reason to think bingley very much indebted to him but i ought to beg his pardon for i have no right to suppose that bingley was the person meant it was all conjecture what is it you mean it is a circumstance which darcy could not wish to be generally known because if it were to get round to the ladys family it would be an unpleasant thing you may depend upon my not mentioning it and remember that i have not much reason for supposing it to be bingley what he told me was merely this that he congratulated himself on having lately saved a friend from the inconveniences of a most imprudent marriage but without mentioning names or any other particulars and i only suspected it to be bingley from believing him the kind of young man to get into a scrape of that sort and from knowing them to have been together the whole of last summer did mr darcy give you reasons for this interference i understood that there were some very strong objections against the lady and what arts did he use to separate them he did not talk to me of his own arts said fitzwilliam smiling he only told me what i have now told you elizabeth made no answer and walked on her heart swelling with indignation after watching her a little fitzwilliam asked her why she was so thoughtful i am thinking of what you have been telling me said she your cousins conduct does not suit my feelings why was he to be the judge you are rather disposed to call his interference officious i do not see what right mr darcy had to decide on the propriety of his friends inclination or why upon his own judgement alone he was to determine and direct in what manner his friend was to be happy but she continued recollecting herself as we know none of the particulars it is not fair to condemn him it is not to be supposed that there was much affection in the case that is not an unnatural surmise said fitzwilliam but it is a lessening of the honour of my cousins triumph very sadly this was spoken jestingly but it appeared to her so just a picture of mr darcy that she would not trust herself with an answer and therefore abruptly changing the conversation talked on indifferent matters until they reached the parsonage there shut into her own room as soon as their visitor left them she could think without interruption of all that she had heard it was not to be supposed that any other people could be meant than those with whom she was connected there could not exist in the world two men over whom mr darcy could have such boundless influence that he had been concerned in the measures taken to separate bingley and jane she had never doubted but she had always attributed to miss bingley the principal design and arrangement of them if his own vanity however did not mislead him he was the cause his pride and caprice were the cause of all that jane had suffered and still continued to suffer he had ruined for a while every hope of happiness for the most affectionate generous heart in the world and no one could say how lasting an evil he might have inflicted there were some very strong objections against the lady were colonel fitzwilliams words and those strong objections probably were her having one uncle who was a country attorney and another who was in business in london to jane herself she exclaimed there could be no possibility of objection all loveliness and goodness as she isher understanding excellent her mind improved and her manners captivating neither could anything be urged against my father who though with some peculiarities has abilities mr darcy himself need not disdain and respectability which he will probably never reach when she thought of her mother her confidence gave way a little but she would not allow that any objections there had material weight with mr darcy whose pride she was convinced would receive a deeper wound from the want of importance in his friends connections than from their want of sense and she was quite decided at last that he had been partly governed by this worst kind of pride and partly by the wish of retaining mr bingley for his sister the agitation and tears which the subject occasioned brought on a headache and it grew so much worse towards the evening that added to her unwillingness to see mr darcy it determined her not to attend her cousins to rosings where they were engaged to drink tea mrs collins seeing that she was really unwell did not press her to go and as much as possible prevented her husband from pressing her but mr collins could not conceal his apprehension of lady catherines being rather displeased by her staying at home when they were gone elizabeth as if intending to exasperate herself as much as possible against mr darcy chose for her employment the examination of all the letters which jane had written to her since her being in kent they contained no actual complaint nor was there any revival of past occurrences or any communication of present suffering but in all and in almost every line of each there was a want of that cheerfulness which had been used to characterise her style and which proceeding from the serenity of a mind at ease with itself and kindly disposed towards everyone had been scarcely ever clouded elizabeth noticed every sentence conveying the idea of uneasiness with an attention which it had hardly received on the first perusal mr darcys shameful boast of what misery he had been able to inflict gave her a keener sense of her sisters sufferings it was some consolation to think that his visit to rosings was to end on the day after the nextand a still greater that in less than a fortnight she should herself be with jane again and enabled to contribute to the recovery of her spirits by all that affection could do she could not think of darcys leaving kent without remembering that his cousin was to go with him but colonel fitzwilliam had made it clear that he had no intentions at all and agreeable as he was she did not mean to be unhappy about him while settling this point she was suddenly roused by the sound of the doorbell and her spirits were a little fluttered by the idea of its being colonel fitzwilliam himself who had once before called late in the evening and might now come to enquire particularly after her but this idea was soon banished and her spirits were very differently affected when to her utter amazement she saw mr darcy walk into the room in an hurried manner he immediately began an enquiry after her health imputing his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better she answered him with cold civility he sat down for a few moments and then getting up walked about the room elizabeth was surprised but said not a word after a silence of several minutes he came towards her in an agitated manner and thus began in vain i have struggled it will not do my feelings will not be repressed you must allow me to tell you how ardently i admire and love you elizabeths astonishment was beyond expression she stared coloured doubted and was silent this he considered sufficient encouragement and the avowal of all that he felt and had long felt for her immediately followed he spoke well but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride his sense of her inferiorityof its being a degradationof the family obstacles which had always opposed to inclination were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding but was very unlikely to recommend his suit in spite of her deeplyrooted dislike she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a mans affection and though her intentions did not vary for an instant she was at first sorry for the pain he was to receive till roused to resentment by his subsequent language she lost all compassion in anger she tried however to compose herself to answer him with patience when he should have done he concluded with representing to her the strength of that attachment which in spite of all his endeavours he had found impossible to conquer and with expressing his hope that it would now be rewarded by her acceptance of his hand as he said this she could easily see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer he spoke of apprehension and anxiety but his countenance expressed real security such a circumstance could only exasperate farther and when he ceased the colour rose into her cheeks and she said in such cases as this it is i believe the established mode to express a sense of obligation for the sentiments avowed however unequally they may be returned it is natural that obligation should be felt and if i could feel gratitude i would now thank you but i cannoti have never desired your good opinion and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly i am sorry to have occasioned pain to anyone it has been most unconsciously done however and i hope will be of short duration the feelings which you tell me have long prevented the acknowledgment of your regard can have little difficulty in overcoming it after this explanation mr darcy who was leaning against the mantelpiece with his eyes fixed on her face seemed to catch her words with no less resentment than surprise his complexion became pale with anger and the disturbance of his mind was visible in every feature he was struggling for the appearance of composure and would not open his lips till he believed himself to have attained it the pause was to elizabeths feelings dreadful at length with a voice of forced calmness he said and this is all the reply which i am to have the honour of expecting i might perhaps wish to be informed why with so little endeavour at civility i am thus rejected but it is of small importance i might as well enquire replied she why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will against your reason and even against your character was not this some excuse for incivility if i was uncivil but i have other provocations you know i have had not my feelings decided against youhad they been indifferent or had they even been favourable do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining perhaps for ever the happiness of a most beloved sister as she pronounced these words mr darcy changed colour but the emotion was short and he listened without attempting to interrupt her while she continued i have every reason in the world to think ill of you no motive can excuse the unjust and ungenerous part you acted there you dare not you cannot deny that you have been the principal if not the only means of dividing them from each otherof exposing one to the censure of the world for caprice and instability and the other to its derision for disappointed hopes and involving them both in misery of the acutest kind she paused and saw with no slight indignation that he was listening with an air which proved him wholly unmoved by any feeling of remorse he even looked at her with a smile of affected incredulity can you deny that you have done it she repeated with assumed tranquillity he then replied i have no wish of denying that i did everything in my power to separate my friend from your sister or that i rejoice in my success towards him i have been kinder than towards myself elizabeth disdained the appearance of noticing this civil reflection but its meaning did not escape nor was it likely to conciliate her but it is not merely this affair she continued on which my dislike is founded long before it had taken place my opinion of you was decided your character was unfolded in the recital which i received many months ago from mr wickham on this subject what can you have to say in what imaginary act of friendship can you here defend yourself or under what misrepresentation can you here impose upon others you take an eager interest in that gentlemans concerns said darcy in a less tranquil tone and with a heightened colour who that knows what his misfortunes have been can help feeling an interest in him his misfortunes repeated darcy contemptuously yes his misfortunes have been great indeed and of your infliction cried elizabeth with energy you have reduced him to his present state of povertycomparative poverty you have withheld the advantages which you must know to have been designed for him you have deprived the best years of his life of that independence which was no less his due than his desert you have done all this and yet you can treat the mention of his misfortune with contempt and ridicule and this cried darcy as he walked with quick steps across the room is your opinion of me this is the estimation in which you hold me i thank you for explaining it so fully my faults according to this calculation are heavy indeed but perhaps added he stopping in his walk and turning towards her these offenses might have been overlooked had not your pride been hurt by my honest confession of the scruples that had long prevented my forming any serious design these bitter accusations might have been suppressed had i with greater policy concealed my struggles and flattered you into the belief of my being impelled by unqualified unalloyed inclination by reason by reflection by everything but disguise of every sort is my abhorrence nor am i ashamed of the feelings i related they were natural and just could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connectionsto congratulate myself on the hope of relations whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own elizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment yet she tried to the utmost to speak with composure when she said you are mistaken mr darcy if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way than as it spared me the concern which i might have felt in refusing you had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner she saw him start at this but he said nothing and she continued you could not have made the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it again his astonishment was obvious and he looked at her with an expression of mingled incredulity and mortification she went on from the very beginningfrom the first moment i may almost sayof my acquaintance with you your manners impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance your conceit and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike and i had not known you a month before i felt that you were the last man in the world whom i could ever be prevailed on to marry you have said quite enough madam i perfectly comprehend your feelings and have now only to be ashamed of what my own have been forgive me for having taken up so much of your time and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness and with these words he hastily left the room and elizabeth heard him the next moment open the front door and quit the house the tumult of her mind was now painfully great she knew not how to support herself and from actual weakness sat down and cried for halfanhour her astonishment as she reflected on what had passed was increased by every review of it that she should receive an offer of marriage from mr darcy that he should have been in love with her for so many months so much in love as to wish to marry her in spite of all the objections which had made him prevent his friends marrying her sister and which must appear at least with equal force in his own casewas almost incredible it was gratifying to have inspired unconsciously so strong an affection but his pride his abominable pridehis shameless avowal of what he had done with respect to janehis unpardonable assurance in acknowledging though he could not justify it and the unfeeling manner in which he had mentioned mr wickham his cruelty towards whom he had not attempted to deny soon overcame the pity which the consideration of his attachment had for a moment excited she continued in very agitated reflections till the sound of lady catherines carriage made her feel how unequal she was to encounter charlottes observation and hurried her away to her room elizabeth awoke the next morning to the same thoughts and meditations which had at length closed her eyes she could not yet recover from the surprise of what had happened it was impossible to think of anything else and totally indisposed for employment she resolved soon after breakfast to indulge herself in air and exercise she was proceeding directly to her favourite walk when the recollection of mr darcys sometimes coming there stopped her and instead of entering the park she turned up the lane which led farther from the turnpikeroad the park paling was still the boundary on one side and she soon passed one of the gates into the ground after walking two or three times along that part of the lane she was tempted by the pleasantness of the morning to stop at the gates and look into the park the five weeks which she had now passed in kent had made a great difference in the country and every day was adding to the verdure of the early trees she was on the point of continuing her walk when she caught a glimpse of a gentleman within the sort of grove which edged the park he was moving that way and fearful of its being mr darcy she was directly retreating but the person who advanced was now near enough to see her and stepping forward with eagerness pronounced her name she had turned away but on hearing herself called though in a voice which proved it to be mr darcy she moved again towards the gate he had by that time reached it also and holding out a letter which she instinctively took said with a look of haughty composure i have been walking in the grove some time in the hope of meeting you will you do me the honour of reading that letter and then with a slight bow turned again into the plantation and was soon out of sight with no expectation of pleasure but with the strongest curiosity elizabeth opened the letter and to her still increasing wonder perceived an envelope containing two sheets of letterpaper written quite through in a very close hand the envelope itself was likewise full pursuing her way along the lane she then began it it was dated from rosings at eight oclock in the morning and was as follows be not alarmed madam on receiving this letter by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments or renewal of those offers which were last night so disgusting to you i write without any intention of paining you or humbling myself by dwelling on wishes which for the happiness of both cannot be too soon forgotten and the effort which the formation and the perusal of this letter must occasion should have been spared had not my character required it to be written and read you must therefore pardon the freedom with which i demand your attention your feelings i know will bestow it unwillingly but i demand it of your justice two offenses of a very different nature and by no means of equal magnitude you last night laid to my charge the first mentioned was that regardless of the sentiments of either i had detached mr bingley from your sister and the other that i had in defiance of various claims in defiance of honour and humanity ruined the immediate prosperity and blasted the prospects of mr wickham wilfully and wantonly to have thrown off the companion of my youth the acknowledged favourite of my father a young man who had scarcely any other dependence than on our patronage and who had been brought up to expect its exertion would be a depravity to which the separation of two young persons whose affection could be the growth of only a few weeks could bear no comparison but from the severity of that blame which was last night so liberally bestowed respecting each circumstance i shall hope to be in the future secured when the following account of my actions and their motives has been read if in the explanation of them which is due to myself i am under the necessity of relating feelings which may be offensive to yours i can only say that i am sorry the necessity must be obeyed and further apology would be absurd i had not been long in hertfordshire before i saw in common with others that bingley preferred your elder sister to any other young woman in the country but it was not till the evening of the dance at netherfield that i had any apprehension of his feeling a serious attachment i had often seen him in love before at that ball while i had the honour of dancing with you i was first made acquainted by sir william lucass accidental information that bingleys attentions to your sister had given rise to a general expectation of their marriage he spoke of it as a certain event of which the time alone could be undecided from that moment i observed my friends behaviour attentively and i could then perceive that his partiality for miss bennet was beyond what i had ever witnessed in him your sister i also watched her look and manners were open cheerful and engaging as ever but without any symptom of peculiar regard and i remained convinced from the evenings scrutiny that though she received his attentions with pleasure she did not invite them by any participation of sentiment if you have not been mistaken here i must have been in error your superior knowledge of your sister must make the latter probable if it be so if i have been misled by such error to inflict pain on her your resentment has not been unreasonable but i shall not scruple to assert that the serenity of your sisters countenance and air was such as might have given the most acute observer a conviction that however amiable her temper her heart was not likely to be easily touched that i was desirous of believing her indifferent is certainbut i will venture to say that my investigation and decisions are not usually influenced by my hopes or fears i did not believe her to be indifferent because i wished it i believed it on impartial conviction as truly as i wished it in reason my objections to the marriage were not merely those which i last night acknowledged to have required the utmost force of passion to put aside in my own case the want of connection could not be so great an evil to my friend as to me but there were other causes of repugnance causes which though still existing and existing to an equal degree in both instances i had myself endeavoured to forget because they were not immediately before me these causes must be stated though briefly the situation of your mothers family though objectionable was nothing in comparison to that total want of propriety so frequently so almost uniformly betrayed by herself by your three younger sisters and occasionally even by your father pardon me it pains me to offend you but amidst your concern for the defects of your nearest relations and your displeasure at this representation of them let it give you consolation to consider that to have conducted yourselves so as to avoid any share of the like censure is praise no less generally bestowed on you and your elder sister than it is honourable to the sense and disposition of both i will only say farther that from what passed that evening my opinion of all parties was confirmed and every inducement heightened which could have led me before to preserve my friend from what i esteemed a most unhappy connection he left netherfield for london on the day following as you i am certain remember with the design of soon returning the part which i acted is now to be explained his sisters uneasiness had been equally excited with my own our coincidence of feeling was soon discovered and alike sensible that no time was to be lost in detaching their brother we shortly resolved on joining him directly in london we accordingly wentand there i readily engaged in the office of pointing out to my friend the certain evils of such a choice i described and enforced them earnestly but however this remonstrance might have staggered or delayed his determination i do not suppose that it would ultimately have prevented the marriage had it not been seconded by the assurance that i hesitated not in giving of your sisters indifference he had before believed her to return his affection with sincere if not with equal regard but bingley has great natural modesty with a stronger dependence on my judgement than on his own to convince him therefore that he had deceived himself was no very difficult point to persuade him against returning into hertfordshire when that conviction had been given was scarcely the work of a moment i cannot blame myself for having done thus much there is but one part of my conduct in the whole affair on which i do not reflect with satisfaction it is that i condescended to adopt the measures of art so far as to conceal from him your sisters being in town i knew it myself as it was known to miss bingley but her brother is even yet ignorant of it that they might have met without ill consequence is perhaps probable but his regard did not appear to me enough extinguished for him to see her without some danger perhaps this concealment this disguise was beneath me it is done however and it was done for the best on this subject i have nothing more to say no other apology to offer if i have wounded your sisters feelings it was unknowingly done and though the motives which governed me may to you very naturally appear insufficient i have not yet learnt to condemn them with respect to that other more weighty accusation of having injured mr wickham i can only refute it by laying before you the whole of his connection with my family of what he has particularly accused me i am ignorant but of the truth of what i shall relate i can summon more than one witness of undoubted veracity mr wickham is the son of a very respectable man who had for many years the management of all the pemberley estates and whose good conduct in the discharge of his trust naturally inclined my father to be of service to him and on george wickham who was his godson his kindness was therefore liberally bestowed my father supported him at school and afterwards at cambridgemost important assistance as his own father always poor from the extravagance of his wife would have been unable to give him a gentlemans education my father was not only fond of this young mans society whose manners were always engaging he had also the highest opinion of him and hoping the church would be his profession intended to provide for him in it as for myself it is many many years since i first began to think of him in a very different manner the vicious propensitiesthe want of principle which he was careful to guard from the knowledge of his best friend could not escape the observation of a young man of nearly the same age with himself and who had opportunities of seeing him in unguarded moments which mr darcy could not have here again i shall give you painto what degree you only can tell but whatever may be the sentiments which mr wickham has created a suspicion of their nature shall not prevent me from unfolding his real characterit adds even another motive my excellent father died about five years ago and his attachment to mr wickham was to the last so steady that in his will he particularly recommended it to me to promote his advancement in the best manner that his profession might allowand if he took orders desired that a valuable family living might be his as soon as it became vacant there was also a legacy of one thousand pounds his own father did not long survive mine and within half a year from these events mr wickham wrote to inform me that having finally resolved against taking orders he hoped i should not think it unreasonable for him to expect some more immediate pecuniary advantage in lieu of the preferment by which he could not be benefited he had some intention he added of studying law and i must be aware that the interest of one thousand pounds would be a very insufficient support therein i rather wished than believed him to be sincere but at any rate was perfectly ready to accede to his proposal i knew that mr wickham ought not to be a clergyman the business was therefore soon settledhe resigned all claim to assistance in the church were it possible that he could ever be in a situation to receive it and accepted in return three thousand pounds all connection between us seemed now dissolved i thought too ill of him to invite him to pemberley or admit his society in town in town i believe he chiefly lived but his studying the law was a mere pretence and being now free from all restraint his life was a life of idleness and dissipation for about three years i heard little of him but on the decease of the incumbent of the living which had been designed for him he applied to me again by letter for the presentation his circumstances he assured me and i had no difficulty in believing it were exceedingly bad he had found the law a most unprofitable study and was now absolutely resolved on being ordained if i would present him to the living in questionof which he trusted there could be little doubt as he was well assured that i had no other person to provide for and i could not have forgotten my revered fathers intentions you will hardly blame me for refusing to comply with this entreaty or for resisting every repetition to it his resentment was in proportion to the distress of his circumstancesand he was doubtless as violent in his abuse of me to others as in his reproaches to myself after this period every appearance of acquaintance was dropped how he lived i know not but last summer he was again most painfully obtruded on my notice i must now mention a circumstance which i would wish to forget myself and which no obligation less than the present should induce me to unfold to any human being having said thus much i feel no doubt of your secrecy my sister who is more than ten years my junior was left to the guardianship of my mothers nephew colonel fitzwilliam and myself about a year ago she was taken from school and an establishment formed for her in london and last summer she went with the lady who presided over it to ramsgate and thither also went mr wickham undoubtedly by design for there proved to have been a prior acquaintance between him and mrs younge in whose character we were most unhappily deceived and by her connivance and aid he so far recommended himself to georgiana whose affectionate heart retained a strong impression of his kindness to her as a child that she was persuaded to believe herself in love and to consent to an elopement she was then but fifteen which must be her excuse and after stating her imprudence i am happy to add that i owed the knowledge of it to herself i joined them unexpectedly a day or two before the intended elopement and then georgiana unable to support the idea of grieving and offending a brother whom she almost looked up to as a father acknowledged the whole to me you may imagine what i felt and how i acted regard for my sisters credit and feelings prevented any public exposure but i wrote to mr wickham who left the place immediately and mrs younge was of course removed from her charge mr wickhams chief object was unquestionably my sisters fortune which is thirty thousand pounds but i cannot help supposing that the hope of revenging himself on me was a strong inducement his revenge would have been complete indeed this madam is a faithful narrative of every event in which we have been concerned together and if you do not absolutely reject it as false you will i hope acquit me henceforth of cruelty towards mr wickham i know not in what manner under what form of falsehood he had imposed on you but his success is not perhaps to be wondered at ignorant as you previously were of everything concerning either detection could not be in your power and suspicion certainly not in your inclination you may possibly wonder why all this was not told you last night but i was not then master enough of myself to know what could or ought to be revealed for the truth of everything here related i can appeal more particularly to the testimony of colonel fitzwilliam who from our near relationship and constant intimacy and still more as one of the executors of my fathers will has been unavoidably acquainted with every particular of these transactions if your abhorrence of me should make my assertions valueless you cannot be prevented by the same cause from confiding in my cousin and that there may be the possibility of consulting him i shall endeavour to find some opportunity of putting this letter in your hands in the course of the morning i will only add god bless you fitzwilliam darcy if elizabeth when mr darcy gave her the letter did not expect it to contain a renewal of his offers she had formed no expectation at all of its contents but such as they were it may well be supposed how eagerly she went through them and what a contrariety of emotion they excited her feelings as she read were scarcely to be defined with amazement did she first understand that he believed any apology to be in his power and steadfastly was she persuaded that he could have no explanation to give which a just sense of shame would not conceal with a strong prejudice against everything he might say she began his account of what had happened at netherfield she read with an eagerness which hardly left her power of comprehension and from impatience of knowing what the next sentence might bring was incapable of attending to the sense of the one before her eyes his belief of her sisters insensibility she instantly resolved to be false and his account of the real the worst objections to the match made her too angry to have any wish of doing him justice he expressed no regret for what he had done which satisfied her his style was not penitent but haughty it was all pride and insolence but when this subject was succeeded by his account of mr wickhamwhen she read with somewhat clearer attention a relation of events which if true must overthrow every cherished opinion of his worth and which bore so alarming an affinity to his own history of himselfher feelings were yet more acutely painful and more difficult of definition astonishment apprehension and even horror oppressed her she wished to discredit it entirely repeatedly exclaiming this must be false this cannot be this must be the grossest falsehoodand when she had gone through the whole letter though scarcely knowing anything of the last page or two put it hastily away protesting that she would not regard it that she would never look in it again in this perturbed state of mind with thoughts that could rest on nothing she walked on but it would not do in half a minute the letter was unfolded again and collecting herself as well as she could she again began the mortifying perusal of all that related to wickham and commanded herself so far as to examine the meaning of every sentence the account of his connection with the pemberley family was exactly what he had related himself and the kindness of the late mr darcy though she had not before known its extent agreed equally well with his own words so far each recital confirmed the other but when she came to the will the difference was great what wickham had said of the living was fresh in her memory and as she recalled his very words it was impossible not to feel that there was gross duplicity on one side or the other and for a few moments she flattered herself that her wishes did not err but when she read and reread with the closest attention the particulars immediately following of wickhams resigning all pretensions to the living of his receiving in lieu so considerable a sum as three thousand pounds again was she forced to hesitate she put down the letter weighed every circumstance with what she meant to be impartialitydeliberated on the probability of each statementbut with little success on both sides it was only assertion again she read on but every line proved more clearly that the affair which she had believed it impossible that any contrivance could so represent as to render mr darcys conduct in it less than infamous was capable of a turn which must make him entirely blameless throughout the whole the extravagance and general profligacy which he scrupled not to lay at mr wickhams charge exceedingly shocked her the more so as she could bring no proof of its injustice she had never heard of him before his entrance into the shire militia in which he had engaged at the persuasion of the young man who on meeting him accidentally in town had there renewed a slight acquaintance of his former way of life nothing had been known in hertfordshire but what he told himself as to his real character had information been in her power she had never felt a wish of enquiring his countenance voice and manner had established him at once in the possession of every virtue she tried to recollect some instance of goodness some distinguished trait of integrity or benevolence that might rescue him from the attacks of mr darcy or at least by the predominance of virtue atone for those casual errors under which she would endeavour to class what mr darcy had described as the idleness and vice of many years continuance but no such recollection befriended her she could see him instantly before her in every charm of air and address but she could remember no more substantial good than the general approbation of the neighbourhood and the regard which his social powers had gained him in the mess after pausing on this point a considerable while she once more continued to read but alas the story which followed of his designs on miss darcy received some confirmation from what had passed between colonel fitzwilliam and herself only the morning before and at last she was referred for the truth of every particular to colonel fitzwilliam himselffrom whom she had previously received the information of his near concern in all his cousins affairs and whose character she had no reason to question at one time she had almost resolved on applying to him but the idea was checked by the awkwardness of the application and at length wholly banished by the conviction that mr darcy would never have hazarded such a proposal if he had not been well assured of his cousins corroboration she perfectly remembered everything that had passed in conversation between wickham and herself in their first evening at mr phillipss many of his expressions were still fresh in her memory she was now struck with the impropriety of such communications to a stranger and wondered it had escaped her before she saw the indelicacy of putting himself forward as he had done and the inconsistency of his professions with his conduct she remembered that he had boasted of having no fear of seeing mr darcythat mr darcy might leave the country but that he should stand his ground yet he had avoided the netherfield ball the very next week she remembered also that till the netherfield family had quitted the country he had told his story to no one but herself but that after their removal it had been everywhere discussed that he had then no reserves no scruples in sinking mr darcys character though he had assured her that respect for the father would always prevent his exposing the son how differently did everything now appear in which he was concerned his attentions to miss king were now the consequence of views solely and hatefully mercenary and the mediocrity of her fortune proved no longer the moderation of his wishes but his eagerness to grasp at anything his behaviour to herself could now have had no tolerable motive he had either been deceived with regard to her fortune or had been gratifying his vanity by encouraging the preference which she believed she had most incautiously shown every lingering struggle in his favour grew fainter and fainter and in farther justification of mr darcy she could not but allow that mr bingley when questioned by jane had long ago asserted his blamelessness in the affair that proud and repulsive as were his manners she had never in the whole course of their acquaintancean acquaintance which had latterly brought them much together and given her a sort of intimacy with his waysseen anything that betrayed him to be unprincipled or unjustanything that spoke him of irreligious or immoral habits that among his own connections he was esteemed and valuedthat even wickham had allowed him merit as a brother and that she had often heard him speak so affectionately of his sister as to prove him capable of some amiable feeling that had his actions been what mr wickham represented them so gross a violation of everything right could hardly have been concealed from the world and that friendship between a person capable of it and such an amiable man as mr bingley was incomprehensible she grew absolutely ashamed of herself of neither darcy nor wickham could she think without feeling she had been blind partial prejudiced absurd how despicably i have acted she cried i who have prided myself on my discernment i who have valued myself on my abilities who have often disdained the generous candour of my sister and gratified my vanity in useless or blameable mistrust how humiliating is this discovery yet how just a humiliation had i been in love i could not have been more wretchedly blind but vanity not love has been my folly pleased with the preference of one and offended by the neglect of the other on the very beginning of our acquaintance i have courted prepossession and ignorance and driven reason away where either were concerned till this moment i never knew myself from herself to janefrom jane to bingley her thoughts were in a line which soon brought to her recollection that mr darcys explanation there had appeared very insufficient and she read it again widely different was the effect of a second perusal how could she deny that credit to his assertions in one instance which she had been obliged to give in the other he declared himself to be totally unsuspicious of her sisters attachment and she could not help remembering what charlottes opinion had always been neither could she deny the justice of his description of jane she felt that janes feelings though fervent were little displayed and that there was a constant complacency in her air and manner not often united with great sensibility when she came to that part of the letter in which her family were mentioned in terms of such mortifying yet merited reproach her sense of shame was severe the justice of the charge struck her too forcibly for denial and the circumstances to which he particularly alluded as having passed at the netherfield ball and as confirming all his first disapprobation could not have made a stronger impression on his mind than on hers the compliment to herself and her sister was not unfelt it soothed but it could not console her for the contempt which had thus been selfattracted by the rest of her family and as she considered that janes disappointment had in fact been the work of her nearest relations and reflected how materially the credit of both must be hurt by such impropriety of conduct she felt depressed beyond anything she had ever known before after wandering along the lane for two hours giving way to every variety of thoughtreconsidering events determining probabilities and reconciling herself as well as she could to a change so sudden and so important fatigue and a recollection of her long absence made her at length return home and she entered the house with the wish of appearing cheerful as usual and the resolution of repressing such reflections as must make her unfit for conversation she was immediately told that the two gentlemen from rosings had each called during her absence mr darcy only for a few minutes to take leavebut that colonel fitzwilliam had been sitting with them at least an hour hoping for her return and almost resolving to walk after her till she could be found elizabeth could but just affect concern in missing him she really rejoiced at it colonel fitzwilliam was no longer an object she could think only of her letter the two gentlemen left rosings the next morning and mr collins having been in waiting near the lodges to make them his parting obeisance was able to bring home the pleasing intelligence of their appearing in very good health and in as tolerable spirits as could be expected after the melancholy scene so lately gone through at rosings to rosings he then hastened to console lady catherine and her daughter and on his return brought back with great satisfaction a message from her ladyship importing that she felt herself so dull as to make her very desirous of having them all to dine with her elizabeth could not see lady catherine without recollecting that had she chosen it she might by this time have been presented to her as her future niece nor could she think without a smile of what her ladyships indignation would have been what would she have said how would she have behaved were questions with which she amused herself their first subject was the diminution of the rosings party i assure you i feel it exceedingly said lady catherine i believe no one feels the loss of friends so much as i do but i am particularly attached to these young men and know them to be so much attached to me they were excessively sorry to go but so they always are the dear colonel rallied his spirits tolerably till just at last but darcy seemed to feel it most acutely more i think than last year his attachment to rosings certainly increases mr collins had a compliment and an allusion to throw in here which were kindly smiled on by the mother and daughter lady catherine observed after dinner that miss bennet seemed out of spirits and immediately accounting for it herself by supposing that she did not like to go home again so soon she added but if that is the case you must write to your mother and beg that you may stay a little longer mrs collins will be very glad of your company i am sure i am much obliged to your ladyship for your kind invitation replied elizabeth but it is not in my power to accept it i must be in town next saturday why at that rate you will have been here only six weeks i expected you to stay two months i told mrs collins so before you came there can be no occasion for your going so soon mrs bennet could certainly spare you for another fortnight but my father cannot he wrote last week to hurry my return oh your father of course may spare you if your mother can daughters are never of so much consequence to a father and if you will stay another month complete it will be in my power to take one of you as far as london for i am going there early in june for a week and as dawson does not object to the barouchebox there will be very good room for one of youand indeed if the weather should happen to be cool i should not object to taking you both as you are neither of you large you are all kindness madam but i believe we must abide by our original plan lady catherine seemed resigned mrs collins you must send a servant with them you know i always speak my mind and i cannot bear the idea of two young women travelling post by themselves it is highly improper you must contrive to send somebody i have the greatest dislike in the world to that sort of thing young women should always be properly guarded and attended according to their situation in life when my niece georgiana went to ramsgate last summer i made a point of her having two menservants go with her miss darcy the daughter of mr darcy of pemberley and lady anne could not have appeared with propriety in a different manner i am excessively attentive to all those things you must send john with the young ladies mrs collins i am glad it occurred to me to mention it for it would really be discreditable to you to let them go alone my uncle is to send a servant for us oh your uncle he keeps a manservant does he i am very glad you have somebody who thinks of these things where shall you change horses oh bromley of course if you mention my name at the bell you will be attended to lady catherine had many other questions to ask respecting their journey and as she did not answer them all herself attention was necessary which elizabeth believed to be lucky for her or with a mind so occupied she might have forgotten where she was reflection must be reserved for solitary hours whenever she was alone she gave way to it as the greatest relief and not a day went by without a solitary walk in which she might indulge in all the delight of unpleasant recollections mr darcys letter she was in a fair way of soon knowing by heart she studied every sentence and her feelings towards its writer were at times widely different when she remembered the style of his address she was still full of indignation but when she considered how unjustly she had condemned and upbraided him her anger was turned against herself and his disappointed feelings became the object of compassion his attachment excited gratitude his general character respect but she could not approve him nor could she for a moment repent her refusal or feel the slightest inclination ever to see him again in her own past behaviour there was a constant source of vexation and regret and in the unhappy defects of her family a subject of yet heavier chagrin they were hopeless of remedy her father contented with laughing at them would never exert himself to restrain the wild giddiness of his youngest daughters and her mother with manners so far from right herself was entirely insensible of the evil elizabeth had frequently united with jane in an endeavour to check the imprudence of catherine and lydia but while they were supported by their mothers indulgence what chance could there be of improvement catherine weakspirited irritable and completely under lydias guidance had been always affronted by their advice and lydia selfwilled and careless would scarcely give them a hearing they were ignorant idle and vain while there was an officer in meryton they would flirt with him and while meryton was within a walk of longbourn they would be going there forever anxiety on janes behalf was another prevailing concern and mr darcys explanation by restoring bingley to all her former good opinion heightened the sense of what jane had lost his affection was proved to have been sincere and his conduct cleared of all blame unless any could attach to the implicitness of his confidence in his friend how grievous then was the thought that of a situation so desirable in every respect so replete with advantage so promising for happiness jane had been deprived by the folly and indecorum of her own family when to these recollections was added the development of wickhams character it may be easily believed that the happy spirits which had seldom been depressed before were now so much affected as to make it almost impossible for her to appear tolerably cheerful their engagements at rosings were as frequent during the last week of her stay as they had been at first the very last evening was spent there and her ladyship again enquired minutely into the particulars of their journey gave them directions as to the best method of packing and was so urgent on the necessity of placing gowns in the only right way that maria thought herself obliged on her return to undo all the work of the morning and pack her trunk afresh when they parted lady catherine with great condescension wished them a good journey and invited them to come to hunsford again next year and miss de bourgh exerted herself so far as to curtsey and hold out her hand to both on saturday morning elizabeth and mr collins met for breakfast a few minutes before the others appeared and he took the opportunity of paying the parting civilities which he deemed indispensably necessary i know not miss elizabeth said he whether mrs collins has yet expressed her sense of your kindness in coming to us but i am very certain you will not leave the house without receiving her thanks for it the favour of your company has been much felt i assure you we know how little there is to tempt anyone to our humble abode our plain manner of living our small rooms and few domestics and the little we see of the world must make hunsford extremely dull to a young lady like yourself but i hope you will believe us grateful for the condescension and that we have done everything in our power to prevent your spending your time unpleasantly elizabeth was eager with her thanks and assurances of happiness she had spent six weeks with great enjoyment and the pleasure of being with charlotte and the kind attentions she had received must make her feel the obliged mr collins was gratified and with a more smiling solemnity replied it gives me great pleasure to hear that you have passed your time not disagreeably we have certainly done our best and most fortunately having it in our power to introduce you to very superior society and from our connection with rosings the frequent means of varying the humble home scene i think we may flatter ourselves that your hunsford visit cannot have been entirely irksome our situation with regard to lady catherines family is indeed the sort of extraordinary advantage and blessing which few can boast you see on what a footing we are you see how continually we are engaged there in truth i must acknowledge that with all the disadvantages of this humble parsonage i should not think anyone abiding in it an object of compassion while they are sharers of our intimacy at rosings words were insufficient for the elevation of his feelings and he was obliged to walk about the room while elizabeth tried to unite civility and truth in a few short sentences you may in fact carry a very favourable report of us into hertfordshire my dear cousin i flatter myself at least that you will be able to do so lady catherines great attentions to mrs collins you have been a daily witness of and altogether i trust it does not appear that your friend has drawn an unfortunatebut on this point it will be as well to be silent only let me assure you my dear miss elizabeth that i can from my heart most cordially wish you equal felicity in marriage my dear charlotte and i have but one mind and one way of thinking there is in everything a most remarkable resemblance of character and ideas between us we seem to have been designed for each other elizabeth could safely say that it was a great happiness where that was the case and with equal sincerity could add that she firmly believed and rejoiced in his domestic comforts she was not sorry however to have the recital of them interrupted by the lady from whom they sprang poor charlotte it was melancholy to leave her to such society but she had chosen it with her eyes open and though evidently regretting that her visitors were to go she did not seem to ask for compassion her home and her housekeeping her parish and her poultry and all their dependent concerns had not yet lost their charms at length the chaise arrived the trunks were fastened on the parcels placed within and it was pronounced to be ready after an affectionate parting between the friends elizabeth was attended to the carriage by mr collins and as they walked down the garden he was commissioning her with his best respects to all her family not forgetting his thanks for the kindness he had received at longbourn in the winter and his compliments to mr and mrs gardiner though unknown he then handed her in maria followed and the door was on the point of being closed when he suddenly reminded them with some consternation that they had hitherto forgotten to leave any message for the ladies at rosings but he added you will of course wish to have your humble respects delivered to them with your grateful thanks for their kindness to you while you have been here elizabeth made no objection the door was then allowed to be shut and the carriage drove off good gracious cried maria after a few minutes silence it seems but a day or two since we first came and yet how many things have happened a great many indeed said her companion with a sigh we have dined nine times at rosings besides drinking tea there twice how much i shall have to tell elizabeth added privately and how much i shall have to conceal their journey was performed without much conversation or any alarm and within four hours of their leaving hunsford they reached mr gardiners house where they were to remain a few days jane looked well and elizabeth had little opportunity of studying her spirits amidst the various engagements which the kindness of her aunt had reserved for them but jane was to go home with her and at longbourn there would be leisure enough for observation it was not without an effort meanwhile that she could wait even for longbourn before she told her sister of mr darcys proposals to know that she had the power of revealing what would so exceedingly astonish jane and must at the same time so highly gratify whatever of her own vanity she had not yet been able to reason away was such a temptation to openness as nothing could have conquered but the state of indecision in which she remained as to the extent of what she should communicate and her fear if she once entered on the subject of being hurried into repeating something of bingley which might only grieve her sister further it was the second week in may in which the three young ladies set out together from gracechurch street for the town of in hertfordshire and as they drew near the appointed inn where mr bennets carriage was to meet them they quickly perceived in token of the coachmans punctuality both kitty and lydia looking out of a diningroom up stairs these two girls had been above an hour in the place happily employed in visiting an opposite milliner watching the sentinel on guard and dressing a salad and cucumber after welcoming their sisters they triumphantly displayed a table set out with such cold meat as an inn larder usually affords exclaiming is not this nice is not this an agreeable surprise and we mean to treat you all added lydia but you must lend us the money for we have just spent ours at the shop out there then showing her purchaseslook here i have bought this bonnet i do not think it is very pretty but i thought i might as well buy it as not i shall pull it to pieces as soon as i get home and see if i can make it up any better and when her sisters abused it as ugly she added with perfect unconcern oh but there were two or three much uglier in the shop and when i have bought some prettiercoloured satin to trim it with fresh i think it will be very tolerable besides it will not much signify what one wears this summer after the shire have left meryton and they are going in a fortnight are they indeed cried elizabeth with the greatest satisfaction they are going to be encamped near brighton and i do so want papa to take us all there for the summer it would be such a delicious scheme and i dare say would hardly cost anything at all mamma would like to go too of all things only think what a miserable summer else we shall have yes thought elizabeth that would be a delightful scheme indeed and completely do for us at once good heaven brighton and a whole campful of soldiers to us who have been overset already by one poor regiment of militia and the monthly balls of meryton now i have got some news for you said lydia as they sat down at table what do you think it is excellent newscapital newsand about a certain person we all like jane and elizabeth looked at each other and the waiter was told he need not stay lydia laughed and said aye that is just like your formality and discretion you thought the waiter must not hear as if he cared i dare say he often hears worse things said than i am going to say but he is an ugly fellow i am glad he is gone i never saw such a long chin in my life well but now for my news it is about dear wickham too good for the waiter is it not there is no danger of wickhams marrying mary king theres for you she is gone down to her uncle at liverpool gone to stay wickham is safe and mary king is safe added elizabeth safe from a connection imprudent as to fortune she is a great fool for going away if she liked him but i hope there is no strong attachment on either side said jane i am sure there is not on his i will answer for it he never cared three straws about herwho could about such a nasty little freckled thing elizabeth was shocked to think that however incapable of such coarseness of expression herself the coarseness of the sentiment was little other than her own breast had harboured and fancied liberal as soon as all had ate and the elder ones paid the carriage was ordered and after some contrivance the whole party with all their boxes workbags and parcels and the unwelcome addition of kittys and lydias purchases were seated in it how nicely we are all crammed in cried lydia i am glad i bought my bonnet if it is only for the fun of having another bandbox well now let us be quite comfortable and snug and talk and laugh all the way home and in the first place let us hear what has happened to you all since you went away have you seen any pleasant men have you had any flirting i was in great hopes that one of you would have got a husband before you came back jane will be quite an old maid soon i declare she is almost threeandtwenty lord how ashamed i should be of not being married before threeandtwenty my aunt phillips wants you so to get husbands you cant think she says lizzy had better have taken mr collins but i do not think there would have been any fun in it lord how i should like to be married before any of you and then i would chaperon you about to all the balls dear me we had such a good piece of fun the other day at colonel forsters kitty and me were to spend the day there and mrs forster promised to have a little dance in the evening by the bye mrs forster and me are such friends and so she asked the two harringtons to come but harriet was ill and so pen was forced to come by herself and then what do you think we did we dressed up chamberlayne in womans clothes on purpose to pass for a lady only think what fun not a soul knew of it but colonel and mrs forster and kitty and me except my aunt for we were forced to borrow one of her gowns and you cannot imagine how well he looked when denny and wickham and pratt and two or three more of the men came in they did not know him in the least lord how i laughed and so did mrs forster i thought i should have died and that made the men suspect something and then they soon found out what was the matter with such kinds of histories of their parties and good jokes did lydia assisted by kittys hints and additions endeavour to amuse her companions all the way to longbourn elizabeth listened as little as she could but there was no escaping the frequent mention of wickhams name their reception at home was most kind mrs bennet rejoiced to see jane in undiminished beauty and more than once during dinner did mr bennet say voluntarily to elizabeth i am glad you are come back lizzy their party in the diningroom was large for almost all the lucases came to meet maria and hear the news and various were the subjects that occupied them lady lucas was enquiring of maria after the welfare and poultry of her eldest daughter mrs bennet was doubly engaged on one hand collecting an account of the present fashions from jane who sat some way below her and on the other retailing them all to the younger lucases and lydia in a voice rather louder than any other persons was enumerating the various pleasures of the morning to anybody who would hear her oh mary said she i wish you had gone with us for we had such fun as we went along kitty and i drew up the blinds and pretended there was nobody in the coach and i should have gone so all the way if kitty had not been sick and when we got to the george i do think we behaved very handsomely for we treated the other three with the nicest cold luncheon in the world and if you would have gone we would have treated you too and then when we came away it was such fun i thought we never should have got into the coach i was ready to die of laughter and then we were so merry all the way home we talked and laughed so loud that anybody might have heard us ten miles off to this mary very gravely replied far be it from me my dear sister to depreciate such pleasures they would doubtless be congenial with the generality of female minds but i confess they would have no charms for mei should infinitely prefer a book but of this answer lydia heard not a word she seldom listened to anybody for more than half a minute and never attended to mary at all in the afternoon lydia was urgent with the rest of the girls to walk to meryton and to see how everybody went on but elizabeth steadily opposed the scheme it should not be said that the miss bennets could not be at home half a day before they were in pursuit of the officers there was another reason too for her opposition she dreaded seeing mr wickham again and was resolved to avoid it as long as possible the comfort to her of the regiments approaching removal was indeed beyond expression in a fortnight they were to goand once gone she hoped there could be nothing more to plague her on his account she had not been many hours at home before she found that the brighton scheme of which lydia had given them a hint at the inn was under frequent discussion between her parents elizabeth saw directly that her father had not the smallest intention of yielding but his answers were at the same time so vague and equivocal that her mother though often disheartened had never yet despaired of succeeding at last elizabeths impatience to acquaint jane with what had happened could no longer be overcome and at length resolving to suppress every particular in which her sister was concerned and preparing her to be surprised she related to her the next morning the chief of the scene between mr darcy and herself miss bennets astonishment was soon lessened by the strong sisterly partiality which made any admiration of elizabeth appear perfectly natural and all surprise was shortly lost in other feelings she was sorry that mr darcy should have delivered his sentiments in a manner so little suited to recommend them but still more was she grieved for the unhappiness which her sisters refusal must have given him his being so sure of succeeding was wrong said she and certainly ought not to have appeared but consider how much it must increase his disappointment indeed replied elizabeth i am heartily sorry for him but he has other feelings which will probably soon drive away his regard for me you do not blame me however for refusing him blame you oh no but you blame me for having spoken so warmly of wickham noi do not know that you were wrong in saying what you did but you will know it when i tell you what happened the very next day she then spoke of the letter repeating the whole of its contents as far as they concerned george wickham what a stroke was this for poor jane who would willingly have gone through the world without believing that so much wickedness existed in the whole race of mankind as was here collected in one individual nor was darcys vindication though grateful to her feelings capable of consoling her for such discovery most earnestly did she labour to prove the probability of error and seek to clear the one without involving the other this will not do said elizabeth you never will be able to make both of them good for anything take your choice but you must be satisfied with only one there is but such a quantity of merit between them just enough to make one good sort of man and of late it has been shifting about pretty much for my part i am inclined to believe it all darcys but you shall do as you choose it was some time however before a smile could be extorted from jane i do not know when i have been more shocked said she wickham so very bad it is almost past belief and poor mr darcy dear lizzy only consider what he must have suffered such a disappointment and with the knowledge of your ill opinion too and having to relate such a thing of his sister it is really too distressing i am sure you must feel it so oh no my regret and compassion are all done away by seeing you so full of both i know you will do him such ample justice that i am growing every moment more unconcerned and indifferent your profusion makes me saving and if you lament over him much longer my heart will be as light as a feather poor wickham there is such an expression of goodness in his countenance such an openness and gentleness in his manner there certainly was some great mismanagement in the education of those two young men one has got all the goodness and the other all the appearance of it i never thought mr darcy so deficient in the appearance of it as you used to do and yet i meant to be uncommonly clever in taking so decided a dislike to him without any reason it is such a spur to ones genius such an opening for wit to have a dislike of that kind one may be continually abusive without saying anything just but one cannot always be laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty lizzy when you first read that letter i am sure you could not treat the matter as you do now indeed i could not i was uncomfortable enough i may say unhappy and with no one to speak to about what i felt no jane to comfort me and say that i had not been so very weak and vain and nonsensical as i knew i had oh how i wanted you how unfortunate that you should have used such very strong expressions in speaking of wickham to mr darcy for now they do appear wholly undeserved certainly but the misfortune of speaking with bitterness is a most natural consequence of the prejudices i had been encouraging there is one point on which i want your advice i want to be told whether i ought or ought not to make our acquaintances in general understand wickhams character miss bennet paused a little and then replied surely there can be no occasion for exposing him so dreadfully what is your opinion that it ought not to be attempted mr darcy has not authorised me to make his communication public on the contrary every particular relative to his sister was meant to be kept as much as possible to myself and if i endeavour to undeceive people as to the rest of his conduct who will believe me the general prejudice against mr darcy is so violent that it would be the death of half the good people in meryton to attempt to place him in an amiable light i am not equal to it wickham will soon be gone and therefore it will not signify to anyone here what he really is some time hence it will be all found out and then we may laugh at their stupidity in not knowing it before at present i will say nothing about it you are quite right to have his errors made public might ruin him for ever he is now perhaps sorry for what he has done and anxious to reestablish a character we must not make him desperate the tumult of elizabeths mind was allayed by this conversation she had got rid of two of the secrets which had weighed on her for a fortnight and was certain of a willing listener in jane whenever she might wish to talk again of either but there was still something lurking behind of which prudence forbade the disclosure she dared not relate the other half of mr darcys letter nor explain to her sister how sincerely she had been valued by her friend here was knowledge in which no one could partake and she was sensible that nothing less than a perfect understanding between the parties could justify her in throwing off this last encumbrance of mystery and then said she if that very improbable event should ever take place i shall merely be able to tell what bingley may tell in a much more agreeable manner himself the liberty of communication cannot be mine till it has lost all its value she was now on being settled at home at leisure to observe the real state of her sisters spirits jane was not happy she still cherished a very tender affection for bingley having never even fancied herself in love before her regard had all the warmth of first attachment and from her age and disposition greater steadiness than most first attachments often boast and so fervently did she value his remembrance and prefer him to every other man that all her good sense and all her attention to the feelings of her friends were requisite to check the indulgence of those regrets which must have been injurious to her own health and their tranquillity well lizzy said mrs bennet one day what is your opinion now of this sad business of janes for my part i am determined never to speak of it again to anybody i told my sister phillips so the other day but i cannot find out that jane saw anything of him in london well he is a very undeserving young manand i do not suppose theres the least chance in the world of her ever getting him now there is no talk of his coming to netherfield again in the summer and i have enquired of everybody too who is likely to know i do not believe he will ever live at netherfield any more oh well it is just as he chooses nobody wants him to come though i shall always say he used my daughter extremely ill and if i was her i would not have put up with it well my comfort is i am sure jane will die of a broken heart and then he will be sorry for what he has done but as elizabeth could not receive comfort from any such expectation she made no answer well lizzy continued her mother soon afterwards and so the collinses live very comfortable do they well well i only hope it will last and what sort of table do they keep charlotte is an excellent manager i dare say if she is half as sharp as her mother she is saving enough there is nothing extravagant in their housekeeping i dare say no nothing at all a great deal of good management depend upon it yes yes they will take care not to outrun their income they will never be distressed for money well much good may it do them and so i suppose they often talk of having longbourn when your father is dead they look upon it as quite their own i dare say whenever that happens it was a subject which they could not mention before me no it would have been strange if they had but i make no doubt they often talk of it between themselves well if they can be easy with an estate that is not lawfully their own so much the better i should be ashamed of having one that was only entailed on me the first week of their return was soon gone the second began it was the last of the regiments stay in meryton and all the young ladies in the neighbourhood were drooping apace the dejection was almost universal the elder miss bennets alone were still able to eat drink and sleep and pursue the usual course of their employments very frequently were they reproached for this insensibility by kitty and lydia whose own misery was extreme and who could not comprehend such hardheartedness in any of the family good heaven what is to become of us what are we to do would they often exclaim in the bitterness of woe how can you be smiling so lizzy their affectionate mother shared all their grief she remembered what she had herself endured on a similar occasion fiveandtwenty years ago i am sure said she i cried for two days together when colonel millers regiment went away i thought i should have broken my heart i am sure i shall break mine said lydia if one could but go to brighton observed mrs bennet oh yesif one could but go to brighton but papa is so disagreeable a little seabathing would set me up forever and my aunt phillips is sure it would do me a great deal of good added kitty such were the kind of lamentations resounding perpetually through longbourn house elizabeth tried to be diverted by them but all sense of pleasure was lost in shame she felt anew the justice of mr darcys objections and never had she been so much disposed to pardon his interference in the views of his friend but the gloom of lydias prospect was shortly cleared away for she received an invitation from mrs forster the wife of the colonel of the regiment to accompany her to brighton this invaluable friend was a very young woman and very lately married a resemblance in good humour and good spirits had recommended her and lydia to each other and out of their three months acquaintance they had been intimate two the rapture of lydia on this occasion her adoration of mrs forster the delight of mrs bennet and the mortification of kitty are scarcely to be described wholly inattentive to her sisters feelings lydia flew about the house in restless ecstasy calling for everyones congratulations and laughing and talking with more violence than ever whilst the luckless kitty continued in the parlour repining at her fate in terms as unreasonable as her accent was peevish i cannot see why mrs forster should not ask me as well as lydia said she though i am not her particular friend i have just as much right to be asked as she has and more too for i am two years older in vain did elizabeth attempt to make her reasonable and jane to make her resigned as for elizabeth herself this invitation was so far from exciting in her the same feelings as in her mother and lydia that she considered it as the death warrant of all possibility of common sense for the latter and detestable as such a step must make her were it known she could not help secretly advising her father not to let her go she represented to him all the improprieties of lydias general behaviour the little advantage she could derive from the friendship of such a woman as mrs forster and the probability of her being yet more imprudent with such a companion at brighton where the temptations must be greater than at home he heard her attentively and then said lydia will never be easy until she has exposed herself in some public place or other and we can never expect her to do it with so little expense or inconvenience to her family as under the present circumstances if you were aware said elizabeth of the very great disadvantage to us all which must arise from the public notice of lydias unguarded and imprudent mannernay which has already arisen from it i am sure you would judge differently in the affair already arisen repeated mr bennet what has she frightened away some of your lovers poor little lizzy but do not be cast down such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret come let me see the list of pitiful fellows who have been kept aloof by lydias folly indeed you are mistaken i have no such injuries to resent it is not of particular but of general evils which i am now complaining our importance our respectability in the world must be affected by the wild volatility the assurance and disdain of all restraint which mark lydias character excuse me for i must speak plainly if you my dear father will not take the trouble of checking her exuberant spirits and of teaching her that her present pursuits are not to be the business of her life she will soon be beyond the reach of amendment her character will be fixed and she will at sixteen be the most determined flirt that ever made herself or her family ridiculous a flirt too in the worst and meanest degree of flirtation without any attraction beyond youth and a tolerable person and from the ignorance and emptiness of her mind wholly unable to ward off any portion of that universal contempt which her rage for admiration will excite in this danger kitty also is comprehended she will follow wherever lydia leads vain ignorant idle and absolutely uncontrolled oh my dear father can you suppose it possible that they will not be censured and despised wherever they are known and that their sisters will not be often involved in the disgrace mr bennet saw that her whole heart was in the subject and affectionately taking her hand said in reply do not make yourself uneasy my love wherever you and jane are known you must be respected and valued and you will not appear to less advantage for having a couple ofor i may say threevery silly sisters we shall have no peace at longbourn if lydia does not go to brighton let her go then colonel forster is a sensible man and will keep her out of any real mischief and she is luckily too poor to be an object of prey to anybody at brighton she will be of less importance even as a common flirt than she has been here the officers will find women better worth their notice let us hope therefore that her being there may teach her her own insignificance at any rate she cannot grow many degrees worse without authorising us to lock her up for the rest of her life with this answer elizabeth was forced to be content but her own opinion continued the same and she left him disappointed and sorry it was not in her nature however to increase her vexations by dwelling on them she was confident of having performed her duty and to fret over unavoidable evils or augment them by anxiety was no part of her disposition had lydia and her mother known the substance of her conference with her father their indignation would hardly have found expression in their united volubility in lydias imagination a visit to brighton comprised every possibility of earthly happiness she saw with the creative eye of fancy the streets of that gay bathingplace covered with officers she saw herself the object of attention to tens and to scores of them at present unknown she saw all the glories of the campits tents stretched forth in beauteous uniformity of lines crowded with the young and the gay and dazzling with scarlet and to complete the view she saw herself seated beneath a tent tenderly flirting with at least six officers at once had she known her sister sought to tear her from such prospects and such realities as these what would have been her sensations they could have been understood only by her mother who might have felt nearly the same lydias going to brighton was all that consoled her for her melancholy conviction of her husbands never intending to go there himself but they were entirely ignorant of what had passed and their raptures continued with little intermission to the very day of lydias leaving home elizabeth was now to see mr wickham for the last time having been frequently in company with him since her return agitation was pretty well over the agitations of former partiality entirely so she had even learnt to detect in the very gentleness which had first delighted her an affectation and a sameness to disgust and weary in his present behaviour to herself moreover she had a fresh source of displeasure for the inclination he soon testified of renewing those intentions which had marked the early part of their acquaintance could only serve after what had since passed to provoke her she lost all concern for him in finding herself thus selected as the object of such idle and frivolous gallantry and while she steadily repressed it could not but feel the reproof contained in his believing that however long and for whatever cause his attentions had been withdrawn her vanity would be gratified and her preference secured at any time by their renewal on the very last day of the regiments remaining at meryton he dined with others of the officers at longbourn and so little was elizabeth disposed to part from him in good humour that on his making some enquiry as to the manner in which her time had passed at hunsford she mentioned colonel fitzwilliams and mr darcys having both spent three weeks at rosings and asked him if he was acquainted with the former he looked surprised displeased alarmed but with a moments recollection and a returning smile replied that he had formerly seen him often and after observing that he was a very gentlemanlike man asked her how she had liked him her answer was warmly in his favour with an air of indifference he soon afterwards added how long did you say he was at rosings nearly three weeks and you saw him frequently yes almost every day his manners are very different from his cousins yes very different but i think mr darcy improves upon acquaintance indeed cried mr wickham with a look which did not escape her and pray may i ask but checking himself he added in a gayer tone is it in address that he improves has he deigned to add aught of civility to his ordinary stylefor i dare not hope he continued in a lower and more serious tone that he is improved in essentials oh no said elizabeth in essentials i believe he is very much what he ever was while she spoke wickham looked as if scarcely knowing whether to rejoice over her words or to distrust their meaning there was a something in her countenance which made him listen with an apprehensive and anxious attention while she added when i said that he improved on acquaintance i did not mean that his mind or his manners were in a state of improvement but that from knowing him better his disposition was better understood wickhams alarm now appeared in a heightened complexion and agitated look for a few minutes he was silent till shaking off his embarrassment he turned to her again and said in the gentlest of accents you who so well know my feeling towards mr darcy will readily comprehend how sincerely i must rejoice that he is wise enough to assume even the appearance of what is right his pride in that direction may be of service if not to himself to many others for it must only deter him from such foul misconduct as i have suffered by i only fear that the sort of cautiousness to which you i imagine have been alluding is merely adopted on his visits to his aunt of whose good opinion and judgement he stands much in awe his fear of her has always operated i know when they were together and a good deal is to be imputed to his wish of forwarding the match with miss de bourgh which i am certain he has very much at heart elizabeth could not repress a smile at this but she answered only by a slight inclination of the head she saw that he wanted to engage her on the old subject of his grievances and she was in no humour to indulge him the rest of the evening passed with the appearance on his side of usual cheerfulness but with no further attempt to distinguish elizabeth and they parted at last with mutual civility and possibly a mutual desire of never meeting again when the party broke up lydia returned with mrs forster to meryton from whence they were to set out early the next morning the separation between her and her family was rather noisy than pathetic kitty was the only one who shed tears but she did weep from vexation and envy mrs bennet was diffuse in her good wishes for the felicity of her daughter and impressive in her injunctions that she should not miss the opportunity of enjoying herself as much as possibleadvice which there was every reason to believe would be well attended to and in the clamorous happiness of lydia herself in bidding farewell the more gentle adieus of her sisters were uttered without being heard had elizabeths opinion been all drawn from her own family she could not have formed a very pleasing opinion of conjugal felicity or domestic comfort her father captivated by youth and beauty and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her respect esteem and confidence had vanished for ever and all his views of domestic happiness were overthrown but mr bennet was not of a disposition to seek comfort for the disappointment which his own imprudence had brought on in any of those pleasures which too often console the unfortunate for their folly or their vice he was fond of the country and of books and from these tastes had arisen his principal enjoyments to his wife he was very little otherwise indebted than as her ignorance and folly had contributed to his amusement this is not the sort of happiness which a man would in general wish to owe to his wife but where other powers of entertainment are wanting the true philosopher will derive benefit from such as are given elizabeth however had never been blind to the impropriety of her fathers behaviour as a husband she had always seen it with pain but respecting his abilities and grateful for his affectionate treatment of herself she endeavoured to forget what she could not overlook and to banish from her thoughts that continual breach of conjugal obligation and decorum which in exposing his wife to the contempt of her own children was so highly reprehensible but she had never felt so strongly as now the disadvantages which must attend the children of so unsuitable a marriage nor ever been so fully aware of the evils arising from so illjudged a direction of talents talents which rightly used might at least have preserved the respectability of his daughters even if incapable of enlarging the mind of his wife when elizabeth had rejoiced over wickhams departure she found little other cause for satisfaction in the loss of the regiment their parties abroad were less varied than before and at home she had a mother and sister whose constant repinings at the dullness of everything around them threw a real gloom over their domestic circle and though kitty might in time regain her natural degree of sense since the disturbers of her brain were removed her other sister from whose disposition greater evil might be apprehended was likely to be hardened in all her folly and assurance by a situation of such double danger as a wateringplace and a camp upon the whole therefore she found what has been sometimes found before that an event to which she had looked forward with impatient desire did not in taking place bring all the satisfaction she had promised herself it was consequently necessary to name some other period for the commencement of actual felicityto have some other point on which her wishes and hopes might be fixed and by again enjoying the pleasure of anticipation console herself for the present and prepare for another disappointment her tour to the lakes was now the object of her happiest thoughts it was her best consolation for all the uncomfortable hours which the discontentedness of her mother and kitty made inevitable and could she have included jane in the scheme every part of it would have been perfect but it is fortunate thought she that i have something to wish for were the whole arrangement complete my disappointment would be certain but here by carrying with me one ceaseless source of regret in my sisters absence i may reasonably hope to have all my expectations of pleasure realised a scheme of which every part promises delight can never be successful and general disappointment is only warded off by the defence of some little peculiar vexation when lydia went away she promised to write very often and very minutely to her mother and kitty but her letters were always long expected and always very short those to her mother contained little else than that they were just returned from the library where such and such officers had attended them and where she had seen such beautiful ornaments as made her quite wild that she had a new gown or a new parasol which she would have described more fully but was obliged to leave off in a violent hurry as mrs forster called her and they were going off to the camp and from her correspondence with her sister there was still less to be learntfor her letters to kitty though rather longer were much too full of lines under the words to be made public after the first fortnight or three weeks of her absence health good humour and cheerfulness began to reappear at longbourn everything wore a happier aspect the families who had been in town for the winter came back again and summer finery and summer engagements arose mrs bennet was restored to her usual querulous serenity and by the middle of june kitty was so much recovered as to be able to enter meryton without tears an event of such happy promise as to make elizabeth hope that by the following christmas she might be so tolerably reasonable as not to mention an officer above once a day unless by some cruel and malicious arrangement at the war office another regiment should be quartered in meryton the time fixed for the beginning of their northern tour was now fast approaching and a fortnight only was wanting of it when a letter arrived from mrs gardiner which at once delayed its commencement and curtailed its extent mr gardiner would be prevented by business from setting out till a fortnight later in july and must be in london again within a month and as that left too short a period for them to go so far and see so much as they had proposed or at least to see it with the leisure and comfort they had built on they were obliged to give up the lakes and substitute a more contracted tour and according to the present plan were to go no farther northwards than derbyshire in that county there was enough to be seen to occupy the chief of their three weeks and to mrs gardiner it had a peculiarly strong attraction the town where she had formerly passed some years of her life and where they were now to spend a few days was probably as great an object of her curiosity as all the celebrated beauties of matlock chatsworth dovedale or the peak elizabeth was excessively disappointed she had set her heart on seeing the lakes and still thought there might have been time enough but it was her business to be satisfiedand certainly her temper to be happy and all was soon right again with the mention of derbyshire there were many ideas connected it was impossible for her to see the word without thinking of pemberley and its owner but surely said she i may enter his county with impunity and rob it of a few petrified spars without his perceiving me the period of expectation was now doubled four weeks were to pass away before her uncle and aunts arrival but they did pass away and mr and mrs gardiner with their four children did at length appear at longbourn the children two girls of six and eight years old and two younger boys were to be left under the particular care of their cousin jane who was the general favourite and whose steady sense and sweetness of temper exactly adapted her for attending to them in every wayteaching them playing with them and loving them the gardiners stayed only one night at longbourn and set off the next morning with elizabeth in pursuit of novelty and amusement one enjoyment was certainthat of suitableness of companions a suitableness which comprehended health and temper to bear inconveniencescheerfulness to enhance every pleasureand affection and intelligence which might supply it among themselves if there were disappointments abroad it is not the object of this work to give a description of derbyshire nor of any of the remarkable places through which their route thither lay oxford blenheim warwick kenilworth birmingham etc are sufficiently known a small part of derbyshire is all the present concern to the little town of lambton the scene of mrs gardiners former residence and where she had lately learned some acquaintance still remained they bent their steps after having seen all the principal wonders of the country and within five miles of lambton elizabeth found from her aunt that pemberley was situated it was not in their direct road nor more than a mile or two out of it in talking over their route the evening before mrs gardiner expressed an inclination to see the place again mr gardiner declared his willingness and elizabeth was applied to for her approbation my love should not you like to see a place of which you have heard so much said her aunt a place too with which so many of your acquaintances are connected wickham passed all his youth there you know elizabeth was distressed she felt that she had no business at pemberley and was obliged to assume a disinclination for seeing it she must own that she was tired of seeing great houses after going over so many she really had no pleasure in fine carpets or satin curtains mrs gardiner abused her stupidity if it were merely a fine house richly furnished said she i should not care about it myself but the grounds are delightful they have some of the finest woods in the country elizabeth said no morebut her mind could not acquiesce the possibility of meeting mr darcy while viewing the place instantly occurred it would be dreadful she blushed at the very idea and thought it would be better to speak openly to her aunt than to run such a risk but against this there were objections and she finally resolved that it could be the last resource if her private enquiries to the absence of the family were unfavourably answered accordingly when she retired at night she asked the chambermaid whether pemberley were not a very fine place what was the name of its proprietor and with no little alarm whether the family were down for the summer a most welcome negative followed the last questionand her alarms now being removed she was at leisure to feel a great deal of curiosity to see the house herself and when the subject was revived the next morning and she was again applied to could readily answer and with a proper air of indifference that she had not really any dislike to the scheme to pemberley therefore they were to go elizabeth as they drove along watched for the first appearance of pemberley woods with some perturbation and when at length they turned in at the lodge her spirits were in a high flutter the park was very large and contained great variety of ground they entered it in one of its lowest points and drove for some time through a beautiful wood stretching over a wide extent elizabeths mind was too full for conversation but she saw and admired every remarkable spot and point of view they gradually ascended for halfamile and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence where the wood ceased and the eye was instantly caught by pemberley house situated on the opposite side of a valley into which the road with some abruptness wound it was a large handsome stone building standing well on rising ground and backed by a ridge of high woody hills and in front a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater but without any artificial appearance its banks were neither formal nor falsely adorned elizabeth was delighted she had never seen a place for which nature had done more or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste they were all of them warm in their admiration and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of pemberley might be something they descended the hill crossed the bridge and drove to the door and while examining the nearer aspect of the house all her apprehension of meeting its owner returned she dreaded lest the chambermaid had been mistaken on applying to see the place they were admitted into the hall and elizabeth as they waited for the housekeeper had leisure to wonder at her being where she was the housekeeper came a respectablelooking elderly woman much less fine and more civil than she had any notion of finding her they followed her into the diningparlour it was a large well proportioned room handsomely fitted up elizabeth after slightly surveying it went to a window to enjoy its prospect the hill crowned with wood which they had descended receiving increased abruptness from the distance was a beautiful object every disposition of the ground was good and she looked on the whole scene the river the trees scattered on its banks and the winding of the valley as far as she could trace it with delight as they passed into other rooms these objects were taking different positions but from every window there were beauties to be seen the rooms were lofty and handsome and their furniture suitable to the fortune of its proprietor but elizabeth saw with admiration of his taste that it was neither gaudy nor uselessly fine with less of splendour and more real elegance than the furniture of rosings and of this place thought she i might have been mistress with these rooms i might now have been familiarly acquainted instead of viewing them as a stranger i might have rejoiced in them as my own and welcomed to them as visitors my uncle and aunt but norecollecting herselfthat could never be my uncle and aunt would have been lost to me i should not have been allowed to invite them this was a lucky recollectionit saved her from something very like regret she longed to enquire of the housekeeper whether her master was really absent but had not the courage for it at length however the question was asked by her uncle and she turned away with alarm while mrs reynolds replied that he was adding but we expect him tomorrow with a large party of friends how rejoiced was elizabeth that their own journey had not by any circumstance been delayed a day her aunt now called her to look at a picture she approached and saw the likeness of mr wickham suspended amongst several other miniatures over the mantelpiece her aunt asked her smilingly how she liked it the housekeeper came forward and told them it was a picture of a young gentleman the son of her late masters steward who had been brought up by him at his own expense he is now gone into the army she added but i am afraid he has turned out very wild mrs gardiner looked at her niece with a smile but elizabeth could not return it and that said mrs reynolds pointing to another of the miniatures is my masterand very like him it was drawn at the same time as the otherabout eight years ago i have heard much of your masters fine person said mrs gardiner looking at the picture it is a handsome face but lizzy you can tell us whether it is like or not mrs reynolds respect for elizabeth seemed to increase on this intimation of her knowing her master does that young lady know mr darcy elizabeth coloured and said a little and do not you think him a very handsome gentleman maam yes very handsome i am sure i know none so handsome but in the gallery up stairs you will see a finer larger picture of him than this this room was my late masters favourite room and these miniatures are just as they used to be then he was very fond of them this accounted to elizabeth for mr wickhams being among them mrs reynolds then directed their attention to one of miss darcy drawn when she was only eight years old and is miss darcy as handsome as her brother said mrs gardiner oh yesthe handsomest young lady that ever was seen and so accomplishedshe plays and sings all day long in the next room is a new instrument just come down for hera present from my master she comes here tomorrow with him mr gardiner whose manners were very easy and pleasant encouraged her communicativeness by his questions and remarks mrs reynolds either by pride or attachment had evidently great pleasure in talking of her master and his sister is your master much at pemberley in the course of the year not so much as i could wish sir but i dare say he may spend half his time here and miss darcy is always down for the summer months except thought elizabeth when she goes to ramsgate if your master would marry you might see more of him yes sir but i do not know when that will be i do not know who is good enough for him mr and mrs gardiner smiled elizabeth could not help saying it is very much to his credit i am sure that you should think so i say no more than the truth and everybody will say that knows him replied the other elizabeth thought this was going pretty far and she listened with increasing astonishment as the housekeeper added i have never known a cross word from him in my life and i have known him ever since he was four years old this was praise of all others most extraordinary most opposite to her ideas that he was not a goodtempered man had been her firmest opinion her keenest attention was awakened she longed to hear more and was grateful to her uncle for saying there are very few people of whom so much can be said you are lucky in having such a master yes sir i know i am if i were to go through the world i could not meet with a better but i have always observed that they who are goodnatured when children are goodnatured when they grow up and he was always the sweetesttempered most generoushearted boy in the world elizabeth almost stared at her can this be mr darcy thought she his father was an excellent man said mrs gardiner yes maam that he was indeed and his son will be just like himjust as affable to the poor elizabeth listened wondered doubted and was impatient for more mrs reynolds could interest her on no other point she related the subjects of the pictures the dimensions of the rooms and the price of the furniture in vain mr gardiner highly amused by the kind of family prejudice to which he attributed her excessive commendation of her master soon led again to the subject and she dwelt with energy on his many merits as they proceeded together up the great staircase he is the best landlord and the best master said she that ever lived not like the wild young men nowadays who think of nothing but themselves there is not one of his tenants or servants but will give him a good name some people call him proud but i am sure i never saw anything of it to my fancy it is only because he does not rattle away like other young men in what an amiable light does this place him thought elizabeth this fine account of him whispered her aunt as they walked is not quite consistent with his behaviour to our poor friend perhaps we might be deceived that is not very likely our authority was too good on reaching the spacious lobby above they were shown into a very pretty sittingroom lately fitted up with greater elegance and lightness than the apartments below and were informed that it was but just done to give pleasure to miss darcy who had taken a liking to the room when last at pemberley he is certainly a good brother said elizabeth as she walked towards one of the windows mrs reynolds anticipated miss darcys delight when she should enter the room and this is always the way with him she added whatever can give his sister any pleasure is sure to be done in a moment there is nothing he would not do for her the picturegallery and two or three of the principal bedrooms were all that remained to be shown in the former were many good paintings but elizabeth knew nothing of the art and from such as had been already visible below she had willingly turned to look at some drawings of miss darcys in crayons whose subjects were usually more interesting and also more intelligible in the gallery there were many family portraits but they could have little to fix the attention of a stranger elizabeth walked in quest of the only face whose features would be known to her at last it arrested herand she beheld a striking resemblance to mr darcy with such a smile over the face as she remembered to have sometimes seen when he looked at her she stood several minutes before the picture in earnest contemplation and returned to it again before they quitted the gallery mrs reynolds informed them that it had been taken in his fathers lifetime there was certainly at this moment in elizabeths mind a more gentle sensation towards the original than she had ever felt at the height of their acquaintance the commendation bestowed on him by mrs reynolds was of no trifling nature what praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant as a brother a landlord a master she considered how many peoples happiness were in his guardianshiphow much of pleasure or pain was it in his power to bestowhow much of good or evil must be done by him every idea that had been brought forward by the housekeeper was favourable to his character and as she stood before the canvas on which he was represented and fixed his eyes upon herself she thought of his regard with a deeper sentiment of gratitude than it had ever raised before she remembered its warmth and softened its impropriety of expression when all of the house that was open to general inspection had been seen they returned downstairs and taking leave of the housekeeper were consigned over to the gardener who met them at the halldoor as they walked across the hall towards the river elizabeth turned back to look again her uncle and aunt stopped also and while the former was conjecturing as to the date of the building the owner of it himself suddenly came forward from the road which led behind it to the stables they were within twenty yards of each other and so abrupt was his appearance that it was impossible to avoid his sight their eyes instantly met and the cheeks of both were overspread with the deepest blush he absolutely started and for a moment seemed immovable from surprise but shortly recovering himself advanced towards the party and spoke to elizabeth if not in terms of perfect composure at least of perfect civility she had instinctively turned away but stopping on his approach received his compliments with an embarrassment impossible to be overcome had his first appearance or his resemblance to the picture they had just been examining been insufficient to assure the other two that they now saw mr darcy the gardeners expression of surprise on beholding his master must immediately have told it they stood a little aloof while he was talking to their niece who astonished and confused scarcely dared lift her eyes to his face and knew not what answer she returned to his civil enquiries after her family amazed at the alteration of his manner since they last parted every sentence that he uttered was increasing her embarrassment and every idea of the impropriety of her being found there recurring to her mind the few minutes in which they continued were some of the most uncomfortable in her life nor did he seem much more at ease when he spoke his accent had none of its usual sedateness and he repeated his enquiries as to the time of her having left longbourn and of her stay in derbyshire so often and in so hurried a way as plainly spoke the distraction of his thoughts at length every idea seemed to fail him and after standing a few moments without saying a word he suddenly recollected himself and took leave the others then joined her and expressed admiration of his figure but elizabeth heard not a word and wholly engrossed by her own feelings followed them in silence she was overpowered by shame and vexation her coming there was the most unfortunate the most illjudged thing in the world how strange it must appear to him in what a disgraceful light might it not strike so vain a man it might seem as if she had purposely thrown herself in his way again oh why did she come or why did he thus come a day before he was expected had they been only ten minutes sooner they should have been beyond the reach of his discrimination for it was plain that he was that moment arrivedthat moment alighted from his horse or his carriage she blushed again and again over the perverseness of the meeting and his behaviour so strikingly alteredwhat could it mean that he should even speak to her was amazingbut to speak with such civility to enquire after her family never in her life had she seen his manners so little dignified never had he spoken with such gentleness as on this unexpected meeting what a contrast did it offer to his last address in rosings park when he put his letter into her hand she knew not what to think or how to account for it they had now entered a beautiful walk by the side of the water and every step was bringing forward a nobler fall of ground or a finer reach of the woods to which they were approaching but it was some time before elizabeth was sensible of any of it and though she answered mechanically to the repeated appeals of her uncle and aunt and seemed to direct her eyes to such objects as they pointed out she distinguished no part of the scene her thoughts were all fixed on that one spot of pemberley house whichever it might be where mr darcy then was she longed to know what at the moment was passing in his mindin what manner he thought of her and whether in defiance of everything she was still dear to him perhaps he had been civil only because he felt himself at ease yet there had been that in his voice which was not like ease whether he had felt more of pain or of pleasure in seeing her she could not tell but he certainly had not seen her with composure at length however the remarks of her companions on her absence of mind aroused her and she felt the necessity of appearing more like herself they entered the woods and bidding adieu to the river for a while ascended some of the higher grounds when in spots where the opening of the trees gave the eye power to wander were many charming views of the valley the opposite hills with the long range of woods overspreading many and occasionally part of the stream mr gardiner expressed a wish of going round the whole park but feared it might be beyond a walk with a triumphant smile they were told that it was ten miles round it settled the matter and they pursued the accustomed circuit which brought them again after some time in a descent among hanging woods to the edge of the water and one of its narrowest parts they crossed it by a simple bridge in character with the general air of the scene it was a spot less adorned than any they had yet visited and the valley here contracted into a glen allowed room only for the stream and a narrow walk amidst the rough coppicewood which bordered it elizabeth longed to explore its windings but when they had crossed the bridge and perceived their distance from the house mrs gardiner who was not a great walker could go no farther and thought only of returning to the carriage as quickly as possible her niece was therefore obliged to submit and they took their way towards the house on the opposite side of the river in the nearest direction but their progress was slow for mr gardiner though seldom able to indulge the taste was very fond of fishing and was so much engaged in watching the occasional appearance of some trout in the water and talking to the man about them that he advanced but little whilst wandering on in this slow manner they were again surprised and elizabeths astonishment was quite equal to what it had been at first by the sight of mr darcy approaching them and at no great distance the walk being here less sheltered than on the other side allowed them to see him before they met elizabeth however astonished was at least more prepared for an interview than before and resolved to appear and to speak with calmness if he really intended to meet them for a few moments indeed she felt that he would probably strike into some other path the idea lasted while a turning in the walk concealed him from their view the turning past he was immediately before them with a glance she saw that he had lost none of his recent civility and to imitate his politeness she began as they met to admire the beauty of the place but she had not got beyond the words delightful and charming when some unlucky recollections obtruded and she fancied that praise of pemberley from her might be mischievously construed her colour changed and she said no more mrs gardiner was standing a little behind and on her pausing he asked her if she would do him the honour of introducing him to her friends this was a stroke of civility for which she was quite unprepared and she could hardly suppress a smile at his being now seeking the acquaintance of some of those very people against whom his pride had revolted in his offer to herself what will be his surprise thought she when he knows who they are he takes them now for people of fashion the introduction however was immediately made and as she named their relationship to herself she stole a sly look at him to see how he bore it and was not without the expectation of his decamping as fast as he could from such disgraceful companions that he was surprised by the connection was evident he sustained it however with fortitude and so far from going away turned back with them and entered into conversation with mr gardiner elizabeth could not but be pleased could not but triumph it was consoling that he should know she had some relations for whom there was no need to blush she listened most attentively to all that passed between them and gloried in every expression every sentence of her uncle which marked his intelligence his taste or his good manners the conversation soon turned upon fishing and she heard mr darcy invite him with the greatest civility to fish there as often as he chose while he continued in the neighbourhood offering at the same time to supply him with fishing tackle and pointing out those parts of the stream where there was usually most sport mrs gardiner who was walking arminarm with elizabeth gave her a look expressive of wonder elizabeth said nothing but it gratified her exceedingly the compliment must be all for herself her astonishment however was extreme and continually was she repeating why is he so altered from what can it proceed it cannot be for meit cannot be for my sake that his manners are thus softened my reproofs at hunsford could not work such a change as this it is impossible that he should still love me after walking some time in this way the two ladies in front the two gentlemen behind on resuming their places after descending to the brink of the river for the better inspection of some curious waterplant there chanced to be a little alteration it originated in mrs gardiner who fatigued by the exercise of the morning found elizabeths arm inadequate to her support and consequently preferred her husbands mr darcy took her place by her niece and they walked on together after a short silence the lady first spoke she wished him to know that she had been assured of his absence before she came to the place and accordingly began by observing that his arrival had been very unexpectedfor your housekeeper she added informed us that you would certainly not be here till tomorrow and indeed before we left bakewell we understood that you were not immediately expected in the country he acknowledged the truth of it all and said that business with his steward had occasioned his coming forward a few hours before the rest of the party with whom he had been travelling they will join me early tomorrow he continued and among them are some who will claim an acquaintance with youmr bingley and his sisters elizabeth answered only by a slight bow her thoughts were instantly driven back to the time when mr bingleys name had been the last mentioned between them and if she might judge by his complexion his mind was not very differently engaged there is also one other person in the party he continued after a pause who more particularly wishes to be known to you will you allow me or do i ask too much to introduce my sister to your acquaintance during your stay at lambton the surprise of such an application was great indeed it was too great for her to know in what manner she acceded to it she immediately felt that whatever desire miss darcy might have of being acquainted with her must be the work of her brother and without looking farther it was satisfactory it was gratifying to know that his resentment had not made him think really ill of her they now walked on in silence each of them deep in thought elizabeth was not comfortable that was impossible but she was flattered and pleased his wish of introducing his sister to her was a compliment of the highest kind they soon outstripped the others and when they had reached the carriage mr and mrs gardiner were half a quarter of a mile behind he then asked her to walk into the housebut she declared herself not tired and they stood together on the lawn at such a time much might have been said and silence was very awkward she wanted to talk but there seemed to be an embargo on every subject at last she recollected that she had been travelling and they talked of matlock and dove dale with great perseverance yet time and her aunt moved slowlyand her patience and her ideas were nearly worn out before the têteàtête was over on mr and mrs gardiners coming up they were all pressed to go into the house and take some refreshment but this was declined and they parted on each side with utmost politeness mr darcy handed the ladies into the carriage and when it drove off elizabeth saw him walking slowly towards the house the observations of her uncle and aunt now began and each of them pronounced him to be infinitely superior to anything they had expected he is perfectly well behaved polite and unassuming said her uncle there is something a little stately in him to be sure replied her aunt but it is confined to his air and is not unbecoming i can now say with the housekeeper that though some people may call him proud i have seen nothing of it i was never more surprised than by his behaviour to us it was more than civil it was really attentive and there was no necessity for such attention his acquaintance with elizabeth was very trifling to be sure lizzy said her aunt he is not so handsome as wickham or rather he has not wickhams countenance for his features are perfectly good but how came you to tell me that he was so disagreeable elizabeth excused herself as well as she could said that she had liked him better when they had met in kent than before and that she had never seen him so pleasant as this morning but perhaps he may be a little whimsical in his civilities replied her uncle your great men often are and therefore i shall not take him at his word as he might change his mind another day and warn me off his grounds elizabeth felt that they had entirely misunderstood his character but said nothing from what we have seen of him continued mrs gardiner i really should not have thought that he could have behaved in so cruel a way by anybody as he has done by poor wickham he has not an illnatured look on the contrary there is something pleasing about his mouth when he speaks and there is something of dignity in his countenance that would not give one an unfavourable idea of his heart but to be sure the good lady who showed us his house did give him a most flaming character i could hardly help laughing aloud sometimes but he is a liberal master i suppose and that in the eye of a servant comprehends every virtue elizabeth here felt herself called on to say something in vindication of his behaviour to wickham and therefore gave them to understand in as guarded a manner as she could that by what she had heard from his relations in kent his actions were capable of a very different construction and that his character was by no means so faulty nor wickhams so amiable as they had been considered in hertfordshire in confirmation of this she related the particulars of all the pecuniary transactions in which they had been connected without actually naming her authority but stating it to be such as might be relied on mrs gardiner was surprised and concerned but as they were now approaching the scene of her former pleasures every idea gave way to the charm of recollection and she was too much engaged in pointing out to her husband all the interesting spots in its environs to think of anything else fatigued as she had been by the mornings walk they had no sooner dined than she set off again in quest of her former acquaintance and the evening was spent in the satisfactions of an intercourse renewed after many years discontinuance the occurrences of the day were too full of interest to leave elizabeth much attention for any of these new friends and she could do nothing but think and think with wonder of mr darcys civility and above all of his wishing her to be acquainted with his sister elizabeth had settled it that mr darcy would bring his sister to visit her the very day after her reaching pemberley and was consequently resolved not to be out of sight of the inn the whole of that morning but her conclusion was false for on the very morning after their arrival at lambton these visitors came they had been walking about the place with some of their new friends and were just returning to the inn to dress themselves for dining with the same family when the sound of a carriage drew them to a window and they saw a gentleman and a lady in a curricle driving up the street elizabeth immediately recognizing the livery guessed what it meant and imparted no small degree of her surprise to her relations by acquainting them with the honour which she expected her uncle and aunt were all amazement and the embarrassment of her manner as she spoke joined to the circumstance itself and many of the circumstances of the preceding day opened to them a new idea on the business nothing had ever suggested it before but they felt that there was no other way of accounting for such attentions from such a quarter than by supposing a partiality for their niece while these newlyborn notions were passing in their heads the perturbation of elizabeths feelings was at every moment increasing she was quite amazed at her own discomposure but amongst other causes of disquiet she dreaded lest the partiality of the brother should have said too much in her favour and more than commonly anxious to please she naturally suspected that every power of pleasing would fail her she retreated from the window fearful of being seen and as she walked up and down the room endeavouring to compose herself saw such looks of enquiring surprise in her uncle and aunt as made everything worse miss darcy and her brother appeared and this formidable introduction took place with astonishment did elizabeth see that her new acquaintance was at least as much embarrassed as herself since her being at lambton she had heard that miss darcy was exceedingly proud but the observation of a very few minutes convinced her that she was only exceedingly shy she found it difficult to obtain even a word from her beyond a monosyllable miss darcy was tall and on a larger scale than elizabeth and though little more than sixteen her figure was formed and her appearance womanly and graceful she was less handsome than her brother but there was sense and good humour in her face and her manners were perfectly unassuming and gentle elizabeth who had expected to find in her as acute and unembarrassed an observer as ever mr darcy had been was much relieved by discerning such different feelings they had not long been together before mr darcy told her that bingley was also coming to wait on her and she had barely time to express her satisfaction and prepare for such a visitor when bingleys quick step was heard on the stairs and in a moment he entered the room all elizabeths anger against him had been long done away but had she still felt any it could hardly have stood its ground against the unaffected cordiality with which he expressed himself on seeing her again he enquired in a friendly though general way after her family and looked and spoke with the same goodhumoured ease that he had ever done to mr and mrs gardiner he was scarcely a less interesting personage than to herself they had long wished to see him the whole party before them indeed excited a lively attention the suspicions which had just arisen of mr darcy and their niece directed their observation towards each with an earnest though guarded enquiry and they soon drew from those enquiries the full conviction that one of them at least knew what it was to love of the ladys sensations they remained a little in doubt but that the gentleman was overflowing with admiration was evident enough elizabeth on her side had much to do she wanted to ascertain the feelings of each of her visitors she wanted to compose her own and to make herself agreeable to all and in the latter object where she feared most to fail she was most sure of success for those to whom she endeavoured to give pleasure were prepossessed in her favour bingley was ready georgiana was eager and darcy determined to be pleased in seeing bingley her thoughts naturally flew to her sister and oh how ardently did she long to know whether any of his were directed in a like manner sometimes she could fancy that he talked less than on former occasions and once or twice pleased herself with the notion that as he looked at her he was trying to trace a resemblance but though this might be imaginary she could not be deceived as to his behaviour to miss darcy who had been set up as a rival to jane no look appeared on either side that spoke particular regard nothing occurred between them that could justify the hopes of his sister on this point she was soon satisfied and two or three little circumstances occurred ere they parted which in her anxious interpretation denoted a recollection of jane not untinctured by tenderness and a wish of saying more that might lead to the mention of her had he dared he observed to her at a moment when the others were talking together and in a tone which had something of real regret that it was a very long time since he had had the pleasure of seeing her and before she could reply he added it is above eight months we have not met since the 26th of november when we were all dancing together at netherfield elizabeth was pleased to find his memory so exact and he afterwards took occasion to ask her when unattended to by any of the rest whether all her sisters were at longbourn there was not much in the question nor in the preceding remark but there was a look and a manner which gave them meaning it was not often that she could turn her eyes on mr darcy himself but whenever she did catch a glimpse she saw an expression of general complaisance and in all that he said she heard an accent so removed from hauteur or disdain of his companions as convinced her that the improvement of manners which she had yesterday witnessed however temporary its existence might prove had at least outlived one day when she saw him thus seeking the acquaintance and courting the good opinion of people with whom any intercourse a few months ago would have been a disgracewhen she saw him thus civil not only to herself but to the very relations whom he had openly disdained and recollected their last lively scene in hunsford parsonagethe difference the change was so great and struck so forcibly on her mind that she could hardly restrain her astonishment from being visible never even in the company of his dear friends at netherfield or his dignified relations at rosings had she seen him so desirous to please so free from selfconsequence or unbending reserve as now when no importance could result from the success of his endeavours and when even the acquaintance of those to whom his attentions were addressed would draw down the ridicule and censure of the ladies both of netherfield and rosings their visitors stayed with them above halfanhour and when they arose to depart mr darcy called on his sister to join him in expressing their wish of seeing mr and mrs gardiner and miss bennet to dinner at pemberley before they left the country miss darcy though with a diffidence which marked her little in the habit of giving invitations readily obeyed mrs gardiner looked at her niece desirous of knowing how she whom the invitation most concerned felt disposed as to its acceptance but elizabeth had turned away her head presuming however that this studied avoidance spoke rather a momentary embarrassment than any dislike of the proposal and seeing in her husband who was fond of society a perfect willingness to accept it she ventured to engage for her attendance and the day after the next was fixed on bingley expressed great pleasure in the certainty of seeing elizabeth again having still a great deal to say to her and many enquiries to make after all their hertfordshire friends elizabeth construing all this into a wish of hearing her speak of her sister was pleased and on this account as well as some others found herself when their visitors left them capable of considering the last halfhour with some satisfaction though while it was passing the enjoyment of it had been little eager to be alone and fearful of enquiries or hints from her uncle and aunt she stayed with them only long enough to hear their favourable opinion of bingley and then hurried away to dress but she had no reason to fear mr and mrs gardiners curiosity it was not their wish to force her communication it was evident that she was much better acquainted with mr darcy than they had before any idea of it was evident that he was very much in love with her they saw much to interest but nothing to justify enquiry of mr darcy it was now a matter of anxiety to think well and as far as their acquaintance reached there was no fault to find they could not be untouched by his politeness and had they drawn his character from their own feelings and his servants report without any reference to any other account the circle in hertfordshire to which he was known would not have recognized it for mr darcy there was now an interest however in believing the housekeeper and they soon became sensible that the authority of a servant who had known him since he was four years old and whose own manners indicated respectability was not to be hastily rejected neither had anything occurred in the intelligence of their lambton friends that could materially lessen its weight they had nothing to accuse him of but pride pride he probably had and if not it would certainly be imputed by the inhabitants of a small markettown where the family did not visit it was acknowledged however that he was a liberal man and did much good among the poor with respect to wickham the travellers soon found that he was not held there in much estimation for though the chief of his concerns with the son of his patron were imperfectly understood it was yet a wellknown fact that on his quitting derbyshire he had left many debts behind him which mr darcy afterwards discharged as for elizabeth her thoughts were at pemberley this evening more than the last and the evening though as it passed it seemed long was not long enough to determine her feelings towards one in that mansion and she lay awake two whole hours endeavouring to make them out she certainly did not hate him no hatred had vanished long ago and she had almost as long been ashamed of ever feeling a dislike against him that could be so called the respect created by the conviction of his valuable qualities though at first unwillingly admitted had for some time ceased to be repugnant to her feeling and it was now heightened into somewhat of a friendlier nature by the testimony so highly in his favour and bringing forward his disposition in so amiable a light which yesterday had produced but above all above respect and esteem there was a motive within her of goodwill which could not be overlooked it was gratitude gratitude not merely for having once loved her but for loving her still well enough to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection he who she had been persuaded would avoid her as his greatest enemy seemed on this accidental meeting most eager to preserve the acquaintance and without any indelicate display of regard or any peculiarity of manner where their two selves only were concerned was soliciting the good opinion of her friends and bent on making her known to his sister such a change in a man of so much pride exciting not only astonishment but gratitudefor to love ardent love it must be attributed and as such its impression on her was of a sort to be encouraged as by no means unpleasing though it could not be exactly defined she respected she esteemed she was grateful to him she felt a real interest in his welfare and she only wanted to know how far she wished that welfare to depend upon herself and how far it would be for the happiness of both that she should employ the power which her fancy told her she still possessed of bringing on her the renewal of his addresses it had been settled in the evening between the aunt and the niece that such a striking civility as miss darcys in coming to see them on the very day of her arrival at pemberley for she had reached it only to a late breakfast ought to be imitated though it could not be equalled by some exertion of politeness on their side and consequently that it would be highly expedient to wait on her at pemberley the following morning they were therefore to go elizabeth was pleased though when she asked herself the reason she had very little to say in reply mr gardiner left them soon after breakfast the fishing scheme had been renewed the day before and a positive engagement made of his meeting some of the gentlemen at pemberley before noon convinced as elizabeth now was that miss bingleys dislike of her had originated in jealousy she could not help feeling how unwelcome her appearance at pemberley must be to her and was curious to know with how much civility on that ladys side the acquaintance would now be renewed on reaching the house they were shown through the hall into the saloon whose northern aspect rendered it delightful for summer its windows opening to the ground admitted a most refreshing view of the high woody hills behind the house and of the beautiful oaks and spanish chestnuts which were scattered over the intermediate lawn in this house they were received by miss darcy who was sitting there with mrs hurst and miss bingley and the lady with whom she lived in london georgianas reception of them was very civil but attended with all the embarrassment which though proceeding from shyness and the fear of doing wrong would easily give to those who felt themselves inferior the belief of her being proud and reserved mrs gardiner and her niece however did her justice and pitied her by mrs hurst and miss bingley they were noticed only by a curtsey and on their being seated a pause awkward as such pauses must always be succeeded for a few moments it was first broken by mrs annesley a genteel agreeablelooking woman whose endeavour to introduce some kind of discourse proved her to be more truly wellbred than either of the others and between her and mrs gardiner with occasional help from elizabeth the conversation was carried on miss darcy looked as if she wished for courage enough to join in it and sometimes did venture a short sentence when there was least danger of its being heard elizabeth soon saw that she was herself closely watched by miss bingley and that she could not speak a word especially to miss darcy without calling her attention this observation would not have prevented her from trying to talk to the latter had they not been seated at an inconvenient distance but she was not sorry to be spared the necessity of saying much her own thoughts were employing her she expected every moment that some of the gentlemen would enter the room she wished she feared that the master of the house might be amongst them and whether she wished or feared it most she could scarcely determine after sitting in this manner a quarter of an hour without hearing miss bingleys voice elizabeth was roused by receiving from her a cold enquiry after the health of her family she answered with equal indifference and brevity and the other said no more the next variation which their visit afforded was produced by the entrance of servants with cold meat cake and a variety of all the finest fruits in season but this did not take place till after many a significant look and smile from mrs annesley to miss darcy had been given to remind her of her post there was now employment for the whole partyfor though they could not all talk they could all eat and the beautiful pyramids of grapes nectarines and peaches soon collected them round the table while thus engaged elizabeth had a fair opportunity of deciding whether she most feared or wished for the appearance of mr darcy by the feelings which prevailed on his entering the room and then though but a moment before she had believed her wishes to predominate she began to regret that he came he had been some time with mr gardiner who with two or three other gentlemen from the house was engaged by the river and had left him only on learning that the ladies of the family intended a visit to georgiana that morning no sooner did he appear than elizabeth wisely resolved to be perfectly easy and unembarrassed a resolution the more necessary to be made but perhaps not the more easily kept because she saw that the suspicions of the whole party were awakened against them and that there was scarcely an eye which did not watch his behaviour when he first came into the room in no countenance was attentive curiosity so strongly marked as in miss bingleys in spite of the smiles which overspread her face whenever she spoke to one of its objects for jealousy had not yet made her desperate and her attentions to mr darcy were by no means over miss darcy on her brothers entrance exerted herself much more to talk and elizabeth saw that he was anxious for his sister and herself to get acquainted and forwarded as much as possible every attempt at conversation on either side miss bingley saw all this likewise and in the imprudence of anger took the first opportunity of saying with sneering civility pray miss eliza are not the shire militia removed from meryton they must be a great loss to your family in darcys presence she dared not mention wickhams name but elizabeth instantly comprehended that he was uppermost in her thoughts and the various recollections connected with him gave her a moments distress but exerting herself vigorously to repel the illnatured attack she presently answered the question in a tolerably detached tone while she spoke an involuntary glance showed her darcy with a heightened complexion earnestly looking at her and his sister overcome with confusion and unable to lift up her eyes had miss bingley known what pain she was then giving her beloved friend she undoubtedly would have refrained from the hint but she had merely intended to discompose elizabeth by bringing forward the idea of a man to whom she believed her partial to make her betray a sensibility which might injure her in darcys opinion and perhaps to remind the latter of all the follies and absurdities by which some part of her family were connected with that corps not a syllable had ever reached her of miss darcys meditated elopement to no creature had it been revealed where secrecy was possible except to elizabeth and from all bingleys connections her brother was particularly anxious to conceal it from the very wish which elizabeth had long ago attributed to him of their becoming hereafter her own he had certainly formed such a plan and without meaning that it should affect his endeavour to separate him from miss bennet it is probable that it might add something to his lively concern for the welfare of his friend elizabeths collected behaviour however soon quieted his emotion and as miss bingley vexed and disappointed dared not approach nearer to wickham georgiana also recovered in time though not enough to be able to speak any more her brother whose eye she feared to meet scarcely recollected her interest in the affair and the very circumstance which had been designed to turn his thoughts from elizabeth seemed to have fixed them on her more and more cheerfully their visit did not continue long after the question and answer above mentioned and while mr darcy was attending them to their carriage miss bingley was venting her feelings in criticisms on elizabeths person behaviour and dress but georgiana would not join her her brothers recommendation was enough to ensure her favour his judgement could not err and he had spoken in such terms of elizabeth as to leave georgiana without the power of finding her otherwise than lovely and amiable when darcy returned to the saloon miss bingley could not help repeating to him some part of what she had been saying to his sister how very ill miss eliza bennet looks this morning mr darcy she cried i never in my life saw anyone so much altered as she is since the winter she is grown so brown and coarse louisa and i were agreeing that we should not have known her again however little mr darcy might have liked such an address he contented himself with coolly replying that he perceived no other alteration than her being rather tanned no miraculous consequence of travelling in the summer for my own part she rejoined i must confess that i never could see any beauty in her her face is too thin her complexion has no brilliancy and her features are not at all handsome her nose wants characterthere is nothing marked in its lines her teeth are tolerable but not out of the common way and as for her eyes which have sometimes been called so fine i could never see anything extraordinary in them they have a sharp shrewish look which i do not like at all and in her air altogether there is a selfsufficiency without fashion which is intolerable persuaded as miss bingley was that darcy admired elizabeth this was not the best method of recommending herself but angry people are not always wise and in seeing him at last look somewhat nettled she had all the success she expected he was resolutely silent however and from a determination of making him speak she continued i remember when we first knew her in hertfordshire how amazed we all were to find that she was a reputed beauty and i particularly recollect your saying one night after they had been dining at netherfield she a beautyi should as soon call her mother a wit but afterwards she seemed to improve on you and i believe you thought her rather pretty at one time yes replied darcy who could contain himself no longer but that was only when i first saw her for it is many months since i have considered her as one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance he then went away and miss bingley was left to all the satisfaction of having forced him to say what gave no one any pain but herself mrs gardiner and elizabeth talked of all that had occurred during their visit as they returned except what had particularly interested them both the look and behaviour of everybody they had seen were discussed except of the person who had mostly engaged their attention they talked of his sister his friends his house his fruitof everything but himself yet elizabeth was longing to know what mrs gardiner thought of him and mrs gardiner would have been highly gratified by her nieces beginning the subject elizabeth had been a good deal disappointed in not finding a letter from jane on their first arrival at lambton and this disappointment had been renewed on each of the mornings that had now been spent there but on the third her repining was over and her sister justified by the receipt of two letters from her at once on one of which was marked that it had been missent elsewhere elizabeth was not surprised at it as jane had written the direction remarkably ill they had just been preparing to walk as the letters came in and her uncle and aunt leaving her to enjoy them in quiet set off by themselves the one missent must first be attended to it had been written five days ago the beginning contained an account of all their little parties and engagements with such news as the country afforded but the latter half which was dated a day later and written in evident agitation gave more important intelligence it was to this effect since writing the above dearest lizzy something has occurred of a most unexpected and serious nature but i am afraid of alarming yoube assured that we are all well what i have to say relates to poor lydia an express came at twelve last night just as we were all gone to bed from colonel forster to inform us that she was gone off to scotland with one of his officers to own the truth with wickham imagine our surprise to kitty however it does not seem so wholly unexpected i am very very sorry so imprudent a match on both sides but i am willing to hope the best and that his character has been misunderstood thoughtless and indiscreet i can easily believe him but this step and let us rejoice over it marks nothing bad at heart his choice is disinterested at least for he must know my father can give her nothing our poor mother is sadly grieved my father bears it better how thankful am i that we never let them know what has been said against him we must forget it ourselves they were off saturday night about twelve as is conjectured but were not missed till yesterday morning at eight the express was sent off directly my dear lizzy they must have passed within ten miles of us colonel forster gives us reason to expect him here soon lydia left a few lines for his wife informing her of their intention i must conclude for i cannot be long from my poor mother i am afraid you will not be able to make it out but i hardly know what i have written without allowing herself time for consideration and scarcely knowing what she felt elizabeth on finishing this letter instantly seized the other and opening it with the utmost impatience read as follows it had been written a day later than the conclusion of the first by this time my dearest sister you have received my hurried letter i wish this may be more intelligible but though not confined for time my head is so bewildered that i cannot answer for being coherent dearest lizzy i hardly know what i would write but i have bad news for you and it cannot be delayed imprudent as the marriage between mr wickham and our poor lydia would be we are now anxious to be assured it has taken place for there is but too much reason to fear they are not gone to scotland colonel forster came yesterday having left brighton the day before not many hours after the express though lydias short letter to mrs f gave them to understand that they were going to gretna green something was dropped by denny expressing his belief that w never intended to go there or to marry lydia at all which was repeated to colonel f who instantly taking the alarm set off from b intending to trace their route he did trace them easily to clapham but no further for on entering that place they removed into a hackney coach and dismissed the chaise that brought them from epsom all that is known after this is that they were seen to continue the london road i know not what to think after making every possible enquiry on that side london colonel f came on into hertfordshire anxiously renewing them at all the turnpikes and at the inns in barnet and hatfield but without any successno such people had been seen to pass through with the kindest concern he came on to longbourn and broke his apprehensions to us in a manner most creditable to his heart i am sincerely grieved for him and mrs f but no one can throw any blame on them our distress my dear lizzy is very great my father and mother believe the worst but i cannot think so ill of him many circumstances might make it more eligible for them to be married privately in town than to pursue their first plan and even if he could form such a design against a young woman of lydias connections which is not likely can i suppose her so lost to everything impossible i grieve to find however that colonel f is not disposed to depend upon their marriage he shook his head when i expressed my hopes and said he feared w was not a man to be trusted my poor mother is really ill and keeps her room could she exert herself it would be better but this is not to be expected and as to my father i never in my life saw him so affected poor kitty has anger for having concealed their attachment but as it was a matter of confidence one cannot wonder i am truly glad dearest lizzy that you have been spared something of these distressing scenes but now as the first shock is over shall i own that i long for your return i am not so selfish however as to press for it if inconvenient adieu i take up my pen again to do what i have just told you i would not but circumstances are such that i cannot help earnestly begging you all to come here as soon as possible i know my dear uncle and aunt so well that i am not afraid of requesting it though i have still something more to ask of the former my father is going to london with colonel forster instantly to try to discover her what he means to do i am sure i know not but his excessive distress will not allow him to pursue any measure in the best and safest way and colonel forster is obliged to be at brighton again tomorrow evening in such an exigence my uncles advice and assistance would be everything in the world he will immediately comprehend what i must feel and i rely upon his goodness oh where where is my uncle cried elizabeth darting from her seat as she finished the letter in eagerness to follow him without losing a moment of the time so precious but as she reached the door it was opened by a servant and mr darcy appeared her pale face and impetuous manner made him start and before he could recover himself to speak she in whose mind every idea was superseded by lydias situation hastily exclaimed i beg your pardon but i must leave you i must find mr gardiner this moment on business that cannot be delayed i have not an instant to lose good god what is the matter cried he with more feeling than politeness then recollecting himself i will not detain you a minute but let me or let the servant go after mr and mrs gardiner you are not well enough you cannot go yourself elizabeth hesitated but her knees trembled under her and she felt how little would be gained by her attempting to pursue them calling back the servant therefore she commissioned him though in so breathless an accent as made her almost unintelligible to fetch his master and mistress home instantly on his quitting the room she sat down unable to support herself and looking so miserably ill that it was impossible for darcy to leave her or to refrain from saying in a tone of gentleness and commiseration let me call your maid is there nothing you could take to give you present relief a glass of wine shall i get you one you are very ill no i thank you she replied endeavouring to recover herself there is nothing the matter with me i am quite well i am only distressed by some dreadful news which i have just received from longbourn she burst into tears as she alluded to it and for a few minutes could not speak another word darcy in wretched suspense could only say something indistinctly of his concern and observe her in compassionate silence at length she spoke again i have just had a letter from jane with such dreadful news it cannot be concealed from anyone my younger sister has left all her friendshas eloped has thrown herself into the power ofof mr wickham they are gone off together from brighton you know him too well to doubt the rest she has no money no connections nothing that can tempt him toshe is lost for ever darcy was fixed in astonishment when i consider she added in a yet more agitated voice that i might have prevented it i who knew what he was had i but explained some part of it onlysome part of what i learnt to my own family had his character been known this could not have happened but it is allall too late now i am grieved indeed cried darcy grievedshocked but is it certainabsolutely certain oh yes they left brighton together on sunday night and were traced almost to london but not beyond they are certainly not gone to scotland and what has been done what has been attempted to recover her my father is gone to london and jane has written to beg my uncles immediate assistance and we shall be off i hope in halfanhour but nothing can be donei know very well that nothing can be done how is such a man to be worked on how are they even to be discovered i have not the smallest hope it is every way horrible darcy shook his head in silent acquiescence when my eyes were opened to his real characteroh had i known what i ought what i dared to do but i knew noti was afraid of doing too much wretched wretched mistake darcy made no answer he seemed scarcely to hear her and was walking up and down the room in earnest meditation his brow contracted his air gloomy elizabeth soon observed and instantly understood it her power was sinking everything must sink under such a proof of family weakness such an assurance of the deepest disgrace she could neither wonder nor condemn but the belief of his selfconquest brought nothing consolatory to her bosom afforded no palliation of her distress it was on the contrary exactly calculated to make her understand her own wishes and never had she so honestly felt that she could have loved him as now when all love must be vain but self though it would intrude could not engross her lydiathe humiliation the misery she was bringing on them all soon swallowed up every private care and covering her face with her handkerchief elizabeth was soon lost to everything else and after a pause of several minutes was only recalled to a sense of her situation by the voice of her companion who in a manner which though it spoke compassion spoke likewise restraint said i am afraid you have been long desiring my absence nor have i anything to plead in excuse of my stay but real though unavailing concern would to heaven that anything could be either said or done on my part that might offer consolation to such distress but i will not torment you with vain wishes which may seem purposely to ask for your thanks this unfortunate affair will i fear prevent my sisters having the pleasure of seeing you at pemberley today oh yes be so kind as to apologise for us to miss darcy say that urgent business calls us home immediately conceal the unhappy truth as long as it is possible i know it cannot be long he readily assured her of his secrecy again expressed his sorrow for her distress wished it a happier conclusion than there was at present reason to hope and leaving his compliments for her relations with only one serious parting look went away as he quitted the room elizabeth felt how improbable it was that they should ever see each other again on such terms of cordiality as had marked their several meetings in derbyshire and as she threw a retrospective glance over the whole of their acquaintance so full of contradictions and varieties sighed at the perverseness of those feelings which would now have promoted its continuance and would formerly have rejoiced in its termination if gratitude and esteem are good foundations of affection elizabeths change of sentiment will be neither improbable nor faulty but if otherwiseif regard springing from such sources is unreasonable or unnatural in comparison of what is so often described as arising on a first interview with its object and even before two words have been exchanged nothing can be said in her defence except that she had given somewhat of a trial to the latter method in her partiality for wickham and that its ill success might perhaps authorise her to seek the other less interesting mode of attachment be that as it may she saw him go with regret and in this early example of what lydias infamy must produce found additional anguish as she reflected on that wretched business never since reading janes second letter had she entertained a hope of wickhams meaning to marry her no one but jane she thought could flatter herself with such an expectation surprise was the least of her feelings on this development while the contents of the first letter remained in her mind she was all surpriseall astonishment that wickham should marry a girl whom it was impossible he could marry for money and how lydia could ever have attached him had appeared incomprehensible but now it was all too natural for such an attachment as this she might have sufficient charms and though she did not suppose lydia to be deliberately engaging in an elopement without the intention of marriage she had no difficulty in believing that neither her virtue nor her understanding would preserve her from falling an easy prey she had never perceived while the regiment was in hertfordshire that lydia had any partiality for him but she was convinced that lydia wanted only encouragement to attach herself to anybody sometimes one officer sometimes another had been her favourite as their attentions raised them in her opinion her affections had continually been fluctuating but never without an object the mischief of neglect and mistaken indulgence towards such a girloh how acutely did she now feel it she was wild to be at hometo hear to see to be upon the spot to share with jane in the cares that must now fall wholly upon her in a family so deranged a father absent a mother incapable of exertion and requiring constant attendance and though almost persuaded that nothing could be done for lydia her uncles interference seemed of the utmost importance and till he entered the room her impatience was severe mr and mrs gardiner had hurried back in alarm supposing by the servants account that their niece was taken suddenly ill but satisfying them instantly on that head she eagerly communicated the cause of their summons reading the two letters aloud and dwelling on the postscript of the last with trembling energy though lydia had never been a favourite with them mr and mrs gardiner could not but be deeply afflicted not lydia only but all were concerned in it and after the first exclamations of surprise and horror mr gardiner promised every assistance in his power elizabeth though expecting no less thanked him with tears of gratitude and all three being actuated by one spirit everything relating to their journey was speedily settled they were to be off as soon as possible but what is to be done about pemberley cried mrs gardiner john told us mr darcy was here when you sent for us was it so yes and i told him we should not be able to keep our engagement that is all settled that is all settled repeated the other as she ran into her room to prepare and are they upon such terms as for her to disclose the real truth oh that i knew how it was but wishes were vain or at least could only serve to amuse her in the hurry and confusion of the following hour had elizabeth been at leisure to be idle she would have remained certain that all employment was impossible to one so wretched as herself but she had her share of business as well as her aunt and amongst the rest there were notes to be written to all their friends at lambton with false excuses for their sudden departure an hour however saw the whole completed and mr gardiner meanwhile having settled his account at the inn nothing remained to be done but to go and elizabeth after all the misery of the morning found herself in a shorter space of time than she could have supposed seated in the carriage and on the road to longbourn i have been thinking it over again elizabeth said her uncle as they drove from the town and really upon serious consideration i am much more inclined than i was to judge as your eldest sister does on the matter it appears to me so very unlikely that any young man should form such a design against a girl who is by no means unprotected or friendless and who was actually staying in his colonels family that i am strongly inclined to hope the best could he expect that her friends would not step forward could he expect to be noticed again by the regiment after such an affront to colonel forster his temptation is not adequate to the risk do you really think so cried elizabeth brightening up for a moment upon my word said mrs gardiner i begin to be of your uncles opinion it is really too great a violation of decency honour and interest for him to be guilty of i cannot think so very ill of wickham can you yourself lizzy so wholly give him up as to believe him capable of it not perhaps of neglecting his own interest but of every other neglect i can believe him capable if indeed it should be so but i dare not hope it why should they not go on to scotland if that had been the case in the first place replied mr gardiner there is no absolute proof that they are not gone to scotland oh but their removing from the chaise into a hackney coach is such a presumption and besides no traces of them were to be found on the barnet road well thensupposing them to be in london they may be there though for the purpose of concealment for no more exceptional purpose it is not likely that money should be very abundant on either side and it might strike them that they could be more economically though less expeditiously married in london than in scotland but why all this secrecy why any fear of detection why must their marriage be private oh no nothis is not likely his most particular friend you see by janes account was persuaded of his never intending to marry her wickham will never marry a woman without some money he cannot afford it and what claims has lydiawhat attraction has she beyond youth health and good humour that could make him for her sake forego every chance of benefiting himself by marrying well as to what restraint the apprehensions of disgrace in the corps might throw on a dishonourable elopement with her i am not able to judge for i know nothing of the effects that such a step might produce but as to your other objection i am afraid it will hardly hold good lydia has no brothers to step forward and he might imagine from my fathers behaviour from his indolence and the little attention he has ever seemed to give to what was going forward in his family that he would do as little and think as little about it as any father could do in such a matter but can you think that lydia is so lost to everything but love of him as to consent to live with him on any terms other than marriage it does seem and it is most shocking indeed replied elizabeth with tears in her eyes that a sisters sense of decency and virtue in such a point should admit of doubt but really i know not what to say perhaps i am not doing her justice but she is very young she has never been taught to think on serious subjects and for the last halfyear nay for a twelvemonthshe has been given up to nothing but amusement and vanity she has been allowed to dispose of her time in the most idle and frivolous manner and to adopt any opinions that came in her way since the shire were first quartered in meryton nothing but love flirtation and officers have been in her head she has been doing everything in her power by thinking and talking on the subject to give greaterwhat shall i call it susceptibility to her feelings which are naturally lively enough and we all know that wickham has every charm of person and address that can captivate a woman but you see that jane said her aunt does not think so very ill of wickham as to believe him capable of the attempt of whom does jane ever think ill and who is there whatever might be their former conduct that she would think capable of such an attempt till it were proved against them but jane knows as well as i do what wickham really is we both know that he has been profligate in every sense of the word that he has neither integrity nor honour that he is as false and deceitful as he is insinuating and do you really know all this cried mrs gardiner whose curiosity as to the mode of her intelligence was all alive i do indeed replied elizabeth colouring i told you the other day of his infamous behaviour to mr darcy and you yourself when last at longbourn heard in what manner he spoke of the man who had behaved with such forbearance and liberality towards him and there are other circumstances which i am not at libertywhich it is not worth while to relate but his lies about the whole pemberley family are endless from what he said of miss darcy i was thoroughly prepared to see a proud reserved disagreeable girl yet he knew to the contrary himself he must know that she was as amiable and unpretending as we have found her but does lydia know nothing of this can she be ignorant of what you and jane seem so well to understand oh yesthat that is the worst of all till i was in kent and saw so much both of mr darcy and his relation colonel fitzwilliam i was ignorant of the truth myself and when i returned home the shire was to leave meryton in a week or fortnights time as that was the case neither jane to whom i related the whole nor i thought it necessary to make our knowledge public for of what use could it apparently be to any one that the good opinion which all the neighbourhood had of him should then be overthrown and even when it was settled that lydia should go with mrs forster the necessity of opening her eyes to his character never occurred to me that she could be in any danger from the deception never entered my head that such a consequence as this could ensue you may easily believe was far enough from my thoughts when they all removed to brighton therefore you had no reason i suppose to believe them fond of each other not the slightest i can remember no symptom of affection on either side and had anything of the kind been perceptible you must be aware that ours is not a family on which it could be thrown away when first he entered the corps she was ready enough to admire him but so we all were every girl in or near meryton was out of her senses about him for the first two months but he never distinguished her by any particular attention and consequently after a moderate period of extravagant and wild admiration her fancy for him gave way and others of the regiment who treated her with more distinction again became her favourites it may be easily believed that however little of novelty could be added to their fears hopes and conjectures on this interesting subject by its repeated discussion no other could detain them from it long during the whole of the journey from elizabeths thoughts it was never absent fixed there by the keenest of all anguish selfreproach she could find no interval of ease or forgetfulness they travelled as expeditiously as possible and sleeping one night on the road reached longbourn by dinner time the next day it was a comfort to elizabeth to consider that jane could not have been wearied by long expectations the little gardiners attracted by the sight of a chaise were standing on the steps of the house as they entered the paddock and when the carriage drove up to the door the joyful surprise that lighted up their faces and displayed itself over their whole bodies in a variety of capers and frisks was the first pleasing earnest of their welcome elizabeth jumped out and after giving each of them a hasty kiss hurried into the vestibule where jane who came running down from her mothers apartment immediately met her elizabeth as she affectionately embraced her whilst tears filled the eyes of both lost not a moment in asking whether anything had been heard of the fugitives not yet replied jane but now that my dear uncle is come i hope everything will be well is my father in town yes he went on tuesday as i wrote you word and have you heard from him often we have heard only twice he wrote me a few lines on wednesday to say that he had arrived in safety and to give me his directions which i particularly begged him to do he merely added that he should not write again till he had something of importance to mention and my motherhow is she how are you all my mother is tolerably well i trust though her spirits are greatly shaken she is up stairs and will have great satisfaction in seeing you all she does not yet leave her dressingroom mary and kitty thank heaven are quite well but youhow are you cried elizabeth you look pale how much you must have gone through her sister however assured her of her being perfectly well and their conversation which had been passing while mr and mrs gardiner were engaged with their children was now put an end to by the approach of the whole party jane ran to her uncle and aunt and welcomed and thanked them both with alternate smiles and tears when they were all in the drawingroom the questions which elizabeth had already asked were of course repeated by the others and they soon found that jane had no intelligence to give the sanguine hope of good however which the benevolence of her heart suggested had not yet deserted her she still expected that it would all end well and that every morning would bring some letter either from lydia or her father to explain their proceedings and perhaps announce their marriage mrs bennet to whose apartment they all repaired after a few minutes conversation together received them exactly as might be expected with tears and lamentations of regret invectives against the villainous conduct of wickham and complaints of her own sufferings and illusage blaming everybody but the person to whose illjudging indulgence the errors of her daughter must principally be owing if i had been able said she to carry my point in going to brighton with all my family this would not have happened but poor dear lydia had nobody to take care of her why did the forsters ever let her go out of their sight i am sure there was some great neglect or other on their side for she is not the kind of girl to do such a thing if she had been well looked after i always thought they were very unfit to have the charge of her but i was overruled as i always am poor dear child and now heres mr bennet gone away and i know he will fight wickham wherever he meets him and then he will be killed and what is to become of us all the collinses will turn us out before he is cold in his grave and if you are not kind to us brother i do not know what we shall do they all exclaimed against such terrific ideas and mr gardiner after general assurances of his affection for her and all her family told her that he meant to be in london the very next day and would assist mr bennet in every endeavour for recovering lydia do not give way to useless alarm added he though it is right to be prepared for the worst there is no occasion to look on it as certain it is not quite a week since they left brighton in a few days more we may gain some news of them and till we know that they are not married and have no design of marrying do not let us give the matter over as lost as soon as i get to town i shall go to my brother and make him come home with me to gracechurch street and then we may consult together as to what is to be done oh my dear brother replied mrs bennet that is exactly what i could most wish for and now do when you get to town find them out wherever they may be and if they are not married already make them marry and as for wedding clothes do not let them wait for that but tell lydia she shall have as much money as she chooses to buy them after they are married and above all keep mr bennet from fighting tell him what a dreadful state i am in that i am frighted out of my witsand have such tremblings such flutterings all over mesuch spasms in my side and pains in my head and such beatings at heart that i can get no rest by night nor by day and tell my dear lydia not to give any directions about her clothes till she has seen me for she does not know which are the best warehouses oh brother how kind you are i know you will contrive it all but mr gardiner though he assured her again of his earnest endeavours in the cause could not avoid recommending moderation to her as well in her hopes as her fear and after talking with her in this manner till dinner was on the table they all left her to vent all her feelings on the housekeeper who attended in the absence of her daughters though her brother and sister were persuaded that there was no real occasion for such a seclusion from the family they did not attempt to oppose it for they knew that she had not prudence enough to hold her tongue before the servants while they waited at table and judged it better that one only of the household and the one whom they could most trust should comprehend all her fears and solicitude on the subject in the diningroom they were soon joined by mary and kitty who had been too busily engaged in their separate apartments to make their appearance before one came from her books and the other from her toilette the faces of both however were tolerably calm and no change was visible in either except that the loss of her favourite sister or the anger which she had herself incurred in this business had given more of fretfulness than usual to the accents of kitty as for mary she was mistress enough of herself to whisper to elizabeth with a countenance of grave reflection soon after they were seated at table this is a most unfortunate affair and will probably be much talked of but we must stem the tide of malice and pour into the wounded bosoms of each other the balm of sisterly consolation then perceiving in elizabeth no inclination of replying she added unhappy as the event must be for lydia we may draw from it this useful lesson that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable that one false step involves her in endless ruin that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the undeserving of the other sex elizabeth lifted up her eyes in amazement but was too much oppressed to make any reply mary however continued to console herself with such kind of moral extractions from the evil before them in the afternoon the two elder miss bennets were able to be for halfanhour by themselves and elizabeth instantly availed herself of the opportunity of making many enquiries which jane was equally eager to satisfy after joining in general lamentations over the dreadful sequel of this event which elizabeth considered as all but certain and miss bennet could not assert to be wholly impossible the former continued the subject by saying but tell me all and everything about it which i have not already heard give me further particulars what did colonel forster say had they no apprehension of anything before the elopement took place they must have seen them together for ever colonel forster did own that he had often suspected some partiality especially on lydias side but nothing to give him any alarm i am so grieved for him his behaviour was attentive and kind to the utmost he was coming to us in order to assure us of his concern before he had any idea of their not being gone to scotland when that apprehension first got abroad it hastened his journey and was denny convinced that wickham would not marry did he know of their intending to go off had colonel forster seen denny himself yes but when questioned by him denny denied knowing anything of their plans and would not give his real opinion about it he did not repeat his persuasion of their not marryingand from that i am inclined to hope he might have been misunderstood before and till colonel forster came himself not one of you entertained a doubt i suppose of their being really married how was it possible that such an idea should enter our brains i felt a little uneasya little fearful of my sisters happiness with him in marriage because i knew that his conduct had not been always quite right my father and mother knew nothing of that they only felt how imprudent a match it must be kitty then owned with a very natural triumph on knowing more than the rest of us that in lydias last letter she had prepared her for such a step she had known it seems of their being in love with each other many weeks but not before they went to brighton no i believe not and did colonel forster appear to think well of wickham himself does he know his real character i must confess that he did not speak so well of wickham as he formerly did he believed him to be imprudent and extravagant and since this sad affair has taken place it is said that he left meryton greatly in debt but i hope this may be false oh jane had we been less secret had we told what we knew of him this could not have happened perhaps it would have been better replied her sister but to expose the former faults of any person without knowing what their present feelings were seemed unjustifiable we acted with the best intentions could colonel forster repeat the particulars of lydias note to his wife he brought it with him for us to see jane then took it from her pocketbook and gave it to elizabeth these were the contents my dear harriet you will laugh when you know where i am gone and i cannot help laughing myself at your surprise tomorrow morning as soon as i am missed i am going to gretna green and if you cannot guess with who i shall think you a simpleton for there is but one man in the world i love and he is an angel i should never be happy without him so think it no harm to be off you need not send them word at longbourn of my going if you do not like it for it will make the surprise the greater when i write to them and sign my name lydia wickham what a good joke it will be i can hardly write for laughing pray make my excuses to pratt for not keeping my engagement and dancing with him tonight tell him i hope he will excuse me when he knows all and tell him i will dance with him at the next ball we meet with great pleasure i shall send for my clothes when i get to longbourn but i wish you would tell sally to mend a great slit in my worked muslin gown before they are packed up goodbye give my love to colonel forster i hope you will drink to our good journey your affectionate friend lydia bennet oh thoughtless thoughtless lydia cried elizabeth when she had finished it what a letter is this to be written at such a moment but at least it shows that she was serious on the subject of their journey whatever he might afterwards persuade her to it was not on her side a scheme of infamy my poor father how he must have felt it i never saw anyone so shocked he could not speak a word for full ten minutes my mother was taken ill immediately and the whole house in such confusion oh jane cried elizabeth was there a servant belonging to it who did not know the whole story before the end of the day i do not know i hope there was but to be guarded at such a time is very difficult my mother was in hysterics and though i endeavoured to give her every assistance in my power i am afraid i did not do so much as i might have done but the horror of what might possibly happen almost took from me my faculties your attendance upon her has been too much for you you do not look well oh that i had been with you you have had every care and anxiety upon yourself alone mary and kitty have been very kind and would have shared in every fatigue i am sure but i did not think it right for either of them kitty is slight and delicate and mary studies so much that her hours of repose should not be broken in on my aunt phillips came to longbourn on tuesday after my father went away and was so good as to stay till thursday with me she was of great use and comfort to us all and lady lucas has been very kind she walked here on wednesday morning to condole with us and offered her services or any of her daughters if they should be of use to us she had better have stayed at home cried elizabeth perhaps she meant well but under such a misfortune as this one cannot see too little of ones neighbours assistance is impossible condolence insufferable let them triumph over us at a distance and be satisfied she then proceeded to enquire into the measures which her father had intended to pursue while in town for the recovery of his daughter he meant i believe replied jane to go to epsom the place where they last changed horses see the postilions and try if anything could be made out from them his principal object must be to discover the number of the hackney coach which took them from clapham it had come with a fare from london and as he thought that the circumstance of a gentleman and ladys removing from one carriage into another might be remarked he meant to make enquiries at clapham if he could anyhow discover at what house the coachman had before set down his fare he determined to make enquiries there and hoped it might not be impossible to find out the stand and number of the coach i do not know of any other designs that he had formed but he was in such a hurry to be gone and his spirits so greatly discomposed that i had difficulty in finding out even so much as this the whole party were in hopes of a letter from mr bennet the next morning but the post came in without bringing a single line from him his family knew him to be on all common occasions a most negligent and dilatory correspondent but at such a time they had hoped for exertion they were forced to conclude that he had no pleasing intelligence to send but even of that they would have been glad to be certain mr gardiner had waited only for the letters before he set off when he was gone they were certain at least of receiving constant information of what was going on and their uncle promised at parting to prevail on mr bennet to return to longbourn as soon as he could to the great consolation of his sister who considered it as the only security for her husbands not being killed in a duel mrs gardiner and the children were to remain in hertfordshire a few days longer as the former thought her presence might be serviceable to her nieces she shared in their attendance on mrs bennet and was a great comfort to them in their hours of freedom their other aunt also visited them frequently and always as she said with the design of cheering and heartening them upthough as she never came without reporting some fresh instance of wickhams extravagance or irregularity she seldom went away without leaving them more dispirited than she found them all meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who but three months before had been almost an angel of light he was declared to be in debt to every tradesman in the place and his intrigues all honoured with the title of seduction had been extended into every tradesmans family everybody declared that he was the wickedest young man in the world and everybody began to find out that they had always distrusted the appearance of his goodness elizabeth though she did not credit above half of what was said believed enough to make her former assurance of her sisters ruin more certain and even jane who believed still less of it became almost hopeless more especially as the time was now come when if they had gone to scotland which she had never before entirely despaired of they must in all probability have gained some news of them mr gardiner left longbourn on sunday on tuesday his wife received a letter from him it told them that on his arrival he had immediately found out his brother and persuaded him to come to gracechurch street that mr bennet had been to epsom and clapham before his arrival but without gaining any satisfactory information and that he was now determined to enquire at all the principal hotels in town as mr bennet thought it possible they might have gone to one of them on their first coming to london before they procured lodgings mr gardiner himself did not expect any success from this measure but as his brother was eager in it he meant to assist him in pursuing it he added that mr bennet seemed wholly disinclined at present to leave london and promised to write again very soon there was also a postscript to this effect i have written to colonel forster to desire him to find out if possible from some of the young mans intimates in the regiment whether wickham has any relations or connections who would be likely to know in what part of town he has now concealed himself if there were anyone that one could apply to with a probability of gaining such a clue as that it might be of essential consequence at present we have nothing to guide us colonel forster will i dare say do everything in his power to satisfy us on this head but on second thoughts perhaps lizzy could tell us what relations he has now living better than any other person elizabeth was at no loss to understand from whence this deference to her authority proceeded but it was not in her power to give any information of so satisfactory a nature as the compliment deserved she had never heard of his having had any relations except a father and mother both of whom had been dead many years it was possible however that some of his companions in the shire might be able to give more information and though she was not very sanguine in expecting it the application was a something to look forward to every day at longbourn was now a day of anxiety but the most anxious part of each was when the post was expected the arrival of letters was the grand object of every mornings impatience through letters whatever of good or bad was to be told would be communicated and every succeeding day was expected to bring some news of importance but before they heard again from mr gardiner a letter arrived for their father from a different quarter from mr collins which as jane had received directions to open all that came for him in his absence she accordingly read and elizabeth who knew what curiosities his letters always were looked over her and read it likewise it was as follows my dear sir i feel myself called upon by our relationship and my situation in life to condole with you on the grievous affliction you are now suffering under of which we were yesterday informed by a letter from hertfordshire be assured my dear sir that mrs collins and myself sincerely sympathise with you and all your respectable family in your present distress which must be of the bitterest kind because proceeding from a cause which no time can remove no arguments shall be wanting on my part that can alleviate so severe a misfortuneor that may comfort you under a circumstance that must be of all others the most afflicting to a parents mind the death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison of this and it is the more to be lamented because there is reason to suppose as my dear charlotte informs me that this licentiousness of behaviour in your daughter has proceeded from a faulty degree of indulgence though at the same time for the consolation of yourself and mrs bennet i am inclined to think that her own disposition must be naturally bad or she could not be guilty of such an enormity at so early an age howsoever that may be you are grievously to be pitied in which opinion i am not only joined by mrs collins but likewise by lady catherine and her daughter to whom i have related the affair they agree with me in apprehending that this false step in one daughter will be injurious to the fortunes of all the others for who as lady catherine herself condescendingly says will connect themselves with such a family and this consideration leads me moreover to reflect with augmented satisfaction on a certain event of last november for had it been otherwise i must have been involved in all your sorrow and disgrace let me then advise you dear sir to console yourself as much as possible to throw off your unworthy child from your affection for ever and leave her to reap the fruits of her own heinous offense i am dear sir etc etc mr gardiner did not write again till he had received an answer from colonel forster and then he had nothing of a pleasant nature to send it was not known that wickham had a single relationship with whom he kept up any connection and it was certain that he had no near one living his former acquaintances had been numerous but since he had been in the militia it did not appear that he was on terms of particular friendship with any of them there was no one therefore who could be pointed out as likely to give any news of him and in the wretched state of his own finances there was a very powerful motive for secrecy in addition to his fear of discovery by lydias relations for it had just transpired that he had left gaming debts behind him to a very considerable amount colonel forster believed that more than a thousand pounds would be necessary to clear his expenses at brighton he owed a good deal in town but his debts of honour were still more formidable mr gardiner did not attempt to conceal these particulars from the longbourn family jane heard them with horror a gamester she cried this is wholly unexpected i had not an idea of it mr gardiner added in his letter that they might expect to see their father at home on the following day which was saturday rendered spiritless by the illsuccess of all their endeavours he had yielded to his brotherinlaws entreaty that he would return to his family and leave it to him to do whatever occasion might suggest to be advisable for continuing their pursuit when mrs bennet was told of this she did not express so much satisfaction as her children expected considering what her anxiety for his life had been before what is he coming home and without poor lydia she cried sure he will not leave london before he has found them who is to fight wickham and make him marry her if he comes away as mrs gardiner began to wish to be at home it was settled that she and the children should go to london at the same time that mr bennet came from it the coach therefore took them the first stage of their journey and brought its master back to longbourn mrs gardiner went away in all the perplexity about elizabeth and her derbyshire friend that had attended her from that part of the world his name had never been voluntarily mentioned before them by her niece and the kind of halfexpectation which mrs gardiner had formed of their being followed by a letter from him had ended in nothing elizabeth had received none since her return that could come from pemberley the present unhappy state of the family rendered any other excuse for the lowness of her spirits unnecessary nothing therefore could be fairly conjectured from that though elizabeth who was by this time tolerably well acquainted with her own feelings was perfectly aware that had she known nothing of darcy she could have borne the dread of lydias infamy somewhat better it would have spared her she thought one sleepless night out of two when mr bennet arrived he had all the appearance of his usual philosophic composure he said as little as he had ever been in the habit of saying made no mention of the business that had taken him away and it was some time before his daughters had courage to speak of it it was not till the afternoon when he had joined them at tea that elizabeth ventured to introduce the subject and then on her briefly expressing her sorrow for what he must have endured he replied say nothing of that who should suffer but myself it has been my own doing and i ought to feel it you must not be too severe upon yourself replied elizabeth you may well warn me against such an evil human nature is so prone to fall into it no lizzy let me once in my life feel how much i have been to blame i am not afraid of being overpowered by the impression it will pass away soon enough do you suppose them to be in london yes where else can they be so well concealed and lydia used to want to go to london added kitty she is happy then said her father drily and her residence there will probably be of some duration then after a short silence he continued lizzy i bear you no illwill for being justified in your advice to me last may which considering the event shows some greatness of mind they were interrupted by miss bennet who came to fetch her mothers tea this is a parade he cried which does one good it gives such an elegance to misfortune another day i will do the same i will sit in my library in my nightcap and powdering gown and give as much trouble as i can or perhaps i may defer it till kitty runs away i am not going to run away papa said kitty fretfully if i should ever go to brighton i would behave better than lydia you go to brighton i would not trust you so near it as eastbourne for fifty pounds no kitty i have at last learnt to be cautious and you will feel the effects of it no officer is ever to enter into my house again nor even to pass through the village balls will be absolutely prohibited unless you stand up with one of your sisters and you are never to stir out of doors till you can prove that you have spent ten minutes of every day in a rational manner kitty who took all these threats in a serious light began to cry well well said he do not make yourself unhappy if you are a good girl for the next ten years i will take you to a review at the end of them two days after mr bennets return as jane and elizabeth were walking together in the shrubbery behind the house they saw the housekeeper coming towards them and concluding that she came to call them to their mother went forward to meet her but instead of the expected summons when they approached her she said to miss bennet i beg your pardon madam for interrupting you but i was in hopes you might have got some good news from town so i took the liberty of coming to ask what do you mean hill we have heard nothing from town dear madam cried mrs hill in great astonishment dont you know there is an express come for master from mr gardiner he has been here this halfhour and master has had a letter away ran the girls too eager to get in to have time for speech they ran through the vestibule into the breakfastroom from thence to the library their father was in neither and they were on the point of seeking him up stairs with their mother when they were met by the butler who said if you are looking for my master maam he is walking towards the little copse upon this information they instantly passed through the hall once more and ran across the lawn after their father who was deliberately pursuing his way towards a small wood on one side of the paddock jane who was not so light nor so much in the habit of running as elizabeth soon lagged behind while her sister panting for breath came up with him and eagerly cried out oh papa what newswhat news have you heard from my uncle yes i have had a letter from him by express well and what news does it bringgood or bad what is there of good to be expected said he taking the letter from his pocket but perhaps you would like to read it elizabeth impatiently caught it from his hand jane now came up read it aloud said their father for i hardly know myself what it is about gracechurch street monday august 2 my dear brother at last i am able to send you some tidings of my niece and such as upon the whole i hope it will give you satisfaction soon after you left me on saturday i was fortunate enough to find out in what part of london they were the particulars i reserve till we meet it is enough to know they are discovered i have seen them both then it is as i always hoped cried jane they are married elizabeth read on i have seen them both they are not married nor can i find there was any intention of being so but if you are willing to perform the engagements which i have ventured to make on your side i hope it will not be long before they are all that is required of you is to assure to your daughter by settlement her equal share of the five thousand pounds secured among your children after the decease of yourself and my sister and moreover to enter into an engagement of allowing her during your life one hundred pounds per annum these are conditions which considering everything i had no hesitation in complying with as far as i thought myself privileged for you i shall send this by express that no time may be lost in bringing me your answer you will easily comprehend from these particulars that mr wickhams circumstances are not so hopeless as they are generally believed to be the world has been deceived in that respect and i am happy to say there will be some little money even when all his debts are discharged to settle on my niece in addition to her own fortune if as i conclude will be the case you send me full powers to act in your name throughout the whole of this business i will immediately give directions to haggerston for preparing a proper settlement there will not be the smallest occasion for your coming to town again therefore stay quiet at longbourn and depend on my diligence and care send back your answer as fast as you can and be careful to write explicitly we have judged it best that my niece should be married from this house of which i hope you will approve she comes to us today i shall write again as soon as anything more is determined on yours etc edw gardiner is it possible cried elizabeth when she had finished can it be possible that he will marry her wickham is not so undeserving then as we thought him said her sister my dear father i congratulate you and have you answered the letter cried elizabeth no but it must be done soon most earnestly did she then entreat him to lose no more time before he wrote oh my dear father she cried come back and write immediately consider how important every moment is in such a case let me write for you said jane if you dislike the trouble yourself i dislike it very much he replied but it must be done and so saying he turned back with them and walked towards the house and may i ask said elizabeth but the terms i suppose must be complied with complied with i am only ashamed of his asking so little and they must marry yet he is such a man yes yes they must marry there is nothing else to be done but there are two things that i want very much to know one is how much money your uncle has laid down to bring it about and the other how am i ever to pay him money my uncle cried jane what do you mean sir i mean that no man in his senses would marry lydia on so slight a temptation as one hundred a year during my life and fifty after i am gone that is very true said elizabeth though it had not occurred to me before his debts to be discharged and something still to remain oh it must be my uncles doings generous good man i am afraid he has distressed himself a small sum could not do all this no said her father wickhams a fool if he takes her with a farthing less than ten thousand pounds i should be sorry to think so ill of him in the very beginning of our relationship ten thousand pounds heaven forbid how is half such a sum to be repaid mr bennet made no answer and each of them deep in thought continued silent till they reached the house their father then went on to the library to write and the girls walked into the breakfastroom and they are really to be married cried elizabeth as soon as they were by themselves how strange this is and for this we are to be thankful that they should marry small as is their chance of happiness and wretched as is his character we are forced to rejoice oh lydia i comfort myself with thinking replied jane that he certainly would not marry lydia if he had not a real regard for her though our kind uncle has done something towards clearing him i cannot believe that ten thousand pounds or anything like it has been advanced he has children of his own and may have more how could he spare half ten thousand pounds if he were ever able to learn what wickhams debts have been said elizabeth and how much is settled on his side on our sister we shall exactly know what mr gardiner has done for them because wickham has not sixpence of his own the kindness of my uncle and aunt can never be requited their taking her home and affording her their personal protection and countenance is such a sacrifice to her advantage as years of gratitude cannot enough acknowledge by this time she is actually with them if such goodness does not make her miserable now she will never deserve to be happy what a meeting for her when she first sees my aunt we must endeavour to forget all that has passed on either side said jane i hope and trust they will yet be happy his consenting to marry her is a proof i will believe that he is come to a right way of thinking their mutual affection will steady them and i flatter myself they will settle so quietly and live in so rational a manner as may in time make their past imprudence forgotten their conduct has been such replied elizabeth as neither you nor i nor anybody can ever forget it is useless to talk of it it now occurred to the girls that their mother was in all likelihood perfectly ignorant of what had happened they went to the library therefore and asked their father whether he would not wish them to make it known to her he was writing and without raising his head coolly replied just as you please may we take my uncles letter to read to her take whatever you like and get away elizabeth took the letter from his writingtable and they went up stairs together mary and kitty were both with mrs bennet one communication would therefore do for all after a slight preparation for good news the letter was read aloud mrs bennet could hardly contain herself as soon as jane had read mr gardiners hope of lydias being soon married her joy burst forth and every following sentence added to its exuberance she was now in an irritation as violent from delight as she had ever been fidgety from alarm and vexation to know that her daughter would be married was enough she was disturbed by no fear for her felicity nor humbled by any remembrance of her misconduct my dear dear lydia she cried this is delightful indeed she will be married i shall see her again she will be married at sixteen my good kind brother i knew how it would be i knew he would manage everything how i long to see her and to see dear wickham too but the clothes the wedding clothes i will write to my sister gardiner about them directly lizzy my dear run down to your father and ask him how much he will give her stay stay i will go myself ring the bell kitty for hill i will put on my things in a moment my dear dear lydia how merry we shall be together when we meet her eldest daughter endeavoured to give some relief to the violence of these transports by leading her thoughts to the obligations which mr gardiners behaviour laid them all under for we must attribute this happy conclusion she added in a great measure to his kindness we are persuaded that he has pledged himself to assist mr wickham with money well cried her mother it is all very right who should do it but her own uncle if he had not had a family of his own i and my children must have had all his money you know and it is the first time we have ever had anything from him except a few presents well i am so happy in a short time i shall have a daughter married mrs wickham how well it sounds and she was only sixteen last june my dear jane i am in such a flutter that i am sure i cant write so i will dictate and you write for me we will settle with your father about the money afterwards but the things should be ordered immediately she was then proceeding to all the particulars of calico muslin and cambric and would shortly have dictated some very plentiful orders had not jane though with some difficulty persuaded her to wait till her father was at leisure to be consulted one days delay she observed would be of small importance and her mother was too happy to be quite so obstinate as usual other schemes too came into her head i will go to meryton said she as soon as i am dressed and tell the good good news to my sister philips and as i come back i can call on lady lucas and mrs long kitty run down and order the carriage an airing would do me a great deal of good i am sure girls can i do anything for you in meryton oh here comes hill my dear hill have you heard the good news miss lydia is going to be married and you shall all have a bowl of punch to make merry at her wedding mrs hill began instantly to express her joy elizabeth received her congratulations amongst the rest and then sick of this folly took refuge in her own room that she might think with freedom poor lydias situation must at best be bad enough but that it was no worse she had need to be thankful she felt it so and though in looking forward neither rational happiness nor worldly prosperity could be justly expected for her sister in looking back to what they had feared only two hours ago she felt all the advantages of what they had gained mr bennet had very often wished before this period of his life that instead of spending his whole income he had laid by an annual sum for the better provision of his children and of his wife if she survived him he now wished it more than ever had he done his duty in that respect lydia need not have been indebted to her uncle for whatever of honour or credit could now be purchased for her the satisfaction of prevailing on one of the most worthless young men in great britain to be her husband might then have rested in its proper place he was seriously concerned that a cause of so little advantage to anyone should be forwarded at the sole expense of his brotherinlaw and he was determined if possible to find out the extent of his assistance and to discharge the obligation as soon as he could when first mr bennet had married economy was held to be perfectly useless for of course they were to have a son the son was to join in cutting off the entail as soon as he should be of age and the widow and younger children would by that means be provided for five daughters successively entered the world but yet the son was to come and mrs bennet for many years after lydias birth had been certain that he would this event had at last been despaired of but it was then too late to be saving mrs bennet had no turn for economy and her husbands love of independence had alone prevented their exceeding their income five thousand pounds was settled by marriage articles on mrs bennet and the children but in what proportions it should be divided amongst the latter depended on the will of the parents this was one point with regard to lydia at least which was now to be settled and mr bennet could have no hesitation in acceding to the proposal before him in terms of grateful acknowledgment for the kindness of his brother though expressed most concisely he then delivered on paper his perfect approbation of all that was done and his willingness to fulfil the engagements that had been made for him he had never before supposed that could wickham be prevailed on to marry his daughter it would be done with so little inconvenience to himself as by the present arrangement he would scarcely be ten pounds a year the loser by the hundred that was to be paid them for what with her board and pocket allowance and the continual presents in money which passed to her through her mothers hands lydias expenses had been very little within that sum that it would be done with such trifling exertion on his side too was another very welcome surprise for his wish at present was to have as little trouble in the business as possible when the first transports of rage which had produced his activity in seeking her were over he naturally returned to all his former indolence his letter was soon dispatched for though dilatory in undertaking business he was quick in its execution he begged to know further particulars of what he was indebted to his brother but was too angry with lydia to send any message to her the good news spread quickly through the house and with proportionate speed through the neighbourhood it was borne in the latter with decent philosophy to be sure it would have been more for the advantage of conversation had miss lydia bennet come upon the town or as the happiest alternative been secluded from the world in some distant farmhouse but there was much to be talked of in marrying her and the goodnatured wishes for her welldoing which had proceeded before from all the spiteful old ladies in meryton lost but a little of their spirit in this change of circumstances because with such an husband her misery was considered certain it was a fortnight since mrs bennet had been downstairs but on this happy day she again took her seat at the head of her table and in spirits oppressively high no sentiment of shame gave a damp to her triumph the marriage of a daughter which had been the first object of her wishes since jane was sixteen was now on the point of accomplishment and her thoughts and her words ran wholly on those attendants of elegant nuptials fine muslins new carriages and servants she was busily searching through the neighbourhood for a proper situation for her daughter and without knowing or considering what their income might be rejected many as deficient in size and importance haye park might do said she if the gouldings could quit itor the great house at stoke if the drawingroom were larger but ashworth is too far off i could not bear to have her ten miles from me and as for pulvis lodge the attics are dreadful her husband allowed her to talk on without interruption while the servants remained but when they had withdrawn he said to her mrs bennet before you take any or all of these houses for your son and daughter let us come to a right understanding into one house in this neighbourhood they shall never have admittance i will not encourage the impudence of either by receiving them at longbourn a long dispute followed this declaration but mr bennet was firm it soon led to another and mrs bennet found with amazement and horror that her husband would not advance a guinea to buy clothes for his daughter he protested that she should receive from him no mark of affection whatever on the occasion mrs bennet could hardly comprehend it that his anger could be carried to such a point of inconceivable resentment as to refuse his daughter a privilege without which her marriage would scarcely seem valid exceeded all she could believe possible she was more alive to the disgrace which her want of new clothes must reflect on her daughters nuptials than to any sense of shame at her eloping and living with wickham a fortnight before they took place elizabeth was now most heartily sorry that she had from the distress of the moment been led to make mr darcy acquainted with their fears for her sister for since her marriage would so shortly give the proper termination to the elopement they might hope to conceal its unfavourable beginning from all those who were not immediately on the spot she had no fear of its spreading farther through his means there were few people on whose secrecy she would have more confidently depended but at the same time there was no one whose knowledge of a sisters frailty would have mortified her so muchnot however from any fear of disadvantage from it individually to herself for at any rate there seemed a gulf impassable between them had lydias marriage been concluded on the most honourable terms it was not to be supposed that mr darcy would connect himself with a family where to every other objection would now be added an alliance and relationship of the nearest kind with a man whom he so justly scorned from such a connection she could not wonder that he would shrink the wish of procuring her regard which she had assured herself of his feeling in derbyshire could not in rational expectation survive such a blow as this she was humbled she was grieved she repented though she hardly knew of what she became jealous of his esteem when she could no longer hope to be benefited by it she wanted to hear of him when there seemed the least chance of gaining intelligence she was convinced that she could have been happy with him when it was no longer likely they should meet what a triumph for him as she often thought could he know that the proposals which she had proudly spurned only four months ago would now have been most gladly and gratefully received he was as generous she doubted not as the most generous of his sex but while he was mortal there must be a triumph she began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man who in disposition and talents would most suit her his understanding and temper though unlike her own would have answered all her wishes it was an union that must have been to the advantage of both by her ease and liveliness his mind might have been softened his manners improved and from his judgement information and knowledge of the world she must have received benefit of greater importance but no such happy marriage could now teach the admiring multitude what connubial felicity really was an union of a different tendency and precluding the possibility of the other was soon to be formed in their family how wickham and lydia were to be supported in tolerable independence she could not imagine but how little of permanent happiness could belong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions were stronger than their virtue she could easily conjecture mr gardiner soon wrote again to his brother to mr bennets acknowledgments he briefly replied with assurance of his eagerness to promote the welfare of any of his family and concluded with entreaties that the subject might never be mentioned to him again the principal purport of his letter was to inform them that mr wickham had resolved on quitting the militia it was greatly my wish that he should do so he added as soon as his marriage was fixed on and i think you will agree with me in considering the removal from that corps as highly advisable both on his account and my nieces it is mr wickhams intention to go into the regulars and among his former friends there are still some who are able and willing to assist him in the army he has the promise of an ensigncy in general s regiment now quartered in the north it is an advantage to have it so far from this part of the kingdom he promises fairly and i hope among different people where they may each have a character to preserve they will both be more prudent i have written to colonel forster to inform him of our present arrangements and to request that he will satisfy the various creditors of mr wickham in and near brighton with assurances of speedy payment for which i have pledged myself and will you give yourself the trouble of carrying similar assurances to his creditors in meryton of whom i shall subjoin a list according to his information he has given in all his debts i hope at least he has not deceived us haggerston has our directions and all will be completed in a week they will then join his regiment unless they are first invited to longbourn and i understand from mrs gardiner that my niece is very desirous of seeing you all before she leaves the south she is well and begs to be dutifully remembered to you and her motheryours etc e gardiner mr bennet and his daughters saw all the advantages of wickhams removal from the shire as clearly as mr gardiner could do but mrs bennet was not so well pleased with it lydias being settled in the north just when she had expected most pleasure and pride in her company for she had by no means given up her plan of their residing in hertfordshire was a severe disappointment and besides it was such a pity that lydia should be taken from a regiment where she was acquainted with everybody and had so many favourites she is so fond of mrs forster said she it will be quite shocking to send her away and there are several of the young men too that she likes very much the officers may not be so pleasant in general s regiment his daughters request for such it might be considered of being admitted into her family again before she set off for the north received at first an absolute negative but jane and elizabeth who agreed in wishing for the sake of their sisters feelings and consequence that she should be noticed on her marriage by her parents urged him so earnestly yet so rationally and so mildly to receive her and her husband at longbourn as soon as they were married that he was prevailed on to think as they thought and act as they wished and their mother had the satisfaction of knowing that she would be able to show her married daughter in the neighbourhood before she was banished to the north when mr bennet wrote again to his brother therefore he sent his permission for them to come and it was settled that as soon as the ceremony was over they should proceed to longbourn elizabeth was surprised however that wickham should consent to such a scheme and had she consulted only her own inclination any meeting with him would have been the last object of her wishes their sisters wedding day arrived and jane and elizabeth felt for her probably more than she felt for herself the carriage was sent to meet them at and they were to return in it by dinnertime their arrival was dreaded by the elder miss bennets and jane more especially who gave lydia the feelings which would have attended herself had she been the culprit and was wretched in the thought of what her sister must endure they came the family were assembled in the breakfast room to receive them smiles decked the face of mrs bennet as the carriage drove up to the door her husband looked impenetrably grave her daughters alarmed anxious uneasy lydias voice was heard in the vestibule the door was thrown open and she ran into the room her mother stepped forwards embraced her and welcomed her with rapture gave her hand with an affectionate smile to wickham who followed his lady and wished them both joy with an alacrity which shewed no doubt of their happiness their reception from mr bennet to whom they then turned was not quite so cordial his countenance rather gained in austerity and he scarcely opened his lips the easy assurance of the young couple indeed was enough to provoke him elizabeth was disgusted and even miss bennet was shocked lydia was lydia still untamed unabashed wild noisy and fearless she turned from sister to sister demanding their congratulations and when at length they all sat down looked eagerly round the room took notice of some little alteration in it and observed with a laugh that it was a great while since she had been there wickham was not at all more distressed than herself but his manners were always so pleasing that had his character and his marriage been exactly what they ought his smiles and his easy address while he claimed their relationship would have delighted them all elizabeth had not before believed him quite equal to such assurance but she sat down resolving within herself to draw no limits in future to the impudence of an impudent man she blushed and jane blushed but the cheeks of the two who caused their confusion suffered no variation of colour there was no want of discourse the bride and her mother could neither of them talk fast enough and wickham who happened to sit near elizabeth began enquiring after his acquaintance in that neighbourhood with a good humoured ease which she felt very unable to equal in her replies they seemed each of them to have the happiest memories in the world nothing of the past was recollected with pain and lydia led voluntarily to subjects which her sisters would not have alluded to for the world only think of its being three months she cried since i went away it seems but a fortnight i declare and yet there have been things enough happened in the time good gracious when i went away i am sure i had no more idea of being married till i came back again though i thought it would be very good fun if i was her father lifted up his eyes jane was distressed elizabeth looked expressively at lydia but she who never heard nor saw anything of which she chose to be insensible gaily continued oh mamma do the people hereabouts know i am married today i was afraid they might not and we overtook william goulding in his curricle so i was determined he should know it and so i let down the sideglass next to him and took off my glove and let my hand just rest upon the window frame so that he might see the ring and then i bowed and smiled like anything elizabeth could bear it no longer she got up and ran out of the room and returned no more till she heard them passing through the hall to the dining parlour she then joined them soon enough to see lydia with anxious parade walk up to her mothers right hand and hear her say to her eldest sister ah jane i take your place now and you must go lower because i am a married woman it was not to be supposed that time would give lydia that embarrassment from which she had been so wholly free at first her ease and good spirits increased she longed to see mrs phillips the lucases and all their other neighbours and to hear herself called mrs wickham by each of them and in the mean time she went after dinner to show her ring and boast of being married to mrs hill and the two housemaids well mamma said she when they were all returned to the breakfast room and what do you think of my husband is not he a charming man i am sure my sisters must all envy me i only hope they may have half my good luck they must all go to brighton that is the place to get husbands what a pity it is mamma we did not all go very true and if i had my will we should but my dear lydia i dont at all like your going such a way off must it be so oh lord yesthere is nothing in that i shall like it of all things you and papa and my sisters must come down and see us we shall be at newcastle all the winter and i dare say there will be some balls and i will take care to get good partners for them all i should like it beyond anything said her mother and then when you go away you may leave one or two of my sisters behind you and i dare say i shall get husbands for them before the winter is over i thank you for my share of the favour said elizabeth but i do not particularly like your way of getting husbands their visitors were not to remain above ten days with them mr wickham had received his commission before he left london and he was to join his regiment at the end of a fortnight no one but mrs bennet regretted that their stay would be so short and she made the most of the time by visiting about with her daughter and having very frequent parties at home these parties were acceptable to all to avoid a family circle was even more desirable to such as did think than such as did not wickhams affection for lydia was just what elizabeth had expected to find it not equal to lydias for him she had scarcely needed her present observation to be satisfied from the reason of things that their elopement had been brought on by the strength of her love rather than by his and she would have wondered why without violently caring for her he chose to elope with her at all had she not felt certain that his flight was rendered necessary by distress of circumstances and if that were the case he was not the young man to resist an opportunity of having a companion lydia was exceedingly fond of him he was her dear wickham on every occasion no one was to be put in competition with him he did every thing best in the world and she was sure he would kill more birds on the first of september than any body else in the country one morning soon after their arrival as she was sitting with her two elder sisters she said to elizabeth lizzy i never gave you an account of my wedding i believe you were not by when i told mamma and the others all about it are not you curious to hear how it was managed no really replied elizabeth i think there cannot be too little said on the subject la you are so strange but i must tell you how it went off we were married you know at st clements because wickhams lodgings were in that parish and it was settled that we should all be there by eleven oclock my uncle and aunt and i were to go together and the others were to meet us at the church well monday morning came and i was in such a fuss i was so afraid you know that something would happen to put it off and then i should have gone quite distracted and there was my aunt all the time i was dressing preaching and talking away just as if she was reading a sermon however i did not hear above one word in ten for i was thinking you may suppose of my dear wickham i longed to know whether he would be married in his blue coat well and so we breakfasted at ten as usual i thought it would never be over for by the bye you are to understand that my uncle and aunt were horrid unpleasant all the time i was with them if youll believe me i did not once put my foot out of doors though i was there a fortnight not one party or scheme or anything to be sure london was rather thin but however the little theatre was open well and so just as the carriage came to the door my uncle was called away upon business to that horrid man mr stone and then you know when once they get together there is no end of it well i was so frightened i did not know what to do for my uncle was to give me away and if we were beyond the hour we could not be married all day but luckily he came back again in ten minutes time and then we all set out however i recollected afterwards that if he had been prevented going the wedding need not be put off for mr darcy might have done as well mr darcy repeated elizabeth in utter amazement oh yeshe was to come there with wickham you know but gracious me i quite forgot i ought not to have said a word about it i promised them so faithfully what will wickham say it was to be such a secret if it was to be secret said jane say not another word on the subject you may depend upon my seeking no further oh certainly said elizabeth though burning with curiosity we will ask you no questions thank you said lydia for if you did i should certainly tell you all and then wickham would be angry on such encouragement to ask elizabeth was forced to put it out of her power by running away but to live in ignorance on such a point was impossible or at least it was impossible not to try for information mr darcy had been at her sisters wedding it was exactly a scene and exactly among people where he had apparently least to do and least temptation to go conjectures as to the meaning of it rapid and wild hurried into her brain but she was satisfied with none those that best pleased her as placing his conduct in the noblest light seemed most improbable she could not bear such suspense and hastily seizing a sheet of paper wrote a short letter to her aunt to request an explanation of what lydia had dropt if it were compatible with the secrecy which had been intended you may readily comprehend she added what my curiosity must be to know how a person unconnected with any of us and comparatively speaking a stranger to our family should have been amongst you at such a time pray write instantly and let me understand itunless it is for very cogent reasons to remain in the secrecy which lydia seems to think necessary and then i must endeavour to be satisfied with ignorance not that i shall though she added to herself as she finished the letter and my dear aunt if you do not tell me in an honourable manner i shall certainly be reduced to tricks and stratagems to find it out janes delicate sense of honour would not allow her to speak to elizabeth privately of what lydia had let fall elizabeth was glad of ittill it appeared whether her enquiries would receive any satisfaction she had rather be without a confidante elizabeth had the satisfaction of receiving an answer to her letter as soon as she possibly could she was no sooner in possession of it than hurrying into the little copse where she was least likely to be interrupted she sat down on one of the benches and prepared to be happy for the length of the letter convinced her that it did not contain a denial gracechurch street sept 6 my dear niece i have just received your letter and shall devote this whole morning to answering it as i foresee that a little writing will not comprise what i have to tell you i must confess myself surprised by your application i did not expect it from you dont think me angry however for i only mean to let you know that i had not imagined such enquiries to be necessary on your side if you do not choose to understand me forgive my impertinence your uncle is as much surprised as i amand nothing but the belief of your being a party concerned would have allowed him to act as he has done but if you are really innocent and ignorant i must be more explicit on the very day of my coming home from longbourn your uncle had a most unexpected visitor mr darcy called and was shut up with him several hours it was all over before i arrived so my curiosity was not so dreadfully racked as yours seems to have been he came to tell mr gardiner that he had found out where your sister and mr wickham were and that he had seen and talked with them both wickham repeatedly lydia once from what i can collect he left derbyshire only one day after ourselves and came to town with the resolution of hunting for them the motive professed was his conviction of its being owing to himself that wickhams worthlessness had not been so well known as to make it impossible for any young woman of character to love or confide in him he generously imputed the whole to his mistaken pride and confessed that he had before thought it beneath him to lay his private actions open to the world his character was to speak for itself he called it therefore his duty to step forward and endeavour to remedy an evil which had been brought on by himself if he had another motive i am sure it would never disgrace him he had been some days in town before he was able to discover them but he had something to direct his search which was more than we had and the consciousness of this was another reason for his resolving to follow us there is a lady it seems a mrs younge who was some time ago governess to miss darcy and was dismissed from her charge on some cause of disapprobation though he did not say what she then took a large house in edwardstreet and has since maintained herself by letting lodgings this mrs younge was he knew intimately acquainted with wickham and he went to her for intelligence of him as soon as he got to town but it was two or three days before he could get from her what he wanted she would not betray her trust i suppose without bribery and corruption for she really did know where her friend was to be found wickham indeed had gone to her on their first arrival in london and had she been able to receive them into her house they would have taken up their abode with her at length however our kind friend procured the wishedfor direction they were in street he saw wickham and afterwards insisted on seeing lydia his first object with her he acknowledged had been to persuade her to quit her present disgraceful situation and return to her friends as soon as they could be prevailed on to receive her offering his assistance as far as it would go but he found lydia absolutely resolved on remaining where she was she cared for none of her friends she wanted no help of his she would not hear of leaving wickham she was sure they should be married some time or other and it did not much signify when since such were her feelings it only remained he thought to secure and expedite a marriage which in his very first conversation with wickham he easily learnt had never been his design he confessed himself obliged to leave the regiment on account of some debts of honour which were very pressing and scrupled not to lay all the illconsequences of lydias flight on her own folly alone he meant to resign his commission immediately and as to his future situation he could conjecture very little about it he must go somewhere but he did not know where and he knew he should have nothing to live on mr darcy asked him why he had not married your sister at once though mr bennet was not imagined to be very rich he would have been able to do something for him and his situation must have been benefited by marriage but he found in reply to this question that wickham still cherished the hope of more effectually making his fortune by marriage in some other country under such circumstances however he was not likely to be proof against the temptation of immediate relief they met several times for there was much to be discussed wickham of course wanted more than he could get but at length was reduced to be reasonable everything being settled between them mr darcys next step was to make your uncle acquainted with it and he first called in gracechurch street the evening before i came home but mr gardiner could not be seen and mr darcy found on further enquiry that your father was still with him but would quit town the next morning he did not judge your father to be a person whom he could so properly consult as your uncle and therefore readily postponed seeing him till after the departure of the former he did not leave his name and till the next day it was only known that a gentleman had called on business on saturday he came again your father was gone your uncle at home and as i said before they had a great deal of talk together they met again on sunday and then i saw him too it was not all settled before monday as soon as it was the express was sent off to longbourn but our visitor was very obstinate i fancy lizzy that obstinacy is the real defect of his character after all he has been accused of many faults at different times but this is the true one nothing was to be done that he did not do himself though i am sure and i do not speak it to be thanked therefore say nothing about it your uncle would most readily have settled the whole they battled it together for a long time which was more than either the gentleman or lady concerned in it deserved but at last your uncle was forced to yield and instead of being allowed to be of use to his niece was forced to put up with only having the probable credit of it which went sorely against the grain and i really believe your letter this morning gave him great pleasure because it required an explanation that would rob him of his borrowed feathers and give the praise where it was due but lizzy this must go no farther than yourself or jane at most you know pretty well i suppose what has been done for the young people his debts are to be paid amounting i believe to considerably more than a thousand pounds another thousand in addition to her own settled upon her and his commission purchased the reason why all this was to be done by him alone was such as i have given above it was owing to him to his reserve and want of proper consideration that wickhams character had been so misunderstood and consequently that he had been received and noticed as he was perhaps there was some truth in this though i doubt whether his reserve or anybodys reserve can be answerable for the event but in spite of all this fine talking my dear lizzy you may rest perfectly assured that your uncle would never have yielded if we had not given him credit for another interest in the affair when all this was resolved on he returned again to his friends who were still staying at pemberley but it was agreed that he should be in london once more when the wedding took place and all money matters were then to receive the last finish i believe i have now told you every thing it is a relation which you tell me is to give you great surprise i hope at least it will not afford you any displeasure lydia came to us and wickham had constant admission to the house he was exactly what he had been when i knew him in hertfordshire but i would not tell you how little i was satisfied with her behaviour while she staid with us if i had not perceived by janes letter last wednesday that her conduct on coming home was exactly of a piece with it and therefore what i now tell you can give you no fresh pain i talked to her repeatedly in the most serious manner representing to her all the wickedness of what she had done and all the unhappiness she had brought on her family if she heard me it was by good luck for i am sure she did not listen i was sometimes quite provoked but then i recollected my dear elizabeth and jane and for their sakes had patience with her mr darcy was punctual in his return and as lydia informed you attended the wedding he dined with us the next day and was to leave town again on wednesday or thursday will you be very angry with me my dear lizzy if i take this opportunity of saying what i was never bold enough to say before how much i like him his behaviour to us has in every respect been as pleasing as when we were in derbyshire his understanding and opinions all please me he wants nothing but a little more liveliness and that if he marry prudently his wife may teach him i thought him very slyhe hardly ever mentioned your name but slyness seems the fashion pray forgive me if i have been very presuming or at least do not punish me so far as to exclude me from p i shall never be quite happy till i have been all round the park a low phaeton with a nice little pair of ponies would be the very thing but i must write no more the children have been wanting me this half hour yours very sincerely m gardiner the contents of this letter threw elizabeth into a flutter of spirits in which it was difficult to determine whether pleasure or pain bore the greatest share the vague and unsettled suspicions which uncertainty had produced of what mr darcy might have been doing to forward her sisters match which she had feared to encourage as an exertion of goodness too great to be probable and at the same time dreaded to be just from the pain of obligation were proved beyond their greatest extent to be true he had followed them purposely to town he had taken on himself all the trouble and mortification attendant on such a research in which supplication had been necessary to a woman whom he must abominate and despise and where he was reduced to meet frequently meet reason with persuade and finally bribe the man whom he always most wished to avoid and whose very name it was punishment to him to pronounce he had done all this for a girl whom he could neither regard nor esteem her heart did whisper that he had done it for her but it was a hope shortly checked by other considerations and she soon felt that even her vanity was insufficient when required to depend on his affection for herfor a woman who had already refused himas able to overcome a sentiment so natural as abhorrence against relationship with wickham brotherinlaw of wickham every kind of pride must revolt from the connection he had to be sure done much she was ashamed to think how much but he had given a reason for his interference which asked no extraordinary stretch of belief it was reasonable that he should feel he had been wrong he had liberality and he had the means of exercising it and though she would not place herself as his principal inducement she could perhaps believe that remaining partiality for her might assist his endeavours in a cause where her peace of mind must be materially concerned it was painful exceedingly painful to know that they were under obligations to a person who could never receive a return they owed the restoration of lydia her character every thing to him oh how heartily did she grieve over every ungracious sensation she had ever encouraged every saucy speech she had ever directed towards him for herself she was humbled but she was proud of him proud that in a cause of compassion and honour he had been able to get the better of himself she read over her aunts commendation of him again and again it was hardly enough but it pleased her she was even sensible of some pleasure though mixed with regret on finding how steadfastly both she and her uncle had been persuaded that affection and confidence subsisted between mr darcy and herself she was roused from her seat and her reflections by some ones approach and before she could strike into another path she was overtaken by wickham i am afraid i interrupt your solitary ramble my dear sister said he as he joined her you certainly do she replied with a smile but it does not follow that the interruption must be unwelcome i should be sorry indeed if it were we were always good friends and now we are better true are the others coming out i do not know mrs bennet and lydia are going in the carriage to meryton and so my dear sister i find from our uncle and aunt that you have actually seen pemberley she replied in the affirmative i almost envy you the pleasure and yet i believe it would be too much for me or else i could take it in my way to newcastle and you saw the old housekeeper i suppose poor reynolds she was always very fond of me but of course she did not mention my name to you yes she did and what did she say that you were gone into the army and she was afraid hadnot turned out well at such a distance as that you know things are strangely misrepresented certainly he replied biting his lips elizabeth hoped she had silenced him but he soon afterwards said i was surprised to see darcy in town last month we passed each other several times i wonder what he can be doing there perhaps preparing for his marriage with miss de bourgh said elizabeth it must be something particular to take him there at this time of year undoubtedly did you see him while you were at lambton i thought i understood from the gardiners that you had yes he introduced us to his sister and do you like her very much i have heard indeed that she is uncommonly improved within this year or two when i last saw her she was not very promising i am very glad you liked her i hope she will turn out well i dare say she will she has got over the most trying age did you go by the village of kympton i do not recollect that we did i mention it because it is the living which i ought to have had a most delightful placeexcellent parsonage house it would have suited me in every respect how should you have liked making sermons exceedingly well i should have considered it as part of my duty and the exertion would soon have been nothing one ought not to repinebut to be sure it would have been such a thing for me the quiet the retirement of such a life would have answered all my ideas of happiness but it was not to be did you ever hear darcy mention the circumstance when you were in kent i have heard from authority which i thought as good that it was left you conditionally only and at the will of the present patron you have yes there was something in that i told you so from the first you may remember i did hear too that there was a time when sermonmaking was not so palatable to you as it seems to be at present that you actually declared your resolution of never taking orders and that the business had been compromised accordingly you did and it was not wholly without foundation you may remember what i told you on that point when first we talked of it they were now almost at the door of the house for she had walked fast to get rid of him and unwilling for her sisters sake to provoke him she only said in reply with a goodhumoured smile come mr wickham we are brother and sister you know do not let us quarrel about the past in future i hope we shall be always of one mind she held out her hand he kissed it with affectionate gallantry though he hardly knew how to look and they entered the house mr wickham was so perfectly satisfied with this conversation that he never again distressed himself or provoked his dear sister elizabeth by introducing the subject of it and she was pleased to find that she had said enough to keep him quiet the day of his and lydias departure soon came and mrs bennet was forced to submit to a separation which as her husband by no means entered into her scheme of their all going to newcastle was likely to continue at least a twelvemonth oh my dear lydia she cried when shall we meet again oh lord i dont know not these two or three years perhaps write to me very often my dear as often as i can but you know married women have never much time for writing my sisters may write to me they will have nothing else to do mr wickhams adieus were much more affectionate than his wifes he smiled looked handsome and said many pretty things he is as fine a fellow said mr bennet as soon as they were out of the house as ever i saw he simpers and smirks and makes love to us all i am prodigiously proud of him i defy even sir william lucas himself to produce a more valuable soninlaw the loss of her daughter made mrs bennet very dull for several days i often think said she that there is nothing so bad as parting with ones friends one seems so forlorn without them this is the consequence you see madam of marrying a daughter said elizabeth it must make you better satisfied that your other four are single it is no such thing lydia does not leave me because she is married but only because her husbands regiment happens to be so far off if that had been nearer she would not have gone so soon but the spiritless condition which this event threw her into was shortly relieved and her mind opened again to the agitation of hope by an article of news which then began to be in circulation the housekeeper at netherfield had received orders to prepare for the arrival of her master who was coming down in a day or two to shoot there for several weeks mrs bennet was quite in the fidgets she looked at jane and smiled and shook her head by turns well well and so mr bingley is coming down sister for mrs phillips first brought her the news well so much the better not that i care about it though he is nothing to us you know and i am sure i never want to see him again but however he is very welcome to come to netherfield if he likes it and who knows what may happen but that is nothing to us you know sister we agreed long ago never to mention a word about it and so is it quite certain he is coming you may depend on it replied the other for mrs nicholls was in meryton last night i saw her passing by and went out myself on purpose to know the truth of it and she told me that it was certain true he comes down on thursday at the latest very likely on wednesday she was going to the butchers she told me on purpose to order in some meat on wednesday and she has got three couple of ducks just fit to be killed miss bennet had not been able to hear of his coming without changing colour it was many months since she had mentioned his name to elizabeth but now as soon as they were alone together she said i saw you look at me today lizzy when my aunt told us of the present report and i know i appeared distressed but dont imagine it was from any silly cause i was only confused for the moment because i felt that i should be looked at i do assure you that the news does not affect me either with pleasure or pain i am glad of one thing that he comes alone because we shall see the less of him not that i am afraid of myself but i dread other peoples remarks elizabeth did not know what to make of it had she not seen him in derbyshire she might have supposed him capable of coming there with no other view than what was acknowledged but she still thought him partial to jane and she wavered as to the greater probability of his coming there with his friends permission or being bold enough to come without it yet it is hard she sometimes thought that this poor man cannot come to a house which he has legally hired without raising all this speculation i will leave him to himself in spite of what her sister declared and really believed to be her feelings in the expectation of his arrival elizabeth could easily perceive that her spirits were affected by it they were more disturbed more unequal than she had often seen them the subject which had been so warmly canvassed between their parents about a twelvemonth ago was now brought forward again as soon as ever mr bingley comes my dear said mrs bennet you will wait on him of course no no you forced me into visiting him last year and promised if i went to see him he should marry one of my daughters but it ended in nothing and i will not be sent on a fools errand again his wife represented to him how absolutely necessary such an attention would be from all the neighbouring gentlemen on his returning to netherfield tis an etiquette i despise said he if he wants our society let him seek it he knows where we live i will not spend my hours in running after my neighbours every time they go away and come back again well all i know is that it will be abominably rude if you do not wait on him but however that shant prevent my asking him to dine here i am determined we must have mrs long and the gouldings soon that will make thirteen with ourselves so there will be just room at table for him consoled by this resolution she was the better able to bear her husbands incivility though it was very mortifying to know that her neighbours might all see mr bingley in consequence of it before they did as the day of his arrival drew near i begin to be sorry that he comes at all said jane to her sister it would be nothing i could see him with perfect indifference but i can hardly bear to hear it thus perpetually talked of my mother means well but she does not know no one can know how much i suffer from what she says happy shall i be when his stay at netherfield is over i wish i could say anything to comfort you replied elizabeth but it is wholly out of my power you must feel it and the usual satisfaction of preaching patience to a sufferer is denied me because you have always so much mr bingley arrived mrs bennet through the assistance of servants contrived to have the earliest tidings of it that the period of anxiety and fretfulness on her side might be as long as it could she counted the days that must intervene before their invitation could be sent hopeless of seeing him before but on the third morning after his arrival in hertfordshire she saw him from her dressingroom window enter the paddock and ride towards the house her daughters were eagerly called to partake of her joy jane resolutely kept her place at the table but elizabeth to satisfy her mother went to the windowshe lookedshe saw mr darcy with him and sat down again by her sister there is a gentleman with him mamma said kitty who can it be some acquaintance or other my dear i suppose i am sure i do not know la replied kitty it looks just like that man that used to be with him before mr whatshisname that tall proud man good gracious mr darcyand so it does i vow well any friend of mr bingleys will always be welcome here to be sure but else i must say that i hate the very sight of him jane looked at elizabeth with surprise and concern she knew but little of their meeting in derbyshire and therefore felt for the awkwardness which must attend her sister in seeing him almost for the first time after receiving his explanatory letter both sisters were uncomfortable enough each felt for the other and of course for themselves and their mother talked on of her dislike of mr darcy and her resolution to be civil to him only as mr bingleys friend without being heard by either of them but elizabeth had sources of uneasiness which could not be suspected by jane to whom she had never yet had courage to shew mrs gardiners letter or to relate her own change of sentiment towards him to jane he could be only a man whose proposals she had refused and whose merit she had undervalued but to her own more extensive information he was the person to whom the whole family were indebted for the first of benefits and whom she regarded herself with an interest if not quite so tender at least as reasonable and just as what jane felt for bingley her astonishment at his comingat his coming to netherfield to longbourn and voluntarily seeking her again was almost equal to what she had known on first witnessing his altered behaviour in derbyshire the colour which had been driven from her face returned for half a minute with an additional glow and a smile of delight added lustre to her eyes as she thought for that space of time that his affection and wishes must still be unshaken but she would not be secure let me first see how he behaves said she it will then be early enough for expectation she sat intently at work striving to be composed and without daring to lift up her eyes till anxious curiosity carried them to the face of her sister as the servant was approaching the door jane looked a little paler than usual but more sedate than elizabeth had expected on the gentlemens appearing her colour increased yet she received them with tolerable ease and with a propriety of behaviour equally free from any symptom of resentment or any unnecessary complaisance elizabeth said as little to either as civility would allow and sat down again to her work with an eagerness which it did not often command she had ventured only one glance at darcy he looked serious as usual and she thought more as he had been used to look in hertfordshire than as she had seen him at pemberley but perhaps he could not in her mothers presence be what he was before her uncle and aunt it was a painful but not an improbable conjecture bingley she had likewise seen for an instant and in that short period saw him looking both pleased and embarrassed he was received by mrs bennet with a degree of civility which made her two daughters ashamed especially when contrasted with the cold and ceremonious politeness of her curtsey and address to his friend elizabeth particularly who knew that her mother owed to the latter the preservation of her favourite daughter from irremediable infamy was hurt and distressed to a most painful degree by a distinction so ill applied darcy after enquiring of her how mr and mrs gardiner did a question which she could not answer without confusion said scarcely anything he was not seated by her perhaps that was the reason of his silence but it had not been so in derbyshire there he had talked to her friends when he could not to herself but now several minutes elapsed without bringing the sound of his voice and when occasionally unable to resist the impulse of curiosity she raised her eyes to his face she as often found him looking at jane as at herself and frequently on no object but the ground more thoughtfulness and less anxiety to please than when they last met were plainly expressed she was disappointed and angry with herself for being so could i expect it to be otherwise said she yet why did he come she was in no humour for conversation with anyone but himself and to him she had hardly courage to speak she enquired after his sister but could do no more it is a long time mr bingley since you went away said mrs bennet he readily agreed to it i began to be afraid you would never come back again people did say you meant to quit the place entirely at michaelmas but however i hope it is not true a great many changes have happened in the neighbourhood since you went away miss lucas is married and settled and one of my own daughters i suppose you have heard of it indeed you must have seen it in the papers it was in the times and the courier i know though it was not put in as it ought to be it was only said lately george wickham esq to miss lydia bennet without there being a syllable said of her father or the place where she lived or anything it was my brother gardiners drawing up too and i wonder how he came to make such an awkward business of it did you see it bingley replied that he did and made his congratulations elizabeth dared not lift up her eyes how mr darcy looked therefore she could not tell it is a delightful thing to be sure to have a daughter well married continued her mother but at the same time mr bingley it is very hard to have her taken such a way from me they are gone down to newcastle a place quite northward it seems and there they are to stay i do not know how long his regiment is there for i suppose you have heard of his leaving the shire and of his being gone into the regulars thank heaven he has some friends though perhaps not so many as he deserves elizabeth who knew this to be levelled at mr darcy was in such misery of shame that she could hardly keep her seat it drew from her however the exertion of speaking which nothing else had so effectually done before and she asked bingley whether he meant to make any stay in the country at present a few weeks he believed when you have killed all your own birds mr bingley said her mother i beg you will come here and shoot as many as you please on mr bennets manor i am sure he will be vastly happy to oblige you and will save all the best of the covies for you elizabeths misery increased at such unnecessary such officious attention were the same fair prospect to arise at present as had flattered them a year ago every thing she was persuaded would be hastening to the same vexatious conclusion at that instant she felt that years of happiness could not make jane or herself amends for moments of such painful confusion the first wish of my heart said she to herself is never more to be in company with either of them their society can afford no pleasure that will atone for such wretchedness as this let me never see either one or the other again yet the misery for which years of happiness were to offer no compensation received soon afterwards material relief from observing how much the beauty of her sister rekindled the admiration of her former lover when first he came in he had spoken to her but little but every five minutes seemed to be giving her more of his attention he found her as handsome as she had been last year as good natured and as unaffected though not quite so chatty jane was anxious that no difference should be perceived in her at all and was really persuaded that she talked as much as ever but her mind was so busily engaged that she did not always know when she was silent when the gentlemen rose to go away mrs bennet was mindful of her intended civility and they were invited and engaged to dine at longbourn in a few days time you are quite a visit in my debt mr bingley she added for when you went to town last winter you promised to take a family dinner with us as soon as you returned i have not forgot you see and i assure you i was very much disappointed that you did not come back and keep your engagement bingley looked a little silly at this reflection and said something of his concern at having been prevented by business they then went away mrs bennet had been strongly inclined to ask them to stay and dine there that day but though she alway'
In [7]:
# Tokenizing T1
from nltk.tokenize import word_tokenize
Tokenized_T1 = word_tokenize(T1)
print(Tokenized_T1)
['the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'ebook', 'of', 'pride', 'and', 'prejudice', 'by', 'jane', 'austen', 'this', 'ebook', 'is', 'for', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'anyone', 'anywhere', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'and', 'most', 'other', 'parts', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'at', 'no', 'cost', 'and', 'with', 'almost', 'no', 'restrictions', 'whatsoever', 'you', 'may', 'copy', 'it', 'give', 'it', 'away', 'or', 'reuse', 'it', 'under', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'license', 'included', 'with', 'this', 'ebook', 'or', 'online', 'at', 'wwwgutenbergorg', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'located', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'you', 'will', 'have', 'to', 'check', 'the', 'laws', 'of', 'the', 'country', 'where', 'you', 'are', 'located', 'before', 'using', 'this', 'ebook', 'title', 'pride', 'and', 'prejudice', 'author', 'jane', 'austen', 'release', 'date', 'june', '1998', 'ebook', '1342', 'most', 'recently', 'updated', 'august', '23', '2021', 'language', 'english', 'character', 'set', 'encoding', 'utf8', 'produced', 'by', 'anonymous', 'volunteers', 'and', 'david', 'widger', 'start', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'ebook', 'pride', 'and', 'prejudice', 'there', 'is', 'an', 'illustrated', 'edition', 'of', 'this', 'title', 'which', 'may', 'viewed', 'at', 'ebook', '42671', 'cover', 'pride', 'and', 'prejudice', 'by', 'jane', 'austen', 'contents', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'truth', 'universally', 'acknowledged', 'that', 'a', 'single', 'man', 'in', 'possession', 'of', 'a', 'good', 'fortune', 'must', 'be', 'in', 'want', 'of', 'a', 'wife', 'however', 'little', 'known', 'the', 'feelings', 'or', 'views', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'man', 'may', 'be', 'on', 'his', 'first', 'entering', 'a', 'neighbourhood', 'this', 'truth', 'is', 'so', 'well', 'fixed', 'in', 'the', 'minds', 'of', 'the', 'surrounding', 'families', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'considered', 'as', 'the', 'rightful', 'property', 'of', 'some', 'one', 'or', 'other', 'of', 'their', 'daughters', 'my', 'dear', 'mr', 'bennet', 'said', 'his', 'lady', 'to', 'him', 'one', 'day', 'have', 'you', 'heard', 'that', 'netherfield', 'park', 'is', 'let', 'at', 'last', 'mr', 'bennet', 'replied', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'returned', 'she', 'for', 'mrs', 'long', 'has', 'just', 'been', 'here', 'and', 'she', 'told', 'me', 'all', 'about', 'it', 'mr', 'bennet', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'do', 'not', 'you', 'want', 'to', 'know', 'who', 'has', 'taken', 'it', 'cried', 'his', 'wife', 'impatiently', 'you', 'want', 'to', 'tell', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'objection', 'to', 'hearing', 'it', 'this', 'was', 'invitation', 'enough', 'why', 'my', 'dear', 'you', 'must', 'know', 'mrs', 'long', 'says', 'that', 'netherfield', 'is', 'taken', 'by', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'of', 'large', 'fortune', 'from', 'the', 'north', 'of', 'england', 'that', 'he', 'came', 'down', 'on', 'monday', 'in', 'a', 'chaise', 'and', 'four', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'place', 'and', 'was', 'so', 'much', 'delighted', 'with', 'it', 'that', 'he', 'agreed', 'with', 'mr', 'morris', 'immediately', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'to', 'take', 'possession', 'before', 'michaelmas', 'and', 'some', 'of', 'his', 'servants', 'are', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'by', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'next', 'week', 'what', 'is', 'his', 'name', 'bingley', 'is', 'he', 'married', 'or', 'single', 'oh', 'single', 'my', 'dear', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'a', 'single', 'man', 'of', 'large', 'fortune', 'four', 'or', 'five', 'thousand', 'a', 'year', 'what', 'a', 'fine', 'thing', 'for', 'our', 'girls', 'how', 'so', 'how', 'can', 'it', 'affect', 'them', 'my', 'dear', 'mr', 'bennet', 'replied', 'his', 'wife', 'how', 'can', 'you', 'be', 'so', 'tiresome', 'you', 'must', 'know', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'thinking', 'of', 'his', 'marrying', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'is', 'that', 'his', 'design', 'in', 'settling', 'here', 'design', 'nonsense', 'how', 'can', 'you', 'talk', 'so', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'likely', 'that', 'he', 'may', 'fall', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'and', 'therefore', 'you', 'must', 'visit', 'him', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'he', 'comes', 'i', 'see', 'no', 'occasion', 'for', 'that', 'you', 'and', 'the', 'girls', 'may', 'go', 'or', 'you', 'may', 'send', 'them', 'by', 'themselves', 'which', 'perhaps', 'will', 'be', 'still', 'better', 'for', 'as', 'you', 'are', 'as', 'handsome', 'as', 'any', 'of', 'them', 'mr', 'bingley', 'might', 'like', 'you', 'the', 'best', 'of', 'the', 'party', 'my', 'dear', 'you', 'flatter', 'me', 'i', 'certainly', 'have', 'had', 'my', 'share', 'of', 'beauty', 'but', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'pretend', 'to', 'be', 'anything', 'extraordinary', 'now', 'when', 'a', 'woman', 'has', 'five', 'grownup', 'daughters', 'she', 'ought', 'to', 'give', 'over', 'thinking', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'beauty', 'in', 'such', 'cases', 'a', 'woman', 'has', 'not', 'often', 'much', 'beauty', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'but', 'my', 'dear', 'you', 'must', 'indeed', 'go', 'and', 'see', 'mr', 'bingley', 'when', 'he', 'comes', 'into', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'it', 'is', 'more', 'than', 'i', 'engage', 'for', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'but', 'consider', 'your', 'daughters', 'only', 'think', 'what', 'an', 'establishment', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'for', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'sir', 'william', 'and', 'lady', 'lucas', 'are', 'determined', 'to', 'go', 'merely', 'on', 'that', 'account', 'for', 'in', 'general', 'you', 'know', 'they', 'visit', 'no', 'newcomers', 'indeed', 'you', 'must', 'go', 'for', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'impossible', 'for', 'us', 'to', 'visit', 'him', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'you', 'are', 'over', 'scrupulous', 'surely', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'mr', 'bingley', 'will', 'be', 'very', 'glad', 'to', 'see', 'you', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'send', 'a', 'few', 'lines', 'by', 'you', 'to', 'assure', 'him', 'of', 'my', 'hearty', 'consent', 'to', 'his', 'marrying', 'whichever', 'he', 'chooses', 'of', 'the', 'girls', 'though', 'i', 'must', 'throw', 'in', 'a', 'good', 'word', 'for', 'my', 'little', 'lizzy', 'i', 'desire', 'you', 'will', 'do', 'no', 'such', 'thing', 'lizzy', 'is', 'not', 'a', 'bit', 'better', 'than', 'the', 'others', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'she', 'is', 'not', 'half', 'so', 'handsome', 'as', 'jane', 'nor', 'half', 'so', 'goodhumoured', 'as', 'lydia', 'but', 'you', 'are', 'always', 'giving', 'her', 'the', 'preference', 'they', 'have', 'none', 'of', 'them', 'much', 'to', 'recommend', 'them', 'replied', 'he', 'they', 'are', 'all', 'silly', 'and', 'ignorant', 'like', 'other', 'girls', 'but', 'lizzy', 'has', 'something', 'more', 'of', 'quickness', 'than', 'her', 'sisters', 'mr', 'bennet', 'how', 'can', 'you', 'abuse', 'your', 'own', 'children', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'way', 'you', 'take', 'delight', 'in', 'vexing', 'me', 'you', 'have', 'no', 'compassion', 'on', 'my', 'poor', 'nerves', 'you', 'mistake', 'me', 'my', 'dear', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'high', 'respect', 'for', 'your', 'nerves', 'they', 'are', 'my', 'old', 'friends', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'you', 'mention', 'them', 'with', 'consideration', 'these', 'twenty', 'years', 'at', 'least', 'ah', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'i', 'suffer', 'but', 'i', 'hope', 'you', 'will', 'get', 'over', 'it', 'and', 'live', 'to', 'see', 'many', 'young', 'men', 'of', 'four', 'thousand', 'a', 'year', 'come', 'into', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'no', 'use', 'to', 'us', 'if', 'twenty', 'such', 'should', 'come', 'since', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'visit', 'them', 'depend', 'upon', 'it', 'my', 'dear', 'that', 'when', 'there', 'are', 'twenty', 'i', 'will', 'visit', 'them', 'all', 'mr', 'bennet', 'was', 'so', 'odd', 'a', 'mixture', 'of', 'quick', 'parts', 'sarcastic', 'humour', 'reserve', 'and', 'caprice', 'that', 'the', 'experience', 'of', 'threeandtwenty', 'years', 'had', 'been', 'insufficient', 'to', 'make', 'his', 'wife', 'understand', 'his', 'character', 'her', 'mind', 'was', 'less', 'difficult', 'to', 'develop', 'she', 'was', 'a', 'woman', 'of', 'mean', 'understanding', 'little', 'information', 'and', 'uncertain', 'temper', 'when', 'she', 'was', 'discontented', 'she', 'fancied', 'herself', 'nervous', 'the', 'business', 'of', 'her', 'life', 'was', 'to', 'get', 'her', 'daughters', 'married', 'its', 'solace', 'was', 'visiting', 'and', 'news', 'mr', 'bennet', 'was', 'among', 'the', 'earliest', 'of', 'those', 'who', 'waited', 'on', 'mr', 'bingley', 'he', 'had', 'always', 'intended', 'to', 'visit', 'him', 'though', 'to', 'the', 'last', 'always', 'assuring', 'his', 'wife', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'not', 'go', 'and', 'till', 'the', 'evening', 'after', 'the', 'visit', 'was', 'paid', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'knowledge', 'of', 'it', 'it', 'was', 'then', 'disclosed', 'in', 'the', 'following', 'manner', 'observing', 'his', 'second', 'daughter', 'employed', 'in', 'trimming', 'a', 'hat', 'he', 'suddenly', 'addressed', 'her', 'with', 'i', 'hope', 'mr', 'bingley', 'will', 'like', 'it', 'lizzy', 'we', 'are', 'not', 'in', 'a', 'way', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'mr', 'bingley', 'likes', 'said', 'her', 'mother', 'resentfully', 'since', 'we', 'are', 'not', 'to', 'visit', 'but', 'you', 'forget', 'mamma', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'that', 'we', 'shall', 'meet', 'him', 'at', 'the', 'assemblies', 'and', 'that', 'mrs', 'long', 'has', 'promised', 'to', 'introduce', 'him', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'believe', 'mrs', 'long', 'will', 'do', 'any', 'such', 'thing', 'she', 'has', 'two', 'nieces', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'selfish', 'hypocritical', 'woman', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'opinion', 'of', 'her', 'no', 'more', 'have', 'i', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'to', 'find', 'that', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'depend', 'on', 'her', 'serving', 'you', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'deigned', 'not', 'to', 'make', 'any', 'reply', 'but', 'unable', 'to', 'contain', 'herself', 'began', 'scolding', 'one', 'of', 'her', 'daughters', 'dont', 'keep', 'coughing', 'so', 'kitty', 'for', 'heavens', 'sake', 'have', 'a', 'little', 'compassion', 'on', 'my', 'nerves', 'you', 'tear', 'them', 'to', 'pieces', 'kitty', 'has', 'no', 'discretion', 'in', 'her', 'coughs', 'said', 'her', 'father', 'she', 'times', 'them', 'ill', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'cough', 'for', 'my', 'own', 'amusement', 'replied', 'kitty', 'fretfully', 'when', 'is', 'your', 'next', 'ball', 'to', 'be', 'lizzy', 'tomorrow', 'fortnight', 'aye', 'so', 'it', 'is', 'cried', 'her', 'mother', 'and', 'mrs', 'long', 'does', 'not', 'come', 'back', 'till', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'so', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'impossible', 'for', 'her', 'to', 'introduce', 'him', 'for', 'she', 'will', 'not', 'know', 'him', 'herself', 'then', 'my', 'dear', 'you', 'may', 'have', 'the', 'advantage', 'of', 'your', 'friend', 'and', 'introduce', 'mr', 'bingley', 'to', 'her', 'impossible', 'mr', 'bennet', 'impossible', 'when', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'acquainted', 'with', 'him', 'myself', 'how', 'can', 'you', 'be', 'so', 'teasing', 'i', 'honour', 'your', 'circumspection', 'a', 'fortnights', 'acquaintance', 'is', 'certainly', 'very', 'little', 'one', 'can', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'a', 'man', 'really', 'is', 'by', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'a', 'fortnight', 'but', 'if', 'we', 'do', 'not', 'venture', 'somebody', 'else', 'will', 'and', 'after', 'all', 'mrs', 'long', 'and', 'her', 'nieces', 'must', 'stand', 'their', 'chance', 'and', 'therefore', 'as', 'she', 'will', 'think', 'it', 'an', 'act', 'of', 'kindness', 'if', 'you', 'decline', 'the', 'office', 'i', 'will', 'take', 'it', 'on', 'myself', 'the', 'girls', 'stared', 'at', 'their', 'father', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'said', 'only', 'nonsense', 'nonsense', 'what', 'can', 'be', 'the', 'meaning', 'of', 'that', 'emphatic', 'exclamation', 'cried', 'he', 'do', 'you', 'consider', 'the', 'forms', 'of', 'introduction', 'and', 'the', 'stress', 'that', 'is', 'laid', 'on', 'them', 'as', 'nonsense', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'quite', 'agree', 'with', 'you', 'there', 'what', 'say', 'you', 'mary', 'for', 'you', 'are', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'of', 'deep', 'reflection', 'i', 'know', 'and', 'read', 'great', 'books', 'and', 'make', 'extracts', 'mary', 'wished', 'to', 'say', 'something', 'very', 'sensible', 'but', 'knew', 'not', 'how', 'while', 'mary', 'is', 'adjusting', 'her', 'ideas', 'he', 'continued', 'let', 'us', 'return', 'to', 'mr', 'bingley', 'i', 'am', 'sick', 'of', 'mr', 'bingley', 'cried', 'his', 'wife', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'to', 'hear', 'that', 'but', 'why', 'did', 'not', 'you', 'tell', 'me', 'so', 'before', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'known', 'as', 'much', 'this', 'morning', 'i', 'certainly', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'called', 'on', 'him', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'unlucky', 'but', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'actually', 'paid', 'the', 'visit', 'we', 'can', 'not', 'escape', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'now', 'the', 'astonishment', 'of', 'the', 'ladies', 'was', 'just', 'what', 'he', 'wished', 'that', 'of', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'perhaps', 'surpassing', 'the', 'rest', 'though', 'when', 'the', 'first', 'tumult', 'of', 'joy', 'was', 'over', 'she', 'began', 'to', 'declare', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'expected', 'all', 'the', 'while', 'how', 'good', 'it', 'was', 'in', 'you', 'my', 'dear', 'mr', 'bennet', 'but', 'i', 'knew', 'i', 'should', 'persuade', 'you', 'at', 'last', 'i', 'was', 'sure', 'you', 'loved', 'your', 'girls', 'too', 'well', 'to', 'neglect', 'such', 'an', 'acquaintance', 'well', 'how', 'pleased', 'i', 'am', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'such', 'a', 'good', 'joke', 'too', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'have', 'gone', 'this', 'morning', 'and', 'never', 'said', 'a', 'word', 'about', 'it', 'till', 'now', 'now', 'kitty', 'you', 'may', 'cough', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'you', 'choose', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'and', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'he', 'left', 'the', 'room', 'fatigued', 'with', 'the', 'raptures', 'of', 'his', 'wife', 'what', 'an', 'excellent', 'father', 'you', 'have', 'girls', 'said', 'she', 'when', 'the', 'door', 'was', 'shut', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'how', 'you', 'will', 'ever', 'make', 'him', 'amends', 'for', 'his', 'kindness', 'or', 'me', 'either', 'for', 'that', 'matter', 'at', 'our', 'time', 'of', 'life', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'so', 'pleasant', 'i', 'can', 'tell', 'you', 'to', 'be', 'making', 'new', 'acquaintance', 'every', 'day', 'but', 'for', 'your', 'sakes', 'we', 'would', 'do', 'anything', 'lydia', 'my', 'love', 'though', 'you', 'are', 'the', 'youngest', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'mr', 'bingley', 'will', 'dance', 'with', 'you', 'at', 'the', 'next', 'ball', 'oh', 'said', 'lydia', 'stoutly', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'afraid', 'for', 'though', 'i', 'am', 'the', 'youngest', 'im', 'the', 'tallest', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'evening', 'was', 'spent', 'in', 'conjecturing', 'how', 'soon', 'he', 'would', 'return', 'mr', 'bennets', 'visit', 'and', 'determining', 'when', 'they', 'should', 'ask', 'him', 'to', 'dinner', 'not', 'all', 'that', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'however', 'with', 'the', 'assistance', 'of', 'her', 'five', 'daughters', 'could', 'ask', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'was', 'sufficient', 'to', 'draw', 'from', 'her', 'husband', 'any', 'satisfactory', 'description', 'of', 'mr', 'bingley', 'they', 'attacked', 'him', 'in', 'various', 'ways', 'with', 'barefaced', 'questions', 'ingenious', 'suppositions', 'and', 'distant', 'surmises', 'but', 'he', 'eluded', 'the', 'skill', 'of', 'them', 'all', 'and', 'they', 'were', 'at', 'last', 'obliged', 'to', 'accept', 'the', 'secondhand', 'intelligence', 'of', 'their', 'neighbour', 'lady', 'lucas', 'her', 'report', 'was', 'highly', 'favourable', 'sir', 'william', 'had', 'been', 'delighted', 'with', 'him', 'he', 'was', 'quite', 'young', 'wonderfully', 'handsome', 'extremely', 'agreeable', 'and', 'to', 'crown', 'the', 'whole', 'he', 'meant', 'to', 'be', 'at', 'the', 'next', 'assembly', 'with', 'a', 'large', 'party', 'nothing', 'could', 'be', 'more', 'delightful', 'to', 'be', 'fond', 'of', 'dancing', 'was', 'a', 'certain', 'step', 'towards', 'falling', 'in', 'love', 'and', 'very', 'lively', 'hopes', 'of', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'heart', 'were', 'entertained', 'if', 'i', 'can', 'but', 'see', 'one', 'of', 'my', 'daughters', 'happily', 'settled', 'at', 'netherfield', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'to', 'her', 'husband', 'and', 'all', 'the', 'others', 'equally', 'well', 'married', 'i', 'shall', 'have', 'nothing', 'to', 'wish', 'for', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'days', 'mr', 'bingley', 'returned', 'mr', 'bennets', 'visit', 'and', 'sat', 'about', 'ten', 'minutes', 'with', 'him', 'in', 'his', 'library', 'he', 'had', 'entertained', 'hopes', 'of', 'being', 'admitted', 'to', 'a', 'sight', 'of', 'the', 'young', 'ladies', 'of', 'whose', 'beauty', 'he', 'had', 'heard', 'much', 'but', 'he', 'saw', 'only', 'the', 'father', 'the', 'ladies', 'were', 'somewhat', 'more', 'fortunate', 'for', 'they', 'had', 'the', 'advantage', 'of', 'ascertaining', 'from', 'an', 'upper', 'window', 'that', 'he', 'wore', 'a', 'blue', 'coat', 'and', 'rode', 'a', 'black', 'horse', 'an', 'invitation', 'to', 'dinner', 'was', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'dispatched', 'and', 'already', 'had', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'planned', 'the', 'courses', 'that', 'were', 'to', 'do', 'credit', 'to', 'her', 'housekeeping', 'when', 'an', 'answer', 'arrived', 'which', 'deferred', 'it', 'all', 'mr', 'bingley', 'was', 'obliged', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'town', 'the', 'following', 'day', 'and', 'consequently', 'unable', 'to', 'accept', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'their', 'invitation', 'etc', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'quite', 'disconcerted', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'imagine', 'what', 'business', 'he', 'could', 'have', 'in', 'town', 'so', 'soon', 'after', 'his', 'arrival', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'and', 'she', 'began', 'to', 'fear', 'that', 'he', 'might', 'be', 'always', 'flying', 'about', 'from', 'one', 'place', 'to', 'another', 'and', 'never', 'settled', 'at', 'netherfield', 'as', 'he', 'ought', 'to', 'be', 'lady', 'lucas', 'quieted', 'her', 'fears', 'a', 'little', 'by', 'starting', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'his', 'being', 'gone', 'to', 'london', 'only', 'to', 'get', 'a', 'large', 'party', 'for', 'the', 'ball', 'and', 'a', 'report', 'soon', 'followed', 'that', 'mr', 'bingley', 'was', 'to', 'bring', 'twelve', 'ladies', 'and', 'seven', 'gentlemen', 'with', 'him', 'to', 'the', 'assembly', 'the', 'girls', 'grieved', 'over', 'such', 'a', 'number', 'of', 'ladies', 'but', 'were', 'comforted', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'the', 'ball', 'by', 'hearing', 'that', 'instead', 'of', 'twelve', 'he', 'had', 'brought', 'only', 'six', 'with', 'him', 'from', 'london', 'his', 'five', 'sisters', 'and', 'a', 'cousin', 'and', 'when', 'the', 'party', 'entered', 'the', 'assembly', 'room', 'it', 'consisted', 'of', 'only', 'five', 'altogether', 'mr', 'bingley', 'his', 'two', 'sisters', 'the', 'husband', 'of', 'the', 'eldest', 'and', 'another', 'young', 'man', 'mr', 'bingley', 'was', 'goodlooking', 'and', 'gentlemanlike', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'pleasant', 'countenance', 'and', 'easy', 'unaffected', 'manners', 'his', 'sisters', 'were', 'fine', 'women', 'with', 'an', 'air', 'of', 'decided', 'fashion', 'his', 'brotherinlaw', 'mr', 'hurst', 'merely', 'looked', 'the', 'gentleman', 'but', 'his', 'friend', 'mr', 'darcy', 'soon', 'drew', 'the', 'attention', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'by', 'his', 'fine', 'tall', 'person', 'handsome', 'features', 'noble', 'mien', 'and', 'the', 'report', 'which', 'was', 'in', 'general', 'circulation', 'within', 'five', 'minutes', 'after', 'his', 'entrance', 'of', 'his', 'having', 'ten', 'thousand', 'a', 'year', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'pronounced', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'fine', 'figure', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'the', 'ladies', 'declared', 'he', 'was', 'much', 'handsomer', 'than', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'looked', 'at', 'with', 'great', 'admiration', 'for', 'about', 'half', 'the', 'evening', 'till', 'his', 'manners', 'gave', 'a', 'disgust', 'which', 'turned', 'the', 'tide', 'of', 'his', 'popularity', 'for', 'he', 'was', 'discovered', 'to', 'be', 'proud', 'to', 'be', 'above', 'his', 'company', 'and', 'above', 'being', 'pleased', 'and', 'not', 'all', 'his', 'large', 'estate', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'could', 'then', 'save', 'him', 'from', 'having', 'a', 'most', 'forbidding', 'disagreeable', 'countenance', 'and', 'being', 'unworthy', 'to', 'be', 'compared', 'with', 'his', 'friend', 'mr', 'bingley', 'had', 'soon', 'made', 'himself', 'acquainted', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'principal', 'people', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'he', 'was', 'lively', 'and', 'unreserved', 'danced', 'every', 'dance', 'was', 'angry', 'that', 'the', 'ball', 'closed', 'so', 'early', 'and', 'talked', 'of', 'giving', 'one', 'himself', 'at', 'netherfield', 'such', 'amiable', 'qualities', 'must', 'speak', 'for', 'themselves', 'what', 'a', 'contrast', 'between', 'him', 'and', 'his', 'friend', 'mr', 'darcy', 'danced', 'only', 'once', 'with', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'once', 'with', 'miss', 'bingley', 'declined', 'being', 'introduced', 'to', 'any', 'other', 'lady', 'and', 'spent', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'evening', 'in', 'walking', 'about', 'the', 'room', 'speaking', 'occasionally', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'party', 'his', 'character', 'was', 'decided', 'he', 'was', 'the', 'proudest', 'most', 'disagreeable', 'man', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'and', 'everybody', 'hoped', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'never', 'come', 'there', 'again', 'amongst', 'the', 'most', 'violent', 'against', 'him', 'was', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'whose', 'dislike', 'of', 'his', 'general', 'behaviour', 'was', 'sharpened', 'into', 'particular', 'resentment', 'by', 'his', 'having', 'slighted', 'one', 'of', 'her', 'daughters', 'elizabeth', 'bennet', 'had', 'been', 'obliged', 'by', 'the', 'scarcity', 'of', 'gentlemen', 'to', 'sit', 'down', 'for', 'two', 'dances', 'and', 'during', 'part', 'of', 'that', 'time', 'mr', 'darcy', 'had', 'been', 'standing', 'near', 'enough', 'for', 'her', 'to', 'overhear', 'a', 'conversation', 'between', 'him', 'and', 'mr', 'bingley', 'who', 'came', 'from', 'the', 'dance', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'to', 'press', 'his', 'friend', 'to', 'join', 'it', 'come', 'darcy', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'must', 'have', 'you', 'dance', 'i', 'hate', 'to', 'see', 'you', 'standing', 'about', 'by', 'yourself', 'in', 'this', 'stupid', 'manner', 'you', 'had', 'much', 'better', 'dance', 'i', 'certainly', 'shall', 'not', 'you', 'know', 'how', 'i', 'detest', 'it', 'unless', 'i', 'am', 'particularly', 'acquainted', 'with', 'my', 'partner', 'at', 'such', 'an', 'assembly', 'as', 'this', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'insupportable', 'your', 'sisters', 'are', 'engaged', 'and', 'there', 'is', 'not', 'another', 'woman', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'whom', 'it', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'a', 'punishment', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'stand', 'up', 'with', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'so', 'fastidious', 'as', 'you', 'are', 'cried', 'bingley', 'for', 'a', 'kingdom', 'upon', 'my', 'honour', 'i', 'never', 'met', 'with', 'so', 'many', 'pleasant', 'girls', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'this', 'evening', 'and', 'there', 'are', 'several', 'of', 'them', 'you', 'see', 'uncommonly', 'pretty', 'you', 'are', 'dancing', 'with', 'the', 'only', 'handsome', 'girl', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'said', 'mr', 'darcy', 'looking', 'at', 'the', 'eldest', 'miss', 'bennet', 'oh', 'she', 'is', 'the', 'most', 'beautiful', 'creature', 'i', 'ever', 'beheld', 'but', 'there', 'is', 'one', 'of', 'her', 'sisters', 'sitting', 'down', 'just', 'behind', 'you', 'who', 'is', 'very', 'pretty', 'and', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'very', 'agreeable', 'do', 'let', 'me', 'ask', 'my', 'partner', 'to', 'introduce', 'you', 'which', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'and', 'turning', 'round', 'he', 'looked', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'at', 'elizabeth', 'till', 'catching', 'her', 'eye', 'he', 'withdrew', 'his', 'own', 'and', 'coldly', 'said', 'she', 'is', 'tolerable', 'but', 'not', 'handsome', 'enough', 'to', 'tempt', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'no', 'humour', 'at', 'present', 'to', 'give', 'consequence', 'to', 'young', 'ladies', 'who', 'are', 'slighted', 'by', 'other', 'men', 'you', 'had', 'better', 'return', 'to', 'your', 'partner', 'and', 'enjoy', 'her', 'smiles', 'for', 'you', 'are', 'wasting', 'your', 'time', 'with', 'me', 'mr', 'bingley', 'followed', 'his', 'advice', 'mr', 'darcy', 'walked', 'off', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'remained', 'with', 'no', 'very', 'cordial', 'feelings', 'towards', 'him', 'she', 'told', 'the', 'story', 'however', 'with', 'great', 'spirit', 'among', 'her', 'friends', 'for', 'she', 'had', 'a', 'lively', 'playful', 'disposition', 'which', 'delighted', 'in', 'anything', 'ridiculous', 'the', 'evening', 'altogether', 'passed', 'off', 'pleasantly', 'to', 'the', 'whole', 'family', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'had', 'seen', 'her', 'eldest', 'daughter', 'much', 'admired', 'by', 'the', 'netherfield', 'party', 'mr', 'bingley', 'had', 'danced', 'with', 'her', 'twice', 'and', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'distinguished', 'by', 'his', 'sisters', 'jane', 'was', 'as', 'much', 'gratified', 'by', 'this', 'as', 'her', 'mother', 'could', 'be', 'though', 'in', 'a', 'quieter', 'way', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'janes', 'pleasure', 'mary', 'had', 'heard', 'herself', 'mentioned', 'to', 'miss', 'bingley', 'as', 'the', 'most', 'accomplished', 'girl', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'and', 'catherine', 'and', 'lydia', 'had', 'been', 'fortunate', 'enough', 'to', 'be', 'never', 'without', 'partners', 'which', 'was', 'all', 'that', 'they', 'had', 'yet', 'learnt', 'to', 'care', 'for', 'at', 'a', 'ball', 'they', 'returned', 'therefore', 'in', 'good', 'spirits', 'to', 'longbourn', 'the', 'village', 'where', 'they', 'lived', 'and', 'of', 'which', 'they', 'were', 'the', 'principal', 'inhabitants', 'they', 'found', 'mr', 'bennet', 'still', 'up', 'with', 'a', 'book', 'he', 'was', 'regardless', 'of', 'time', 'and', 'on', 'the', 'present', 'occasion', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'of', 'curiosity', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'event', 'of', 'an', 'evening', 'which', 'had', 'raised', 'such', 'splendid', 'expectations', 'he', 'had', 'rather', 'hoped', 'that', 'all', 'his', 'wifes', 'views', 'on', 'the', 'stranger', 'would', 'be', 'disappointed', 'but', 'he', 'soon', 'found', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'very', 'different', 'story', 'to', 'hear', 'oh', 'my', 'dear', 'mr', 'bennet', 'as', 'she', 'entered', 'the', 'room', 'we', 'have', 'had', 'a', 'most', 'delightful', 'evening', 'a', 'most', 'excellent', 'ball', 'i', 'wish', 'you', 'had', 'been', 'there', 'jane', 'was', 'so', 'admired', 'nothing', 'could', 'be', 'like', 'it', 'everybody', 'said', 'how', 'well', 'she', 'looked', 'and', 'mr', 'bingley', 'thought', 'her', 'quite', 'beautiful', 'and', 'danced', 'with', 'her', 'twice', 'only', 'think', 'of', 'that', 'my', 'dear', 'he', 'actually', 'danced', 'with', 'her', 'twice', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'the', 'only', 'creature', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'that', 'he', 'asked', 'a', 'second', 'time', 'first', 'of', 'all', 'he', 'asked', 'miss', 'lucas', 'i', 'was', 'so', 'vexed', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'stand', 'up', 'with', 'her', 'but', 'however', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'admire', 'her', 'at', 'all', 'indeed', 'nobody', 'can', 'you', 'know', 'and', 'he', 'seemed', 'quite', 'struck', 'with', 'jane', 'as', 'she', 'was', 'going', 'down', 'the', 'dance', 'so', 'he', 'enquired', 'who', 'she', 'was', 'and', 'got', 'introduced', 'and', 'asked', 'her', 'for', 'the', 'two', 'next', 'then', 'the', 'two', 'third', 'he', 'danced', 'with', 'miss', 'king', 'and', 'the', 'two', 'fourth', 'with', 'maria', 'lucas', 'and', 'the', 'two', 'fifth', 'with', 'jane', 'again', 'and', 'the', 'two', 'sixth', 'with', 'lizzy', 'and', 'the', 'boulanger', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'had', 'any', 'compassion', 'for', 'me', 'cried', 'her', 'husband', 'impatiently', 'he', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'danced', 'half', 'so', 'much', 'for', 'gods', 'sake', 'say', 'no', 'more', 'of', 'his', 'partners', 'oh', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'sprained', 'his', 'ankle', 'in', 'the', 'first', 'dance', 'oh', 'my', 'dear', 'continued', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'i', 'am', 'quite', 'delighted', 'with', 'him', 'he', 'is', 'so', 'excessively', 'handsome', 'and', 'his', 'sisters', 'are', 'charming', 'women', 'i', 'never', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'saw', 'anything', 'more', 'elegant', 'than', 'their', 'dresses', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'the', 'lace', 'upon', 'mrs', 'hursts', 'gown', 'here', 'she', 'was', 'interrupted', 'again', 'mr', 'bennet', 'protested', 'against', 'any', 'description', 'of', 'finery', 'she', 'was', 'therefore', 'obliged', 'to', 'seek', 'another', 'branch', 'of', 'the', 'subject', 'and', 'related', 'with', 'much', 'bitterness', 'of', 'spirit', 'and', 'some', 'exaggeration', 'the', 'shocking', 'rudeness', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'assure', 'you', 'she', 'added', 'that', 'lizzy', 'does', 'not', 'lose', 'much', 'by', 'not', 'suiting', 'his', 'fancy', 'for', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'most', 'disagreeable', 'horrid', 'man', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'worth', 'pleasing', 'so', 'high', 'and', 'so', 'conceited', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'enduring', 'him', 'he', 'walked', 'here', 'and', 'he', 'walked', 'there', 'fancying', 'himself', 'so', 'very', 'great', 'not', 'handsome', 'enough', 'to', 'dance', 'with', 'i', 'wish', 'you', 'had', 'been', 'there', 'my', 'dear', 'to', 'have', 'given', 'him', 'one', 'of', 'your', 'setdowns', 'i', 'quite', 'detest', 'the', 'man', 'when', 'jane', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'were', 'alone', 'the', 'former', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'cautious', 'in', 'her', 'praise', 'of', 'mr', 'bingley', 'before', 'expressed', 'to', 'her', 'sister', 'how', 'very', 'much', 'she', 'admired', 'him', 'he', 'is', 'just', 'what', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'ought', 'to', 'be', 'said', 'she', 'sensible', 'goodhumoured', 'lively', 'and', 'i', 'never', 'saw', 'such', 'happy', 'mannersso', 'much', 'ease', 'with', 'such', 'perfect', 'good', 'breeding', 'he', 'is', 'also', 'handsome', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'which', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'ought', 'likewise', 'to', 'be', 'if', 'he', 'possibly', 'can', 'his', 'character', 'is', 'thereby', 'complete', 'i', 'was', 'very', 'much', 'flattered', 'by', 'his', 'asking', 'me', 'to', 'dance', 'a', 'second', 'time', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'expect', 'such', 'a', 'compliment', 'did', 'not', 'you', 'i', 'did', 'for', 'you', 'but', 'that', 'is', 'one', 'great', 'difference', 'between', 'us', 'compliments', 'always', 'take', 'you', 'by', 'surprise', 'and', 'me', 'never', 'what', 'could', 'be', 'more', 'natural', 'than', 'his', 'asking', 'you', 'again', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'seeing', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'about', 'five', 'times', 'as', 'pretty', 'as', 'every', 'other', 'woman', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'no', 'thanks', 'to', 'his', 'gallantry', 'for', 'that', 'well', 'he', 'certainly', 'is', 'very', 'agreeable', 'and', 'i', 'give', 'you', 'leave', 'to', 'like', 'him', 'you', 'have', 'liked', 'many', 'a', 'stupider', 'person', 'dear', 'lizzy', 'oh', 'you', 'are', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'too', 'apt', 'you', 'know', 'to', 'like', 'people', 'in', 'general', 'you', 'never', 'see', 'a', 'fault', 'in', 'anybody', 'all', 'the', 'world', 'are', 'good', 'and', 'agreeable', 'in', 'your', 'eyes', 'i', 'never', 'heard', 'you', 'speak', 'ill', 'of', 'a', 'human', 'being', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'i', 'would', 'wish', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'hasty', 'in', 'censuring', 'any', 'one', 'but', 'i', 'always', 'speak', 'what', 'i', 'think', 'i', 'know', 'you', 'do', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'which', 'makes', 'the', 'wonder', 'with', 'your', 'good', 'sense', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'honestly', 'blind', 'to', 'the', 'follies', 'and', 'nonsense', 'of', 'others', 'affectation', 'of', 'candour', 'is', 'common', 'enoughone', 'meets', 'with', 'it', 'everywhere', 'but', 'to', 'be', 'candid', 'without', 'ostentation', 'or', 'designto', 'take', 'the', 'good', 'of', 'everybodys', 'character', 'and', 'make', 'it', 'still', 'better', 'and', 'say', 'nothing', 'of', 'the', 'badbelongs', 'to', 'you', 'alone', 'and', 'so', 'you', 'like', 'this', 'mans', 'sisters', 'too', 'do', 'you', 'their', 'manners', 'are', 'not', 'equal', 'to', 'his', 'certainly', 'not', 'at', 'first', 'but', 'they', 'are', 'very', 'pleasing', 'women', 'when', 'you', 'converse', 'with', 'them', 'miss', 'bingley', 'is', 'to', 'live', 'with', 'her', 'brother', 'and', 'keep', 'his', 'house', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'much', 'mistaken', 'if', 'we', 'shall', 'not', 'find', 'a', 'very', 'charming', 'neighbour', 'in', 'her', 'elizabeth', 'listened', 'in', 'silence', 'but', 'was', 'not', 'convinced', 'their', 'behaviour', 'at', 'the', 'assembly', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'calculated', 'to', 'please', 'in', 'general', 'and', 'with', 'more', 'quickness', 'of', 'observation', 'and', 'less', 'pliancy', 'of', 'temper', 'than', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'judgment', 'too', 'unassailed', 'by', 'any', 'attention', 'to', 'herself', 'she', 'was', 'very', 'little', 'disposed', 'to', 'approve', 'them', 'they', 'were', 'in', 'fact', 'very', 'fine', 'ladies', 'not', 'deficient', 'in', 'good', 'humour', 'when', 'they', 'were', 'pleased', 'nor', 'in', 'the', 'power', 'of', 'being', 'agreeable', 'where', 'they', 'chose', 'it', 'but', 'proud', 'and', 'conceited', 'they', 'were', 'rather', 'handsome', 'had', 'been', 'educated', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'first', 'private', 'seminaries', 'in', 'town', 'had', 'a', 'fortune', 'of', 'twenty', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'were', 'in', 'the', 'habit', 'of', 'spending', 'more', 'than', 'they', 'ought', 'and', 'of', 'associating', 'with', 'people', 'of', 'rank', 'and', 'were', 'therefore', 'in', 'every', 'respect', 'entitled', 'to', 'think', 'well', 'of', 'themselves', 'and', 'meanly', 'of', 'others', 'they', 'were', 'of', 'a', 'respectable', 'family', 'in', 'the', 'north', 'of', 'england', 'a', 'circumstance', 'more', 'deeply', 'impressed', 'on', 'their', 'memories', 'than', 'that', 'their', 'brothers', 'fortune', 'and', 'their', 'own', 'had', 'been', 'acquired', 'by', 'trade', 'mr', 'bingley', 'inherited', 'property', 'to', 'the', 'amount', 'of', 'nearly', 'a', 'hundred', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'from', 'his', 'father', 'who', 'had', 'intended', 'to', 'purchase', 'an', 'estate', 'but', 'did', 'not', 'live', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'mr', 'bingley', 'intended', 'it', 'likewise', 'and', 'sometimes', 'made', 'choice', 'of', 'his', 'county', 'but', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'now', 'provided', 'with', 'a', 'good', 'house', 'and', 'the', 'liberty', 'of', 'a', 'manor', 'it', 'was', 'doubtful', 'to', 'many', 'of', 'those', 'who', 'best', 'knew', 'the', 'easiness', 'of', 'his', 'temper', 'whether', 'he', 'might', 'not', 'spend', 'the', 'remainder', 'of', 'his', 'days', 'at', 'netherfield', 'and', 'leave', 'the', 'next', 'generation', 'to', 'purchase', 'his', 'sisters', 'were', 'very', 'anxious', 'for', 'his', 'having', 'an', 'estate', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'but', 'though', 'he', 'was', 'now', 'established', 'only', 'as', 'a', 'tenant', 'miss', 'bingley', 'was', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'unwilling', 'to', 'preside', 'at', 'his', 'table', 'nor', 'was', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'who', 'had', 'married', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'more', 'fashion', 'than', 'fortune', 'less', 'disposed', 'to', 'consider', 'his', 'house', 'as', 'her', 'home', 'when', 'it', 'suited', 'her', 'mr', 'bingley', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'of', 'age', 'two', 'years', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'tempted', 'by', 'an', 'accidental', 'recommendation', 'to', 'look', 'at', 'netherfield', 'house', 'he', 'did', 'look', 'at', 'it', 'and', 'into', 'it', 'for', 'half', 'an', 'hour', 'was', 'pleased', 'with', 'the', 'situation', 'and', 'the', 'principal', 'rooms', 'satisfied', 'with', 'what', 'the', 'owner', 'said', 'in', 'its', 'praise', 'and', 'took', 'it', 'immediately', 'between', 'him', 'and', 'darcy', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'steady', 'friendship', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'great', 'opposition', 'of', 'character', 'bingley', 'was', 'endeared', 'to', 'darcy', 'by', 'the', 'easiness', 'openness', 'and', 'ductility', 'of', 'his', 'temper', 'though', 'no', 'disposition', 'could', 'offer', 'a', 'greater', 'contrast', 'to', 'his', 'own', 'and', 'though', 'with', 'his', 'own', 'he', 'never', 'appeared', 'dissatisfied', 'on', 'the', 'strength', 'of', 'darcys', 'regard', 'bingley', 'had', 'the', 'firmest', 'reliance', 'and', 'of', 'his', 'judgment', 'the', 'highest', 'opinion', 'in', 'understanding', 'darcy', 'was', 'the', 'superior', 'bingley', 'was', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'deficient', 'but', 'darcy', 'was', 'clever', 'he', 'was', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'haughty', 'reserved', 'and', 'fastidious', 'and', 'his', 'manners', 'though', 'well', 'bred', 'were', 'not', 'inviting', 'in', 'that', 'respect', 'his', 'friend', 'had', 'greatly', 'the', 'advantage', 'bingley', 'was', 'sure', 'of', 'being', 'liked', 'wherever', 'he', 'appeared', 'darcy', 'was', 'continually', 'giving', 'offence', 'the', 'manner', 'in', 'which', 'they', 'spoke', 'of', 'the', 'meryton', 'assembly', 'was', 'sufficiently', 'characteristic', 'bingley', 'had', 'never', 'met', 'with', 'pleasanter', 'people', 'or', 'prettier', 'girls', 'in', 'his', 'life', 'everybody', 'had', 'been', 'most', 'kind', 'and', 'attentive', 'to', 'him', 'there', 'had', 'been', 'no', 'formality', 'no', 'stiffness', 'he', 'had', 'soon', 'felt', 'acquainted', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'as', 'to', 'miss', 'bennet', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'conceive', 'an', 'angel', 'more', 'beautiful', 'darcy', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'had', 'seen', 'a', 'collection', 'of', 'people', 'in', 'whom', 'there', 'was', 'little', 'beauty', 'and', 'no', 'fashion', 'for', 'none', 'of', 'whom', 'he', 'had', 'felt', 'the', 'smallest', 'interest', 'and', 'from', 'none', 'received', 'either', 'attention', 'or', 'pleasure', 'miss', 'bennet', 'he', 'acknowledged', 'to', 'be', 'pretty', 'but', 'she', 'smiled', 'too', 'much', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'her', 'sister', 'allowed', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'sobut', 'still', 'they', 'admired', 'her', 'and', 'liked', 'her', 'and', 'pronounced', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'sweet', 'girl', 'and', 'one', 'whom', 'they', 'should', 'not', 'object', 'to', 'know', 'more', 'of', 'miss', 'bennet', 'was', 'therefore', 'established', 'as', 'a', 'sweet', 'girl', 'and', 'their', 'brother', 'felt', 'authorised', 'by', 'such', 'commendation', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'her', 'as', 'he', 'chose', 'within', 'a', 'short', 'walk', 'of', 'longbourn', 'lived', 'a', 'family', 'with', 'whom', 'the', 'bennets', 'were', 'particularly', 'intimate', 'sir', 'william', 'lucas', 'had', 'been', 'formerly', 'in', 'trade', 'in', 'meryton', 'where', 'he', 'had', 'made', 'a', 'tolerable', 'fortune', 'and', 'risen', 'to', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'knighthood', 'by', 'an', 'address', 'to', 'the', 'king', 'during', 'his', 'mayoralty', 'the', 'distinction', 'had', 'perhaps', 'been', 'felt', 'too', 'strongly', 'it', 'had', 'given', 'him', 'a', 'disgust', 'to', 'his', 'business', 'and', 'to', 'his', 'residence', 'in', 'a', 'small', 'market', 'town', 'and', 'quitting', 'them', 'both', 'he', 'had', 'removed', 'with', 'his', 'family', 'to', 'a', 'house', 'about', 'a', 'mile', 'from', 'meryton', 'denominated', 'from', 'that', 'period', 'lucas', 'lodge', 'where', 'he', 'could', 'think', 'with', 'pleasure', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'importance', 'and', 'unshackled', 'by', 'business', 'occupy', 'himself', 'solely', 'in', 'being', 'civil', 'to', 'all', 'the', 'world', 'for', 'though', 'elated', 'by', 'his', 'rank', 'it', 'did', 'not', 'render', 'him', 'supercilious', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'he', 'was', 'all', 'attention', 'to', 'everybody', 'by', 'nature', 'inoffensive', 'friendly', 'and', 'obliging', 'his', 'presentation', 'at', 'st', 'jamess', 'had', 'made', 'him', 'courteous', 'lady', 'lucas', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'good', 'kind', 'of', 'woman', 'not', 'too', 'clever', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'valuable', 'neighbour', 'to', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'they', 'had', 'several', 'children', 'the', 'eldest', 'of', 'them', 'a', 'sensible', 'intelligent', 'young', 'woman', 'about', 'twentyseven', 'was', 'elizabeths', 'intimate', 'friend', 'that', 'the', 'miss', 'lucases', 'and', 'the', 'miss', 'bennets', 'should', 'meet', 'to', 'talk', 'over', 'a', 'ball', 'was', 'absolutely', 'necessary', 'and', 'the', 'morning', 'after', 'the', 'assembly', 'brought', 'the', 'former', 'to', 'longbourn', 'to', 'hear', 'and', 'to', 'communicate', 'you', 'began', 'the', 'evening', 'well', 'charlotte', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'with', 'civil', 'selfcommand', 'to', 'miss', 'lucas', 'you', 'were', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'first', 'choice', 'yes', 'but', 'he', 'seemed', 'to', 'like', 'his', 'second', 'better', 'oh', 'you', 'mean', 'jane', 'i', 'suppose', 'because', 'he', 'danced', 'with', 'her', 'twice', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'that', 'did', 'seem', 'as', 'if', 'he', 'admired', 'herindeed', 'i', 'rather', 'believe', 'he', 'didi', 'heard', 'something', 'about', 'itbut', 'i', 'hardly', 'know', 'whatsomething', 'about', 'mr', 'robinson', 'perhaps', 'you', 'mean', 'what', 'i', 'overheard', 'between', 'him', 'and', 'mr', 'robinson', 'did', 'not', 'i', 'mention', 'it', 'to', 'you', 'mr', 'robinsons', 'asking', 'him', 'how', 'he', 'liked', 'our', 'meryton', 'assemblies', 'and', 'whether', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'think', 'there', 'were', 'a', 'great', 'many', 'pretty', 'women', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'which', 'he', 'thought', 'the', 'prettiest', 'and', 'his', 'answering', 'immediately', 'to', 'the', 'last', 'questionoh', 'the', 'eldest', 'miss', 'bennet', 'beyond', 'a', 'doubt', 'there', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'two', 'opinions', 'on', 'that', 'point', 'upon', 'my', 'word', 'well', 'that', 'was', 'very', 'decided', 'indeedthat', 'does', 'seem', 'as', 'ifbut', 'however', 'it', 'may', 'all', 'come', 'to', 'nothing', 'you', 'know', 'my', 'overhearings', 'were', 'more', 'to', 'the', 'purpose', 'than', 'yours', 'eliza', 'said', 'charlotte', 'mr', 'darcy', 'is', 'not', 'so', 'well', 'worth', 'listening', 'to', 'as', 'his', 'friend', 'is', 'hepoor', 'elizato', 'be', 'only', 'just', 'tolerable', 'i', 'beg', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'put', 'it', 'into', 'lizzys', 'head', 'to', 'be', 'vexed', 'by', 'his', 'illtreatment', 'for', 'he', 'is', 'such', 'a', 'disagreeable', 'man', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'quite', 'a', 'misfortune', 'to', 'be', 'liked', 'by', 'him', 'mrs', 'long', 'told', 'me', 'last', 'night', 'that', 'he', 'sat', 'close', 'to', 'her', 'for', 'half', 'an', 'hour', 'without', 'once', 'opening', 'his', 'lips', 'are', 'you', 'quite', 'sure', 'maamis', 'not', 'there', 'a', 'little', 'mistake', 'said', 'jane', 'i', 'certainly', 'saw', 'mr', 'darcy', 'speaking', 'to', 'her', 'ayebecause', 'she', 'asked', 'him', 'at', 'last', 'how', 'he', 'liked', 'netherfield', 'and', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'answering', 'her', 'but', 'she', 'said', 'he', 'seemed', 'very', 'angry', 'at', 'being', 'spoke', 'to', 'miss', 'bingley', 'told', 'me', 'said', 'jane', 'that', 'he', 'never', 'speaks', 'much', 'unless', 'among', 'his', 'intimate', 'acquaintance', 'with', 'them', 'he', 'is', 'remarkably', 'agreeable', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'believe', 'a', 'word', 'of', 'it', 'my', 'dear', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'so', 'very', 'agreeable', 'he', 'would', 'have', 'talked', 'to', 'mrs', 'long', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'guess', 'how', 'it', 'was', 'everybody', 'says', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'eat', 'up', 'with', 'pride', 'and', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'he', 'had', 'heard', 'somehow', 'that', 'mrs', 'long', 'does', 'not', 'keep', 'a', 'carriage', 'and', 'had', 'come', 'to', 'the', 'ball', 'in', 'a', 'hack', 'chaise', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'mind', 'his', 'not', 'talking', 'to', 'mrs', 'long', 'said', 'miss', 'lucas', 'but', 'i', 'wish', 'he', 'had', 'danced', 'with', 'eliza', 'another', 'time', 'lizzy', 'said', 'her', 'mother', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'dance', 'with', 'him', 'if', 'i', 'were', 'you', 'i', 'believe', 'maam', 'i', 'may', 'safely', 'promise', 'you', 'never', 'to', 'dance', 'with', 'him', 'his', 'pride', 'said', 'miss', 'lucas', 'does', 'not', 'offend', 'me', 'so', 'much', 'as', 'pride', 'often', 'does', 'because', 'there', 'is', 'an', 'excuse', 'for', 'it', 'one', 'can', 'not', 'wonder', 'that', 'so', 'very', 'fine', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'with', 'family', 'fortune', 'everything', 'in', 'his', 'favour', 'should', 'think', 'highly', 'of', 'himself', 'if', 'i', 'may', 'so', 'express', 'it', 'he', 'has', 'a', 'right', 'to', 'be', 'proud', 'that', 'is', 'very', 'true', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'easily', 'forgive', 'his', 'pride', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'mortified', 'mine', 'pride', 'observed', 'mary', 'who', 'piqued', 'herself', 'upon', 'the', 'solidity', 'of', 'her', 'reflections', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'common', 'failing', 'i', 'believe', 'by', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'ever', 'read', 'i', 'am', 'convinced', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'common', 'indeed', 'that', 'human', 'nature', 'is', 'particularly', 'prone', 'to', 'it', 'and', 'that', 'there', 'are', 'very', 'few', 'of', 'us', 'who', 'do', 'not', 'cherish', 'a', 'feeling', 'of', 'selfcomplacency', 'on', 'the', 'score', 'of', 'some', 'quality', 'or', 'other', 'real', 'or', 'imaginary', 'vanity', 'and', 'pride', 'are', 'different', 'things', 'though', 'the', 'words', 'are', 'often', 'used', 'synonymously', 'a', 'person', 'may', 'be', 'proud', 'without', 'being', 'vain', 'pride', 'relates', 'more', 'to', 'our', 'opinion', 'of', 'ourselves', 'vanity', 'to', 'what', 'we', 'would', 'have', 'others', 'think', 'of', 'us', 'if', 'i', 'were', 'as', 'rich', 'as', 'mr', 'darcy', 'cried', 'a', 'young', 'lucas', 'who', 'came', 'with', 'his', 'sisters', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'care', 'how', 'proud', 'i', 'was', 'i', 'would', 'keep', 'a', 'pack', 'of', 'foxhounds', 'and', 'drink', 'a', 'bottle', 'of', 'wine', 'every', 'day', 'then', 'you', 'would', 'drink', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'more', 'than', 'you', 'ought', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'if', 'i', 'were', 'to', 'see', 'you', 'at', 'it', 'i', 'should', 'take', 'away', 'your', 'bottle', 'directly', 'the', 'boy', 'protested', 'that', 'she', 'should', 'not', 'she', 'continued', 'to', 'declare', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'and', 'the', 'argument', 'ended', 'only', 'with', 'the', 'visit', 'the', 'ladies', 'of', 'longbourn', 'soon', 'waited', 'on', 'those', 'of', 'netherfield', 'the', 'visit', 'was', 'returned', 'in', 'due', 'form', 'miss', 'bennets', 'pleasing', 'manners', 'grew', 'on', 'the', 'goodwill', 'of', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'miss', 'bingley', 'and', 'though', 'the', 'mother', 'was', 'found', 'to', 'be', 'intolerable', 'and', 'the', 'younger', 'sisters', 'not', 'worth', 'speaking', 'to', 'a', 'wish', 'of', 'being', 'better', 'acquainted', 'with', 'them', 'was', 'expressed', 'towards', 'the', 'two', 'eldest', 'by', 'jane', 'this', 'attention', 'was', 'received', 'with', 'the', 'greatest', 'pleasure', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'still', 'saw', 'superciliousness', 'in', 'their', 'treatment', 'of', 'everybody', 'hardly', 'excepting', 'even', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'could', 'not', 'like', 'them', 'though', 'their', 'kindness', 'to', 'jane', 'such', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'had', 'a', 'value', 'as', 'arising', 'in', 'all', 'probability', 'from', 'the', 'influence', 'of', 'their', 'brothers', 'admiration', 'it', 'was', 'generally', 'evident', 'whenever', 'they', 'met', 'that', 'he', 'did', 'admire', 'her', 'and', 'to', 'her', 'it', 'was', 'equally', 'evident', 'that', 'jane', 'was', 'yielding', 'to', 'the', 'preference', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'begun', 'to', 'entertain', 'for', 'him', 'from', 'the', 'first', 'and', 'was', 'in', 'a', 'way', 'to', 'be', 'very', 'much', 'in', 'love', 'but', 'she', 'considered', 'with', 'pleasure', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'discovered', 'by', 'the', 'world', 'in', 'general', 'since', 'jane', 'united', 'with', 'great', 'strength', 'of', 'feeling', 'a', 'composure', 'of', 'temper', 'and', 'a', 'uniform', 'cheerfulness', 'of', 'manner', 'which', 'would', 'guard', 'her', 'from', 'the', 'suspicions', 'of', 'the', 'impertinent', 'she', 'mentioned', 'this', 'to', 'her', 'friend', 'miss', 'lucas', 'it', 'may', 'perhaps', 'be', 'pleasant', 'replied', 'charlotte', 'to', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'impose', 'on', 'the', 'public', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'case', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'sometimes', 'a', 'disadvantage', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'very', 'guarded', 'if', 'a', 'woman', 'conceals', 'her', 'affection', 'with', 'the', 'same', 'skill', 'from', 'the', 'object', 'of', 'it', 'she', 'may', 'lose', 'the', 'opportunity', 'of', 'fixing', 'him', 'and', 'it', 'will', 'then', 'be', 'but', 'poor', 'consolation', 'to', 'believe', 'the', 'world', 'equally', 'in', 'the', 'dark', 'there', 'is', 'so', 'much', 'of', 'gratitude', 'or', 'vanity', 'in', 'almost', 'every', 'attachment', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'safe', 'to', 'leave', 'any', 'to', 'itself', 'we', 'can', 'all', 'begin', 'freelya', 'slight', 'preference', 'is', 'natural', 'enough', 'but', 'there', 'are', 'very', 'few', 'of', 'us', 'who', 'have', 'heart', 'enough', 'to', 'be', 'really', 'in', 'love', 'without', 'encouragement', 'in', 'nine', 'cases', 'out', 'of', 'ten', 'a', 'woman', 'had', 'better', 'show', 'more', 'affection', 'than', 'she', 'feels', 'bingley', 'likes', 'your', 'sister', 'undoubtedly', 'but', 'he', 'may', 'never', 'do', 'more', 'than', 'like', 'her', 'if', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'help', 'him', 'on', 'but', 'she', 'does', 'help', 'him', 'on', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'her', 'nature', 'will', 'allow', 'if', 'i', 'can', 'perceive', 'her', 'regard', 'for', 'him', 'he', 'must', 'be', 'a', 'simpleton', 'indeed', 'not', 'to', 'discover', 'it', 'too', 'remember', 'eliza', 'that', 'he', 'does', 'not', 'know', 'janes', 'disposition', 'as', 'you', 'do', 'but', 'if', 'a', 'woman', 'is', 'partial', 'to', 'a', 'man', 'and', 'does', 'not', 'endeavour', 'to', 'conceal', 'it', 'he', 'must', 'find', 'it', 'out', 'perhaps', 'he', 'must', 'if', 'he', 'sees', 'enough', 'of', 'her', 'but', 'though', 'bingley', 'and', 'jane', 'meet', 'tolerably', 'often', 'it', 'is', 'never', 'for', 'many', 'hours', 'together', 'and', 'as', 'they', 'always', 'see', 'each', 'other', 'in', 'large', 'mixed', 'parties', 'it', 'is', 'impossible', 'that', 'every', 'moment', 'should', 'be', 'employed', 'in', 'conversing', 'together', 'jane', 'should', 'therefore', 'make', 'the', 'most', 'of', 'every', 'halfhour', 'in', 'which', 'she', 'can', 'command', 'his', 'attention', 'when', 'she', 'is', 'secure', 'of', 'him', 'there', 'will', 'be', 'leisure', 'for', 'falling', 'in', 'love', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'she', 'chooses', 'your', 'plan', 'is', 'a', 'good', 'one', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'where', 'nothing', 'is', 'in', 'question', 'but', 'the', 'desire', 'of', 'being', 'well', 'married', 'and', 'if', 'i', 'were', 'determined', 'to', 'get', 'a', 'rich', 'husband', 'or', 'any', 'husband', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'i', 'should', 'adopt', 'it', 'but', 'these', 'are', 'not', 'janes', 'feelings', 'she', 'is', 'not', 'acting', 'by', 'design', 'as', 'yet', 'she', 'can', 'not', 'even', 'be', 'certain', 'of', 'the', 'degree', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'regard', 'nor', 'of', 'its', 'reasonableness', 'she', 'has', 'known', 'him', 'only', 'a', 'fortnight', 'she', 'danced', 'four', 'dances', 'with', 'him', 'at', 'meryton', 'she', 'saw', 'him', 'one', 'morning', 'at', 'his', 'own', 'house', 'and', 'has', 'since', 'dined', 'in', 'company', 'with', 'him', 'four', 'times', 'this', 'is', 'not', 'quite', 'enough', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'understand', 'his', 'character', 'not', 'as', 'you', 'represent', 'it', 'had', 'she', 'merely', 'dined', 'with', 'him', 'she', 'might', 'only', 'have', 'discovered', 'whether', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'good', 'appetite', 'but', 'you', 'must', 'remember', 'that', 'four', 'evenings', 'have', 'been', 'also', 'spent', 'togetherand', 'four', 'evenings', 'may', 'do', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'yes', 'these', 'four', 'evenings', 'have', 'enabled', 'them', 'to', 'ascertain', 'that', 'they', 'both', 'like', 'vingtun', 'better', 'than', 'commerce', 'but', 'with', 'respect', 'to', 'any', 'other', 'leading', 'characteristic', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'imagine', 'that', 'much', 'has', 'been', 'unfolded', 'well', 'said', 'charlotte', 'i', 'wish', 'jane', 'success', 'with', 'all', 'my', 'heart', 'and', 'if', 'she', 'were', 'married', 'to', 'him', 'tomorrow', 'i', 'should', 'think', 'she', 'had', 'as', 'good', 'a', 'chance', 'of', 'happiness', 'as', 'if', 'she', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'studying', 'his', 'character', 'for', 'a', 'twelvemonth', 'happiness', 'in', 'marriage', 'is', 'entirely', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'chance', 'if', 'the', 'dispositions', 'of', 'the', 'parties', 'are', 'ever', 'so', 'well', 'known', 'to', 'each', 'other', 'or', 'ever', 'so', 'similar', 'beforehand', 'it', 'does', 'not', 'advance', 'their', 'felicity', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'they', 'always', 'continue', 'to', 'grow', 'sufficiently', 'unlike', 'afterwards', 'to', 'have', 'their', 'share', 'of', 'vexation', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'better', 'to', 'know', 'as', 'little', 'as', 'possible', 'of', 'the', 'defects', 'of', 'the', 'person', 'with', 'whom', 'you', 'are', 'to', 'pass', 'your', 'life', 'you', 'make', 'me', 'laugh', 'charlotte', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'sound', 'you', 'know', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'sound', 'and', 'that', 'you', 'would', 'never', 'act', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'yourself', 'occupied', 'in', 'observing', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'attentions', 'to', 'her', 'sister', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'far', 'from', 'suspecting', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'herself', 'becoming', 'an', 'object', 'of', 'some', 'interest', 'in', 'the', 'eyes', 'of', 'his', 'friend', 'mr', 'darcy', 'had', 'at', 'first', 'scarcely', 'allowed', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'pretty', 'he', 'had', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'without', 'admiration', 'at', 'the', 'ball', 'and', 'when', 'they', 'next', 'met', 'he', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'only', 'to', 'criticise', 'but', 'no', 'sooner', 'had', 'he', 'made', 'it', 'clear', 'to', 'himself', 'and', 'his', 'friends', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'hardly', 'a', 'good', 'feature', 'in', 'her', 'face', 'than', 'he', 'began', 'to', 'find', 'it', 'was', 'rendered', 'uncommonly', 'intelligent', 'by', 'the', 'beautiful', 'expression', 'of', 'her', 'dark', 'eyes', 'to', 'this', 'discovery', 'succeeded', 'some', 'others', 'equally', 'mortifying', 'though', 'he', 'had', 'detected', 'with', 'a', 'critical', 'eye', 'more', 'than', 'one', 'failure', 'of', 'perfect', 'symmetry', 'in', 'her', 'form', 'he', 'was', 'forced', 'to', 'acknowledge', 'her', 'figure', 'to', 'be', 'light', 'and', 'pleasing', 'and', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'his', 'asserting', 'that', 'her', 'manners', 'were', 'not', 'those', 'of', 'the', 'fashionable', 'world', 'he', 'was', 'caught', 'by', 'their', 'easy', 'playfulness', 'of', 'this', 'she', 'was', 'perfectly', 'unawareto', 'her', 'he', 'was', 'only', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'made', 'himself', 'agreeable', 'nowhere', 'and', 'who', 'had', 'not', 'thought', 'her', 'handsome', 'enough', 'to', 'dance', 'with', 'he', 'began', 'to', 'wish', 'to', 'know', 'more', 'of', 'her', 'and', 'as', 'a', 'step', 'towards', 'conversing', 'with', 'her', 'himself', 'attended', 'to', 'her', 'conversation', 'with', 'others', 'his', 'doing', 'so', 'drew', 'her', 'notice', 'it', 'was', 'at', 'sir', 'william', 'lucass', 'where', 'a', 'large', 'party', 'were', 'assembled', 'what', 'does', 'mr', 'darcy', 'mean', 'said', 'she', 'to', 'charlotte', 'by', 'listening', 'to', 'my', 'conversation', 'with', 'colonel', 'forster', 'that', 'is', 'a', 'question', 'which', 'mr', 'darcy', 'only', 'can', 'answer', 'but', 'if', 'he', 'does', 'it', 'any', 'more', 'i', 'shall', 'certainly', 'let', 'him', 'know', 'that', 'i', 'see', 'what', 'he', 'is', 'about', 'he', 'has', 'a', 'very', 'satirical', 'eye', 'and', 'if', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'begin', 'by', 'being', 'impertinent', 'myself', 'i', 'shall', 'soon', 'grow', 'afraid', 'of', 'him', 'on', 'his', 'approaching', 'them', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'though', 'without', 'seeming', 'to', 'have', 'any', 'intention', 'of', 'speaking', 'miss', 'lucas', 'defied', 'her', 'friend', 'to', 'mention', 'such', 'a', 'subject', 'to', 'him', 'which', 'immediately', 'provoking', 'elizabeth', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'she', 'turned', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'said', 'did', 'not', 'you', 'think', 'mr', 'darcy', 'that', 'i', 'expressed', 'myself', 'uncommonly', 'well', 'just', 'now', 'when', 'i', 'was', 'teasing', 'colonel', 'forster', 'to', 'give', 'us', 'a', 'ball', 'at', 'meryton', 'with', 'great', 'energy', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'subject', 'which', 'always', 'makes', 'a', 'lady', 'energetic', 'you', 'are', 'severe', 'on', 'us', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'her', 'turn', 'soon', 'to', 'be', 'teased', 'said', 'miss', 'lucas', 'i', 'am', 'going', 'to', 'open', 'the', 'instrument', 'eliza', 'and', 'you', 'know', 'what', 'follows', 'you', 'are', 'a', 'very', 'strange', 'creature', 'by', 'way', 'of', 'a', 'friendalways', 'wanting', 'me', 'to', 'play', 'and', 'sing', 'before', 'anybody', 'and', 'everybody', 'if', 'my', 'vanity', 'had', 'taken', 'a', 'musical', 'turn', 'you', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'invaluable', 'but', 'as', 'it', 'is', 'i', 'would', 'really', 'rather', 'not', 'sit', 'down', 'before', 'those', 'who', 'must', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'habit', 'of', 'hearing', 'the', 'very', 'best', 'performers', 'on', 'miss', 'lucass', 'persevering', 'however', 'she', 'added', 'very', 'well', 'if', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'so', 'it', 'must', 'and', 'gravely', 'glancing', 'at', 'mr', 'darcy', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'fine', 'old', 'saying', 'which', 'everybody', 'here', 'is', 'of', 'course', 'familiar', 'withkeep', 'your', 'breath', 'to', 'cool', 'your', 'porridgeand', 'i', 'shall', 'keep', 'mine', 'to', 'swell', 'my', 'song', 'her', 'performance', 'was', 'pleasing', 'though', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'capital', 'after', 'a', 'song', 'or', 'two', 'and', 'before', 'she', 'could', 'reply', 'to', 'the', 'entreaties', 'of', 'several', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'sing', 'again', 'she', 'was', 'eagerly', 'succeeded', 'at', 'the', 'instrument', 'by', 'her', 'sister', 'mary', 'who', 'having', 'in', 'consequence', 'of', 'being', 'the', 'only', 'plain', 'one', 'in', 'the', 'family', 'worked', 'hard', 'for', 'knowledge', 'and', 'accomplishments', 'was', 'always', 'impatient', 'for', 'display', 'mary', 'had', 'neither', 'genius', 'nor', 'taste', 'and', 'though', 'vanity', 'had', 'given', 'her', 'application', 'it', 'had', 'given', 'her', 'likewise', 'a', 'pedantic', 'air', 'and', 'conceited', 'manner', 'which', 'would', 'have', 'injured', 'a', 'higher', 'degree', 'of', 'excellence', 'than', 'she', 'had', 'reached', 'elizabeth', 'easy', 'and', 'unaffected', 'had', 'been', 'listened', 'to', 'with', 'much', 'more', 'pleasure', 'though', 'not', 'playing', 'half', 'so', 'well', 'and', 'mary', 'at', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'a', 'long', 'concerto', 'was', 'glad', 'to', 'purchase', 'praise', 'and', 'gratitude', 'by', 'scotch', 'and', 'irish', 'airs', 'at', 'the', 'request', 'of', 'her', 'younger', 'sisters', 'who', 'with', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'lucases', 'and', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'officers', 'joined', 'eagerly', 'in', 'dancing', 'at', 'one', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'mr', 'darcy', 'stood', 'near', 'them', 'in', 'silent', 'indignation', 'at', 'such', 'a', 'mode', 'of', 'passing', 'the', 'evening', 'to', 'the', 'exclusion', 'of', 'all', 'conversation', 'and', 'was', 'too', 'much', 'engrossed', 'by', 'his', 'own', 'thoughts', 'to', 'perceive', 'that', 'sir', 'william', 'lucas', 'was', 'his', 'neighbour', 'till', 'sir', 'william', 'thus', 'began', 'what', 'a', 'charming', 'amusement', 'for', 'young', 'people', 'this', 'is', 'mr', 'darcy', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'like', 'dancing', 'after', 'all', 'i', 'consider', 'it', 'as', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'first', 'refinements', 'of', 'polished', 'societies', 'certainly', 'sir', 'and', 'it', 'has', 'the', 'advantage', 'also', 'of', 'being', 'in', 'vogue', 'amongst', 'the', 'less', 'polished', 'societies', 'of', 'the', 'worldevery', 'savage', 'can', 'dance', 'sir', 'william', 'only', 'smiled', 'your', 'friend', 'performs', 'delightfully', 'he', 'continued', 'after', 'a', 'pause', 'on', 'seeing', 'bingley', 'join', 'the', 'group', 'and', 'i', 'doubt', 'not', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'an', 'adept', 'in', 'the', 'science', 'yourself', 'mr', 'darcy', 'you', 'saw', 'me', 'dance', 'at', 'meryton', 'i', 'believe', 'sir', 'yes', 'indeed', 'and', 'received', 'no', 'inconsiderable', 'pleasure', 'from', 'the', 'sight', 'do', 'you', 'often', 'dance', 'at', 'st', 'jamess', 'never', 'sir', 'do', 'you', 'not', 'think', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'proper', 'compliment', 'to', 'the', 'place', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'compliment', 'which', 'i', 'never', 'pay', 'to', 'any', 'place', 'if', 'i', 'can', 'avoid', 'it', 'you', 'have', 'a', 'house', 'in', 'town', 'i', 'conclude', 'mr', 'darcy', 'bowed', 'i', 'had', 'once', 'some', 'thoughts', 'of', 'fixing', 'in', 'town', 'myselffor', 'i', 'am', 'fond', 'of', 'superior', 'society', 'but', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'feel', 'quite', 'certain', 'that', 'the', 'air', 'of', 'london', 'would', 'agree', 'with', 'lady', 'lucas', 'he', 'paused', 'in', 'hopes', 'of', 'an', 'answer', 'but', 'his', 'companion', 'was', 'not', 'disposed', 'to', 'make', 'any', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'at', 'that', 'instant', 'moving', 'towards', 'them', 'he', 'was', 'struck', 'with', 'the', 'notion', 'of', 'doing', 'a', 'very', 'gallant', 'thing', 'and', 'called', 'out', 'to', 'her', 'my', 'dear', 'miss', 'eliza', 'why', 'are', 'not', 'you', 'dancing', 'mr', 'darcy', 'you', 'must', 'allow', 'me', 'to', 'present', 'this', 'young', 'lady', 'to', 'you', 'as', 'a', 'very', 'desirable', 'partner', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'refuse', 'to', 'dance', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'when', 'so', 'much', 'beauty', 'is', 'before', 'you', 'and', 'taking', 'her', 'hand', 'he', 'would', 'have', 'given', 'it', 'to', 'mr', 'darcy', 'who', 'though', 'extremely', 'surprised', 'was', 'not', 'unwilling', 'to', 'receive', 'it', 'when', 'she', 'instantly', 'drew', 'back', 'and', 'said', 'with', 'some', 'discomposure', 'to', 'sir', 'william', 'indeed', 'sir', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'the', 'least', 'intention', 'of', 'dancing', 'i', 'entreat', 'you', 'not', 'to', 'suppose', 'that', 'i', 'moved', 'this', 'way', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'beg', 'for', 'a', 'partner', 'mr', 'darcy', 'with', 'grave', 'propriety', 'requested', 'to', 'be', 'allowed', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'her', 'hand', 'but', 'in', 'vain', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'determined', 'nor', 'did', 'sir', 'william', 'at', 'all', 'shake', 'her', 'purpose', 'by', 'his', 'attempt', 'at', 'persuasion', 'you', 'excel', 'so', 'much', 'in', 'the', 'dance', 'miss', 'eliza', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'cruel', 'to', 'deny', 'me', 'the', 'happiness', 'of', 'seeing', 'you', 'and', 'though', 'this', 'gentleman', 'dislikes', 'the', 'amusement', 'in', 'general', 'he', 'can', 'have', 'no', 'objection', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'to', 'oblige', 'us', 'for', 'one', 'halfhour', 'mr', 'darcy', 'is', 'all', 'politeness', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'smiling', 'he', 'is', 'indeedbut', 'considering', 'the', 'inducement', 'my', 'dear', 'miss', 'eliza', 'we', 'can', 'not', 'wonder', 'at', 'his', 'complaisance', 'for', 'who', 'would', 'object', 'to', 'such', 'a', 'partner', 'elizabeth', 'looked', 'archly', 'and', 'turned', 'away', 'her', 'resistance', 'had', 'not', 'injured', 'her', 'with', 'the', 'gentleman', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'thinking', 'of', 'her', 'with', 'some', 'complacency', 'when', 'thus', 'accosted', 'by', 'miss', 'bingley', 'i', 'can', 'guess', 'the', 'subject', 'of', 'your', 'reverie', 'i', 'should', 'imagine', 'not', 'you', 'are', 'considering', 'how', 'insupportable', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'to', 'pass', 'many', 'evenings', 'in', 'this', 'mannerin', 'such', 'society', 'and', 'indeed', 'i', 'am', 'quite', 'of', 'your', 'opinion', 'i', 'was', 'never', 'more', 'annoyed', 'the', 'insipidity', 'and', 'yet', 'the', 'noise', 'the', 'nothingness', 'and', 'yet', 'the', 'selfimportance', 'of', 'all', 'these', 'people', 'what', 'would', 'i', 'give', 'to', 'hear', 'your', 'strictures', 'on', 'them', 'your', 'conjecture', 'is', 'totally', 'wrong', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'my', 'mind', 'was', 'more', 'agreeably', 'engaged', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'meditating', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'great', 'pleasure', 'which', 'a', 'pair', 'of', 'fine', 'eyes', 'in', 'the', 'face', 'of', 'a', 'pretty', 'woman', 'can', 'bestow', 'miss', 'bingley', 'immediately', 'fixed', 'her', 'eyes', 'on', 'his', 'face', 'and', 'desired', 'he', 'would', 'tell', 'her', 'what', 'lady', 'had', 'the', 'credit', 'of', 'inspiring', 'such', 'reflections', 'mr', 'darcy', 'replied', 'with', 'great', 'intrepidity', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'bennet', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'bennet', 'repeated', 'miss', 'bingley', 'i', 'am', 'all', 'astonishment', 'how', 'long', 'has', 'she', 'been', 'such', 'a', 'favouriteand', 'pray', 'when', 'am', 'i', 'to', 'wish', 'you', 'joy', 'that', 'is', 'exactly', 'the', 'question', 'which', 'i', 'expected', 'you', 'to', 'ask', 'a', 'ladys', 'imagination', 'is', 'very', 'rapid', 'it', 'jumps', 'from', 'admiration', 'to', 'love', 'from', 'love', 'to', 'matrimony', 'in', 'a', 'moment', 'i', 'knew', 'you', 'would', 'be', 'wishing', 'me', 'joy', 'nay', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'so', 'serious', 'about', 'it', 'i', 'shall', 'consider', 'the', 'matter', 'as', 'absolutely', 'settled', 'you', 'will', 'have', 'a', 'charming', 'motherinlaw', 'indeed', 'and', 'of', 'course', 'she', 'will', 'be', 'always', 'at', 'pemberley', 'with', 'you', 'he', 'listened', 'to', 'her', 'with', 'perfect', 'indifference', 'while', 'she', 'chose', 'to', 'entertain', 'herself', 'in', 'this', 'manner', 'and', 'as', 'his', 'composure', 'convinced', 'her', 'that', 'all', 'was', 'safe', 'her', 'wit', 'flowed', 'long', 'mr', 'bennets', 'property', 'consisted', 'almost', 'entirely', 'in', 'an', 'estate', 'of', 'two', 'thousand', 'a', 'year', 'which', 'unfortunately', 'for', 'his', 'daughters', 'was', 'entailed', 'in', 'default', 'of', 'heirs', 'male', 'on', 'a', 'distant', 'relation', 'and', 'their', 'mothers', 'fortune', 'though', 'ample', 'for', 'her', 'situation', 'in', 'life', 'could', 'but', 'ill', 'supply', 'the', 'deficiency', 'of', 'his', 'her', 'father', 'had', 'been', 'an', 'attorney', 'in', 'meryton', 'and', 'had', 'left', 'her', 'four', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'she', 'had', 'a', 'sister', 'married', 'to', 'a', 'mr', 'phillips', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'a', 'clerk', 'to', 'their', 'father', 'and', 'succeeded', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'business', 'and', 'a', 'brother', 'settled', 'in', 'london', 'in', 'a', 'respectable', 'line', 'of', 'trade', 'the', 'village', 'of', 'longbourn', 'was', 'only', 'one', 'mile', 'from', 'meryton', 'a', 'most', 'convenient', 'distance', 'for', 'the', 'young', 'ladies', 'who', 'were', 'usually', 'tempted', 'thither', 'three', 'or', 'four', 'times', 'a', 'week', 'to', 'pay', 'their', 'duty', 'to', 'their', 'aunt', 'and', 'to', 'a', 'milliners', 'shop', 'just', 'over', 'the', 'way', 'the', 'two', 'youngest', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'catherine', 'and', 'lydia', 'were', 'particularly', 'frequent', 'in', 'these', 'attentions', 'their', 'minds', 'were', 'more', 'vacant', 'than', 'their', 'sisters', 'and', 'when', 'nothing', 'better', 'offered', 'a', 'walk', 'to', 'meryton', 'was', 'necessary', 'to', 'amuse', 'their', 'morning', 'hours', 'and', 'furnish', 'conversation', 'for', 'the', 'evening', 'and', 'however', 'bare', 'of', 'news', 'the', 'country', 'in', 'general', 'might', 'be', 'they', 'always', 'contrived', 'to', 'learn', 'some', 'from', 'their', 'aunt', 'at', 'present', 'indeed', 'they', 'were', 'well', 'supplied', 'both', 'with', 'news', 'and', 'happiness', 'by', 'the', 'recent', 'arrival', 'of', 'a', 'militia', 'regiment', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'remain', 'the', 'whole', 'winter', 'and', 'meryton', 'was', 'the', 'headquarters', 'their', 'visits', 'to', 'mrs', 'philips', 'were', 'now', 'productive', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'interesting', 'intelligence', 'every', 'day', 'added', 'something', 'to', 'their', 'knowledge', 'of', 'the', 'officers', 'names', 'and', 'connections', 'their', 'lodgings', 'were', 'not', 'long', 'a', 'secret', 'and', 'at', 'length', 'they', 'began', 'to', 'know', 'the', 'officers', 'themselves', 'mr', 'philips', 'visited', 'them', 'all', 'and', 'this', 'opened', 'to', 'his', 'nieces', 'a', 'source', 'of', 'felicity', 'unknown', 'before', 'they', 'could', 'talk', 'of', 'nothing', 'but', 'officers', 'and', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'large', 'fortune', 'the', 'mention', 'of', 'which', 'gave', 'animation', 'to', 'their', 'mother', 'was', 'worthless', 'in', 'their', 'eyes', 'when', 'opposed', 'to', 'the', 'regimentals', 'of', 'an', 'ensign', 'after', 'listening', 'one', 'morning', 'to', 'their', 'effusions', 'on', 'this', 'subject', 'mr', 'bennet', 'coolly', 'observed', 'from', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'collect', 'by', 'your', 'manner', 'of', 'talking', 'you', 'must', 'be', 'two', 'of', 'the', 'silliest', 'girls', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'i', 'have', 'suspected', 'it', 'some', 'time', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'now', 'convinced', 'catherine', 'was', 'disconcerted', 'and', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'but', 'lydia', 'with', 'perfect', 'indifference', 'continued', 'to', 'express', 'her', 'admiration', 'of', 'captain', 'carter', 'and', 'her', 'hope', 'of', 'seeing', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'going', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'to', 'london', 'i', 'am', 'astonished', 'my', 'dear', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'be', 'so', 'ready', 'to', 'think', 'your', 'own', 'children', 'silly', 'if', 'i', 'wished', 'to', 'think', 'slightingly', 'of', 'anybodys', 'children', 'it', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'of', 'my', 'own', 'however', 'if', 'my', 'children', 'are', 'silly', 'i', 'must', 'hope', 'to', 'be', 'always', 'sensible', 'of', 'it', 'yesbut', 'as', 'it', 'happens', 'they', 'are', 'all', 'of', 'them', 'very', 'clever', 'this', 'is', 'the', 'only', 'point', 'i', 'flatter', 'myself', 'on', 'which', 'we', 'do', 'not', 'agree', 'i', 'had', 'hoped', 'that', 'our', 'sentiments', 'coincided', 'in', 'every', 'particular', 'but', 'i', 'must', 'so', 'far', 'differ', 'from', 'you', 'as', 'to', 'think', 'our', 'two', 'youngest', 'daughters', 'uncommonly', 'foolish', 'my', 'dear', 'mr', 'bennet', 'you', 'must', 'not', 'expect', 'such', 'girls', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'sense', 'of', 'their', 'father', 'and', 'mother', 'when', 'they', 'get', 'to', 'our', 'age', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'they', 'will', 'not', 'think', 'about', 'officers', 'any', 'more', 'than', 'we', 'do', 'i', 'remember', 'the', 'time', 'when', 'i', 'liked', 'a', 'red', 'coat', 'myself', 'very', 'welland', 'indeed', 'so', 'i', 'do', 'still', 'at', 'my', 'heart', 'and', 'if', 'a', 'smart', 'young', 'colonel', 'with', 'five', 'or', 'six', 'thousand', 'a', 'year', 'should', 'want', 'one', 'of', 'my', 'girls', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'say', 'nay', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'i', 'thought', 'colonel', 'forster', 'looked', 'very', 'becoming', 'the', 'other', 'night', 'at', 'sir', 'williams', 'in', 'his', 'regimentals', 'mamma', 'cried', 'lydia', 'my', 'aunt', 'says', 'that', 'colonel', 'forster', 'and', 'captain', 'carter', 'do', 'not', 'go', 'so', 'often', 'to', 'miss', 'watsons', 'as', 'they', 'did', 'when', 'they', 'first', 'came', 'she', 'sees', 'them', 'now', 'very', 'often', 'standing', 'in', 'clarkes', 'library', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'prevented', 'replying', 'by', 'the', 'entrance', 'of', 'the', 'footman', 'with', 'a', 'note', 'for', 'miss', 'bennet', 'it', 'came', 'from', 'netherfield', 'and', 'the', 'servant', 'waited', 'for', 'an', 'answer', 'mrs', 'bennets', 'eyes', 'sparkled', 'with', 'pleasure', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'eagerly', 'calling', 'out', 'while', 'her', 'daughter', 'read', 'well', 'jane', 'who', 'is', 'it', 'from', 'what', 'is', 'it', 'about', 'what', 'does', 'he', 'say', 'well', 'jane', 'make', 'haste', 'and', 'tell', 'us', 'make', 'haste', 'my', 'love', 'it', 'is', 'from', 'miss', 'bingley', 'said', 'jane', 'and', 'then', 'read', 'it', 'aloud', 'my', 'dear', 'friend', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'so', 'compassionate', 'as', 'to', 'dine', 'today', 'with', 'louisa', 'and', 'me', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'in', 'danger', 'of', 'hating', 'each', 'other', 'for', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'our', 'lives', 'for', 'a', 'whole', 'days', 'têteàtête', 'between', 'two', 'women', 'can', 'never', 'end', 'without', 'a', 'quarrel', 'come', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'you', 'can', 'on', 'the', 'receipt', 'of', 'this', 'my', 'brother', 'and', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'are', 'to', 'dine', 'with', 'the', 'officersyours', 'ever', 'caroline', 'bingley', 'with', 'the', 'officers', 'cried', 'lydia', 'i', 'wonder', 'my', 'aunt', 'did', 'not', 'tell', 'us', 'of', 'that', 'dining', 'out', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'that', 'is', 'very', 'unlucky', 'can', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'carriage', 'said', 'jane', 'no', 'my', 'dear', 'you', 'had', 'better', 'go', 'on', 'horseback', 'because', 'it', 'seems', 'likely', 'to', 'rain', 'and', 'then', 'you', 'must', 'stay', 'all', 'night', 'that', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'good', 'scheme', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'if', 'you', 'were', 'sure', 'that', 'they', 'would', 'not', 'offer', 'to', 'send', 'her', 'home', 'oh', 'but', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'will', 'have', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'chaise', 'to', 'go', 'to', 'meryton', 'and', 'the', 'hursts', 'have', 'no', 'horses', 'to', 'theirs', 'i', 'had', 'much', 'rather', 'go', 'in', 'the', 'coach', 'but', 'my', 'dear', 'your', 'father', 'can', 'not', 'spare', 'the', 'horses', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'they', 'are', 'wanted', 'in', 'the', 'farm', 'mr', 'bennet', 'are', 'not', 'they', 'they', 'are', 'wanted', 'in', 'the', 'farm', 'much', 'oftener', 'than', 'i', 'can', 'get', 'them', 'but', 'if', 'you', 'have', 'got', 'them', 'today', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'my', 'mothers', 'purpose', 'will', 'be', 'answered', 'she', 'did', 'at', 'last', 'extort', 'from', 'her', 'father', 'an', 'acknowledgment', 'that', 'the', 'horses', 'were', 'engaged', 'jane', 'was', 'therefore', 'obliged', 'to', 'go', 'on', 'horseback', 'and', 'her', 'mother', 'attended', 'her', 'to', 'the', 'door', 'with', 'many', 'cheerful', 'prognostics', 'of', 'a', 'bad', 'day', 'her', 'hopes', 'were', 'answered', 'jane', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'gone', 'long', 'before', 'it', 'rained', 'hard', 'her', 'sisters', 'were', 'uneasy', 'for', 'her', 'but', 'her', 'mother', 'was', 'delighted', 'the', 'rain', 'continued', 'the', 'whole', 'evening', 'without', 'intermission', 'jane', 'certainly', 'could', 'not', 'come', 'back', 'this', 'was', 'a', 'lucky', 'idea', 'of', 'mine', 'indeed', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'as', 'if', 'the', 'credit', 'of', 'making', 'it', 'rain', 'were', 'all', 'her', 'own', 'till', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'however', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'aware', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'felicity', 'of', 'her', 'contrivance', 'breakfast', 'was', 'scarcely', 'over', 'when', 'a', 'servant', 'from', 'netherfield', 'brought', 'the', 'following', 'note', 'for', 'elizabeth', 'my', 'dearest', 'lizzy', 'i', 'find', 'myself', 'very', 'unwell', 'this', 'morning', 'which', 'i', 'suppose', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'imputed', 'to', 'my', 'getting', 'wet', 'through', 'yesterday', 'my', 'kind', 'friends', 'will', 'not', 'hear', 'of', 'my', 'returning', 'home', 'till', 'i', 'am', 'better', 'they', 'insist', 'also', 'on', 'my', 'seeing', 'mr', 'jonestherefore', 'do', 'not', 'be', 'alarmed', 'if', 'you', 'should', 'hear', 'of', 'his', 'having', 'been', 'to', 'meand', 'excepting', 'a', 'sore', 'throat', 'and', 'headache', 'there', 'is', 'not', 'much', 'the', 'matter', 'with', 'meyours', 'c', 'well', 'my', 'dear', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'when', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'read', 'the', 'note', 'aloud', 'if', 'your', 'daughter', 'should', 'have', 'a', 'dangerous', 'fit', 'of', 'illnessif', 'she', 'should', 'die', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'comfort', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'all', 'in', 'pursuit', 'of', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'under', 'your', 'orders', 'oh', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'afraid', 'of', 'her', 'dying', 'people', 'do', 'not', 'die', 'of', 'little', 'trifling', 'colds', 'she', 'will', 'be', 'taken', 'good', 'care', 'of', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'she', 'stays', 'there', 'it', 'is', 'all', 'very', 'well', 'i', 'would', 'go', 'and', 'see', 'her', 'if', 'i', 'could', 'have', 'the', 'carriage', 'elizabeth', 'feeling', 'really', 'anxious', 'was', 'determined', 'to', 'go', 'to', 'her', 'though', 'the', 'carriage', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'had', 'and', 'as', 'she', 'was', 'no', 'horsewoman', 'walking', 'was', 'her', 'only', 'alternative', 'she', 'declared', 'her', 'resolution', 'how', 'can', 'you', 'be', 'so', 'silly', 'cried', 'her', 'mother', 'as', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'thing', 'in', 'all', 'this', 'dirt', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'fit', 'to', 'be', 'seen', 'when', 'you', 'get', 'there', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'very', 'fit', 'to', 'see', 'janewhich', 'is', 'all', 'i', 'want', 'is', 'this', 'a', 'hint', 'to', 'me', 'lizzy', 'said', 'her', 'father', 'to', 'send', 'for', 'the', 'horses', 'no', 'indeed', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'wish', 'to', 'avoid', 'the', 'walk', 'the', 'distance', 'is', 'nothing', 'when', 'one', 'has', 'a', 'motive', 'only', 'three', 'miles', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'back', 'by', 'dinner', 'i', 'admire', 'the', 'activity', 'of', 'your', 'benevolence', 'observed', 'mary', 'but', 'every', 'impulse', 'of', 'feeling', 'should', 'be', 'guided', 'by', 'reason', 'and', 'in', 'my', 'opinion', 'exertion', 'should', 'always', 'be', 'in', 'proportion', 'to', 'what', 'is', 'required', 'we', 'will', 'go', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'meryton', 'with', 'you', 'said', 'catherine', 'and', 'lydia', 'elizabeth', 'accepted', 'their', 'company', 'and', 'the', 'three', 'young', 'ladies', 'set', 'off', 'together', 'if', 'we', 'make', 'haste', 'said', 'lydia', 'as', 'they', 'walked', 'along', 'perhaps', 'we', 'may', 'see', 'something', 'of', 'captain', 'carter', 'before', 'he', 'goes', 'in', 'meryton', 'they', 'parted', 'the', 'two', 'youngest', 'repaired', 'to', 'the', 'lodgings', 'of', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'officers', 'wives', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'continued', 'her', 'walk', 'alone', 'crossing', 'field', 'after', 'field', 'at', 'a', 'quick', 'pace', 'jumping', 'over', 'stiles', 'and', 'springing', 'over', 'puddles', 'with', 'impatient', 'activity', 'and', 'finding', 'herself', 'at', 'last', 'within', 'view', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'with', 'weary', 'ankles', 'dirty', 'stockings', 'and', 'a', 'face', 'glowing', 'with', 'the', 'warmth', 'of', 'exercise', 'she', 'was', 'shown', 'into', 'the', 'breakfastparlour', 'where', 'all', 'but', 'jane', 'were', 'assembled', 'and', 'where', 'her', 'appearance', 'created', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'surprise', 'that', 'she', 'should', 'have', 'walked', 'three', 'miles', 'so', 'early', 'in', 'the', 'day', 'in', 'such', 'dirty', 'weather', 'and', 'by', 'herself', 'was', 'almost', 'incredible', 'to', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'miss', 'bingley', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'convinced', 'that', 'they', 'held', 'her', 'in', 'contempt', 'for', 'it', 'she', 'was', 'received', 'however', 'very', 'politely', 'by', 'them', 'and', 'in', 'their', 'brothers', 'manners', 'there', 'was', 'something', 'better', 'than', 'politeness', 'there', 'was', 'good', 'humour', 'and', 'kindness', 'mr', 'darcy', 'said', 'very', 'little', 'and', 'mr', 'hurst', 'nothing', 'at', 'all', 'the', 'former', 'was', 'divided', 'between', 'admiration', 'of', 'the', 'brilliancy', 'which', 'exercise', 'had', 'given', 'to', 'her', 'complexion', 'and', 'doubt', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'occasions', 'justifying', 'her', 'coming', 'so', 'far', 'alone', 'the', 'latter', 'was', 'thinking', 'only', 'of', 'his', 'breakfast', 'her', 'enquiries', 'after', 'her', 'sister', 'were', 'not', 'very', 'favourably', 'answered', 'miss', 'bennet', 'had', 'slept', 'ill', 'and', 'though', 'up', 'was', 'very', 'feverish', 'and', 'not', 'well', 'enough', 'to', 'leave', 'her', 'room', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'glad', 'to', 'be', 'taken', 'to', 'her', 'immediately', 'and', 'jane', 'who', 'had', 'only', 'been', 'withheld', 'by', 'the', 'fear', 'of', 'giving', 'alarm', 'or', 'inconvenience', 'from', 'expressing', 'in', 'her', 'note', 'how', 'much', 'she', 'longed', 'for', 'such', 'a', 'visit', 'was', 'delighted', 'at', 'her', 'entrance', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'equal', 'however', 'to', 'much', 'conversation', 'and', 'when', 'miss', 'bingley', 'left', 'them', 'together', 'could', 'attempt', 'little', 'beside', 'expressions', 'of', 'gratitude', 'for', 'the', 'extraordinary', 'kindness', 'she', 'was', 'treated', 'with', 'elizabeth', 'silently', 'attended', 'her', 'when', 'breakfast', 'was', 'over', 'they', 'were', 'joined', 'by', 'the', 'sisters', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'began', 'to', 'like', 'them', 'herself', 'when', 'she', 'saw', 'how', 'much', 'affection', 'and', 'solicitude', 'they', 'showed', 'for', 'jane', 'the', 'apothecary', 'came', 'and', 'having', 'examined', 'his', 'patient', 'said', 'as', 'might', 'be', 'supposed', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'caught', 'a', 'violent', 'cold', 'and', 'that', 'they', 'must', 'endeavour', 'to', 'get', 'the', 'better', 'of', 'it', 'advised', 'her', 'to', 'return', 'to', 'bed', 'and', 'promised', 'her', 'some', 'draughts', 'the', 'advice', 'was', 'followed', 'readily', 'for', 'the', 'feverish', 'symptoms', 'increased', 'and', 'her', 'head', 'ached', 'acutely', 'elizabeth', 'did', 'not', 'quit', 'her', 'room', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'nor', 'were', 'the', 'other', 'ladies', 'often', 'absent', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'being', 'out', 'they', 'had', 'in', 'fact', 'nothing', 'to', 'do', 'elsewhere', 'when', 'the', 'clock', 'struck', 'three', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'that', 'she', 'must', 'go', 'and', 'very', 'unwillingly', 'said', 'so', 'miss', 'bingley', 'offered', 'her', 'the', 'carriage', 'and', 'she', 'only', 'wanted', 'a', 'little', 'pressing', 'to', 'accept', 'it', 'when', 'jane', 'testified', 'such', 'concern', 'in', 'parting', 'with', 'her', 'that', 'miss', 'bingley', 'was', 'obliged', 'to', 'convert', 'the', 'offer', 'of', 'the', 'chaise', 'to', 'an', 'invitation', 'to', 'remain', 'at', 'netherfield', 'for', 'the', 'present', 'elizabeth', 'most', 'thankfully', 'consented', 'and', 'a', 'servant', 'was', 'dispatched', 'to', 'longbourn', 'to', 'acquaint', 'the', 'family', 'with', 'her', 'stay', 'and', 'bring', 'back', 'a', 'supply', 'of', 'clothes', 'at', 'five', 'oclock', 'the', 'two', 'ladies', 'retired', 'to', 'dress', 'and', 'at', 'halfpast', 'six', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'summoned', 'to', 'dinner', 'to', 'the', 'civil', 'enquiries', 'which', 'then', 'poured', 'in', 'and', 'amongst', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'distinguishing', 'the', 'much', 'superior', 'solicitude', 'of', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'make', 'a', 'very', 'favourable', 'answer', 'jane', 'was', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'better', 'the', 'sisters', 'on', 'hearing', 'this', 'repeated', 'three', 'or', 'four', 'times', 'how', 'much', 'they', 'were', 'grieved', 'how', 'shocking', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'bad', 'cold', 'and', 'how', 'excessively', 'they', 'disliked', 'being', 'ill', 'themselves', 'and', 'then', 'thought', 'no', 'more', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'and', 'their', 'indifference', 'towards', 'jane', 'when', 'not', 'immediately', 'before', 'them', 'restored', 'elizabeth', 'to', 'the', 'enjoyment', 'of', 'all', 'her', 'original', 'dislike', 'their', 'brother', 'indeed', 'was', 'the', 'only', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'party', 'whom', 'she', 'could', 'regard', 'with', 'any', 'complacency', 'his', 'anxiety', 'for', 'jane', 'was', 'evident', 'and', 'his', 'attentions', 'to', 'herself', 'most', 'pleasing', 'and', 'they', 'prevented', 'her', 'feeling', 'herself', 'so', 'much', 'an', 'intruder', 'as', 'she', 'believed', 'she', 'was', 'considered', 'by', 'the', 'others', 'she', 'had', 'very', 'little', 'notice', 'from', 'any', 'but', 'him', 'miss', 'bingley', 'was', 'engrossed', 'by', 'mr', 'darcy', 'her', 'sister', 'scarcely', 'less', 'so', 'and', 'as', 'for', 'mr', 'hurst', 'by', 'whom', 'elizabeth', 'sat', 'he', 'was', 'an', 'indolent', 'man', 'who', 'lived', 'only', 'to', 'eat', 'drink', 'and', 'play', 'at', 'cards', 'who', 'when', 'he', 'found', 'her', 'prefer', 'a', 'plain', 'dish', 'to', 'a', 'ragout', 'had', 'nothing', 'to', 'say', 'to', 'her', 'when', 'dinner', 'was', 'over', 'she', 'returned', 'directly', 'to', 'jane', 'and', 'miss', 'bingley', 'began', 'abusing', 'her', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'she', 'was', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'her', 'manners', 'were', 'pronounced', 'to', 'be', 'very', 'bad', 'indeed', 'a', 'mixture', 'of', 'pride', 'and', 'impertinence', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'conversation', 'no', 'style', 'no', 'taste', 'no', 'beauty', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'thought', 'the', 'same', 'and', 'added', 'she', 'has', 'nothing', 'in', 'short', 'to', 'recommend', 'her', 'but', 'being', 'an', 'excellent', 'walker', 'i', 'shall', 'never', 'forget', 'her', 'appearance', 'this', 'morning', 'she', 'really', 'looked', 'almost', 'wild', 'she', 'did', 'indeed', 'louisa', 'i', 'could', 'hardly', 'keep', 'my', 'countenance', 'very', 'nonsensical', 'to', 'come', 'at', 'all', 'why', 'must', 'she', 'be', 'scampering', 'about', 'the', 'country', 'because', 'her', 'sister', 'had', 'a', 'cold', 'her', 'hair', 'so', 'untidy', 'so', 'blowsy', 'yes', 'and', 'her', 'petticoat', 'i', 'hope', 'you', 'saw', 'her', 'petticoat', 'six', 'inches', 'deep', 'in', 'mud', 'i', 'am', 'absolutely', 'certain', 'and', 'the', 'gown', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'let', 'down', 'to', 'hide', 'it', 'not', 'doing', 'its', 'office', 'your', 'picture', 'may', 'be', 'very', 'exact', 'louisa', 'said', 'bingley', 'but', 'this', 'was', 'all', 'lost', 'upon', 'me', 'i', 'thought', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'bennet', 'looked', 'remarkably', 'well', 'when', 'she', 'came', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'this', 'morning', 'her', 'dirty', 'petticoat', 'quite', 'escaped', 'my', 'notice', 'you', 'observed', 'it', 'mr', 'darcy', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'said', 'miss', 'bingley', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'inclined', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'wish', 'to', 'see', 'your', 'sister', 'make', 'such', 'an', 'exhibition', 'certainly', 'not', 'to', 'walk', 'three', 'miles', 'or', 'four', 'miles', 'or', 'five', 'miles', 'or', 'whatever', 'it', 'is', 'above', 'her', 'ankles', 'in', 'dirt', 'and', 'alone', 'quite', 'alone', 'what', 'could', 'she', 'mean', 'by', 'it', 'it', 'seems', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'show', 'an', 'abominable', 'sort', 'of', 'conceited', 'independence', 'a', 'most', 'countrytown', 'indifference', 'to', 'decorum', 'it', 'shows', 'an', 'affection', 'for', 'her', 'sister', 'that', 'is', 'very', 'pleasing', 'said', 'bingley', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'mr', 'darcy', 'observed', 'miss', 'bingley', 'in', 'a', 'half', 'whisper', 'that', 'this', 'adventure', 'has', 'rather', 'affected', 'your', 'admiration', 'of', 'her', 'fine', 'eyes', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'he', 'replied', 'they', 'were', 'brightened', 'by', 'the', 'exercise', 'a', 'short', 'pause', 'followed', 'this', 'speech', 'and', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'began', 'again', 'i', 'have', 'an', 'excessive', 'regard', 'for', 'miss', 'jane', 'bennet', 'she', 'is', 'really', 'a', 'very', 'sweet', 'girl', 'and', 'i', 'wish', 'with', 'all', 'my', 'heart', 'she', 'were', 'well', 'settled', 'but', 'with', 'such', 'a', 'father', 'and', 'mother', 'and', 'such', 'low', 'connections', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'chance', 'of', 'it', 'i', 'think', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'you', 'say', 'that', 'their', 'uncle', 'is', 'an', 'attorney', 'in', 'meryton', 'yes', 'and', 'they', 'have', 'another', 'who', 'lives', 'somewhere', 'near', 'cheapside', 'that', 'is', 'capital', 'added', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'they', 'both', 'laughed', 'heartily', 'if', 'they', 'had', 'uncles', 'enough', 'to', 'fill', 'all', 'cheapside', 'cried', 'bingley', 'it', 'would', 'not', 'make', 'them', 'one', 'jot', 'less', 'agreeable', 'but', 'it', 'must', 'very', 'materially', 'lessen', 'their', 'chance', 'of', 'marrying', 'men', 'of', 'any', 'consideration', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'replied', 'darcy', 'to', 'this', 'speech', 'bingley', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'but', 'his', 'sisters', 'gave', 'it', 'their', 'hearty', 'assent', 'and', 'indulged', 'their', 'mirth', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'at', 'the', 'expense', 'of', 'their', 'dear', 'friends', 'vulgar', 'relations', 'with', 'a', 'renewal', 'of', 'tenderness', 'however', 'they', 'repaired', 'to', 'her', 'room', 'on', 'leaving', 'the', 'diningparlour', 'and', 'sat', 'with', 'her', 'till', 'summoned', 'to', 'coffee', 'she', 'was', 'still', 'very', 'poorly', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'would', 'not', 'quit', 'her', 'at', 'all', 'till', 'late', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'when', 'she', 'had', 'the', 'comfort', 'of', 'seeing', 'her', 'asleep', 'and', 'when', 'it', 'appeared', 'to', 'her', 'rather', 'right', 'than', 'pleasant', 'that', 'she', 'should', 'go', 'downstairs', 'herself', 'on', 'entering', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'she', 'found', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'at', 'loo', 'and', 'was', 'immediately', 'invited', 'to', 'join', 'them', 'but', 'suspecting', 'them', 'to', 'be', 'playing', 'high', 'she', 'declined', 'it', 'and', 'making', 'her', 'sister', 'the', 'excuse', 'said', 'she', 'would', 'amuse', 'herself', 'for', 'the', 'short', 'time', 'she', 'could', 'stay', 'below', 'with', 'a', 'book', 'mr', 'hurst', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'with', 'astonishment', 'do', 'you', 'prefer', 'reading', 'to', 'cards', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'is', 'rather', 'singular', 'miss', 'eliza', 'bennet', 'said', 'miss', 'bingley', 'despises', 'cards', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'great', 'reader', 'and', 'has', 'no', 'pleasure', 'in', 'anything', 'else', 'i', 'deserve', 'neither', 'such', 'praise', 'nor', 'such', 'censure', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'a', 'great', 'reader', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'pleasure', 'in', 'many', 'things', 'in', 'nursing', 'your', 'sister', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'you', 'have', 'pleasure', 'said', 'bingley', 'and', 'i', 'hope', 'it', 'will', 'soon', 'be', 'increased', 'by', 'seeing', 'her', 'quite', 'well', 'elizabeth', 'thanked', 'him', 'from', 'her', 'heart', 'and', 'then', 'walked', 'towards', 'a', 'table', 'where', 'a', 'few', 'books', 'were', 'lying', 'he', 'immediately', 'offered', 'to', 'fetch', 'her', 'others', 'all', 'that', 'his', 'library', 'afforded', 'and', 'i', 'wish', 'my', 'collection', 'were', 'larger', 'for', 'your', 'benefit', 'and', 'my', 'own', 'credit', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'an', 'idle', 'fellow', 'and', 'though', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'many', 'i', 'have', 'more', 'than', 'i', 'ever', 'looked', 'into', 'elizabeth', 'assured', 'him', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'suit', 'herself', 'perfectly', 'with', 'those', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'i', 'am', 'astonished', 'said', 'miss', 'bingley', 'that', 'my', 'father', 'should', 'have', 'left', 'so', 'small', 'a', 'collection', 'of', 'books', 'what', 'a', 'delightful', 'library', 'you', 'have', 'at', 'pemberley', 'mr', 'darcy', 'it', 'ought', 'to', 'be', 'good', 'he', 'replied', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'the', 'work', 'of', 'many', 'generations', 'and', 'then', 'you', 'have', 'added', 'so', 'much', 'to', 'it', 'yourself', 'you', 'are', 'always', 'buying', 'books', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'comprehend', 'the', 'neglect', 'of', 'a', 'family', 'library', 'in', 'such', 'days', 'as', 'these', 'neglect', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'you', 'neglect', 'nothing', 'that', 'can', 'add', 'to', 'the', 'beauties', 'of', 'that', 'noble', 'place', 'charles', 'when', 'you', 'build', 'your', 'house', 'i', 'wish', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'half', 'as', 'delightful', 'as', 'pemberley', 'i', 'wish', 'it', 'may', 'but', 'i', 'would', 'really', 'advise', 'you', 'to', 'make', 'your', 'purchase', 'in', 'that', 'neighbourhood', 'and', 'take', 'pemberley', 'for', 'a', 'kind', 'of', 'model', 'there', 'is', 'not', 'a', 'finer', 'county', 'in', 'england', 'than', 'derbyshire', 'with', 'all', 'my', 'heart', 'i', 'will', 'buy', 'pemberley', 'itself', 'if', 'darcy', 'will', 'sell', 'it', 'i', 'am', 'talking', 'of', 'possibilities', 'charles', 'upon', 'my', 'word', 'caroline', 'i', 'should', 'think', 'it', 'more', 'possible', 'to', 'get', 'pemberley', 'by', 'purchase', 'than', 'by', 'imitation', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'so', 'much', 'caught', 'by', 'what', 'passed', 'as', 'to', 'leave', 'her', 'very', 'little', 'attention', 'for', 'her', 'book', 'and', 'soon', 'laying', 'it', 'wholly', 'aside', 'she', 'drew', 'near', 'the', 'cardtable', 'and', 'stationed', 'herself', 'between', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'his', 'eldest', 'sister', 'to', 'observe', 'the', 'game', 'is', 'miss', 'darcy', 'much', 'grown', 'since', 'the', 'spring', 'said', 'miss', 'bingley', 'will', 'she', 'be', 'as', 'tall', 'as', 'i', 'am', 'i', 'think', 'she', 'will', 'she', 'is', 'now', 'about', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'bennets', 'height', 'or', 'rather', 'taller', 'how', 'i', 'long', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'again', 'i', 'never', 'met', 'with', 'anybody', 'who', 'delighted', 'me', 'so', 'much', 'such', 'a', 'countenance', 'such', 'mannersand', 'so', 'extremely', 'accomplished', 'for', 'her', 'age', 'her', 'performance', 'on', 'the', 'pianoforte', 'is', 'exquisite', 'it', 'is', 'amazing', 'to', 'me', 'said', 'bingley', 'how', 'young', 'ladies', 'can', 'have', 'patience', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'very', 'accomplished', 'as', 'they', 'all', 'are', 'all', 'young', 'ladies', 'accomplished', 'my', 'dear', 'charles', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'yes', 'all', 'of', 'them', 'i', 'think', 'they', 'all', 'paint', 'tables', 'cover', 'screens', 'and', 'net', 'purses', 'i', 'scarcely', 'know', 'any', 'one', 'who', 'can', 'not', 'do', 'all', 'this', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'never', 'heard', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'spoken', 'of', 'for', 'the', 'first', 'time', 'without', 'being', 'informed', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'very', 'accomplished', 'your', 'list', 'of', 'the', 'common', 'extent', 'of', 'accomplishments', 'said', 'darcy', 'has', 'too', 'much', 'truth', 'the', 'word', 'is', 'applied', 'to', 'many', 'a', 'woman', 'who', 'deserves', 'it', 'no', 'otherwise', 'than', 'by', 'netting', 'a', 'purse', 'or', 'covering', 'a', 'screen', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'far', 'from', 'agreeing', 'with', 'you', 'in', 'your', 'estimation', 'of', 'ladies', 'in', 'general', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'boast', 'of', 'knowing', 'more', 'than', 'half', 'a', 'dozen', 'in', 'the', 'whole', 'range', 'of', 'my', 'acquaintance', 'that', 'are', 'really', 'accomplished', 'nor', 'i', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'said', 'miss', 'bingley', 'then', 'observed', 'elizabeth', 'you', 'must', 'comprehend', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'in', 'your', 'idea', 'of', 'an', 'accomplished', 'woman', 'yes', 'i', 'do', 'comprehend', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'in', 'it', 'oh', 'certainly', 'cried', 'his', 'faithful', 'assistant', 'no', 'one', 'can', 'be', 'really', 'esteemed', 'accomplished', 'who', 'does', 'not', 'greatly', 'surpass', 'what', 'is', 'usually', 'met', 'with', 'a', 'woman', 'must', 'have', 'a', 'thorough', 'knowledge', 'of', 'music', 'singing', 'drawing', 'dancing', 'and', 'the', 'modern', 'languages', 'to', 'deserve', 'the', 'word', 'and', 'besides', 'all', 'this', 'she', 'must', 'possess', 'a', 'certain', 'something', 'in', 'her', 'air', 'and', 'manner', 'of', 'walking', 'the', 'tone', 'of', 'her', 'voice', 'her', 'address', 'and', 'expressions', 'or', 'the', 'word', 'will', 'be', 'but', 'half', 'deserved', 'all', 'this', 'she', 'must', 'possess', 'added', 'darcy', 'and', 'to', 'all', 'this', 'she', 'must', 'yet', 'add', 'something', 'more', 'substantial', 'in', 'the', 'improvement', 'of', 'her', 'mind', 'by', 'extensive', 'reading', 'i', 'am', 'no', 'longer', 'surprised', 'at', 'your', 'knowing', 'only', 'six', 'accomplished', 'women', 'i', 'rather', 'wonder', 'now', 'at', 'your', 'knowing', 'any', 'are', 'you', 'so', 'severe', 'upon', 'your', 'own', 'sex', 'as', 'to', 'doubt', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'all', 'this', 'i', 'never', 'saw', 'such', 'a', 'woman', 'i', 'never', 'saw', 'such', 'capacity', 'and', 'taste', 'and', 'application', 'and', 'elegance', 'as', 'you', 'describe', 'united', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'miss', 'bingley', 'both', 'cried', 'out', 'against', 'the', 'injustice', 'of', 'her', 'implied', 'doubt', 'and', 'were', 'both', 'protesting', 'that', 'they', 'knew', 'many', 'women', 'who', 'answered', 'this', 'description', 'when', 'mr', 'hurst', 'called', 'them', 'to', 'order', 'with', 'bitter', 'complaints', 'of', 'their', 'inattention', 'to', 'what', 'was', 'going', 'forward', 'as', 'all', 'conversation', 'was', 'thereby', 'at', 'an', 'end', 'elizabeth', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'left', 'the', 'room', 'eliza', 'bennet', 'said', 'miss', 'bingley', 'when', 'the', 'door', 'was', 'closed', 'on', 'her', 'is', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'young', 'ladies', 'who', 'seek', 'to', 'recommend', 'themselves', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'sex', 'by', 'undervaluing', 'their', 'own', 'and', 'with', 'many', 'men', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'it', 'succeeds', 'but', 'in', 'my', 'opinion', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'paltry', 'device', 'a', 'very', 'mean', 'art', 'undoubtedly', 'replied', 'darcy', 'to', 'whom', 'this', 'remark', 'was', 'chiefly', 'addressed', 'there', 'is', 'meanness', 'in', 'all', 'the', 'arts', 'which', 'ladies', 'sometimes', 'condescend', 'to', 'employ', 'for', 'captivation', 'whatever', 'bears', 'affinity', 'to', 'cunning', 'is', 'despicable', 'miss', 'bingley', 'was', 'not', 'so', 'entirely', 'satisfied', 'with', 'this', 'reply', 'as', 'to', 'continue', 'the', 'subject', 'elizabeth', 'joined', 'them', 'again', 'only', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'her', 'sister', 'was', 'worse', 'and', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'leave', 'her', 'bingley', 'urged', 'mr', 'joness', 'being', 'sent', 'for', 'immediately', 'while', 'his', 'sisters', 'convinced', 'that', 'no', 'country', 'advice', 'could', 'be', 'of', 'any', 'service', 'recommended', 'an', 'express', 'to', 'town', 'for', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'eminent', 'physicians', 'this', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'hear', 'of', 'but', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'so', 'unwilling', 'to', 'comply', 'with', 'their', 'brothers', 'proposal', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'settled', 'that', 'mr', 'jones', 'should', 'be', 'sent', 'for', 'early', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'if', 'miss', 'bennet', 'were', 'not', 'decidedly', 'better', 'bingley', 'was', 'quite', 'uncomfortable', 'his', 'sisters', 'declared', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'miserable', 'they', 'solaced', 'their', 'wretchedness', 'however', 'by', 'duets', 'after', 'supper', 'while', 'he', 'could', 'find', 'no', 'better', 'relief', 'to', 'his', 'feelings', 'than', 'by', 'giving', 'his', 'housekeeper', 'directions', 'that', 'every', 'possible', 'attention', 'might', 'be', 'paid', 'to', 'the', 'sick', 'lady', 'and', 'her', 'sister', 'elizabeth', 'passed', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'the', 'night', 'in', 'her', 'sisters', 'room', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'had', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'being', 'able', 'to', 'send', 'a', 'tolerable', 'answer', 'to', 'the', 'enquiries', 'which', 'she', 'very', 'early', 'received', 'from', 'mr', 'bingley', 'by', 'a', 'housemaid', 'and', 'some', 'time', 'afterwards', 'from', 'the', 'two', 'elegant', 'ladies', 'who', 'waited', 'on', 'his', 'sisters', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'this', 'amendment', 'however', 'she', 'requested', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'note', 'sent', 'to', 'longbourn', 'desiring', 'her', 'mother', 'to', 'visit', 'jane', 'and', 'form', 'her', 'own', 'judgment', 'of', 'her', 'situation', 'the', 'note', 'was', 'immediately', 'dispatched', 'and', 'its', 'contents', 'as', 'quickly', 'complied', 'with', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'accompanied', 'by', 'her', 'two', 'youngest', 'girls', 'reached', 'netherfield', 'soon', 'after', 'the', 'family', 'breakfast', 'had', 'she', 'found', 'jane', 'in', 'any', 'apparent', 'danger', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'very', 'miserable', 'but', 'being', 'satisfied', 'on', 'seeing', 'her', 'that', 'her', 'illness', 'was', 'not', 'alarming', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'wish', 'of', 'her', 'recovering', 'immediately', 'as', 'her', 'restoration', 'to', 'health', 'would', 'probably', 'remove', 'her', 'from', 'netherfield', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'listen', 'therefore', 'to', 'her', 'daughters', 'proposal', 'of', 'being', 'carried', 'home', 'neither', 'did', 'the', 'apothecary', 'who', 'arrived', 'about', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'think', 'it', 'at', 'all', 'advisable', 'after', 'sitting', 'a', 'little', 'while', 'with', 'jane', 'on', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'appearance', 'and', 'invitation', 'the', 'mother', 'and', 'three', 'daughters', 'all', 'attended', 'her', 'into', 'the', 'breakfast', 'parlour', 'bingley', 'met', 'them', 'with', 'hopes', 'that', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'had', 'not', 'found', 'miss', 'bennet', 'worse', 'than', 'she', 'expected', 'indeed', 'i', 'have', 'sir', 'was', 'her', 'answer', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'too', 'ill', 'to', 'be', 'moved', 'mr', 'jones', 'says', 'we', 'must', 'not', 'think', 'of', 'moving', 'her', 'we', 'must', 'trespass', 'a', 'little', 'longer', 'on', 'your', 'kindness', 'removed', 'cried', 'bingley', 'it', 'must', 'not', 'be', 'thought', 'of', 'my', 'sister', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'will', 'not', 'hear', 'of', 'her', 'removal', 'you', 'may', 'depend', 'upon', 'it', 'madam', 'said', 'miss', 'bingley', 'with', 'cold', 'civility', 'that', 'miss', 'bennet', 'shall', 'receive', 'every', 'possible', 'attention', 'while', 'she', 'remains', 'with', 'us', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'profuse', 'in', 'her', 'acknowledgments', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'she', 'added', 'if', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'for', 'such', 'good', 'friends', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'would', 'become', 'of', 'her', 'for', 'she', 'is', 'very', 'ill', 'indeed', 'and', 'suffers', 'a', 'vast', 'deal', 'though', 'with', 'the', 'greatest', 'patience', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'which', 'is', 'always', 'the', 'way', 'with', 'her', 'for', 'she', 'has', 'without', 'exception', 'the', 'sweetest', 'temper', 'i', 'ever', 'met', 'with', 'i', 'often', 'tell', 'my', 'other', 'girls', 'they', 'are', 'nothing', 'to', 'her', 'you', 'have', 'a', 'sweet', 'room', 'here', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'a', 'charming', 'prospect', 'over', 'that', 'gravel', 'walk', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'a', 'place', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'that', 'is', 'equal', 'to', 'netherfield', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'think', 'of', 'quitting', 'it', 'in', 'a', 'hurry', 'i', 'hope', 'though', 'you', 'have', 'but', 'a', 'short', 'lease', 'whatever', 'i', 'do', 'is', 'done', 'in', 'a', 'hurry', 'replied', 'he', 'and', 'therefore', 'if', 'i', 'should', 'resolve', 'to', 'quit', 'netherfield', 'i', 'should', 'probably', 'be', 'off', 'in', 'five', 'minutes', 'at', 'present', 'however', 'i', 'consider', 'myself', 'as', 'quite', 'fixed', 'here', 'that', 'is', 'exactly', 'what', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'supposed', 'of', 'you', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'you', 'begin', 'to', 'comprehend', 'me', 'do', 'you', 'cried', 'he', 'turning', 'towards', 'her', 'oh', 'yesi', 'understand', 'you', 'perfectly', 'i', 'wish', 'i', 'might', 'take', 'this', 'for', 'a', 'compliment', 'but', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'easily', 'seen', 'through', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'is', 'pitiful', 'that', 'is', 'as', 'it', 'happens', 'it', 'does', 'not', 'necessarily', 'follow', 'that', 'a', 'deep', 'intricate', 'character', 'is', 'more', 'or', 'less', 'estimable', 'than', 'such', 'a', 'one', 'as', 'yours', 'lizzy', 'cried', 'her', 'mother', 'remember', 'where', 'you', 'are', 'and', 'do', 'not', 'run', 'on', 'in', 'the', 'wild', 'manner', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'suffered', 'to', 'do', 'at', 'home', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'before', 'continued', 'bingley', 'immediately', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'a', 'studier', 'of', 'character', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'an', 'amusing', 'study', 'yes', 'but', 'intricate', 'characters', 'are', 'the', 'most', 'amusing', 'they', 'have', 'at', 'least', 'that', 'advantage', 'the', 'country', 'said', 'darcy', 'can', 'in', 'general', 'supply', 'but', 'few', 'subjects', 'for', 'such', 'a', 'study', 'in', 'a', 'country', 'neighbourhood', 'you', 'move', 'in', 'a', 'very', 'confined', 'and', 'unvarying', 'society', 'but', 'people', 'themselves', 'alter', 'so', 'much', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'something', 'new', 'to', 'be', 'observed', 'in', 'them', 'for', 'ever', 'yes', 'indeed', 'cried', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'offended', 'by', 'his', 'manner', 'of', 'mentioning', 'a', 'country', 'neighbourhood', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'there', 'is', 'quite', 'as', 'much', 'of', 'that', 'going', 'on', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'as', 'in', 'town', 'everybody', 'was', 'surprised', 'and', 'darcy', 'after', 'looking', 'at', 'her', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'turned', 'silently', 'away', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'who', 'fancied', 'she', 'had', 'gained', 'a', 'complete', 'victory', 'over', 'him', 'continued', 'her', 'triumph', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'see', 'that', 'london', 'has', 'any', 'great', 'advantage', 'over', 'the', 'country', 'for', 'my', 'part', 'except', 'the', 'shops', 'and', 'public', 'places', 'the', 'country', 'is', 'a', 'vast', 'deal', 'pleasanter', 'is', 'not', 'it', 'mr', 'bingley', 'when', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'he', 'replied', 'i', 'never', 'wish', 'to', 'leave', 'it', 'and', 'when', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'town', 'it', 'is', 'pretty', 'much', 'the', 'same', 'they', 'have', 'each', 'their', 'advantages', 'and', 'i', 'can', 'be', 'equally', 'happy', 'in', 'either', 'ayethat', 'is', 'because', 'you', 'have', 'the', 'right', 'disposition', 'but', 'that', 'gentleman', 'looking', 'at', 'darcy', 'seemed', 'to', 'think', 'the', 'country', 'was', 'nothing', 'at', 'all', 'indeed', 'mama', 'you', 'are', 'mistaken', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'blushing', 'for', 'her', 'mother', 'you', 'quite', 'mistook', 'mr', 'darcy', 'he', 'only', 'meant', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'not', 'such', 'a', 'variety', 'of', 'people', 'to', 'be', 'met', 'with', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'as', 'in', 'town', 'which', 'you', 'must', 'acknowledge', 'to', 'be', 'true', 'certainly', 'my', 'dear', 'nobody', 'said', 'there', 'were', 'but', 'as', 'to', 'not', 'meeting', 'with', 'many', 'people', 'in', 'this', 'neighbourhood', 'i', 'believe', 'there', 'are', 'few', 'neighbourhoods', 'larger', 'i', 'know', 'we', 'dine', 'with', 'fourandtwenty', 'families', 'nothing', 'but', 'concern', 'for', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'enable', 'bingley', 'to', 'keep', 'his', 'countenance', 'his', 'sister', 'was', 'less', 'delicate', 'and', 'directed', 'her', 'eye', 'towards', 'mr', 'darcy', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'expressive', 'smile', 'elizabeth', 'for', 'the', 'sake', 'of', 'saying', 'something', 'that', 'might', 'turn', 'her', 'mothers', 'thoughts', 'now', 'asked', 'her', 'if', 'charlotte', 'lucas', 'had', 'been', 'at', 'longbourn', 'since', 'her', 'coming', 'away', 'yes', 'she', 'called', 'yesterday', 'with', 'her', 'father', 'what', 'an', 'agreeable', 'man', 'sir', 'william', 'is', 'mr', 'bingleyis', 'not', 'he', 'so', 'much', 'the', 'man', 'of', 'fashion', 'so', 'genteel', 'and', 'so', 'easy', 'he', 'has', 'always', 'something', 'to', 'say', 'to', 'everybody', 'that', 'is', 'my', 'idea', 'of', 'good', 'breeding', 'and', 'those', 'persons', 'who', 'fancy', 'themselves', 'very', 'important', 'and', 'never', 'open', 'their', 'mouths', 'quite', 'mistake', 'the', 'matter', 'did', 'charlotte', 'dine', 'with', 'you', 'no', 'she', 'would', 'go', 'home', 'i', 'fancy', 'she', 'was', 'wanted', 'about', 'the', 'mincepies', 'for', 'my', 'part', 'mr', 'bingley', 'i', 'always', 'keep', 'servants', 'that', 'can', 'do', 'their', 'own', 'work', 'my', 'daughters', 'are', 'brought', 'up', 'differently', 'but', 'everybody', 'is', 'to', 'judge', 'for', 'themselves', 'and', 'the', 'lucases', 'are', 'a', 'very', 'good', 'sort', 'of', 'girls', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'pity', 'they', 'are', 'not', 'handsome', 'not', 'that', 'i', 'think', 'charlotte', 'so', 'very', 'plainbut', 'then', 'she', 'is', 'our', 'particular', 'friend', 'she', 'seems', 'a', 'very', 'pleasant', 'young', 'woman', 'said', 'bingley', 'oh', 'dear', 'yes', 'but', 'you', 'must', 'own', 'she', 'is', 'very', 'plain', 'lady', 'lucas', 'herself', 'has', 'often', 'said', 'so', 'and', 'envied', 'me', 'janes', 'beauty', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'like', 'to', 'boast', 'of', 'my', 'own', 'child', 'but', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'janeone', 'does', 'not', 'often', 'see', 'anybody', 'better', 'looking', 'it', 'is', 'what', 'everybody', 'says', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'trust', 'my', 'own', 'partiality', 'when', 'she', 'was', 'only', 'fifteen', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'gentleman', 'at', 'my', 'brother', 'gardiners', 'in', 'town', 'so', 'much', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'her', 'that', 'my', 'sisterinlaw', 'was', 'sure', 'he', 'would', 'make', 'her', 'an', 'offer', 'before', 'we', 'came', 'away', 'but', 'however', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'perhaps', 'he', 'thought', 'her', 'too', 'young', 'however', 'he', 'wrote', 'some', 'verses', 'on', 'her', 'and', 'very', 'pretty', 'they', 'were', 'and', 'so', 'ended', 'his', 'affection', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'impatiently', 'there', 'has', 'been', 'many', 'a', 'one', 'i', 'fancy', 'overcome', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'way', 'i', 'wonder', 'who', 'first', 'discovered', 'the', 'efficacy', 'of', 'poetry', 'in', 'driving', 'away', 'love', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'used', 'to', 'consider', 'poetry', 'as', 'the', 'food', 'of', 'love', 'said', 'darcy', 'of', 'a', 'fine', 'stout', 'healthy', 'love', 'it', 'may', 'everything', 'nourishes', 'what', 'is', 'strong', 'already', 'but', 'if', 'it', 'be', 'only', 'a', 'slight', 'thin', 'sort', 'of', 'inclination', 'i', 'am', 'convinced', 'that', 'one', 'good', 'sonnet', 'will', 'starve', 'it', 'entirely', 'away', 'darcy', 'only', 'smiled', 'and', 'the', 'general', 'pause', 'which', 'ensued', 'made', 'elizabeth', 'tremble', 'lest', 'her', 'mother', 'should', 'be', 'exposing', 'herself', 'again', 'she', 'longed', 'to', 'speak', 'but', 'could', 'think', 'of', 'nothing', 'to', 'say', 'and', 'after', 'a', 'short', 'silence', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'began', 'repeating', 'her', 'thanks', 'to', 'mr', 'bingley', 'for', 'his', 'kindness', 'to', 'jane', 'with', 'an', 'apology', 'for', 'troubling', 'him', 'also', 'with', 'lizzy', 'mr', 'bingley', 'was', 'unaffectedly', 'civil', 'in', 'his', 'answer', 'and', 'forced', 'his', 'younger', 'sister', 'to', 'be', 'civil', 'also', 'and', 'say', 'what', 'the', 'occasion', 'required', 'she', 'performed', 'her', 'part', 'indeed', 'without', 'much', 'graciousness', 'but', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'satisfied', 'and', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'ordered', 'her', 'carriage', 'upon', 'this', 'signal', 'the', 'youngest', 'of', 'her', 'daughters', 'put', 'herself', 'forward', 'the', 'two', 'girls', 'had', 'been', 'whispering', 'to', 'each', 'other', 'during', 'the', 'whole', 'visit', 'and', 'the', 'result', 'of', 'it', 'was', 'that', 'the', 'youngest', 'should', 'tax', 'mr', 'bingley', 'with', 'having', 'promised', 'on', 'his', 'first', 'coming', 'into', 'the', 'country', 'to', 'give', 'a', 'ball', 'at', 'netherfield', 'lydia', 'was', 'a', 'stout', 'wellgrown', 'girl', 'of', 'fifteen', 'with', 'a', 'fine', 'complexion', 'and', 'goodhumoured', 'countenance', 'a', 'favourite', 'with', 'her', 'mother', 'whose', 'affection', 'had', 'brought', 'her', 'into', 'public', 'at', 'an', 'early', 'age', 'she', 'had', 'high', 'animal', 'spirits', 'and', 'a', 'sort', 'of', 'natural', 'selfconsequence', 'which', 'the', 'attentions', 'of', 'the', 'officers', 'to', 'whom', 'her', 'uncles', 'good', 'dinners', 'and', 'her', 'own', 'easy', 'manners', 'recommended', 'her', 'had', 'increased', 'into', 'assurance', 'she', 'was', 'very', 'equal', 'therefore', 'to', 'address', 'mr', 'bingley', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'of', 'the', 'ball', 'and', 'abruptly', 'reminded', 'him', 'of', 'his', 'promise', 'adding', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'the', 'most', 'shameful', 'thing', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'if', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'keep', 'it', 'his', 'answer', 'to', 'this', 'sudden', 'attack', 'was', 'delightful', 'to', 'their', 'mothers', 'ear', 'i', 'am', 'perfectly', 'ready', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'to', 'keep', 'my', 'engagement', 'and', 'when', 'your', 'sister', 'is', 'recovered', 'you', 'shall', 'if', 'you', 'please', 'name', 'the', 'very', 'day', 'of', 'the', 'ball', 'but', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'wish', 'to', 'be', 'dancing', 'while', 'she', 'is', 'ill', 'lydia', 'declared', 'herself', 'satisfied', 'oh', 'yesit', 'would', 'be', 'much', 'better', 'to', 'wait', 'till', 'jane', 'was', 'well', 'and', 'by', 'that', 'time', 'most', 'likely', 'captain', 'carter', 'would', 'be', 'at', 'meryton', 'again', 'and', 'when', 'you', 'have', 'given', 'your', 'ball', 'she', 'added', 'i', 'shall', 'insist', 'on', 'their', 'giving', 'one', 'also', 'i', 'shall', 'tell', 'colonel', 'forster', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'quite', 'a', 'shame', 'if', 'he', 'does', 'not', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'her', 'daughters', 'then', 'departed', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'returned', 'instantly', 'to', 'jane', 'leaving', 'her', 'own', 'and', 'her', 'relations', 'behaviour', 'to', 'the', 'remarks', 'of', 'the', 'two', 'ladies', 'and', 'mr', 'darcy', 'the', 'latter', 'of', 'whom', 'however', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'prevailed', 'on', 'to', 'join', 'in', 'their', 'censure', 'of', 'her', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'all', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'witticisms', 'on', 'fine', 'eyes', 'the', 'day', 'passed', 'much', 'as', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'had', 'done', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'miss', 'bingley', 'had', 'spent', 'some', 'hours', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'with', 'the', 'invalid', 'who', 'continued', 'though', 'slowly', 'to', 'mend', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'elizabeth', 'joined', 'their', 'party', 'in', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'the', 'loo', 'table', 'however', 'did', 'not', 'appear', 'mr', 'darcy', 'was', 'writing', 'and', 'miss', 'bingley', 'seated', 'near', 'him', 'was', 'watching', 'the', 'progress', 'of', 'his', 'letter', 'and', 'repeatedly', 'calling', 'off', 'his', 'attention', 'by', 'messages', 'to', 'his', 'sister', 'mr', 'hurst', 'and', 'mr', 'bingley', 'were', 'at', 'piquet', 'and', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'was', 'observing', 'their', 'game', 'elizabeth', 'took', 'up', 'some', 'needlework', 'and', 'was', 'sufficiently', 'amused', 'in', 'attending', 'to', 'what', 'passed', 'between', 'darcy', 'and', 'his', 'companion', 'the', 'perpetual', 'commendations', 'of', 'the', 'lady', 'either', 'on', 'his', 'handwriting', 'or', 'on', 'the', 'evenness', 'of', 'his', 'lines', 'or', 'on', 'the', 'length', 'of', 'his', 'letter', 'with', 'the', 'perfect', 'unconcern', 'with', 'which', 'her', 'praises', 'were', 'received', 'formed', 'a', 'curious', 'dialogue', 'and', 'was', 'exactly', 'in', 'unison', 'with', 'her', 'opinion', 'of', 'each', 'how', 'delighted', 'miss', 'darcy', 'will', 'be', 'to', 'receive', 'such', 'a', 'letter', 'he', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'you', 'write', 'uncommonly', 'fast', 'you', 'are', 'mistaken', 'i', 'write', 'rather', 'slowly', 'how', 'many', 'letters', 'you', 'must', 'have', 'occasion', 'to', 'write', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'a', 'year', 'letters', 'of', 'business', 'too', 'how', 'odious', 'i', 'should', 'think', 'them', 'it', 'is', 'fortunate', 'then', 'that', 'they', 'fall', 'to', 'my', 'lot', 'instead', 'of', 'to', 'yours', 'pray', 'tell', 'your', 'sister', 'that', 'i', 'long', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'i', 'have', 'already', 'told', 'her', 'so', 'once', 'by', 'your', 'desire', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'like', 'your', 'pen', 'let', 'me', 'mend', 'it', 'for', 'you', 'i', 'mend', 'pens', 'remarkably', 'well', 'thank', 'youbut', 'i', 'always', 'mend', 'my', 'own', 'how', 'can', 'you', 'contrive', 'to', 'write', 'so', 'even', 'he', 'was', 'silent', 'tell', 'your', 'sister', 'i', 'am', 'delighted', 'to', 'hear', 'of', 'her', 'improvement', 'on', 'the', 'harp', 'and', 'pray', 'let', 'her', 'know', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'quite', 'in', 'raptures', 'with', 'her', 'beautiful', 'little', 'design', 'for', 'a', 'table', 'and', 'i', 'think', 'it', 'infinitely', 'superior', 'to', 'miss', 'grantleys', 'will', 'you', 'give', 'me', 'leave', 'to', 'defer', 'your', 'raptures', 'till', 'i', 'write', 'again', 'at', 'present', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'room', 'to', 'do', 'them', 'justice', 'oh', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'no', 'consequence', 'i', 'shall', 'see', 'her', 'in', 'january', 'but', 'do', 'you', 'always', 'write', 'such', 'charming', 'long', 'letters', 'to', 'her', 'mr', 'darcy', 'they', 'are', 'generally', 'long', 'but', 'whether', 'always', 'charming', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'determine', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'rule', 'with', 'me', 'that', 'a', 'person', 'who', 'can', 'write', 'a', 'long', 'letter', 'with', 'ease', 'can', 'not', 'write', 'ill', 'that', 'will', 'not', 'do', 'for', 'a', 'compliment', 'to', 'darcy', 'caroline', 'cried', 'her', 'brother', 'because', 'he', 'does', 'not', 'write', 'with', 'ease', 'he', 'studies', 'too', 'much', 'for', 'words', 'of', 'four', 'syllables', 'do', 'not', 'you', 'darcy', 'my', 'style', 'of', 'writing', 'is', 'very', 'different', 'from', 'yours', 'oh', 'cried', 'miss', 'bingley', 'charles', 'writes', 'in', 'the', 'most', 'careless', 'way', 'imaginable', 'he', 'leaves', 'out', 'half', 'his', 'words', 'and', 'blots', 'the', 'rest', 'my', 'ideas', 'flow', 'so', 'rapidly', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'time', 'to', 'express', 'themby', 'which', 'means', 'my', 'letters', 'sometimes', 'convey', 'no', 'ideas', 'at', 'all', 'to', 'my', 'correspondents', 'your', 'humility', 'mr', 'bingley', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'must', 'disarm', 'reproof', 'nothing', 'is', 'more', 'deceitful', 'said', 'darcy', 'than', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'humility', 'it', 'is', 'often', 'only', 'carelessness', 'of', 'opinion', 'and', 'sometimes', 'an', 'indirect', 'boast', 'and', 'which', 'of', 'the', 'two', 'do', 'you', 'call', 'my', 'little', 'recent', 'piece', 'of', 'modesty', 'the', 'indirect', 'boast', 'for', 'you', 'are', 'really', 'proud', 'of', 'your', 'defects', 'in', 'writing', 'because', 'you', 'consider', 'them', 'as', 'proceeding', 'from', 'a', 'rapidity', 'of', 'thought', 'and', 'carelessness', 'of', 'execution', 'which', 'if', 'not', 'estimable', 'you', 'think', 'at', 'least', 'highly', 'interesting', 'the', 'power', 'of', 'doing', 'anything', 'with', 'quickness', 'is', 'always', 'much', 'prized', 'by', 'the', 'possessor', 'and', 'often', 'without', 'any', 'attention', 'to', 'the', 'imperfection', 'of', 'the', 'performance', 'when', 'you', 'told', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'this', 'morning', 'that', 'if', 'you', 'ever', 'resolved', 'on', 'quitting', 'netherfield', 'you', 'should', 'be', 'gone', 'in', 'five', 'minutes', 'you', 'meant', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'sort', 'of', 'panegyric', 'of', 'compliment', 'to', 'yourselfand', 'yet', 'what', 'is', 'there', 'so', 'very', 'laudable', 'in', 'a', 'precipitance', 'which', 'must', 'leave', 'very', 'necessary', 'business', 'undone', 'and', 'can', 'be', 'of', 'no', 'real', 'advantage', 'to', 'yourself', 'or', 'any', 'one', 'else', 'nay', 'cried', 'bingley', 'this', 'is', 'too', 'much', 'to', 'remember', 'at', 'night', 'all', 'the', 'foolish', 'things', 'that', 'were', 'said', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'and', 'yet', 'upon', 'my', 'honour', 'i', 'believed', 'what', 'i', 'said', 'of', 'myself', 'to', 'be', 'true', 'and', 'i', 'believe', 'it', 'at', 'this', 'moment', 'at', 'least', 'therefore', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'assume', 'the', 'character', 'of', 'needless', 'precipitance', 'merely', 'to', 'show', 'off', 'before', 'the', 'ladies', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'you', 'believed', 'it', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'convinced', 'that', 'you', 'would', 'be', 'gone', 'with', 'such', 'celerity', 'your', 'conduct', 'would', 'be', 'quite', 'as', 'dependent', 'on', 'chance', 'as', 'that', 'of', 'any', 'man', 'i', 'know', 'and', 'if', 'as', 'you', 'were', 'mounting', 'your', 'horse', 'a', 'friend', 'were', 'to', 'say', 'bingley', 'you', 'had', 'better', 'stay', 'till', 'next', 'week', 'you', 'would', 'probably', 'do', 'it', 'you', 'would', 'probably', 'not', 'goand', 'at', 'another', 'word', 'might', 'stay', 'a', 'month', 'you', 'have', 'only', 'proved', 'by', 'this', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'that', 'mr', 'bingley', 'did', 'not', 'do', 'justice', 'to', 'his', 'own', 'disposition', 'you', 'have', 'shown', 'him', 'off', 'now', 'much', 'more', 'than', 'he', 'did', 'himself', 'i', 'am', 'exceedingly', 'gratified', 'said', 'bingley', 'by', 'your', 'converting', 'what', 'my', 'friend', 'says', 'into', 'a', 'compliment', 'on', 'the', 'sweetness', 'of', 'my', 'temper', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'you', 'are', 'giving', 'it', 'a', 'turn', 'which', 'that', 'gentleman', 'did', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'intend', 'for', 'he', 'would', 'certainly', 'think', 'the', 'better', 'of', 'me', 'if', 'under', 'such', 'a', 'circumstance', 'i', 'were', 'to', 'give', 'a', 'flat', 'denial', 'and', 'ride', 'off', 'as', 'fast', 'as', 'i', 'could', 'would', 'mr', 'darcy', 'then', 'consider', 'the', 'rashness', 'of', 'your', 'original', 'intention', 'as', 'atoned', 'for', 'by', 'your', 'obstinacy', 'in', 'adhering', 'to', 'it', 'upon', 'my', 'word', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'exactly', 'explain', 'the', 'matter', 'darcy', 'must', 'speak', 'for', 'himself', 'you', 'expect', 'me', 'to', 'account', 'for', 'opinions', 'which', 'you', 'choose', 'to', 'call', 'mine', 'but', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'never', 'acknowledged', 'allowing', 'the', 'case', 'however', 'to', 'stand', 'according', 'to', 'your', 'representation', 'you', 'must', 'remember', 'miss', 'bennet', 'that', 'the', 'friend', 'who', 'is', 'supposed', 'to', 'desire', 'his', 'return', 'to', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'the', 'delay', 'of', 'his', 'plan', 'has', 'merely', 'desired', 'it', 'asked', 'it', 'without', 'offering', 'one', 'argument', 'in', 'favour', 'of', 'its', 'propriety', 'to', 'yield', 'readilyeasilyto', 'the', 'persuasion', 'of', 'a', 'friend', 'is', 'no', 'merit', 'with', 'you', 'to', 'yield', 'without', 'conviction', 'is', 'no', 'compliment', 'to', 'the', 'understanding', 'of', 'either', 'you', 'appear', 'to', 'me', 'mr', 'darcy', 'to', 'allow', 'nothing', 'for', 'the', 'influence', 'of', 'friendship', 'and', 'affection', 'a', 'regard', 'for', 'the', 'requester', 'would', 'often', 'make', 'one', 'readily', 'yield', 'to', 'a', 'request', 'without', 'waiting', 'for', 'arguments', 'to', 'reason', 'one', 'into', 'it', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'particularly', 'speaking', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'case', 'as', 'you', 'have', 'supposed', 'about', 'mr', 'bingley', 'we', 'may', 'as', 'well', 'wait', 'perhaps', 'till', 'the', 'circumstance', 'occurs', 'before', 'we', 'discuss', 'the', 'discretion', 'of', 'his', 'behaviour', 'thereupon', 'but', 'in', 'general', 'and', 'ordinary', 'cases', 'between', 'friend', 'and', 'friend', 'where', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'is', 'desired', 'by', 'the', 'other', 'to', 'change', 'a', 'resolution', 'of', 'no', 'very', 'great', 'moment', 'should', 'you', 'think', 'ill', 'of', 'that', 'person', 'for', 'complying', 'with', 'the', 'desire', 'without', 'waiting', 'to', 'be', 'argued', 'into', 'it', 'will', 'it', 'not', 'be', 'advisable', 'before', 'we', 'proceed', 'on', 'this', 'subject', 'to', 'arrange', 'with', 'rather', 'more', 'precision', 'the', 'degree', 'of', 'importance', 'which', 'is', 'to', 'appertain', 'to', 'this', 'request', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'the', 'degree', 'of', 'intimacy', 'subsisting', 'between', 'the', 'parties', 'by', 'all', 'means', 'cried', 'bingley', 'let', 'us', 'hear', 'all', 'the', 'particulars', 'not', 'forgetting', 'their', 'comparative', 'height', 'and', 'size', 'for', 'that', 'will', 'have', 'more', 'weight', 'in', 'the', 'argument', 'miss', 'bennet', 'than', 'you', 'may', 'be', 'aware', 'of', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'that', 'if', 'darcy', 'were', 'not', 'such', 'a', 'great', 'tall', 'fellow', 'in', 'comparison', 'with', 'myself', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'pay', 'him', 'half', 'so', 'much', 'deference', 'i', 'declare', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'a', 'more', 'awful', 'object', 'than', 'darcy', 'on', 'particular', 'occasions', 'and', 'in', 'particular', 'places', 'at', 'his', 'own', 'house', 'especially', 'and', 'of', 'a', 'sunday', 'evening', 'when', 'he', 'has', 'nothing', 'to', 'do', 'mr', 'darcy', 'smiled', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'thought', 'she', 'could', 'perceive', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'rather', 'offended', 'and', 'therefore', 'checked', 'her', 'laugh', 'miss', 'bingley', 'warmly', 'resented', 'the', 'indignity', 'he', 'had', 'received', 'in', 'an', 'expostulation', 'with', 'her', 'brother', 'for', 'talking', 'such', 'nonsense', 'i', 'see', 'your', 'design', 'bingley', 'said', 'his', 'friend', 'you', 'dislike', 'an', 'argument', 'and', 'want', 'to', 'silence', 'this', 'perhaps', 'i', 'do', 'arguments', 'are', 'too', 'much', 'like', 'disputes', 'if', 'you', 'and', 'miss', 'bennet', 'will', 'defer', 'yours', 'till', 'i', 'am', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'very', 'thankful', 'and', 'then', 'you', 'may', 'say', 'whatever', 'you', 'like', 'of', 'me', 'what', 'you', 'ask', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'is', 'no', 'sacrifice', 'on', 'my', 'side', 'and', 'mr', 'darcy', 'had', 'much', 'better', 'finish', 'his', 'letter', 'mr', 'darcy', 'took', 'her', 'advice', 'and', 'did', 'finish', 'his', 'letter', 'when', 'that', 'business', 'was', 'over', 'he', 'applied', 'to', 'miss', 'bingley', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'for', 'the', 'indulgence', 'of', 'some', 'music', 'miss', 'bingley', 'moved', 'with', 'alacrity', 'to', 'the', 'pianoforte', 'and', 'after', 'a', 'polite', 'request', 'that', 'elizabeth', 'would', 'lead', 'the', 'way', 'which', 'the', 'other', 'as', 'politely', 'and', 'more', 'earnestly', 'negatived', 'she', 'seated', 'herself', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'sang', 'with', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'while', 'they', 'were', 'thus', 'employed', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'observing', 'as', 'she', 'turned', 'over', 'some', 'musicbooks', 'that', 'lay', 'on', 'the', 'instrument', 'how', 'frequently', 'mr', 'darcys', 'eyes', 'were', 'fixed', 'on', 'her', 'she', 'hardly', 'knew', 'how', 'to', 'suppose', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'be', 'an', 'object', 'of', 'admiration', 'to', 'so', 'great', 'a', 'man', 'and', 'yet', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'look', 'at', 'her', 'because', 'he', 'disliked', 'her', 'was', 'still', 'more', 'strange', 'she', 'could', 'only', 'imagine', 'however', 'at', 'last', 'that', 'she', 'drew', 'his', 'notice', 'because', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'something', 'about', 'her', 'more', 'wrong', 'and', 'reprehensible', 'according', 'to', 'his', 'ideas', 'of', 'right', 'than', 'in', 'any', 'other', 'person', 'present', 'the', 'supposition', 'did', 'not', 'pain', 'her', 'she', 'liked', 'him', 'too', 'little', 'to', 'care', 'for', 'his', 'approbation', 'after', 'playing', 'some', 'italian', 'songs', 'miss', 'bingley', 'varied', 'the', 'charm', 'by', 'a', 'lively', 'scotch', 'air', 'and', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'mr', 'darcy', 'drawing', 'near', 'elizabeth', 'said', 'to', 'her', 'do', 'not', 'you', 'feel', 'a', 'great', 'inclination', 'miss', 'bennet', 'to', 'seize', 'such', 'an', 'opportunity', 'of', 'dancing', 'a', 'reel', 'she', 'smiled', 'but', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'he', 'repeated', 'the', 'question', 'with', 'some', 'surprise', 'at', 'her', 'silence', 'oh', 'said', 'she', 'i', 'heard', 'you', 'before', 'but', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'immediately', 'determine', 'what', 'to', 'say', 'in', 'reply', 'you', 'wanted', 'me', 'i', 'know', 'to', 'say', 'yes', 'that', 'you', 'might', 'have', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'despising', 'my', 'taste', 'but', 'i', 'always', 'delight', 'in', 'overthrowing', 'those', 'kind', 'of', 'schemes', 'and', 'cheating', 'a', 'person', 'of', 'their', 'premeditated', 'contempt', 'i', 'have', 'therefore', 'made', 'up', 'my', 'mind', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'that', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'want', 'to', 'dance', 'a', 'reel', 'at', 'alland', 'now', 'despise', 'me', 'if', 'you', 'dare', 'indeed', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'dare', 'elizabeth', 'having', 'rather', 'expected', 'to', 'affront', 'him', 'was', 'amazed', 'at', 'his', 'gallantry', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'mixture', 'of', 'sweetness', 'and', 'archness', 'in', 'her', 'manner', 'which', 'made', 'it', 'difficult', 'for', 'her', 'to', 'affront', 'anybody', 'and', 'darcy', 'had', 'never', 'been', 'so', 'bewitched', 'by', 'any', 'woman', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'by', 'her', 'he', 'really', 'believed', 'that', 'were', 'it', 'not', 'for', 'the', 'inferiority', 'of', 'her', 'connections', 'he', 'should', 'be', 'in', 'some', 'danger', 'miss', 'bingley', 'saw', 'or', 'suspected', 'enough', 'to', 'be', 'jealous', 'and', 'her', 'great', 'anxiety', 'for', 'the', 'recovery', 'of', 'her', 'dear', 'friend', 'jane', 'received', 'some', 'assistance', 'from', 'her', 'desire', 'of', 'getting', 'rid', 'of', 'elizabeth', 'she', 'often', 'tried', 'to', 'provoke', 'darcy', 'into', 'disliking', 'her', 'guest', 'by', 'talking', 'of', 'their', 'supposed', 'marriage', 'and', 'planning', 'his', 'happiness', 'in', 'such', 'an', 'alliance', 'i', 'hope', 'said', 'she', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'walking', 'together', 'in', 'the', 'shrubbery', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'you', 'will', 'give', 'your', 'motherinlaw', 'a', 'few', 'hints', 'when', 'this', 'desirable', 'event', 'takes', 'place', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'advantage', 'of', 'holding', 'her', 'tongue', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'can', 'compass', 'it', 'do', 'cure', 'the', 'younger', 'girls', 'of', 'running', 'after', 'the', 'officers', 'and', 'if', 'i', 'may', 'mention', 'so', 'delicate', 'a', 'subject', 'endeavour', 'to', 'check', 'that', 'little', 'something', 'bordering', 'on', 'conceit', 'and', 'impertinence', 'which', 'your', 'lady', 'possesses', 'have', 'you', 'anything', 'else', 'to', 'propose', 'for', 'my', 'domestic', 'felicity', 'oh', 'yes', 'do', 'let', 'the', 'portraits', 'of', 'your', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'philips', 'be', 'placed', 'in', 'the', 'gallery', 'at', 'pemberley', 'put', 'them', 'next', 'to', 'your', 'great', 'uncle', 'the', 'judge', 'they', 'are', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'profession', 'you', 'know', 'only', 'in', 'different', 'lines', 'as', 'for', 'your', 'elizabeths', 'picture', 'you', 'must', 'not', 'attempt', 'to', 'have', 'it', 'taken', 'for', 'what', 'painter', 'could', 'do', 'justice', 'to', 'those', 'beautiful', 'eyes', 'it', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'easy', 'indeed', 'to', 'catch', 'their', 'expression', 'but', 'their', 'colour', 'and', 'shape', 'and', 'the', 'eyelashes', 'so', 'remarkably', 'fine', 'might', 'be', 'copied', 'at', 'that', 'moment', 'they', 'were', 'met', 'from', 'another', 'walk', 'by', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'herself', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'that', 'you', 'intended', 'to', 'walk', 'said', 'miss', 'bingley', 'in', 'some', 'confusion', 'lest', 'they', 'had', 'been', 'overheard', 'you', 'used', 'us', 'abominably', 'ill', 'answered', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'running', 'away', 'without', 'telling', 'us', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'coming', 'out', 'then', 'taking', 'the', 'disengaged', 'arm', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'she', 'left', 'elizabeth', 'to', 'walk', 'by', 'herself', 'the', 'path', 'just', 'admitted', 'three', 'mr', 'darcy', 'felt', 'their', 'rudeness', 'and', 'immediately', 'said', 'this', 'walk', 'is', 'not', 'wide', 'enough', 'for', 'our', 'party', 'we', 'had', 'better', 'go', 'into', 'the', 'avenue', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'who', 'had', 'not', 'the', 'least', 'inclination', 'to', 'remain', 'with', 'them', 'laughingly', 'answered', 'no', 'no', 'stay', 'where', 'you', 'are', 'you', 'are', 'charmingly', 'grouped', 'and', 'appear', 'to', 'uncommon', 'advantage', 'the', 'picturesque', 'would', 'be', 'spoilt', 'by', 'admitting', 'a', 'fourth', 'goodbye', 'she', 'then', 'ran', 'gaily', 'off', 'rejoicing', 'as', 'she', 'rambled', 'about', 'in', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'being', 'at', 'home', 'again', 'in', 'a', 'day', 'or', 'two', 'jane', 'was', 'already', 'so', 'much', 'recovered', 'as', 'to', 'intend', 'leaving', 'her', 'room', 'for', 'a', 'couple', 'of', 'hours', 'that', 'evening', 'when', 'the', 'ladies', 'removed', 'after', 'dinner', 'elizabeth', 'ran', 'up', 'to', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'seeing', 'her', 'well', 'guarded', 'from', 'cold', 'attended', 'her', 'into', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'where', 'she', 'was', 'welcomed', 'by', 'her', 'two', 'friends', 'with', 'many', 'professions', 'of', 'pleasure', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'never', 'seen', 'them', 'so', 'agreeable', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'during', 'the', 'hour', 'which', 'passed', 'before', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'appeared', 'their', 'powers', 'of', 'conversation', 'were', 'considerable', 'they', 'could', 'describe', 'an', 'entertainment', 'with', 'accuracy', 'relate', 'an', 'anecdote', 'with', 'humour', 'and', 'laugh', 'at', 'their', 'acquaintance', 'with', 'spirit', 'but', 'when', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'entered', 'jane', 'was', 'no', 'longer', 'the', 'first', 'object', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'eyes', 'were', 'instantly', 'turned', 'toward', 'darcy', 'and', 'she', 'had', 'something', 'to', 'say', 'to', 'him', 'before', 'he', 'had', 'advanced', 'many', 'steps', 'he', 'addressed', 'himself', 'to', 'miss', 'bennet', 'with', 'a', 'polite', 'congratulation', 'mr', 'hurst', 'also', 'made', 'her', 'a', 'slight', 'bow', 'and', 'said', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'glad', 'but', 'diffuseness', 'and', 'warmth', 'remained', 'for', 'bingleys', 'salutation', 'he', 'was', 'full', 'of', 'joy', 'and', 'attention', 'the', 'first', 'halfhour', 'was', 'spent', 'in', 'piling', 'up', 'the', 'fire', 'lest', 'she', 'should', 'suffer', 'from', 'the', 'change', 'of', 'room', 'and', 'she', 'removed', 'at', 'his', 'desire', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'fireplace', 'that', 'she', 'might', 'be', 'further', 'from', 'the', 'door', 'he', 'then', 'sat', 'down', 'by', 'her', 'and', 'talked', 'scarcely', 'to', 'anyone', 'else', 'elizabeth', 'at', 'work', 'in', 'the', 'opposite', 'corner', 'saw', 'it', 'all', 'with', 'great', 'delight', 'when', 'tea', 'was', 'over', 'mr', 'hurst', 'reminded', 'his', 'sisterinlaw', 'of', 'the', 'cardtablebut', 'in', 'vain', 'she', 'had', 'obtained', 'private', 'intelligence', 'that', 'mr', 'darcy', 'did', 'not', 'wish', 'for', 'cards', 'and', 'mr', 'hurst', 'soon', 'found', 'even', 'his', 'open', 'petition', 'rejected', 'she', 'assured', 'him', 'that', 'no', 'one', 'intended', 'to', 'play', 'and', 'the', 'silence', 'of', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'seemed', 'to', 'justify', 'her', 'mr', 'hurst', 'had', 'therefore', 'nothing', 'to', 'do', 'but', 'to', 'stretch', 'himself', 'on', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'sofas', 'and', 'go', 'to', 'sleep', 'darcy', 'took', 'up', 'a', 'book', 'miss', 'bingley', 'did', 'the', 'same', 'and', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'principally', 'occupied', 'in', 'playing', 'with', 'her', 'bracelets', 'and', 'rings', 'joined', 'now', 'and', 'then', 'in', 'her', 'brothers', 'conversation', 'with', 'miss', 'bennet', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'attention', 'was', 'quite', 'as', 'much', 'engaged', 'in', 'watching', 'mr', 'darcys', 'progress', 'through', 'his', 'book', 'as', 'in', 'reading', 'her', 'own', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'perpetually', 'either', 'making', 'some', 'enquiry', 'or', 'looking', 'at', 'his', 'page', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'win', 'him', 'however', 'to', 'any', 'conversation', 'he', 'merely', 'answered', 'her', 'question', 'and', 'read', 'on', 'at', 'length', 'quite', 'exhausted', 'by', 'the', 'attempt', 'to', 'be', 'amused', 'with', 'her', 'own', 'book', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'only', 'chosen', 'because', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'second', 'volume', 'of', 'his', 'she', 'gave', 'a', 'great', 'yawn', 'and', 'said', 'how', 'pleasant', 'it', 'is', 'to', 'spend', 'an', 'evening', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'i', 'declare', 'after', 'all', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'enjoyment', 'like', 'reading', 'how', 'much', 'sooner', 'one', 'tires', 'of', 'anything', 'than', 'of', 'a', 'book', 'when', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'house', 'of', 'my', 'own', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'miserable', 'if', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'an', 'excellent', 'library', 'no', 'one', 'made', 'any', 'reply', 'she', 'then', 'yawned', 'again', 'threw', 'aside', 'her', 'book', 'and', 'cast', 'her', 'eyes', 'round', 'the', 'room', 'in', 'quest', 'for', 'some', 'amusement', 'when', 'hearing', 'her', 'brother', 'mentioning', 'a', 'ball', 'to', 'miss', 'bennet', 'she', 'turned', 'suddenly', 'towards', 'him', 'and', 'said', 'by', 'the', 'bye', 'charles', 'are', 'you', 'really', 'serious', 'in', 'meditating', 'a', 'dance', 'at', 'netherfield', 'i', 'would', 'advise', 'you', 'before', 'you', 'determine', 'on', 'it', 'to', 'consult', 'the', 'wishes', 'of', 'the', 'present', 'party', 'i', 'am', 'much', 'mistaken', 'if', 'there', 'are', 'not', 'some', 'among', 'us', 'to', 'whom', 'a', 'ball', 'would', 'be', 'rather', 'a', 'punishment', 'than', 'a', 'pleasure', 'if', 'you', 'mean', 'darcy', 'cried', 'her', 'brother', 'he', 'may', 'go', 'to', 'bed', 'if', 'he', 'chooses', 'before', 'it', 'beginsbut', 'as', 'for', 'the', 'ball', 'it', 'is', 'quite', 'a', 'settled', 'thing', 'and', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'nicholls', 'has', 'made', 'white', 'soup', 'enough', 'i', 'shall', 'send', 'round', 'my', 'cards', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'balls', 'infinitely', 'better', 'she', 'replied', 'if', 'they', 'were', 'carried', 'on', 'in', 'a', 'different', 'manner', 'but', 'there', 'is', 'something', 'insufferably', 'tedious', 'in', 'the', 'usual', 'process', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'meeting', 'it', 'would', 'surely', 'be', 'much', 'more', 'rational', 'if', 'conversation', 'instead', 'of', 'dancing', 'were', 'made', 'the', 'order', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'much', 'more', 'rational', 'my', 'dear', 'caroline', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'but', 'it', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'near', 'so', 'much', 'like', 'a', 'ball', 'miss', 'bingley', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'and', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'she', 'got', 'up', 'and', 'walked', 'about', 'the', 'room', 'her', 'figure', 'was', 'elegant', 'and', 'she', 'walked', 'well', 'but', 'darcy', 'at', 'whom', 'it', 'was', 'all', 'aimed', 'was', 'still', 'inflexibly', 'studious', 'in', 'the', 'desperation', 'of', 'her', 'feelings', 'she', 'resolved', 'on', 'one', 'effort', 'more', 'and', 'turning', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'said', 'miss', 'eliza', 'bennet', 'let', 'me', 'persuade', 'you', 'to', 'follow', 'my', 'example', 'and', 'take', 'a', 'turn', 'about', 'the', 'room', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'refreshing', 'after', 'sitting', 'so', 'long', 'in', 'one', 'attitude', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'surprised', 'but', 'agreed', 'to', 'it', 'immediately', 'miss', 'bingley', 'succeeded', 'no', 'less', 'in', 'the', 'real', 'object', 'of', 'her', 'civility', 'mr', 'darcy', 'looked', 'up', 'he', 'was', 'as', 'much', 'awake', 'to', 'the', 'novelty', 'of', 'attention', 'in', 'that', 'quarter', 'as', 'elizabeth', 'herself', 'could', 'be', 'and', 'unconsciously', 'closed', 'his', 'book', 'he', 'was', 'directly', 'invited', 'to', 'join', 'their', 'party', 'but', 'he', 'declined', 'it', 'observing', 'that', 'he', 'could', 'imagine', 'but', 'two', 'motives', 'for', 'their', 'choosing', 'to', 'walk', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'room', 'together', 'with', 'either', 'of', 'which', 'motives', 'his', 'joining', 'them', 'would', 'interfere', 'what', 'could', 'he', 'mean', 'she', 'was', 'dying', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'could', 'be', 'his', 'meaningand', 'asked', 'elizabeth', 'whether', 'she', 'could', 'at', 'all', 'understand', 'him', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'was', 'her', 'answer', 'but', 'depend', 'upon', 'it', 'he', 'means', 'to', 'be', 'severe', 'on', 'us', 'and', 'our', 'surest', 'way', 'of', 'disappointing', 'him', 'will', 'be', 'to', 'ask', 'nothing', 'about', 'it', 'miss', 'bingley', 'however', 'was', 'incapable', 'of', 'disappointing', 'mr', 'darcy', 'in', 'anything', 'and', 'persevered', 'therefore', 'in', 'requiring', 'an', 'explanation', 'of', 'his', 'two', 'motives', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'the', 'smallest', 'objection', 'to', 'explaining', 'them', 'said', 'he', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'she', 'allowed', 'him', 'to', 'speak', 'you', 'either', 'choose', 'this', 'method', 'of', 'passing', 'the', 'evening', 'because', 'you', 'are', 'in', 'each', 'others', 'confidence', 'and', 'have', 'secret', 'affairs', 'to', 'discuss', 'or', 'because', 'you', 'are', 'conscious', 'that', 'your', 'figures', 'appear', 'to', 'the', 'greatest', 'advantage', 'in', 'walking', 'if', 'the', 'first', 'i', 'would', 'be', 'completely', 'in', 'your', 'way', 'and', 'if', 'the', 'second', 'i', 'can', 'admire', 'you', 'much', 'better', 'as', 'i', 'sit', 'by', 'the', 'fire', 'oh', 'shocking', 'cried', 'miss', 'bingley', 'i', 'never', 'heard', 'anything', 'so', 'abominable', 'how', 'shall', 'we', 'punish', 'him', 'for', 'such', 'a', 'speech', 'nothing', 'so', 'easy', 'if', 'you', 'have', 'but', 'the', 'inclination', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'we', 'can', 'all', 'plague', 'and', 'punish', 'one', 'another', 'tease', 'himlaugh', 'at', 'him', 'intimate', 'as', 'you', 'are', 'you', 'must', 'know', 'how', 'it', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'but', 'upon', 'my', 'honour', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'i', 'do', 'assure', 'you', 'that', 'my', 'intimacy', 'has', 'not', 'yet', 'taught', 'me', 'that', 'tease', 'calmness', 'of', 'manner', 'and', 'presence', 'of', 'mind', 'no', 'no', 'i', 'feel', 'he', 'may', 'defy', 'us', 'there', 'and', 'as', 'to', 'laughter', 'we', 'will', 'not', 'expose', 'ourselves', 'if', 'you', 'please', 'by', 'attempting', 'to', 'laugh', 'without', 'a', 'subject', 'mr', 'darcy', 'may', 'hug', 'himself', 'mr', 'darcy', 'is', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'laughed', 'at', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'that', 'is', 'an', 'uncommon', 'advantage', 'and', 'uncommon', 'i', 'hope', 'it', 'will', 'continue', 'for', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'great', 'loss', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'have', 'many', 'such', 'acquaintances', 'i', 'dearly', 'love', 'a', 'laugh', 'miss', 'bingley', 'said', 'he', 'has', 'given', 'me', 'more', 'credit', 'than', 'can', 'be', 'the', 'wisest', 'and', 'the', 'best', 'of', 'mennay', 'the', 'wisest', 'and', 'best', 'of', 'their', 'actionsmay', 'be', 'rendered', 'ridiculous', 'by', 'a', 'person', 'whose', 'first', 'object', 'in', 'life', 'is', 'a', 'joke', 'certainly', 'replied', 'elizabeththere', 'are', 'such', 'people', 'but', 'i', 'hope', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'i', 'hope', 'i', 'never', 'ridicule', 'what', 'is', 'wise', 'and', 'good', 'follies', 'and', 'nonsense', 'whims', 'and', 'inconsistencies', 'do', 'divert', 'me', 'i', 'own', 'and', 'i', 'laugh', 'at', 'them', 'whenever', 'i', 'can', 'but', 'these', 'i', 'suppose', 'are', 'precisely', 'what', 'you', 'are', 'without', 'perhaps', 'that', 'is', 'not', 'possible', 'for', 'anyone', 'but', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'the', 'study', 'of', 'my', 'life', 'to', 'avoid', 'those', 'weaknesses', 'which', 'often', 'expose', 'a', 'strong', 'understanding', 'to', 'ridicule', 'such', 'as', 'vanity', 'and', 'pride', 'yes', 'vanity', 'is', 'a', 'weakness', 'indeed', 'but', 'pridewhere', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'real', 'superiority', 'of', 'mind', 'pride', 'will', 'be', 'always', 'under', 'good', 'regulation', 'elizabeth', 'turned', 'away', 'to', 'hide', 'a', 'smile', 'your', 'examination', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'is', 'over', 'i', 'presume', 'said', 'miss', 'bingley', 'and', 'pray', 'what', 'is', 'the', 'result', 'i', 'am', 'perfectly', 'convinced', 'by', 'it', 'that', 'mr', 'darcy', 'has', 'no', 'defect', 'he', 'owns', 'it', 'himself', 'without', 'disguise', 'no', 'said', 'darcy', 'i', 'have', 'made', 'no', 'such', 'pretension', 'i', 'have', 'faults', 'enough', 'but', 'they', 'are', 'not', 'i', 'hope', 'of', 'understanding', 'my', 'temper', 'i', 'dare', 'not', 'vouch', 'for', 'it', 'is', 'i', 'believe', 'too', 'little', 'yieldingcertainly', 'too', 'little', 'for', 'the', 'convenience', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'forget', 'the', 'follies', 'and', 'vices', 'of', 'others', 'so', 'soon', 'as', 'i', 'ought', 'nor', 'their', 'offenses', 'against', 'myself', 'my', 'feelings', 'are', 'not', 'puffed', 'about', 'with', 'every', 'attempt', 'to', 'move', 'them', 'my', 'temper', 'would', 'perhaps', 'be', 'called', 'resentful', 'my', 'good', 'opinion', 'once', 'lost', 'is', 'lost', 'forever', 'that', 'is', 'a', 'failing', 'indeed', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'implacable', 'resentment', 'is', 'a', 'shade', 'in', 'a', 'character', 'but', 'you', 'have', 'chosen', 'your', 'fault', 'well', 'i', 'really', 'can', 'not', 'laugh', 'at', 'it', 'you', 'are', 'safe', 'from', 'me', 'there', 'is', 'i', 'believe', 'in', 'every', 'disposition', 'a', 'tendency', 'to', 'some', 'particular', 'evila', 'natural', 'defect', 'which', 'not', 'even', 'the', 'best', 'education', 'can', 'overcome', 'and', 'your', 'defect', 'is', 'to', 'hate', 'everybody', 'and', 'yours', 'he', 'replied', 'with', 'a', 'smile', 'is', 'willfully', 'to', 'misunderstand', 'them', 'do', 'let', 'us', 'have', 'a', 'little', 'music', 'cried', 'miss', 'bingley', 'tired', 'of', 'a', 'conversation', 'in', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'share', 'louisa', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'mind', 'my', 'waking', 'mr', 'hurst', 'her', 'sister', 'had', 'not', 'the', 'smallest', 'objection', 'and', 'the', 'pianoforte', 'was', 'opened', 'and', 'darcy', 'after', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'recollection', 'was', 'not', 'sorry', 'for', 'it', 'he', 'began', 'to', 'feel', 'the', 'danger', 'of', 'paying', 'elizabeth', 'too', 'much', 'attention', 'in', 'consequence', 'of', 'an', 'agreement', 'between', 'the', 'sisters', 'elizabeth', 'wrote', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'to', 'their', 'mother', 'to', 'beg', 'that', 'the', 'carriage', 'might', 'be', 'sent', 'for', 'them', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'but', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'who', 'had', 'calculated', 'on', 'her', 'daughters', 'remaining', 'at', 'netherfield', 'till', 'the', 'following', 'tuesday', 'which', 'would', 'exactly', 'finish', 'janes', 'week', 'could', 'not', 'bring', 'herself', 'to', 'receive', 'them', 'with', 'pleasure', 'before', 'her', 'answer', 'therefore', 'was', 'not', 'propitious', 'at', 'least', 'not', 'to', 'elizabeths', 'wishes', 'for', 'she', 'was', 'impatient', 'to', 'get', 'home', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'sent', 'them', 'word', 'that', 'they', 'could', 'not', 'possibly', 'have', 'the', 'carriage', 'before', 'tuesday', 'and', 'in', 'her', 'postscript', 'it', 'was', 'added', 'that', 'if', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'his', 'sister', 'pressed', 'them', 'to', 'stay', 'longer', 'she', 'could', 'spare', 'them', 'very', 'well', 'against', 'staying', 'longer', 'however', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'positively', 'resolvednor', 'did', 'she', 'much', 'expect', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'asked', 'and', 'fearful', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'as', 'being', 'considered', 'as', 'intruding', 'themselves', 'needlessly', 'long', 'she', 'urged', 'jane', 'to', 'borrow', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'carriage', 'immediately', 'and', 'at', 'length', 'it', 'was', 'settled', 'that', 'their', 'original', 'design', 'of', 'leaving', 'netherfield', 'that', 'morning', 'should', 'be', 'mentioned', 'and', 'the', 'request', 'made', 'the', 'communication', 'excited', 'many', 'professions', 'of', 'concern', 'and', 'enough', 'was', 'said', 'of', 'wishing', 'them', 'to', 'stay', 'at', 'least', 'till', 'the', 'following', 'day', 'to', 'work', 'on', 'jane', 'and', 'till', 'the', 'morrow', 'their', 'going', 'was', 'deferred', 'miss', 'bingley', 'was', 'then', 'sorry', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'proposed', 'the', 'delay', 'for', 'her', 'jealousy', 'and', 'dislike', 'of', 'one', 'sister', 'much', 'exceeded', 'her', 'affection', 'for', 'the', 'other', 'the', 'master', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'heard', 'with', 'real', 'sorrow', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'to', 'go', 'so', 'soon', 'and', 'repeatedly', 'tried', 'to', 'persuade', 'miss', 'bennet', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'safe', 'for', 'herthat', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'enough', 'recovered', 'but', 'jane', 'was', 'firm', 'where', 'she', 'felt', 'herself', 'to', 'be', 'right', 'to', 'mr', 'darcy', 'it', 'was', 'welcome', 'intelligenceelizabeth', 'had', 'been', 'at', 'netherfield', 'long', 'enough', 'she', 'attracted', 'him', 'more', 'than', 'he', 'likedand', 'miss', 'bingley', 'was', 'uncivil', 'to', 'her', 'and', 'more', 'teasing', 'than', 'usual', 'to', 'himself', 'he', 'wisely', 'resolved', 'to', 'be', 'particularly', 'careful', 'that', 'no', 'sign', 'of', 'admiration', 'should', 'now', 'escape', 'him', 'nothing', 'that', 'could', 'elevate', 'her', 'with', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'influencing', 'his', 'felicity', 'sensible', 'that', 'if', 'such', 'an', 'idea', 'had', 'been', 'suggested', 'his', 'behaviour', 'during', 'the', 'last', 'day', 'must', 'have', 'material', 'weight', 'in', 'confirming', 'or', 'crushing', 'it', 'steady', 'to', 'his', 'purpose', 'he', 'scarcely', 'spoke', 'ten', 'words', 'to', 'her', 'through', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'saturday', 'and', 'though', 'they', 'were', 'at', 'one', 'time', 'left', 'by', 'themselves', 'for', 'halfanhour', 'he', 'adhered', 'most', 'conscientiously', 'to', 'his', 'book', 'and', 'would', 'not', 'even', 'look', 'at', 'her', 'on', 'sunday', 'after', 'morning', 'service', 'the', 'separation', 'so', 'agreeable', 'to', 'almost', 'all', 'took', 'place', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'civility', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'increased', 'at', 'last', 'very', 'rapidly', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'her', 'affection', 'for', 'jane', 'and', 'when', 'they', 'parted', 'after', 'assuring', 'the', 'latter', 'of', 'the', 'pleasure', 'it', 'would', 'always', 'give', 'her', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'either', 'at', 'longbourn', 'or', 'netherfield', 'and', 'embracing', 'her', 'most', 'tenderly', 'she', 'even', 'shook', 'hands', 'with', 'the', 'former', 'elizabeth', 'took', 'leave', 'of', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'in', 'the', 'liveliest', 'of', 'spirits', 'they', 'were', 'not', 'welcomed', 'home', 'very', 'cordially', 'by', 'their', 'mother', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'wondered', 'at', 'their', 'coming', 'and', 'thought', 'them', 'very', 'wrong', 'to', 'give', 'so', 'much', 'trouble', 'and', 'was', 'sure', 'jane', 'would', 'have', 'caught', 'cold', 'again', 'but', 'their', 'father', 'though', 'very', 'laconic', 'in', 'his', 'expressions', 'of', 'pleasure', 'was', 'really', 'glad', 'to', 'see', 'them', 'he', 'had', 'felt', 'their', 'importance', 'in', 'the', 'family', 'circle', 'the', 'evening', 'conversation', 'when', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'assembled', 'had', 'lost', 'much', 'of', 'its', 'animation', 'and', 'almost', 'all', 'its', 'sense', 'by', 'the', 'absence', 'of', 'jane', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'they', 'found', 'mary', 'as', 'usual', 'deep', 'in', 'the', 'study', 'of', 'thoroughbass', 'and', 'human', 'nature', 'and', 'had', 'some', 'extracts', 'to', 'admire', 'and', 'some', 'new', 'observations', 'of', 'threadbare', 'morality', 'to', 'listen', 'to', 'catherine', 'and', 'lydia', 'had', 'information', 'for', 'them', 'of', 'a', 'different', 'sort', 'much', 'had', 'been', 'done', 'and', 'much', 'had', 'been', 'said', 'in', 'the', 'regiment', 'since', 'the', 'preceding', 'wednesday', 'several', 'of', 'the', 'officers', 'had', 'dined', 'lately', 'with', 'their', 'uncle', 'a', 'private', 'had', 'been', 'flogged', 'and', 'it', 'had', 'actually', 'been', 'hinted', 'that', 'colonel', 'forster', 'was', 'going', 'to', 'be', 'married', 'i', 'hope', 'my', 'dear', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'to', 'his', 'wife', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'at', 'breakfast', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'ordered', 'a', 'good', 'dinner', 'today', 'because', 'i', 'have', 'reason', 'to', 'expect', 'an', 'addition', 'to', 'our', 'family', 'party', 'who', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'my', 'dear', 'i', 'know', 'of', 'nobody', 'that', 'is', 'coming', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'unless', 'charlotte', 'lucas', 'should', 'happen', 'to', 'call', 'inand', 'i', 'hope', 'my', 'dinners', 'are', 'good', 'enough', 'for', 'her', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'believe', 'she', 'often', 'sees', 'such', 'at', 'home', 'the', 'person', 'of', 'whom', 'i', 'speak', 'is', 'a', 'gentleman', 'and', 'a', 'stranger', 'mrs', 'bennets', 'eyes', 'sparkled', 'a', 'gentleman', 'and', 'a', 'stranger', 'it', 'is', 'mr', 'bingley', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'well', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'extremely', 'glad', 'to', 'see', 'mr', 'bingley', 'butgood', 'lord', 'how', 'unlucky', 'there', 'is', 'not', 'a', 'bit', 'of', 'fish', 'to', 'be', 'got', 'today', 'lydia', 'my', 'love', 'ring', 'the', 'belli', 'must', 'speak', 'to', 'hill', 'this', 'moment', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'mr', 'bingley', 'said', 'her', 'husband', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'person', 'whom', 'i', 'never', 'saw', 'in', 'the', 'whole', 'course', 'of', 'my', 'life', 'this', 'roused', 'a', 'general', 'astonishment', 'and', 'he', 'had', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'being', 'eagerly', 'questioned', 'by', 'his', 'wife', 'and', 'his', 'five', 'daughters', 'at', 'once', 'after', 'amusing', 'himself', 'some', 'time', 'with', 'their', 'curiosity', 'he', 'thus', 'explained', 'about', 'a', 'month', 'ago', 'i', 'received', 'this', 'letter', 'and', 'about', 'a', 'fortnight', 'ago', 'i', 'answered', 'it', 'for', 'i', 'thought', 'it', 'a', 'case', 'of', 'some', 'delicacy', 'and', 'requiring', 'early', 'attention', 'it', 'is', 'from', 'my', 'cousin', 'mr', 'collins', 'who', 'when', 'i', 'am', 'dead', 'may', 'turn', 'you', 'all', 'out', 'of', 'this', 'house', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'he', 'pleases', 'oh', 'my', 'dear', 'cried', 'his', 'wife', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'bear', 'to', 'hear', 'that', 'mentioned', 'pray', 'do', 'not', 'talk', 'of', 'that', 'odious', 'man', 'i', 'do', 'think', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'hardest', 'thing', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'that', 'your', 'estate', 'should', 'be', 'entailed', 'away', 'from', 'your', 'own', 'children', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'you', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'tried', 'long', 'ago', 'to', 'do', 'something', 'or', 'other', 'about', 'it', 'jane', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'tried', 'to', 'explain', 'to', 'her', 'the', 'nature', 'of', 'an', 'entail', 'they', 'had', 'often', 'attempted', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'before', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'subject', 'on', 'which', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'beyond', 'the', 'reach', 'of', 'reason', 'and', 'she', 'continued', 'to', 'rail', 'bitterly', 'against', 'the', 'cruelty', 'of', 'settling', 'an', 'estate', 'away', 'from', 'a', 'family', 'of', 'five', 'daughters', 'in', 'favour', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'whom', 'nobody', 'cared', 'anything', 'about', 'it', 'certainly', 'is', 'a', 'most', 'iniquitous', 'affair', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'and', 'nothing', 'can', 'clear', 'mr', 'collins', 'from', 'the', 'guilt', 'of', 'inheriting', 'longbourn', 'but', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'listen', 'to', 'his', 'letter', 'you', 'may', 'perhaps', 'be', 'a', 'little', 'softened', 'by', 'his', 'manner', 'of', 'expressing', 'himself', 'no', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'and', 'i', 'think', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'impertinent', 'of', 'him', 'to', 'write', 'to', 'you', 'at', 'all', 'and', 'very', 'hypocritical', 'i', 'hate', 'such', 'false', 'friends', 'why', 'could', 'he', 'not', 'keep', 'on', 'quarreling', 'with', 'you', 'as', 'his', 'father', 'did', 'before', 'him', 'why', 'indeed', 'he', 'does', 'seem', 'to', 'have', 'had', 'some', 'filial', 'scruples', 'on', 'that', 'head', 'as', 'you', 'will', 'hear', 'hunsford', 'near', 'westerham', 'kent', '15th', 'october', 'dear', 'sir', 'the', 'disagreement', 'subsisting', 'between', 'yourself', 'and', 'my', 'late', 'honoured', 'father', 'always', 'gave', 'me', 'much', 'uneasiness', 'and', 'since', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'the', 'misfortune', 'to', 'lose', 'him', 'i', 'have', 'frequently', 'wished', 'to', 'heal', 'the', 'breach', 'but', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'i', 'was', 'kept', 'back', 'by', 'my', 'own', 'doubts', 'fearing', 'lest', 'it', 'might', 'seem', 'disrespectful', 'to', 'his', 'memory', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'on', 'good', 'terms', 'with', 'anyone', 'with', 'whom', 'it', 'had', 'always', 'pleased', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'at', 'variancethere', 'mrs', 'bennetmy', 'mind', 'however', 'is', 'now', 'made', 'up', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'for', 'having', 'received', 'ordination', 'at', 'easter', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'so', 'fortunate', 'as', 'to', 'be', 'distinguished', 'by', 'the', 'patronage', 'of', 'the', 'right', 'honourable', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'widow', 'of', 'sir', 'lewis', 'de', 'bourgh', 'whose', 'bounty', 'and', 'beneficence', 'has', 'preferred', 'me', 'to', 'the', 'valuable', 'rectory', 'of', 'this', 'parish', 'where', 'it', 'shall', 'be', 'my', 'earnest', 'endeavour', 'to', 'demean', 'myself', 'with', 'grateful', 'respect', 'towards', 'her', 'ladyship', 'and', 'be', 'ever', 'ready', 'to', 'perform', 'those', 'rites', 'and', 'ceremonies', 'which', 'are', 'instituted', 'by', 'the', 'church', 'of', 'england', 'as', 'a', 'clergyman', 'moreover', 'i', 'feel', 'it', 'my', 'duty', 'to', 'promote', 'and', 'establish', 'the', 'blessing', 'of', 'peace', 'in', 'all', 'families', 'within', 'the', 'reach', 'of', 'my', 'influence', 'and', 'on', 'these', 'grounds', 'i', 'flatter', 'myself', 'that', 'my', 'present', 'overtures', 'are', 'highly', 'commendable', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'circumstance', 'of', 'my', 'being', 'next', 'in', 'the', 'entail', 'of', 'longbourn', 'estate', 'will', 'be', 'kindly', 'overlooked', 'on', 'your', 'side', 'and', 'not', 'lead', 'you', 'to', 'reject', 'the', 'offered', 'olivebranch', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'otherwise', 'than', 'concerned', 'at', 'being', 'the', 'means', 'of', 'injuring', 'your', 'amiable', 'daughters', 'and', 'beg', 'leave', 'to', 'apologise', 'for', 'it', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'to', 'assure', 'you', 'of', 'my', 'readiness', 'to', 'make', 'them', 'every', 'possible', 'amendsbut', 'of', 'this', 'hereafter', 'if', 'you', 'should', 'have', 'no', 'objection', 'to', 'receive', 'me', 'into', 'your', 'house', 'i', 'propose', 'myself', 'the', 'satisfaction', 'of', 'waiting', 'on', 'you', 'and', 'your', 'family', 'monday', 'november', '18th', 'by', 'four', 'oclock', 'and', 'shall', 'probably', 'trespass', 'on', 'your', 'hospitality', 'till', 'the', 'saturday', 'seennight', 'following', 'which', 'i', 'can', 'do', 'without', 'any', 'inconvenience', 'as', 'lady', 'catherine', 'is', 'far', 'from', 'objecting', 'to', 'my', 'occasional', 'absence', 'on', 'a', 'sunday', 'provided', 'that', 'some', 'other', 'clergyman', 'is', 'engaged', 'to', 'do', 'the', 'duty', 'of', 'the', 'dayi', 'remain', 'dear', 'sir', 'with', 'respectful', 'compliments', 'to', 'your', 'lady', 'and', 'daughters', 'your', 'wellwisher', 'and', 'friend', 'william', 'collins', 'at', 'four', 'oclock', 'therefore', 'we', 'may', 'expect', 'this', 'peacemaking', 'gentleman', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'as', 'he', 'folded', 'up', 'the', 'letter', 'he', 'seems', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'most', 'conscientious', 'and', 'polite', 'young', 'man', 'upon', 'my', 'word', 'and', 'i', 'doubt', 'not', 'will', 'prove', 'a', 'valuable', 'acquaintance', 'especially', 'if', 'lady', 'catherine', 'should', 'be', 'so', 'indulgent', 'as', 'to', 'let', 'him', 'come', 'to', 'us', 'again', 'there', 'is', 'some', 'sense', 'in', 'what', 'he', 'says', 'about', 'the', 'girls', 'however', 'and', 'if', 'he', 'is', 'disposed', 'to', 'make', 'them', 'any', 'amends', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'be', 'the', 'person', 'to', 'discourage', 'him', 'though', 'it', 'is', 'difficult', 'said', 'jane', 'to', 'guess', 'in', 'what', 'way', 'he', 'can', 'mean', 'to', 'make', 'us', 'the', 'atonement', 'he', 'thinks', 'our', 'due', 'the', 'wish', 'is', 'certainly', 'to', 'his', 'credit', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'chiefly', 'struck', 'by', 'his', 'extraordinary', 'deference', 'for', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'his', 'kind', 'intention', 'of', 'christening', 'marrying', 'and', 'burying', 'his', 'parishioners', 'whenever', 'it', 'were', 'required', 'he', 'must', 'be', 'an', 'oddity', 'i', 'think', 'said', 'she', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'make', 'him', 'outthere', 'is', 'something', 'very', 'pompous', 'in', 'his', 'styleand', 'what', 'can', 'he', 'mean', 'by', 'apologising', 'for', 'being', 'next', 'in', 'the', 'entailwe', 'can', 'not', 'suppose', 'he', 'would', 'help', 'it', 'if', 'he', 'couldcould', 'he', 'be', 'a', 'sensible', 'man', 'sir', 'no', 'my', 'dear', 'i', 'think', 'not', 'i', 'have', 'great', 'hopes', 'of', 'finding', 'him', 'quite', 'the', 'reverse', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'mixture', 'of', 'servility', 'and', 'selfimportance', 'in', 'his', 'letter', 'which', 'promises', 'well', 'i', 'am', 'impatient', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'in', 'point', 'of', 'composition', 'said', 'mary', 'the', 'letter', 'does', 'not', 'seem', 'defective', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'the', 'olivebranch', 'perhaps', 'is', 'not', 'wholly', 'new', 'yet', 'i', 'think', 'it', 'is', 'well', 'expressed', 'to', 'catherine', 'and', 'lydia', 'neither', 'the', 'letter', 'nor', 'its', 'writer', 'were', 'in', 'any', 'degree', 'interesting', 'it', 'was', 'next', 'to', 'impossible', 'that', 'their', 'cousin', 'should', 'come', 'in', 'a', 'scarlet', 'coat', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'now', 'some', 'weeks', 'since', 'they', 'had', 'received', 'pleasure', 'from', 'the', 'society', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'in', 'any', 'other', 'colour', 'as', 'for', 'their', 'mother', 'mr', 'collinss', 'letter', 'had', 'done', 'away', 'much', 'of', 'her', 'illwill', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'preparing', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'with', 'a', 'degree', 'of', 'composure', 'which', 'astonished', 'her', 'husband', 'and', 'daughters', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'punctual', 'to', 'his', 'time', 'and', 'was', 'received', 'with', 'great', 'politeness', 'by', 'the', 'whole', 'family', 'mr', 'bennet', 'indeed', 'said', 'little', 'but', 'the', 'ladies', 'were', 'ready', 'enough', 'to', 'talk', 'and', 'mr', 'collins', 'seemed', 'neither', 'in', 'need', 'of', 'encouragement', 'nor', 'inclined', 'to', 'be', 'silent', 'himself', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'tall', 'heavylooking', 'young', 'man', 'of', 'fiveandtwenty', 'his', 'air', 'was', 'grave', 'and', 'stately', 'and', 'his', 'manners', 'were', 'very', 'formal', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'long', 'seated', 'before', 'he', 'complimented', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'on', 'having', 'so', 'fine', 'a', 'family', 'of', 'daughters', 'said', 'he', 'had', 'heard', 'much', 'of', 'their', 'beauty', 'but', 'that', 'in', 'this', 'instance', 'fame', 'had', 'fallen', 'short', 'of', 'the', 'truth', 'and', 'added', 'that', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'doubt', 'her', 'seeing', 'them', 'all', 'in', 'due', 'time', 'disposed', 'of', 'in', 'marriage', 'this', 'gallantry', 'was', 'not', 'much', 'to', 'the', 'taste', 'of', 'some', 'of', 'his', 'hearers', 'but', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'who', 'quarreled', 'with', 'no', 'compliments', 'answered', 'most', 'readily', 'you', 'are', 'very', 'kind', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'and', 'i', 'wish', 'with', 'all', 'my', 'heart', 'it', 'may', 'prove', 'so', 'for', 'else', 'they', 'will', 'be', 'destitute', 'enough', 'things', 'are', 'settled', 'so', 'oddly', 'you', 'allude', 'perhaps', 'to', 'the', 'entail', 'of', 'this', 'estate', 'ah', 'sir', 'i', 'do', 'indeed', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'grievous', 'affair', 'to', 'my', 'poor', 'girls', 'you', 'must', 'confess', 'not', 'that', 'i', 'mean', 'to', 'find', 'fault', 'with', 'you', 'for', 'such', 'things', 'i', 'know', 'are', 'all', 'chance', 'in', 'this', 'world', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'knowing', 'how', 'estates', 'will', 'go', 'when', 'once', 'they', 'come', 'to', 'be', 'entailed', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'sensible', 'madam', 'of', 'the', 'hardship', 'to', 'my', 'fair', 'cousins', 'and', 'could', 'say', 'much', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'but', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'cautious', 'of', 'appearing', 'forward', 'and', 'precipitate', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'assure', 'the', 'young', 'ladies', 'that', 'i', 'come', 'prepared', 'to', 'admire', 'them', 'at', 'present', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'say', 'more', 'but', 'perhaps', 'when', 'we', 'are', 'better', 'acquainted', 'he', 'was', 'interrupted', 'by', 'a', 'summons', 'to', 'dinner', 'and', 'the', 'girls', 'smiled', 'on', 'each', 'other', 'they', 'were', 'not', 'the', 'only', 'objects', 'of', 'mr', 'collinss', 'admiration', 'the', 'hall', 'the', 'diningroom', 'and', 'all', 'its', 'furniture', 'were', 'examined', 'and', 'praised', 'and', 'his', 'commendation', 'of', 'everything', 'would', 'have', 'touched', 'mrs', 'bennets', 'heart', 'but', 'for', 'the', 'mortifying', 'supposition', 'of', 'his', 'viewing', 'it', 'all', 'as', 'his', 'own', 'future', 'property', 'the', 'dinner', 'too', 'in', 'its', 'turn', 'was', 'highly', 'admired', 'and', 'he', 'begged', 'to', 'know', 'to', 'which', 'of', 'his', 'fair', 'cousins', 'the', 'excellency', 'of', 'its', 'cooking', 'was', 'owing', 'but', 'he', 'was', 'set', 'right', 'there', 'by', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'who', 'assured', 'him', 'with', 'some', 'asperity', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'very', 'well', 'able', 'to', 'keep', 'a', 'good', 'cook', 'and', 'that', 'her', 'daughters', 'had', 'nothing', 'to', 'do', 'in', 'the', 'kitchen', 'he', 'begged', 'pardon', 'for', 'having', 'displeased', 'her', 'in', 'a', 'softened', 'tone', 'she', 'declared', 'herself', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'offended', 'but', 'he', 'continued', 'to', 'apologise', 'for', 'about', 'a', 'quarter', 'of', 'an', 'hour', 'during', 'dinner', 'mr', 'bennet', 'scarcely', 'spoke', 'at', 'all', 'but', 'when', 'the', 'servants', 'were', 'withdrawn', 'he', 'thought', 'it', 'time', 'to', 'have', 'some', 'conversation', 'with', 'his', 'guest', 'and', 'therefore', 'started', 'a', 'subject', 'in', 'which', 'he', 'expected', 'him', 'to', 'shine', 'by', 'observing', 'that', 'he', 'seemed', 'very', 'fortunate', 'in', 'his', 'patroness', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourghs', 'attention', 'to', 'his', 'wishes', 'and', 'consideration', 'for', 'his', 'comfort', 'appeared', 'very', 'remarkable', 'mr', 'bennet', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'chosen', 'better', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'eloquent', 'in', 'her', 'praise', 'the', 'subject', 'elevated', 'him', 'to', 'more', 'than', 'usual', 'solemnity', 'of', 'manner', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'most', 'important', 'aspect', 'he', 'protested', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'never', 'in', 'his', 'life', 'witnessed', 'such', 'behaviour', 'in', 'a', 'person', 'of', 'ranksuch', 'affability', 'and', 'condescension', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'himself', 'experienced', 'from', 'lady', 'catherine', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'graciously', 'pleased', 'to', 'approve', 'of', 'both', 'of', 'the', 'discourses', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'already', 'had', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'preaching', 'before', 'her', 'she', 'had', 'also', 'asked', 'him', 'twice', 'to', 'dine', 'at', 'rosings', 'and', 'had', 'sent', 'for', 'him', 'only', 'the', 'saturday', 'before', 'to', 'make', 'up', 'her', 'pool', 'of', 'quadrille', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'lady', 'catherine', 'was', 'reckoned', 'proud', 'by', 'many', 'people', 'he', 'knew', 'but', 'he', 'had', 'never', 'seen', 'anything', 'but', 'affability', 'in', 'her', 'she', 'had', 'always', 'spoken', 'to', 'him', 'as', 'she', 'would', 'to', 'any', 'other', 'gentleman', 'she', 'made', 'not', 'the', 'smallest', 'objection', 'to', 'his', 'joining', 'in', 'the', 'society', 'of', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'nor', 'to', 'his', 'leaving', 'the', 'parish', 'occasionally', 'for', 'a', 'week', 'or', 'two', 'to', 'visit', 'his', 'relations', 'she', 'had', 'even', 'condescended', 'to', 'advise', 'him', 'to', 'marry', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'he', 'could', 'provided', 'he', 'chose', 'with', 'discretion', 'and', 'had', 'once', 'paid', 'him', 'a', 'visit', 'in', 'his', 'humble', 'parsonage', 'where', 'she', 'had', 'perfectly', 'approved', 'all', 'the', 'alterations', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'making', 'and', 'had', 'even', 'vouchsafed', 'to', 'suggest', 'some', 'herselfsome', 'shelves', 'in', 'the', 'closet', 'up', 'stairs', 'that', 'is', 'all', 'very', 'proper', 'and', 'civil', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'agreeable', 'woman', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'pity', 'that', 'great', 'ladies', 'in', 'general', 'are', 'not', 'more', 'like', 'her', 'does', 'she', 'live', 'near', 'you', 'sir', 'the', 'garden', 'in', 'which', 'stands', 'my', 'humble', 'abode', 'is', 'separated', 'only', 'by', 'a', 'lane', 'from', 'rosings', 'park', 'her', 'ladyships', 'residence', 'i', 'think', 'you', 'said', 'she', 'was', 'a', 'widow', 'sir', 'has', 'she', 'any', 'family', 'she', 'has', 'only', 'one', 'daughter', 'the', 'heiress', 'of', 'rosings', 'and', 'of', 'very', 'extensive', 'property', 'ah', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'shaking', 'her', 'head', 'then', 'she', 'is', 'better', 'off', 'than', 'many', 'girls', 'and', 'what', 'sort', 'of', 'young', 'lady', 'is', 'she', 'is', 'she', 'handsome', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'most', 'charming', 'young', 'lady', 'indeed', 'lady', 'catherine', 'herself', 'says', 'that', 'in', 'point', 'of', 'true', 'beauty', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'is', 'far', 'superior', 'to', 'the', 'handsomest', 'of', 'her', 'sex', 'because', 'there', 'is', 'that', 'in', 'her', 'features', 'which', 'marks', 'the', 'young', 'lady', 'of', 'distinguished', 'birth', 'she', 'is', 'unfortunately', 'of', 'a', 'sickly', 'constitution', 'which', 'has', 'prevented', 'her', 'from', 'making', 'that', 'progress', 'in', 'many', 'accomplishments', 'which', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'otherwise', 'failed', 'of', 'as', 'i', 'am', 'informed', 'by', 'the', 'lady', 'who', 'superintended', 'her', 'education', 'and', 'who', 'still', 'resides', 'with', 'them', 'but', 'she', 'is', 'perfectly', 'amiable', 'and', 'often', 'condescends', 'to', 'drive', 'by', 'my', 'humble', 'abode', 'in', 'her', 'little', 'phaeton', 'and', 'ponies', 'has', 'she', 'been', 'presented', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'remember', 'her', 'name', 'among', 'the', 'ladies', 'at', 'court', 'her', 'indifferent', 'state', 'of', 'health', 'unhappily', 'prevents', 'her', 'being', 'in', 'town', 'and', 'by', 'that', 'means', 'as', 'i', 'told', 'lady', 'catherine', 'one', 'day', 'has', 'deprived', 'the', 'british', 'court', 'of', 'its', 'brightest', 'ornament', 'her', 'ladyship', 'seemed', 'pleased', 'with', 'the', 'idea', 'and', 'you', 'may', 'imagine', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'happy', 'on', 'every', 'occasion', 'to', 'offer', 'those', 'little', 'delicate', 'compliments', 'which', 'are', 'always', 'acceptable', 'to', 'ladies', 'i', 'have', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'observed', 'to', 'lady', 'catherine', 'that', 'her', 'charming', 'daughter', 'seemed', 'born', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'duchess', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'most', 'elevated', 'rank', 'instead', 'of', 'giving', 'her', 'consequence', 'would', 'be', 'adorned', 'by', 'her', 'these', 'are', 'the', 'kind', 'of', 'little', 'things', 'which', 'please', 'her', 'ladyship', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'sort', 'of', 'attention', 'which', 'i', 'conceive', 'myself', 'peculiarly', 'bound', 'to', 'pay', 'you', 'judge', 'very', 'properly', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'happy', 'for', 'you', 'that', 'you', 'possess', 'the', 'talent', 'of', 'flattering', 'with', 'delicacy', 'may', 'i', 'ask', 'whether', 'these', 'pleasing', 'attentions', 'proceed', 'from', 'the', 'impulse', 'of', 'the', 'moment', 'or', 'are', 'the', 'result', 'of', 'previous', 'study', 'they', 'arise', 'chiefly', 'from', 'what', 'is', 'passing', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'and', 'though', 'i', 'sometimes', 'amuse', 'myself', 'with', 'suggesting', 'and', 'arranging', 'such', 'little', 'elegant', 'compliments', 'as', 'may', 'be', 'adapted', 'to', 'ordinary', 'occasions', 'i', 'always', 'wish', 'to', 'give', 'them', 'as', 'unstudied', 'an', 'air', 'as', 'possible', 'mr', 'bennets', 'expectations', 'were', 'fully', 'answered', 'his', 'cousin', 'was', 'as', 'absurd', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'hoped', 'and', 'he', 'listened', 'to', 'him', 'with', 'the', 'keenest', 'enjoyment', 'maintaining', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'the', 'most', 'resolute', 'composure', 'of', 'countenance', 'and', 'except', 'in', 'an', 'occasional', 'glance', 'at', 'elizabeth', 'requiring', 'no', 'partner', 'in', 'his', 'pleasure', 'by', 'teatime', 'however', 'the', 'dose', 'had', 'been', 'enough', 'and', 'mr', 'bennet', 'was', 'glad', 'to', 'take', 'his', 'guest', 'into', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'again', 'and', 'when', 'tea', 'was', 'over', 'glad', 'to', 'invite', 'him', 'to', 'read', 'aloud', 'to', 'the', 'ladies', 'mr', 'collins', 'readily', 'assented', 'and', 'a', 'book', 'was', 'produced', 'but', 'on', 'beholding', 'it', 'for', 'everything', 'announced', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'from', 'a', 'circulating', 'library', 'he', 'started', 'back', 'and', 'begging', 'pardon', 'protested', 'that', 'he', 'never', 'read', 'novels', 'kitty', 'stared', 'at', 'him', 'and', 'lydia', 'exclaimed', 'other', 'books', 'were', 'produced', 'and', 'after', 'some', 'deliberation', 'he', 'chose', 'fordyces', 'sermons', 'lydia', 'gaped', 'as', 'he', 'opened', 'the', 'volume', 'and', 'before', 'he', 'had', 'with', 'very', 'monotonous', 'solemnity', 'read', 'three', 'pages', 'she', 'interrupted', 'him', 'with', 'do', 'you', 'know', 'mamma', 'that', 'my', 'uncle', 'phillips', 'talks', 'of', 'turning', 'away', 'richard', 'and', 'if', 'he', 'does', 'colonel', 'forster', 'will', 'hire', 'him', 'my', 'aunt', 'told', 'me', 'so', 'herself', 'on', 'saturday', 'i', 'shall', 'walk', 'to', 'meryton', 'tomorrow', 'to', 'hear', 'more', 'about', 'it', 'and', 'to', 'ask', 'when', 'mr', 'denny', 'comes', 'back', 'from', 'town', 'lydia', 'was', 'bid', 'by', 'her', 'two', 'eldest', 'sisters', 'to', 'hold', 'her', 'tongue', 'but', 'mr', 'collins', 'much', 'offended', 'laid', 'aside', 'his', 'book', 'and', 'said', 'i', 'have', 'often', 'observed', 'how', 'little', 'young', 'ladies', 'are', 'interested', 'by', 'books', 'of', 'a', 'serious', 'stamp', 'though', 'written', 'solely', 'for', 'their', 'benefit', 'it', 'amazes', 'me', 'i', 'confess', 'for', 'certainly', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'nothing', 'so', 'advantageous', 'to', 'them', 'as', 'instruction', 'but', 'i', 'will', 'no', 'longer', 'importune', 'my', 'young', 'cousin', 'then', 'turning', 'to', 'mr', 'bennet', 'he', 'offered', 'himself', 'as', 'his', 'antagonist', 'at', 'backgammon', 'mr', 'bennet', 'accepted', 'the', 'challenge', 'observing', 'that', 'he', 'acted', 'very', 'wisely', 'in', 'leaving', 'the', 'girls', 'to', 'their', 'own', 'trifling', 'amusements', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'her', 'daughters', 'apologised', 'most', 'civilly', 'for', 'lydias', 'interruption', 'and', 'promised', 'that', 'it', 'should', 'not', 'occur', 'again', 'if', 'he', 'would', 'resume', 'his', 'book', 'but', 'mr', 'collins', 'after', 'assuring', 'them', 'that', 'he', 'bore', 'his', 'young', 'cousin', 'no', 'illwill', 'and', 'should', 'never', 'resent', 'her', 'behaviour', 'as', 'any', 'affront', 'seated', 'himself', 'at', 'another', 'table', 'with', 'mr', 'bennet', 'and', 'prepared', 'for', 'backgammon', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'sensible', 'man', 'and', 'the', 'deficiency', 'of', 'nature', 'had', 'been', 'but', 'little', 'assisted', 'by', 'education', 'or', 'society', 'the', 'greatest', 'part', 'of', 'his', 'life', 'having', 'been', 'spent', 'under', 'the', 'guidance', 'of', 'an', 'illiterate', 'and', 'miserly', 'father', 'and', 'though', 'he', 'belonged', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'universities', 'he', 'had', 'merely', 'kept', 'the', 'necessary', 'terms', 'without', 'forming', 'at', 'it', 'any', 'useful', 'acquaintance', 'the', 'subjection', 'in', 'which', 'his', 'father', 'had', 'brought', 'him', 'up', 'had', 'given', 'him', 'originally', 'great', 'humility', 'of', 'manner', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'now', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'counteracted', 'by', 'the', 'selfconceit', 'of', 'a', 'weak', 'head', 'living', 'in', 'retirement', 'and', 'the', 'consequential', 'feelings', 'of', 'early', 'and', 'unexpected', 'prosperity', 'a', 'fortunate', 'chance', 'had', 'recommended', 'him', 'to', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'when', 'the', 'living', 'of', 'hunsford', 'was', 'vacant', 'and', 'the', 'respect', 'which', 'he', 'felt', 'for', 'her', 'high', 'rank', 'and', 'his', 'veneration', 'for', 'her', 'as', 'his', 'patroness', 'mingling', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'good', 'opinion', 'of', 'himself', 'of', 'his', 'authority', 'as', 'a', 'clergyman', 'and', 'his', 'right', 'as', 'a', 'rector', 'made', 'him', 'altogether', 'a', 'mixture', 'of', 'pride', 'and', 'obsequiousness', 'selfimportance', 'and', 'humility', 'having', 'now', 'a', 'good', 'house', 'and', 'a', 'very', 'sufficient', 'income', 'he', 'intended', 'to', 'marry', 'and', 'in', 'seeking', 'a', 'reconciliation', 'with', 'the', 'longbourn', 'family', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'wife', 'in', 'view', 'as', 'he', 'meant', 'to', 'choose', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'daughters', 'if', 'he', 'found', 'them', 'as', 'handsome', 'and', 'amiable', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'represented', 'by', 'common', 'report', 'this', 'was', 'his', 'plan', 'of', 'amendsof', 'atonementfor', 'inheriting', 'their', 'fathers', 'estate', 'and', 'he', 'thought', 'it', 'an', 'excellent', 'one', 'full', 'of', 'eligibility', 'and', 'suitableness', 'and', 'excessively', 'generous', 'and', 'disinterested', 'on', 'his', 'own', 'part', 'his', 'plan', 'did', 'not', 'vary', 'on', 'seeing', 'them', 'miss', 'bennets', 'lovely', 'face', 'confirmed', 'his', 'views', 'and', 'established', 'all', 'his', 'strictest', 'notions', 'of', 'what', 'was', 'due', 'to', 'seniority', 'and', 'for', 'the', 'first', 'evening', 'she', 'was', 'his', 'settled', 'choice', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'however', 'made', 'an', 'alteration', 'for', 'in', 'a', 'quarter', 'of', 'an', 'hours', 'têteàtête', 'with', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'before', 'breakfast', 'a', 'conversation', 'beginning', 'with', 'his', 'parsonagehouse', 'and', 'leading', 'naturally', 'to', 'the', 'avowal', 'of', 'his', 'hopes', 'that', 'a', 'mistress', 'might', 'be', 'found', 'for', 'it', 'at', 'longbourn', 'produced', 'from', 'her', 'amid', 'very', 'complaisant', 'smiles', 'and', 'general', 'encouragement', 'a', 'caution', 'against', 'the', 'very', 'jane', 'he', 'had', 'fixed', 'on', 'as', 'to', 'her', 'younger', 'daughters', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'take', 'upon', 'her', 'to', 'sayshe', 'could', 'not', 'positively', 'answerbut', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'of', 'any', 'prepossession', 'her', 'eldest', 'daughter', 'she', 'must', 'just', 'mentionshe', 'felt', 'it', 'incumbent', 'on', 'her', 'to', 'hint', 'was', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'very', 'soon', 'engaged', 'mr', 'collins', 'had', 'only', 'to', 'change', 'from', 'jane', 'to', 'elizabethand', 'it', 'was', 'soon', 'donedone', 'while', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'stirring', 'the', 'fire', 'elizabeth', 'equally', 'next', 'to', 'jane', 'in', 'birth', 'and', 'beauty', 'succeeded', 'her', 'of', 'course', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'treasured', 'up', 'the', 'hint', 'and', 'trusted', 'that', 'she', 'might', 'soon', 'have', 'two', 'daughters', 'married', 'and', 'the', 'man', 'whom', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'bear', 'to', 'speak', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'was', 'now', 'high', 'in', 'her', 'good', 'graces', 'lydias', 'intention', 'of', 'walking', 'to', 'meryton', 'was', 'not', 'forgotten', 'every', 'sister', 'except', 'mary', 'agreed', 'to', 'go', 'with', 'her', 'and', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'to', 'attend', 'them', 'at', 'the', 'request', 'of', 'mr', 'bennet', 'who', 'was', 'most', 'anxious', 'to', 'get', 'rid', 'of', 'him', 'and', 'have', 'his', 'library', 'to', 'himself', 'for', 'thither', 'mr', 'collins', 'had', 'followed', 'him', 'after', 'breakfast', 'and', 'there', 'he', 'would', 'continue', 'nominally', 'engaged', 'with', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'largest', 'folios', 'in', 'the', 'collection', 'but', 'really', 'talking', 'to', 'mr', 'bennet', 'with', 'little', 'cessation', 'of', 'his', 'house', 'and', 'garden', 'at', 'hunsford', 'such', 'doings', 'discomposed', 'mr', 'bennet', 'exceedingly', 'in', 'his', 'library', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'always', 'sure', 'of', 'leisure', 'and', 'tranquillity', 'and', 'though', 'prepared', 'as', 'he', 'told', 'elizabeth', 'to', 'meet', 'with', 'folly', 'and', 'conceit', 'in', 'every', 'other', 'room', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'he', 'was', 'used', 'to', 'be', 'free', 'from', 'them', 'there', 'his', 'civility', 'therefore', 'was', 'most', 'prompt', 'in', 'inviting', 'mr', 'collins', 'to', 'join', 'his', 'daughters', 'in', 'their', 'walk', 'and', 'mr', 'collins', 'being', 'in', 'fact', 'much', 'better', 'fitted', 'for', 'a', 'walker', 'than', 'a', 'reader', 'was', 'extremely', 'pleased', 'to', 'close', 'his', 'large', 'book', 'and', 'go', 'in', 'pompous', 'nothings', 'on', 'his', 'side', 'and', 'civil', 'assents', 'on', 'that', 'of', 'his', 'cousins', 'their', 'time', 'passed', 'till', 'they', 'entered', 'meryton', 'the', 'attention', 'of', 'the', 'younger', 'ones', 'was', 'then', 'no', 'longer', 'to', 'be', 'gained', 'by', 'him', 'their', 'eyes', 'were', 'immediately', 'wandering', 'up', 'in', 'the', 'street', 'in', 'quest', 'of', 'the', 'officers', 'and', 'nothing', 'less', 'than', 'a', 'very', 'smart', 'bonnet', 'indeed', 'or', 'a', 'really', 'new', 'muslin', 'in', 'a', 'shop', 'window', 'could', 'recall', 'them', 'but', 'the', 'attention', 'of', 'every', 'lady', 'was', 'soon', 'caught', 'by', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'whom', 'they', 'had', 'never', 'seen', 'before', 'of', 'most', 'gentlemanlike', 'appearance', 'walking', 'with', 'another', 'officer', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'way', 'the', 'officer', 'was', 'the', 'very', 'mr', 'denny', 'concerning', 'whose', 'return', 'from', 'london', 'lydia', 'came', 'to', 'enquire', 'and', 'he', 'bowed', 'as', 'they', 'passed', 'all', 'were', 'struck', 'with', 'the', 'strangers', 'air', 'all', 'wondered', 'who', 'he', 'could', 'be', 'and', 'kitty', 'and', 'lydia', 'determined', 'if', 'possible', 'to', 'find', 'out', 'led', 'the', 'way', 'across', 'the', 'street', 'under', 'pretense', 'of', 'wanting', 'something', 'in', 'an', 'opposite', 'shop', 'and', 'fortunately', 'had', 'just', 'gained', 'the', 'pavement', 'when', 'the', 'two', 'gentlemen', 'turning', 'back', 'had', 'reached', 'the', 'same', 'spot', 'mr', 'denny', 'addressed', 'them', 'directly', 'and', 'entreated', 'permission', 'to', 'introduce', 'his', 'friend', 'mr', 'wickham', 'who', 'had', 'returned', 'with', 'him', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'from', 'town', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'happy', 'to', 'say', 'had', 'accepted', 'a', 'commission', 'in', 'their', 'corps', 'this', 'was', 'exactly', 'as', 'it', 'should', 'be', 'for', 'the', 'young', 'man', 'wanted', 'only', 'regimentals', 'to', 'make', 'him', 'completely', 'charming', 'his', 'appearance', 'was', 'greatly', 'in', 'his', 'favour', 'he', 'had', 'all', 'the', 'best', 'part', 'of', 'beauty', 'a', 'fine', 'countenance', 'a', 'good', 'figure', 'and', 'very', 'pleasing', 'address', 'the', 'introduction', 'was', 'followed', 'up', 'on', 'his', 'side', 'by', 'a', 'happy', 'readiness', 'of', 'conversationa', 'readiness', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'perfectly', 'correct', 'and', 'unassuming', 'and', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'were', 'still', 'standing', 'and', 'talking', 'together', 'very', 'agreeably', 'when', 'the', 'sound', 'of', 'horses', 'drew', 'their', 'notice', 'and', 'darcy', 'and', 'bingley', 'were', 'seen', 'riding', 'down', 'the', 'street', 'on', 'distinguishing', 'the', 'ladies', 'of', 'the', 'group', 'the', 'two', 'gentlemen', 'came', 'directly', 'towards', 'them', 'and', 'began', 'the', 'usual', 'civilities', 'bingley', 'was', 'the', 'principal', 'spokesman', 'and', 'miss', 'bennet', 'the', 'principal', 'object', 'he', 'was', 'then', 'he', 'said', 'on', 'his', 'way', 'to', 'longbourn', 'on', 'purpose', 'to', 'enquire', 'after', 'her', 'mr', 'darcy', 'corroborated', 'it', 'with', 'a', 'bow', 'and', 'was', 'beginning', 'to', 'determine', 'not', 'to', 'fix', 'his', 'eyes', 'on', 'elizabeth', 'when', 'they', 'were', 'suddenly', 'arrested', 'by', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'the', 'stranger', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'happening', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'countenance', 'of', 'both', 'as', 'they', 'looked', 'at', 'each', 'other', 'was', 'all', 'astonishment', 'at', 'the', 'effect', 'of', 'the', 'meeting', 'both', 'changed', 'colour', 'one', 'looked', 'white', 'the', 'other', 'red', 'mr', 'wickham', 'after', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'touched', 'his', 'hata', 'salutation', 'which', 'mr', 'darcy', 'just', 'deigned', 'to', 'return', 'what', 'could', 'be', 'the', 'meaning', 'of', 'it', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'to', 'imagine', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'not', 'to', 'long', 'to', 'know', 'in', 'another', 'minute', 'mr', 'bingley', 'but', 'without', 'seeming', 'to', 'have', 'noticed', 'what', 'passed', 'took', 'leave', 'and', 'rode', 'on', 'with', 'his', 'friend', 'mr', 'denny', 'and', 'mr', 'wickham', 'walked', 'with', 'the', 'young', 'ladies', 'to', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'mr', 'phillips', 'house', 'and', 'then', 'made', 'their', 'bows', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'miss', 'lydias', 'pressing', 'entreaties', 'that', 'they', 'should', 'come', 'in', 'and', 'even', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'mrs', 'phillipss', 'throwing', 'up', 'the', 'parlour', 'window', 'and', 'loudly', 'seconding', 'the', 'invitation', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'was', 'always', 'glad', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'nieces', 'and', 'the', 'two', 'eldest', 'from', 'their', 'recent', 'absence', 'were', 'particularly', 'welcome', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'eagerly', 'expressing', 'her', 'surprise', 'at', 'their', 'sudden', 'return', 'home', 'which', 'as', 'their', 'own', 'carriage', 'had', 'not', 'fetched', 'them', 'she', 'should', 'have', 'known', 'nothing', 'about', 'if', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'happened', 'to', 'see', 'mr', 'joness', 'shopboy', 'in', 'the', 'street', 'who', 'had', 'told', 'her', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'not', 'to', 'send', 'any', 'more', 'draughts', 'to', 'netherfield', 'because', 'the', 'miss', 'bennets', 'were', 'come', 'away', 'when', 'her', 'civility', 'was', 'claimed', 'towards', 'mr', 'collins', 'by', 'janes', 'introduction', 'of', 'him', 'she', 'received', 'him', 'with', 'her', 'very', 'best', 'politeness', 'which', 'he', 'returned', 'with', 'as', 'much', 'more', 'apologising', 'for', 'his', 'intrusion', 'without', 'any', 'previous', 'acquaintance', 'with', 'her', 'which', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'flattering', 'himself', 'however', 'might', 'be', 'justified', 'by', 'his', 'relationship', 'to', 'the', 'young', 'ladies', 'who', 'introduced', 'him', 'to', 'her', 'notice', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'was', 'quite', 'awed', 'by', 'such', 'an', 'excess', 'of', 'good', 'breeding', 'but', 'her', 'contemplation', 'of', 'one', 'stranger', 'was', 'soon', 'put', 'to', 'an', 'end', 'by', 'exclamations', 'and', 'enquiries', 'about', 'the', 'other', 'of', 'whom', 'however', 'she', 'could', 'only', 'tell', 'her', 'nieces', 'what', 'they', 'already', 'knew', 'that', 'mr', 'denny', 'had', 'brought', 'him', 'from', 'london', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'lieutenants', 'commission', 'in', 'the', 'shire', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'watching', 'him', 'the', 'last', 'hour', 'she', 'said', 'as', 'he', 'walked', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'street', 'and', 'had', 'mr', 'wickham', 'appeared', 'kitty', 'and', 'lydia', 'would', 'certainly', 'have', 'continued', 'the', 'occupation', 'but', 'unluckily', 'no', 'one', 'passed', 'windows', 'now', 'except', 'a', 'few', 'of', 'the', 'officers', 'who', 'in', 'comparison', 'with', 'the', 'stranger', 'were', 'become', 'stupid', 'disagreeable', 'fellows', 'some', 'of', 'them', 'were', 'to', 'dine', 'with', 'the', 'phillipses', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'and', 'their', 'aunt', 'promised', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'husband', 'call', 'on', 'mr', 'wickham', 'and', 'give', 'him', 'an', 'invitation', 'also', 'if', 'the', 'family', 'from', 'longbourn', 'would', 'come', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'this', 'was', 'agreed', 'to', 'and', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'protested', 'that', 'they', 'would', 'have', 'a', 'nice', 'comfortable', 'noisy', 'game', 'of', 'lottery', 'tickets', 'and', 'a', 'little', 'bit', 'of', 'hot', 'supper', 'afterwards', 'the', 'prospect', 'of', 'such', 'delights', 'was', 'very', 'cheering', 'and', 'they', 'parted', 'in', 'mutual', 'good', 'spirits', 'mr', 'collins', 'repeated', 'his', 'apologies', 'in', 'quitting', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'was', 'assured', 'with', 'unwearying', 'civility', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'perfectly', 'needless', 'as', 'they', 'walked', 'home', 'elizabeth', 'related', 'to', 'jane', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'seen', 'pass', 'between', 'the', 'two', 'gentlemen', 'but', 'though', 'jane', 'would', 'have', 'defended', 'either', 'or', 'both', 'had', 'they', 'appeared', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'wrong', 'she', 'could', 'no', 'more', 'explain', 'such', 'behaviour', 'than', 'her', 'sister', 'mr', 'collins', 'on', 'his', 'return', 'highly', 'gratified', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'by', 'admiring', 'mrs', 'phillipss', 'manners', 'and', 'politeness', 'he', 'protested', 'that', 'except', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'her', 'daughter', 'he', 'had', 'never', 'seen', 'a', 'more', 'elegant', 'woman', 'for', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'only', 'received', 'him', 'with', 'the', 'utmost', 'civility', 'but', 'even', 'pointedly', 'included', 'him', 'in', 'her', 'invitation', 'for', 'the', 'next', 'evening', 'although', 'utterly', 'unknown', 'to', 'her', 'before', 'something', 'he', 'supposed', 'might', 'be', 'attributed', 'to', 'his', 'connection', 'with', 'them', 'but', 'yet', 'he', 'had', 'never', 'met', 'with', 'so', 'much', 'attention', 'in', 'the', 'whole', 'course', 'of', 'his', 'life', 'as', 'no', 'objection', 'was', 'made', 'to', 'the', 'young', 'peoples', 'engagement', 'with', 'their', 'aunt', 'and', 'all', 'mr', 'collinss', 'scruples', 'of', 'leaving', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'for', 'a', 'single', 'evening', 'during', 'his', 'visit', 'were', 'most', 'steadily', 'resisted', 'the', 'coach', 'conveyed', 'him', 'and', 'his', 'five', 'cousins', 'at', 'a', 'suitable', 'hour', 'to', 'meryton', 'and', 'the', 'girls', 'had', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'hearing', 'as', 'they', 'entered', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'that', 'mr', 'wickham', 'had', 'accepted', 'their', 'uncles', 'invitation', 'and', 'was', 'then', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'when', 'this', 'information', 'was', 'given', 'and', 'they', 'had', 'all', 'taken', 'their', 'seats', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'at', 'leisure', 'to', 'look', 'around', 'him', 'and', 'admire', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'so', 'much', 'struck', 'with', 'the', 'size', 'and', 'furniture', 'of', 'the', 'apartment', 'that', 'he', 'declared', 'he', 'might', 'almost', 'have', 'supposed', 'himself', 'in', 'the', 'small', 'summer', 'breakfast', 'parlour', 'at', 'rosings', 'a', 'comparison', 'that', 'did', 'not', 'at', 'first', 'convey', 'much', 'gratification', 'but', 'when', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'understood', 'from', 'him', 'what', 'rosings', 'was', 'and', 'who', 'was', 'its', 'proprietorwhen', 'she', 'had', 'listened', 'to', 'the', 'description', 'of', 'only', 'one', 'of', 'lady', 'catherines', 'drawingrooms', 'and', 'found', 'that', 'the', 'chimneypiece', 'alone', 'had', 'cost', 'eight', 'hundred', 'pounds', 'she', 'felt', 'all', 'the', 'force', 'of', 'the', 'compliment', 'and', 'would', 'hardly', 'have', 'resented', 'a', 'comparison', 'with', 'the', 'housekeepers', 'room', 'in', 'describing', 'to', 'her', 'all', 'the', 'grandeur', 'of', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'her', 'mansion', 'with', 'occasional', 'digressions', 'in', 'praise', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'humble', 'abode', 'and', 'the', 'improvements', 'it', 'was', 'receiving', 'he', 'was', 'happily', 'employed', 'until', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'joined', 'them', 'and', 'he', 'found', 'in', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'a', 'very', 'attentive', 'listener', 'whose', 'opinion', 'of', 'his', 'consequence', 'increased', 'with', 'what', 'she', 'heard', 'and', 'who', 'was', 'resolving', 'to', 'retail', 'it', 'all', 'among', 'her', 'neighbours', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'to', 'the', 'girls', 'who', 'could', 'not', 'listen', 'to', 'their', 'cousin', 'and', 'who', 'had', 'nothing', 'to', 'do', 'but', 'to', 'wish', 'for', 'an', 'instrument', 'and', 'examine', 'their', 'own', 'indifferent', 'imitations', 'of', 'china', 'on', 'the', 'mantelpiece', 'the', 'interval', 'of', 'waiting', 'appeared', 'very', 'long', 'it', 'was', 'over', 'at', 'last', 'however', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'did', 'approach', 'and', 'when', 'mr', 'wickham', 'walked', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'neither', 'been', 'seeing', 'him', 'before', 'nor', 'thinking', 'of', 'him', 'since', 'with', 'the', 'smallest', 'degree', 'of', 'unreasonable', 'admiration', 'the', 'officers', 'of', 'the', 'shire', 'were', 'in', 'general', 'a', 'very', 'creditable', 'gentlemanlike', 'set', 'and', 'the', 'best', 'of', 'them', 'were', 'of', 'the', 'present', 'party', 'but', 'mr', 'wickham', 'was', 'as', 'far', 'beyond', 'them', 'all', 'in', 'person', 'countenance', 'air', 'and', 'walk', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'superior', 'to', 'the', 'broadfaced', 'stuffy', 'uncle', 'phillips', 'breathing', 'port', 'wine', 'who', 'followed', 'them', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'mr', 'wickham', 'was', 'the', 'happy', 'man', 'towards', 'whom', 'almost', 'every', 'female', 'eye', 'was', 'turned', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'the', 'happy', 'woman', 'by', 'whom', 'he', 'finally', 'seated', 'himself', 'and', 'the', 'agreeable', 'manner', 'in', 'which', 'he', 'immediately', 'fell', 'into', 'conversation', 'though', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'on', 'its', 'being', 'a', 'wet', 'night', 'made', 'her', 'feel', 'that', 'the', 'commonest', 'dullest', 'most', 'threadbare', 'topic', 'might', 'be', 'rendered', 'interesting', 'by', 'the', 'skill', 'of', 'the', 'speaker', 'with', 'such', 'rivals', 'for', 'the', 'notice', 'of', 'the', 'fair', 'as', 'mr', 'wickham', 'and', 'the', 'officers', 'mr', 'collins', 'seemed', 'to', 'sink', 'into', 'insignificance', 'to', 'the', 'young', 'ladies', 'he', 'certainly', 'was', 'nothing', 'but', 'he', 'had', 'still', 'at', 'intervals', 'a', 'kind', 'listener', 'in', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'and', 'was', 'by', 'her', 'watchfulness', 'most', 'abundantly', 'supplied', 'with', 'coffee', 'and', 'muffin', 'when', 'the', 'cardtables', 'were', 'placed', 'he', 'had', 'the', 'opportunity', 'of', 'obliging', 'her', 'in', 'turn', 'by', 'sitting', 'down', 'to', 'whist', 'i', 'know', 'little', 'of', 'the', 'game', 'at', 'present', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'glad', 'to', 'improve', 'myself', 'for', 'in', 'my', 'situation', 'in', 'life', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'was', 'very', 'glad', 'for', 'his', 'compliance', 'but', 'could', 'not', 'wait', 'for', 'his', 'reason', 'mr', 'wickham', 'did', 'not', 'play', 'at', 'whist', 'and', 'with', 'ready', 'delight', 'was', 'he', 'received', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'table', 'between', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'lydia', 'at', 'first', 'there', 'seemed', 'danger', 'of', 'lydias', 'engrossing', 'him', 'entirely', 'for', 'she', 'was', 'a', 'most', 'determined', 'talker', 'but', 'being', 'likewise', 'extremely', 'fond', 'of', 'lottery', 'tickets', 'she', 'soon', 'grew', 'too', 'much', 'interested', 'in', 'the', 'game', 'too', 'eager', 'in', 'making', 'bets', 'and', 'exclaiming', 'after', 'prizes', 'to', 'have', 'attention', 'for', 'anyone', 'in', 'particular', 'allowing', 'for', 'the', 'common', 'demands', 'of', 'the', 'game', 'mr', 'wickham', 'was', 'therefore', 'at', 'leisure', 'to', 'talk', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'very', 'willing', 'to', 'hear', 'him', 'though', 'what', 'she', 'chiefly', 'wished', 'to', 'hear', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'hope', 'to', 'be', 'toldthe', 'history', 'of', 'his', 'acquaintance', 'with', 'mr', 'darcy', 'she', 'dared', 'not', 'even', 'mention', 'that', 'gentleman', 'her', 'curiosity', 'however', 'was', 'unexpectedly', 'relieved', 'mr', 'wickham', 'began', 'the', 'subject', 'himself', 'he', 'enquired', 'how', 'far', 'netherfield', 'was', 'from', 'meryton', 'and', 'after', 'receiving', 'her', 'answer', 'asked', 'in', 'a', 'hesitating', 'manner', 'how', 'long', 'mr', 'darcy', 'had', 'been', 'staying', 'there', 'about', 'a', 'month', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'then', 'unwilling', 'to', 'let', 'the', 'subject', 'drop', 'added', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'very', 'large', 'property', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'i', 'understand', 'yes', 'replied', 'mr', 'wickham', 'his', 'estate', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'noble', 'one', 'a', 'clear', 'ten', 'thousand', 'per', 'annum', 'you', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'met', 'with', 'a', 'person', 'more', 'capable', 'of', 'giving', 'you', 'certain', 'information', 'on', 'that', 'head', 'than', 'myself', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'connected', 'with', 'his', 'family', 'in', 'a', 'particular', 'manner', 'from', 'my', 'infancy', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'but', 'look', 'surprised', 'you', 'may', 'well', 'be', 'surprised', 'miss', 'bennet', 'at', 'such', 'an', 'assertion', 'after', 'seeing', 'as', 'you', 'probably', 'might', 'the', 'very', 'cold', 'manner', 'of', 'our', 'meeting', 'yesterday', 'are', 'you', 'much', 'acquainted', 'with', 'mr', 'darcy', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'i', 'ever', 'wish', 'to', 'be', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'very', 'warmly', 'i', 'have', 'spent', 'four', 'days', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'house', 'with', 'him', 'and', 'i', 'think', 'him', 'very', 'disagreeable', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'right', 'to', 'give', 'my', 'opinion', 'said', 'wickham', 'as', 'to', 'his', 'being', 'agreeable', 'or', 'otherwise', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'qualified', 'to', 'form', 'one', 'i', 'have', 'known', 'him', 'too', 'long', 'and', 'too', 'well', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'fair', 'judge', 'it', 'is', 'impossible', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'impartial', 'but', 'i', 'believe', 'your', 'opinion', 'of', 'him', 'would', 'in', 'general', 'astonishand', 'perhaps', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'express', 'it', 'quite', 'so', 'strongly', 'anywhere', 'else', 'here', 'you', 'are', 'in', 'your', 'own', 'family', 'upon', 'my', 'word', 'i', 'say', 'no', 'more', 'here', 'than', 'i', 'might', 'say', 'in', 'any', 'house', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'except', 'netherfield', 'he', 'is', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'liked', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'everybody', 'is', 'disgusted', 'with', 'his', 'pride', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'find', 'him', 'more', 'favourably', 'spoken', 'of', 'by', 'anyone', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'pretend', 'to', 'be', 'sorry', 'said', 'wickham', 'after', 'a', 'short', 'interruption', 'that', 'he', 'or', 'that', 'any', 'man', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'estimated', 'beyond', 'their', 'deserts', 'but', 'with', 'him', 'i', 'believe', 'it', 'does', 'not', 'often', 'happen', 'the', 'world', 'is', 'blinded', 'by', 'his', 'fortune', 'and', 'consequence', 'or', 'frightened', 'by', 'his', 'high', 'and', 'imposing', 'manners', 'and', 'sees', 'him', 'only', 'as', 'he', 'chooses', 'to', 'be', 'seen', 'i', 'should', 'take', 'him', 'even', 'on', 'my', 'slight', 'acquaintance', 'to', 'be', 'an', 'illtempered', 'man', 'wickham', 'only', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'i', 'wonder', 'said', 'he', 'at', 'the', 'next', 'opportunity', 'of', 'speaking', 'whether', 'he', 'is', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'this', 'country', 'much', 'longer', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'know', 'but', 'i', 'heard', 'nothing', 'of', 'his', 'going', 'away', 'when', 'i', 'was', 'at', 'netherfield', 'i', 'hope', 'your', 'plans', 'in', 'favour', 'of', 'the', 'shire', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'affected', 'by', 'his', 'being', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'oh', 'noit', 'is', 'not', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'driven', 'away', 'by', 'mr', 'darcy', 'if', 'he', 'wishes', 'to', 'avoid', 'seeing', 'me', 'he', 'must', 'go', 'we', 'are', 'not', 'on', 'friendly', 'terms', 'and', 'it', 'always', 'gives', 'me', 'pain', 'to', 'meet', 'him', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'reason', 'for', 'avoiding', 'him', 'but', 'what', 'i', 'might', 'proclaim', 'before', 'all', 'the', 'world', 'a', 'sense', 'of', 'very', 'great', 'illusage', 'and', 'most', 'painful', 'regrets', 'at', 'his', 'being', 'what', 'he', 'is', 'his', 'father', 'miss', 'bennet', 'the', 'late', 'mr', 'darcy', 'was', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'best', 'men', 'that', 'ever', 'breathed', 'and', 'the', 'truest', 'friend', 'i', 'ever', 'had', 'and', 'i', 'can', 'never', 'be', 'in', 'company', 'with', 'this', 'mr', 'darcy', 'without', 'being', 'grieved', 'to', 'the', 'soul', 'by', 'a', 'thousand', 'tender', 'recollections', 'his', 'behaviour', 'to', 'myself', 'has', 'been', 'scandalous', 'but', 'i', 'verily', 'believe', 'i', 'could', 'forgive', 'him', 'anything', 'and', 'everything', 'rather', 'than', 'his', 'disappointing', 'the', 'hopes', 'and', 'disgracing', 'the', 'memory', 'of', 'his', 'father', 'elizabeth', 'found', 'the', 'interest', 'of', 'the', 'subject', 'increase', 'and', 'listened', 'with', 'all', 'her', 'heart', 'but', 'the', 'delicacy', 'of', 'it', 'prevented', 'further', 'enquiry', 'mr', 'wickham', 'began', 'to', 'speak', 'on', 'more', 'general', 'topics', 'meryton', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'the', 'society', 'appearing', 'highly', 'pleased', 'with', 'all', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'yet', 'seen', 'and', 'speaking', 'of', 'the', 'latter', 'with', 'gentle', 'but', 'very', 'intelligible', 'gallantry', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'prospect', 'of', 'constant', 'society', 'and', 'good', 'society', 'he', 'added', 'which', 'was', 'my', 'chief', 'inducement', 'to', 'enter', 'the', 'shire', 'i', 'knew', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'most', 'respectable', 'agreeable', 'corps', 'and', 'my', 'friend', 'denny', 'tempted', 'me', 'further', 'by', 'his', 'account', 'of', 'their', 'present', 'quarters', 'and', 'the', 'very', 'great', 'attentions', 'and', 'excellent', 'acquaintances', 'meryton', 'had', 'procured', 'them', 'society', 'i', 'own', 'is', 'necessary', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'disappointed', 'man', 'and', 'my', 'spirits', 'will', 'not', 'bear', 'solitude', 'i', 'must', 'have', 'employment', 'and', 'society', 'a', 'military', 'life', 'is', 'not', 'what', 'i', 'was', 'intended', 'for', 'but', 'circumstances', 'have', 'now', 'made', 'it', 'eligible', 'the', 'church', 'ought', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'my', 'professioni', 'was', 'brought', 'up', 'for', 'the', 'church', 'and', 'i', 'should', 'at', 'this', 'time', 'have', 'been', 'in', 'possession', 'of', 'a', 'most', 'valuable', 'living', 'had', 'it', 'pleased', 'the', 'gentleman', 'we', 'were', 'speaking', 'of', 'just', 'now', 'indeed', 'yesthe', 'late', 'mr', 'darcy', 'bequeathed', 'me', 'the', 'next', 'presentation', 'of', 'the', 'best', 'living', 'in', 'his', 'gift', 'he', 'was', 'my', 'godfather', 'and', 'excessively', 'attached', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'do', 'justice', 'to', 'his', 'kindness', 'he', 'meant', 'to', 'provide', 'for', 'me', 'amply', 'and', 'thought', 'he', 'had', 'done', 'it', 'but', 'when', 'the', 'living', 'fell', 'it', 'was', 'given', 'elsewhere', 'good', 'heavens', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'but', 'how', 'could', 'that', 'be', 'how', 'could', 'his', 'will', 'be', 'disregarded', 'why', 'did', 'you', 'not', 'seek', 'legal', 'redress', 'there', 'was', 'just', 'such', 'an', 'informality', 'in', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'the', 'bequest', 'as', 'to', 'give', 'me', 'no', 'hope', 'from', 'law', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'honour', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'doubted', 'the', 'intention', 'but', 'mr', 'darcy', 'chose', 'to', 'doubt', 'itor', 'to', 'treat', 'it', 'as', 'a', 'merely', 'conditional', 'recommendation', 'and', 'to', 'assert', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'forfeited', 'all', 'claim', 'to', 'it', 'by', 'extravagance', 'imprudencein', 'short', 'anything', 'or', 'nothing', 'certain', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'the', 'living', 'became', 'vacant', 'two', 'years', 'ago', 'exactly', 'as', 'i', 'was', 'of', 'an', 'age', 'to', 'hold', 'it', 'and', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'given', 'to', 'another', 'man', 'and', 'no', 'less', 'certain', 'is', 'it', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'accuse', 'myself', 'of', 'having', 'really', 'done', 'anything', 'to', 'deserve', 'to', 'lose', 'it', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'warm', 'unguarded', 'temper', 'and', 'i', 'may', 'have', 'spoken', 'my', 'opinion', 'of', 'him', 'and', 'to', 'him', 'too', 'freely', 'i', 'can', 'recall', 'nothing', 'worse', 'but', 'the', 'fact', 'is', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'very', 'different', 'sort', 'of', 'men', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'hates', 'me', 'this', 'is', 'quite', 'shocking', 'he', 'deserves', 'to', 'be', 'publicly', 'disgraced', 'some', 'time', 'or', 'other', 'he', 'will', 'bebut', 'it', 'shall', 'not', 'be', 'by', 'me', 'till', 'i', 'can', 'forget', 'his', 'father', 'i', 'can', 'never', 'defy', 'or', 'expose', 'him', 'elizabeth', 'honoured', 'him', 'for', 'such', 'feelings', 'and', 'thought', 'him', 'handsomer', 'than', 'ever', 'as', 'he', 'expressed', 'them', 'but', 'what', 'said', 'she', 'after', 'a', 'pause', 'can', 'have', 'been', 'his', 'motive', 'what', 'can', 'have', 'induced', 'him', 'to', 'behave', 'so', 'cruelly', 'a', 'thorough', 'determined', 'dislike', 'of', 'mea', 'dislike', 'which', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'but', 'attribute', 'in', 'some', 'measure', 'to', 'jealousy', 'had', 'the', 'late', 'mr', 'darcy', 'liked', 'me', 'less', 'his', 'son', 'might', 'have', 'borne', 'with', 'me', 'better', 'but', 'his', 'fathers', 'uncommon', 'attachment', 'to', 'me', 'irritated', 'him', 'i', 'believe', 'very', 'early', 'in', 'life', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'a', 'temper', 'to', 'bear', 'the', 'sort', 'of', 'competition', 'in', 'which', 'we', 'stoodthe', 'sort', 'of', 'preference', 'which', 'was', 'often', 'given', 'me', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'thought', 'mr', 'darcy', 'so', 'bad', 'as', 'thisthough', 'i', 'have', 'never', 'liked', 'him', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'thought', 'so', 'very', 'ill', 'of', 'him', 'i', 'had', 'supposed', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'despising', 'his', 'fellowcreatures', 'in', 'general', 'but', 'did', 'not', 'suspect', 'him', 'of', 'descending', 'to', 'such', 'malicious', 'revenge', 'such', 'injustice', 'such', 'inhumanity', 'as', 'this', 'after', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'reflection', 'however', 'she', 'continued', 'i', 'do', 'remember', 'his', 'boasting', 'one', 'day', 'at', 'netherfield', 'of', 'the', 'implacability', 'of', 'his', 'resentments', 'of', 'his', 'having', 'an', 'unforgiving', 'temper', 'his', 'disposition', 'must', 'be', 'dreadful', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'trust', 'myself', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'replied', 'wickham', 'i', 'can', 'hardly', 'be', 'just', 'to', 'him', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'again', 'deep', 'in', 'thought', 'and', 'after', 'a', 'time', 'exclaimed', 'to', 'treat', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'manner', 'the', 'godson', 'the', 'friend', 'the', 'favourite', 'of', 'his', 'father', 'she', 'could', 'have', 'added', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'too', 'like', 'you', 'whose', 'very', 'countenance', 'may', 'vouch', 'for', 'your', 'being', 'amiablebut', 'she', 'contented', 'herself', 'with', 'and', 'one', 'too', 'who', 'had', 'probably', 'been', 'his', 'companion', 'from', 'childhood', 'connected', 'together', 'as', 'i', 'think', 'you', 'said', 'in', 'the', 'closest', 'manner', 'we', 'were', 'born', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'parish', 'within', 'the', 'same', 'park', 'the', 'greatest', 'part', 'of', 'our', 'youth', 'was', 'passed', 'together', 'inmates', 'of', 'the', 'same', 'house', 'sharing', 'the', 'same', 'amusements', 'objects', 'of', 'the', 'same', 'parental', 'care', 'my', 'father', 'began', 'life', 'in', 'the', 'profession', 'which', 'your', 'uncle', 'mr', 'phillips', 'appears', 'to', 'do', 'so', 'much', 'credit', 'tobut', 'he', 'gave', 'up', 'everything', 'to', 'be', 'of', 'use', 'to', 'the', 'late', 'mr', 'darcy', 'and', 'devoted', 'all', 'his', 'time', 'to', 'the', 'care', 'of', 'the', 'pemberley', 'property', 'he', 'was', 'most', 'highly', 'esteemed', 'by', 'mr', 'darcy', 'a', 'most', 'intimate', 'confidential', 'friend', 'mr', 'darcy', 'often', 'acknowledged', 'himself', 'to', 'be', 'under', 'the', 'greatest', 'obligations', 'to', 'my', 'fathers', 'active', 'superintendence', 'and', 'when', 'immediately', 'before', 'my', 'fathers', 'death', 'mr', 'darcy', 'gave', 'him', 'a', 'voluntary', 'promise', 'of', 'providing', 'for', 'me', 'i', 'am', 'convinced', 'that', 'he', 'felt', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'as', 'much', 'a', 'debt', 'of', 'gratitude', 'to', 'him', 'as', 'of', 'his', 'affection', 'to', 'myself', 'how', 'strange', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'how', 'abominable', 'i', 'wonder', 'that', 'the', 'very', 'pride', 'of', 'this', 'mr', 'darcy', 'has', 'not', 'made', 'him', 'just', 'to', 'you', 'if', 'from', 'no', 'better', 'motive', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'too', 'proud', 'to', 'be', 'dishonestfor', 'dishonesty', 'i', 'must', 'call', 'it', 'it', 'is', 'wonderful', 'replied', 'wickham', 'for', 'almost', 'all', 'his', 'actions', 'may', 'be', 'traced', 'to', 'pride', 'and', 'pride', 'had', 'often', 'been', 'his', 'best', 'friend', 'it', 'has', 'connected', 'him', 'nearer', 'with', 'virtue', 'than', 'with', 'any', 'other', 'feeling', 'but', 'we', 'are', 'none', 'of', 'us', 'consistent', 'and', 'in', 'his', 'behaviour', 'to', 'me', 'there', 'were', 'stronger', 'impulses', 'even', 'than', 'pride', 'can', 'such', 'abominable', 'pride', 'as', 'his', 'have', 'ever', 'done', 'him', 'good', 'yes', 'it', 'has', 'often', 'led', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'liberal', 'and', 'generous', 'to', 'give', 'his', 'money', 'freely', 'to', 'display', 'hospitality', 'to', 'assist', 'his', 'tenants', 'and', 'relieve', 'the', 'poor', 'family', 'pride', 'and', 'filial', 'pridefor', 'he', 'is', 'very', 'proud', 'of', 'what', 'his', 'father', 'washave', 'done', 'this', 'not', 'to', 'appear', 'to', 'disgrace', 'his', 'family', 'to', 'degenerate', 'from', 'the', 'popular', 'qualities', 'or', 'lose', 'the', 'influence', 'of', 'the', 'pemberley', 'house', 'is', 'a', 'powerful', 'motive', 'he', 'has', 'also', 'brotherly', 'pride', 'which', 'with', 'some', 'brotherly', 'affection', 'makes', 'him', 'a', 'very', 'kind', 'and', 'careful', 'guardian', 'of', 'his', 'sister', 'and', 'you', 'will', 'hear', 'him', 'generally', 'cried', 'up', 'as', 'the', 'most', 'attentive', 'and', 'best', 'of', 'brothers', 'what', 'sort', 'of', 'girl', 'is', 'miss', 'darcy', 'he', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'i', 'wish', 'i', 'could', 'call', 'her', 'amiable', 'it', 'gives', 'me', 'pain', 'to', 'speak', 'ill', 'of', 'a', 'darcy', 'but', 'she', 'is', 'too', 'much', 'like', 'her', 'brothervery', 'very', 'proud', 'as', 'a', 'child', 'she', 'was', 'affectionate', 'and', 'pleasing', 'and', 'extremely', 'fond', 'of', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'devoted', 'hours', 'and', 'hours', 'to', 'her', 'amusement', 'but', 'she', 'is', 'nothing', 'to', 'me', 'now', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'handsome', 'girl', 'about', 'fifteen', 'or', 'sixteen', 'and', 'i', 'understand', 'highly', 'accomplished', 'since', 'her', 'fathers', 'death', 'her', 'home', 'has', 'been', 'london', 'where', 'a', 'lady', 'lives', 'with', 'her', 'and', 'superintends', 'her', 'education', 'after', 'many', 'pauses', 'and', 'many', 'trials', 'of', 'other', 'subjects', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'reverting', 'once', 'more', 'to', 'the', 'first', 'and', 'saying', 'i', 'am', 'astonished', 'at', 'his', 'intimacy', 'with', 'mr', 'bingley', 'how', 'can', 'mr', 'bingley', 'who', 'seems', 'good', 'humour', 'itself', 'and', 'is', 'i', 'really', 'believe', 'truly', 'amiable', 'be', 'in', 'friendship', 'with', 'such', 'a', 'man', 'how', 'can', 'they', 'suit', 'each', 'other', 'do', 'you', 'know', 'mr', 'bingley', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'sweettempered', 'amiable', 'charming', 'man', 'he', 'can', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'mr', 'darcy', 'is', 'probably', 'not', 'but', 'mr', 'darcy', 'can', 'please', 'where', 'he', 'chooses', 'he', 'does', 'not', 'want', 'abilities', 'he', 'can', 'be', 'a', 'conversible', 'companion', 'if', 'he', 'thinks', 'it', 'worth', 'his', 'while', 'among', 'those', 'who', 'are', 'at', 'all', 'his', 'equals', 'in', 'consequence', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'different', 'man', 'from', 'what', 'he', 'is', 'to', 'the', 'less', 'prosperous', 'his', 'pride', 'never', 'deserts', 'him', 'but', 'with', 'the', 'rich', 'he', 'is', 'liberalminded', 'just', 'sincere', 'rational', 'honourable', 'and', 'perhaps', 'agreeableallowing', 'something', 'for', 'fortune', 'and', 'figure', 'the', 'whist', 'party', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'breaking', 'up', 'the', 'players', 'gathered', 'round', 'the', 'other', 'table', 'and', 'mr', 'collins', 'took', 'his', 'station', 'between', 'his', 'cousin', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'the', 'usual', 'enquiries', 'as', 'to', 'his', 'success', 'were', 'made', 'by', 'the', 'latter', 'it', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'very', 'great', 'he', 'had', 'lost', 'every', 'point', 'but', 'when', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'began', 'to', 'express', 'her', 'concern', 'thereupon', 'he', 'assured', 'her', 'with', 'much', 'earnest', 'gravity', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'of', 'the', 'least', 'importance', 'that', 'he', 'considered', 'the', 'money', 'as', 'a', 'mere', 'trifle', 'and', 'begged', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'make', 'herself', 'uneasy', 'i', 'know', 'very', 'well', 'madam', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'when', 'persons', 'sit', 'down', 'to', 'a', 'cardtable', 'they', 'must', 'take', 'their', 'chances', 'of', 'these', 'things', 'and', 'happily', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'in', 'such', 'circumstances', 'as', 'to', 'make', 'five', 'shillings', 'any', 'object', 'there', 'are', 'undoubtedly', 'many', 'who', 'could', 'not', 'say', 'the', 'same', 'but', 'thanks', 'to', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'i', 'am', 'removed', 'far', 'beyond', 'the', 'necessity', 'of', 'regarding', 'little', 'matters', 'mr', 'wickhams', 'attention', 'was', 'caught', 'and', 'after', 'observing', 'mr', 'collins', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'he', 'asked', 'elizabeth', 'in', 'a', 'low', 'voice', 'whether', 'her', 'relation', 'was', 'very', 'intimately', 'acquainted', 'with', 'the', 'family', 'of', 'de', 'bourgh', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'she', 'replied', 'has', 'very', 'lately', 'given', 'him', 'a', 'living', 'i', 'hardly', 'know', 'how', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'first', 'introduced', 'to', 'her', 'notice', 'but', 'he', 'certainly', 'has', 'not', 'known', 'her', 'long', 'you', 'know', 'of', 'course', 'that', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'and', 'lady', 'anne', 'darcy', 'were', 'sisters', 'consequently', 'that', 'she', 'is', 'aunt', 'to', 'the', 'present', 'mr', 'darcy', 'no', 'indeed', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'i', 'knew', 'nothing', 'at', 'all', 'of', 'lady', 'catherines', 'connections', 'i', 'never', 'heard', 'of', 'her', 'existence', 'till', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'yesterday', 'her', 'daughter', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'will', 'have', 'a', 'very', 'large', 'fortune', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'believed', 'that', 'she', 'and', 'her', 'cousin', 'will', 'unite', 'the', 'two', 'estates', 'this', 'information', 'made', 'elizabeth', 'smile', 'as', 'she', 'thought', 'of', 'poor', 'miss', 'bingley', 'vain', 'indeed', 'must', 'be', 'all', 'her', 'attentions', 'vain', 'and', 'useless', 'her', 'affection', 'for', 'his', 'sister', 'and', 'her', 'praise', 'of', 'himself', 'if', 'he', 'were', 'already', 'selfdestined', 'for', 'another', 'mr', 'collins', 'said', 'she', 'speaks', 'highly', 'both', 'of', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'her', 'daughter', 'but', 'from', 'some', 'particulars', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'related', 'of', 'her', 'ladyship', 'i', 'suspect', 'his', 'gratitude', 'misleads', 'him', 'and', 'that', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'her', 'being', 'his', 'patroness', 'she', 'is', 'an', 'arrogant', 'conceited', 'woman', 'i', 'believe', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'both', 'in', 'a', 'great', 'degree', 'replied', 'wickham', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'seen', 'her', 'for', 'many', 'years', 'but', 'i', 'very', 'well', 'remember', 'that', 'i', 'never', 'liked', 'her', 'and', 'that', 'her', 'manners', 'were', 'dictatorial', 'and', 'insolent', 'she', 'has', 'the', 'reputation', 'of', 'being', 'remarkably', 'sensible', 'and', 'clever', 'but', 'i', 'rather', 'believe', 'she', 'derives', 'part', 'of', 'her', 'abilities', 'from', 'her', 'rank', 'and', 'fortune', 'part', 'from', 'her', 'authoritative', 'manner', 'and', 'the', 'rest', 'from', 'the', 'pride', 'of', 'her', 'nephew', 'who', 'chooses', 'that', 'everyone', 'connected', 'with', 'him', 'should', 'have', 'an', 'understanding', 'of', 'the', 'first', 'class', 'elizabeth', 'allowed', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'given', 'a', 'very', 'rational', 'account', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'they', 'continued', 'talking', 'together', 'with', 'mutual', 'satisfaction', 'till', 'supper', 'put', 'an', 'end', 'to', 'cards', 'and', 'gave', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'ladies', 'their', 'share', 'of', 'mr', 'wickhams', 'attentions', 'there', 'could', 'be', 'no', 'conversation', 'in', 'the', 'noise', 'of', 'mrs', 'phillipss', 'supper', 'party', 'but', 'his', 'manners', 'recommended', 'him', 'to', 'everybody', 'whatever', 'he', 'said', 'was', 'said', 'well', 'and', 'whatever', 'he', 'did', 'done', 'gracefully', 'elizabeth', 'went', 'away', 'with', 'her', 'head', 'full', 'of', 'him', 'she', 'could', 'think', 'of', 'nothing', 'but', 'of', 'mr', 'wickham', 'and', 'of', 'what', 'he', 'had', 'told', 'her', 'all', 'the', 'way', 'home', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'not', 'time', 'for', 'her', 'even', 'to', 'mention', 'his', 'name', 'as', 'they', 'went', 'for', 'neither', 'lydia', 'nor', 'mr', 'collins', 'were', 'once', 'silent', 'lydia', 'talked', 'incessantly', 'of', 'lottery', 'tickets', 'of', 'the', 'fish', 'she', 'had', 'lost', 'and', 'the', 'fish', 'she', 'had', 'won', 'and', 'mr', 'collins', 'in', 'describing', 'the', 'civility', 'of', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'protesting', 'that', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'regard', 'his', 'losses', 'at', 'whist', 'enumerating', 'all', 'the', 'dishes', 'at', 'supper', 'and', 'repeatedly', 'fearing', 'that', 'he', 'crowded', 'his', 'cousins', 'had', 'more', 'to', 'say', 'than', 'he', 'could', 'well', 'manage', 'before', 'the', 'carriage', 'stopped', 'at', 'longbourn', 'house', 'elizabeth', 'related', 'to', 'jane', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'what', 'had', 'passed', 'between', 'mr', 'wickham', 'and', 'herself', 'jane', 'listened', 'with', 'astonishment', 'and', 'concern', 'she', 'knew', 'not', 'how', 'to', 'believe', 'that', 'mr', 'darcy', 'could', 'be', 'so', 'unworthy', 'of', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'regard', 'and', 'yet', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'in', 'her', 'nature', 'to', 'question', 'the', 'veracity', 'of', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'of', 'such', 'amiable', 'appearance', 'as', 'wickham', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'his', 'having', 'endured', 'such', 'unkindness', 'was', 'enough', 'to', 'interest', 'all', 'her', 'tender', 'feelings', 'and', 'nothing', 'remained', 'therefore', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'but', 'to', 'think', 'well', 'of', 'them', 'both', 'to', 'defend', 'the', 'conduct', 'of', 'each', 'and', 'throw', 'into', 'the', 'account', 'of', 'accident', 'or', 'mistake', 'whatever', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'otherwise', 'explained', 'they', 'have', 'both', 'said', 'she', 'been', 'deceived', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'in', 'some', 'way', 'or', 'other', 'of', 'which', 'we', 'can', 'form', 'no', 'idea', 'interested', 'people', 'have', 'perhaps', 'misrepresented', 'each', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'it', 'is', 'in', 'short', 'impossible', 'for', 'us', 'to', 'conjecture', 'the', 'causes', 'or', 'circumstances', 'which', 'may', 'have', 'alienated', 'them', 'without', 'actual', 'blame', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'very', 'true', 'indeed', 'and', 'now', 'my', 'dear', 'jane', 'what', 'have', 'you', 'got', 'to', 'say', 'on', 'behalf', 'of', 'the', 'interested', 'people', 'who', 'have', 'probably', 'been', 'concerned', 'in', 'the', 'business', 'do', 'clear', 'them', 'too', 'or', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'obliged', 'to', 'think', 'ill', 'of', 'somebody', 'laugh', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'you', 'choose', 'but', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'laugh', 'me', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'opinion', 'my', 'dearest', 'lizzy', 'do', 'but', 'consider', 'in', 'what', 'a', 'disgraceful', 'light', 'it', 'places', 'mr', 'darcy', 'to', 'be', 'treating', 'his', 'fathers', 'favourite', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'manner', 'one', 'whom', 'his', 'father', 'had', 'promised', 'to', 'provide', 'for', 'it', 'is', 'impossible', 'no', 'man', 'of', 'common', 'humanity', 'no', 'man', 'who', 'had', 'any', 'value', 'for', 'his', 'character', 'could', 'be', 'capable', 'of', 'it', 'can', 'his', 'most', 'intimate', 'friends', 'be', 'so', 'excessively', 'deceived', 'in', 'him', 'oh', 'no', 'i', 'can', 'much', 'more', 'easily', 'believe', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'being', 'imposed', 'on', 'than', 'that', 'mr', 'wickham', 'should', 'invent', 'such', 'a', 'history', 'of', 'himself', 'as', 'he', 'gave', 'me', 'last', 'night', 'names', 'facts', 'everything', 'mentioned', 'without', 'ceremony', 'if', 'it', 'be', 'not', 'so', 'let', 'mr', 'darcy', 'contradict', 'it', 'besides', 'there', 'was', 'truth', 'in', 'his', 'looks', 'it', 'is', 'difficult', 'indeedit', 'is', 'distressing', 'one', 'does', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'to', 'think', 'i', 'beg', 'your', 'pardon', 'one', 'knows', 'exactly', 'what', 'to', 'think', 'but', 'jane', 'could', 'think', 'with', 'certainty', 'on', 'only', 'one', 'pointthat', 'mr', 'bingley', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'imposed', 'on', 'would', 'have', 'much', 'to', 'suffer', 'when', 'the', 'affair', 'became', 'public', 'the', 'two', 'young', 'ladies', 'were', 'summoned', 'from', 'the', 'shrubbery', 'where', 'this', 'conversation', 'passed', 'by', 'the', 'arrival', 'of', 'the', 'very', 'persons', 'of', 'whom', 'they', 'had', 'been', 'speaking', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'his', 'sisters', 'came', 'to', 'give', 'their', 'personal', 'invitation', 'for', 'the', 'longexpected', 'ball', 'at', 'netherfield', 'which', 'was', 'fixed', 'for', 'the', 'following', 'tuesday', 'the', 'two', 'ladies', 'were', 'delighted', 'to', 'see', 'their', 'dear', 'friend', 'again', 'called', 'it', 'an', 'age', 'since', 'they', 'had', 'met', 'and', 'repeatedly', 'asked', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'doing', 'with', 'herself', 'since', 'their', 'separation', 'to', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'they', 'paid', 'little', 'attention', 'avoiding', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'possible', 'saying', 'not', 'much', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'nothing', 'at', 'all', 'to', 'the', 'others', 'they', 'were', 'soon', 'gone', 'again', 'rising', 'from', 'their', 'seats', 'with', 'an', 'activity', 'which', 'took', 'their', 'brother', 'by', 'surprise', 'and', 'hurrying', 'off', 'as', 'if', 'eager', 'to', 'escape', 'from', 'mrs', 'bennets', 'civilities', 'the', 'prospect', 'of', 'the', 'netherfield', 'ball', 'was', 'extremely', 'agreeable', 'to', 'every', 'female', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'chose', 'to', 'consider', 'it', 'as', 'given', 'in', 'compliment', 'to', 'her', 'eldest', 'daughter', 'and', 'was', 'particularly', 'flattered', 'by', 'receiving', 'the', 'invitation', 'from', 'mr', 'bingley', 'himself', 'instead', 'of', 'a', 'ceremonious', 'card', 'jane', 'pictured', 'to', 'herself', 'a', 'happy', 'evening', 'in', 'the', 'society', 'of', 'her', 'two', 'friends', 'and', 'the', 'attentions', 'of', 'their', 'brother', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'thought', 'with', 'pleasure', 'of', 'dancing', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'with', 'mr', 'wickham', 'and', 'of', 'seeing', 'a', 'confirmation', 'of', 'everything', 'in', 'mr', 'darcys', 'look', 'and', 'behaviour', 'the', 'happiness', 'anticipated', 'by', 'catherine', 'and', 'lydia', 'depended', 'less', 'on', 'any', 'single', 'event', 'or', 'any', 'particular', 'person', 'for', 'though', 'they', 'each', 'like', 'elizabeth', 'meant', 'to', 'dance', 'half', 'the', 'evening', 'with', 'mr', 'wickham', 'he', 'was', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'the', 'only', 'partner', 'who', 'could', 'satisfy', 'them', 'and', 'a', 'ball', 'was', 'at', 'any', 'rate', 'a', 'ball', 'and', 'even', 'mary', 'could', 'assure', 'her', 'family', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'disinclination', 'for', 'it', 'while', 'i', 'can', 'have', 'my', 'mornings', 'to', 'myself', 'said', 'she', 'it', 'is', 'enoughi', 'think', 'it', 'is', 'no', 'sacrifice', 'to', 'join', 'occasionally', 'in', 'evening', 'engagements', 'society', 'has', 'claims', 'on', 'us', 'all', 'and', 'i', 'profess', 'myself', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'who', 'consider', 'intervals', 'of', 'recreation', 'and', 'amusement', 'as', 'desirable', 'for', 'everybody', 'elizabeths', 'spirits', 'were', 'so', 'high', 'on', 'this', 'occasion', 'that', 'though', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'often', 'speak', 'unnecessarily', 'to', 'mr', 'collins', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'asking', 'him', 'whether', 'he', 'intended', 'to', 'accept', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'invitation', 'and', 'if', 'he', 'did', 'whether', 'he', 'would', 'think', 'it', 'proper', 'to', 'join', 'in', 'the', 'evenings', 'amusement', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'rather', 'surprised', 'to', 'find', 'that', 'he', 'entertained', 'no', 'scruple', 'whatever', 'on', 'that', 'head', 'and', 'was', 'very', 'far', 'from', 'dreading', 'a', 'rebuke', 'either', 'from', 'the', 'archbishop', 'or', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'by', 'venturing', 'to', 'dance', 'i', 'am', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'of', 'the', 'opinion', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'a', 'ball', 'of', 'this', 'kind', 'given', 'by', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'of', 'character', 'to', 'respectable', 'people', 'can', 'have', 'any', 'evil', 'tendency', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'so', 'far', 'from', 'objecting', 'to', 'dancing', 'myself', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'hope', 'to', 'be', 'honoured', 'with', 'the', 'hands', 'of', 'all', 'my', 'fair', 'cousins', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'the', 'evening', 'and', 'i', 'take', 'this', 'opportunity', 'of', 'soliciting', 'yours', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'for', 'the', 'two', 'first', 'dances', 'especially', 'a', 'preference', 'which', 'i', 'trust', 'my', 'cousin', 'jane', 'will', 'attribute', 'to', 'the', 'right', 'cause', 'and', 'not', 'to', 'any', 'disrespect', 'for', 'her', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'herself', 'completely', 'taken', 'in', 'she', 'had', 'fully', 'proposed', 'being', 'engaged', 'by', 'mr', 'wickham', 'for', 'those', 'very', 'dances', 'and', 'to', 'have', 'mr', 'collins', 'instead', 'her', 'liveliness', 'had', 'never', 'been', 'worse', 'timed', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'help', 'for', 'it', 'however', 'mr', 'wickhams', 'happiness', 'and', 'her', 'own', 'were', 'perforce', 'delayed', 'a', 'little', 'longer', 'and', 'mr', 'collinss', 'proposal', 'accepted', 'with', 'as', 'good', 'a', 'grace', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'the', 'better', 'pleased', 'with', 'his', 'gallantry', 'from', 'the', 'idea', 'it', 'suggested', 'of', 'something', 'more', 'it', 'now', 'first', 'struck', 'her', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'selected', 'from', 'among', 'her', 'sisters', 'as', 'worthy', 'of', 'being', 'mistress', 'of', 'hunsford', 'parsonage', 'and', 'of', 'assisting', 'to', 'form', 'a', 'quadrille', 'table', 'at', 'rosings', 'in', 'the', 'absence', 'of', 'more', 'eligible', 'visitors', 'the', 'idea', 'soon', 'reached', 'to', 'conviction', 'as', 'she', 'observed', 'his', 'increasing', 'civilities', 'toward', 'herself', 'and', 'heard', 'his', 'frequent', 'attempt', 'at', 'a', 'compliment', 'on', 'her', 'wit', 'and', 'vivacity', 'and', 'though', 'more', 'astonished', 'than', 'gratified', 'herself', 'by', 'this', 'effect', 'of', 'her', 'charms', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'long', 'before', 'her', 'mother', 'gave', 'her', 'to', 'understand', 'that', 'the', 'probability', 'of', 'their', 'marriage', 'was', 'extremely', 'agreeable', 'to', 'her', 'elizabeth', 'however', 'did', 'not', 'choose', 'to', 'take', 'the', 'hint', 'being', 'well', 'aware', 'that', 'a', 'serious', 'dispute', 'must', 'be', 'the', 'consequence', 'of', 'any', 'reply', 'mr', 'collins', 'might', 'never', 'make', 'the', 'offer', 'and', 'till', 'he', 'did', 'it', 'was', 'useless', 'to', 'quarrel', 'about', 'him', 'if', 'there', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'a', 'netherfield', 'ball', 'to', 'prepare', 'for', 'and', 'talk', 'of', 'the', 'younger', 'miss', 'bennets', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'in', 'a', 'very', 'pitiable', 'state', 'at', 'this', 'time', 'for', 'from', 'the', 'day', 'of', 'the', 'invitation', 'to', 'the', 'day', 'of', 'the', 'ball', 'there', 'was', 'such', 'a', 'succession', 'of', 'rain', 'as', 'prevented', 'their', 'walking', 'to', 'meryton', 'once', 'no', 'aunt', 'no', 'officers', 'no', 'news', 'could', 'be', 'sought', 'afterthe', 'very', 'shoeroses', 'for', 'netherfield', 'were', 'got', 'by', 'proxy', 'even', 'elizabeth', 'might', 'have', 'found', 'some', 'trial', 'of', 'her', 'patience', 'in', 'weather', 'which', 'totally', 'suspended', 'the', 'improvement', 'of', 'her', 'acquaintance', 'with', 'mr', 'wickham', 'and', 'nothing', 'less', 'than', 'a', 'dance', 'on', 'tuesday', 'could', 'have', 'made', 'such', 'a', 'friday', 'saturday', 'sunday', 'and', 'monday', 'endurable', 'to', 'kitty', 'and', 'lydia', 'till', 'elizabeth', 'entered', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'at', 'netherfield', 'and', 'looked', 'in', 'vain', 'for', 'mr', 'wickham', 'among', 'the', 'cluster', 'of', 'red', 'coats', 'there', 'assembled', 'a', 'doubt', 'of', 'his', 'being', 'present', 'had', 'never', 'occurred', 'to', 'her', 'the', 'certainty', 'of', 'meeting', 'him', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'checked', 'by', 'any', 'of', 'those', 'recollections', 'that', 'might', 'not', 'unreasonably', 'have', 'alarmed', 'her', 'she', 'had', 'dressed', 'with', 'more', 'than', 'usual', 'care', 'and', 'prepared', 'in', 'the', 'highest', 'spirits', 'for', 'the', 'conquest', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'remained', 'unsubdued', 'of', 'his', 'heart', 'trusting', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'more', 'than', 'might', 'be', 'won', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'the', 'evening', 'but', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'arose', 'the', 'dreadful', 'suspicion', 'of', 'his', 'being', 'purposely', 'omitted', 'for', 'mr', 'darcys', 'pleasure', 'in', 'the', 'bingleys', 'invitation', 'to', 'the', 'officers', 'and', 'though', 'this', 'was', 'not', 'exactly', 'the', 'case', 'the', 'absolute', 'fact', 'of', 'his', 'absence', 'was', 'pronounced', 'by', 'his', 'friend', 'denny', 'to', 'whom', 'lydia', 'eagerly', 'applied', 'and', 'who', 'told', 'them', 'that', 'wickham', 'had', 'been', 'obliged', 'to', 'go', 'to', 'town', 'on', 'business', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'and', 'was', 'not', 'yet', 'returned', 'adding', 'with', 'a', 'significant', 'smile', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'imagine', 'his', 'business', 'would', 'have', 'called', 'him', 'away', 'just', 'now', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'wanted', 'to', 'avoid', 'a', 'certain', 'gentleman', 'here', 'this', 'part', 'of', 'his', 'intelligence', 'though', 'unheard', 'by', 'lydia', 'was', 'caught', 'by', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'as', 'it', 'assured', 'her', 'that', 'darcy', 'was', 'not', 'less', 'answerable', 'for', 'wickhams', 'absence', 'than', 'if', 'her', 'first', 'surmise', 'had', 'been', 'just', 'every', 'feeling', 'of', 'displeasure', 'against', 'the', 'former', 'was', 'so', 'sharpened', 'by', 'immediate', 'disappointment', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'hardly', 'reply', 'with', 'tolerable', 'civility', 'to', 'the', 'polite', 'enquiries', 'which', 'he', 'directly', 'afterwards', 'approached', 'to', 'make', 'attendance', 'forbearance', 'patience', 'with', 'darcy', 'was', 'injury', 'to', 'wickham', 'she', 'was', 'resolved', 'against', 'any', 'sort', 'of', 'conversation', 'with', 'him', 'and', 'turned', 'away', 'with', 'a', 'degree', 'of', 'illhumour', 'which', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'wholly', 'surmount', 'even', 'in', 'speaking', 'to', 'mr', 'bingley', 'whose', 'blind', 'partiality', 'provoked', 'her', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'not', 'formed', 'for', 'illhumour', 'and', 'though', 'every', 'prospect', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'was', 'destroyed', 'for', 'the', 'evening', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'dwell', 'long', 'on', 'her', 'spirits', 'and', 'having', 'told', 'all', 'her', 'griefs', 'to', 'charlotte', 'lucas', 'whom', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'seen', 'for', 'a', 'week', 'she', 'was', 'soon', 'able', 'to', 'make', 'a', 'voluntary', 'transition', 'to', 'the', 'oddities', 'of', 'her', 'cousin', 'and', 'to', 'point', 'him', 'out', 'to', 'her', 'particular', 'notice', 'the', 'first', 'two', 'dances', 'however', 'brought', 'a', 'return', 'of', 'distress', 'they', 'were', 'dances', 'of', 'mortification', 'mr', 'collins', 'awkward', 'and', 'solemn', 'apologising', 'instead', 'of', 'attending', 'and', 'often', 'moving', 'wrong', 'without', 'being', 'aware', 'of', 'it', 'gave', 'her', 'all', 'the', 'shame', 'and', 'misery', 'which', 'a', 'disagreeable', 'partner', 'for', 'a', 'couple', 'of', 'dances', 'can', 'give', 'the', 'moment', 'of', 'her', 'release', 'from', 'him', 'was', 'ecstasy', 'she', 'danced', 'next', 'with', 'an', 'officer', 'and', 'had', 'the', 'refreshment', 'of', 'talking', 'of', 'wickham', 'and', 'of', 'hearing', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'universally', 'liked', 'when', 'those', 'dances', 'were', 'over', 'she', 'returned', 'to', 'charlotte', 'lucas', 'and', 'was', 'in', 'conversation', 'with', 'her', 'when', 'she', 'found', 'herself', 'suddenly', 'addressed', 'by', 'mr', 'darcy', 'who', 'took', 'her', 'so', 'much', 'by', 'surprise', 'in', 'his', 'application', 'for', 'her', 'hand', 'that', 'without', 'knowing', 'what', 'she', 'did', 'she', 'accepted', 'him', 'he', 'walked', 'away', 'again', 'immediately', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'left', 'to', 'fret', 'over', 'her', 'own', 'want', 'of', 'presence', 'of', 'mind', 'charlotte', 'tried', 'to', 'console', 'her', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'him', 'very', 'agreeable', 'heaven', 'forbid', 'that', 'would', 'be', 'the', 'greatest', 'misfortune', 'of', 'all', 'to', 'find', 'a', 'man', 'agreeable', 'whom', 'one', 'is', 'determined', 'to', 'hate', 'do', 'not', 'wish', 'me', 'such', 'an', 'evil', 'when', 'the', 'dancing', 'recommenced', 'however', 'and', 'darcy', 'approached', 'to', 'claim', 'her', 'hand', 'charlotte', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'cautioning', 'her', 'in', 'a', 'whisper', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'simpleton', 'and', 'allow', 'her', 'fancy', 'for', 'wickham', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'appear', 'unpleasant', 'in', 'the', 'eyes', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'ten', 'times', 'his', 'consequence', 'elizabeth', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'and', 'took', 'her', 'place', 'in', 'the', 'set', 'amazed', 'at', 'the', 'dignity', 'to', 'which', 'she', 'was', 'arrived', 'in', 'being', 'allowed', 'to', 'stand', 'opposite', 'to', 'mr', 'darcy', 'and', 'reading', 'in', 'her', 'neighbours', 'looks', 'their', 'equal', 'amazement', 'in', 'beholding', 'it', 'they', 'stood', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'without', 'speaking', 'a', 'word', 'and', 'she', 'began', 'to', 'imagine', 'that', 'their', 'silence', 'was', 'to', 'last', 'through', 'the', 'two', 'dances', 'and', 'at', 'first', 'was', 'resolved', 'not', 'to', 'break', 'it', 'till', 'suddenly', 'fancying', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'the', 'greater', 'punishment', 'to', 'her', 'partner', 'to', 'oblige', 'him', 'to', 'talk', 'she', 'made', 'some', 'slight', 'observation', 'on', 'the', 'dance', 'he', 'replied', 'and', 'was', 'again', 'silent', 'after', 'a', 'pause', 'of', 'some', 'minutes', 'she', 'addressed', 'him', 'a', 'second', 'time', 'withit', 'is', 'your', 'turn', 'to', 'say', 'something', 'now', 'mr', 'darcy', 'i', 'talked', 'about', 'the', 'dance', 'and', 'you', 'ought', 'to', 'make', 'some', 'sort', 'of', 'remark', 'on', 'the', 'size', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'or', 'the', 'number', 'of', 'couples', 'he', 'smiled', 'and', 'assured', 'her', 'that', 'whatever', 'she', 'wished', 'him', 'to', 'say', 'should', 'be', 'said', 'very', 'well', 'that', 'reply', 'will', 'do', 'for', 'the', 'present', 'perhaps', 'by', 'and', 'by', 'i', 'may', 'observe', 'that', 'private', 'balls', 'are', 'much', 'pleasanter', 'than', 'public', 'ones', 'but', 'now', 'we', 'may', 'be', 'silent', 'do', 'you', 'talk', 'by', 'rule', 'then', 'while', 'you', 'are', 'dancing', 'sometimes', 'one', 'must', 'speak', 'a', 'little', 'you', 'know', 'it', 'would', 'look', 'odd', 'to', 'be', 'entirely', 'silent', 'for', 'half', 'an', 'hour', 'together', 'and', 'yet', 'for', 'the', 'advantage', 'of', 'some', 'conversation', 'ought', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'arranged', 'as', 'that', 'they', 'may', 'have', 'the', 'trouble', 'of', 'saying', 'as', 'little', 'as', 'possible', 'are', 'you', 'consulting', 'your', 'own', 'feelings', 'in', 'the', 'present', 'case', 'or', 'do', 'you', 'imagine', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'gratifying', 'mine', 'both', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'archly', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'always', 'seen', 'a', 'great', 'similarity', 'in', 'the', 'turn', 'of', 'our', 'minds', 'we', 'are', 'each', 'of', 'an', 'unsocial', 'taciturn', 'disposition', 'unwilling', 'to', 'speak', 'unless', 'we', 'expect', 'to', 'say', 'something', 'that', 'will', 'amaze', 'the', 'whole', 'room', 'and', 'be', 'handed', 'down', 'to', 'posterity', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'éclat', 'of', 'a', 'proverb', 'this', 'is', 'no', 'very', 'striking', 'resemblance', 'of', 'your', 'own', 'character', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'said', 'he', 'how', 'near', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'to', 'mine', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'pretend', 'to', 'say', 'you', 'think', 'it', 'a', 'faithful', 'portrait', 'undoubtedly', 'i', 'must', 'not', 'decide', 'on', 'my', 'own', 'performance', 'he', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'and', 'they', 'were', 'again', 'silent', 'till', 'they', 'had', 'gone', 'down', 'the', 'dance', 'when', 'he', 'asked', 'her', 'if', 'she', 'and', 'her', 'sisters', 'did', 'not', 'very', 'often', 'walk', 'to', 'meryton', 'she', 'answered', 'in', 'the', 'affirmative', 'and', 'unable', 'to', 'resist', 'the', 'temptation', 'added', 'when', 'you', 'met', 'us', 'there', 'the', 'other', 'day', 'we', 'had', 'just', 'been', 'forming', 'a', 'new', 'acquaintance', 'the', 'effect', 'was', 'immediate', 'a', 'deeper', 'shade', 'of', 'hauteur', 'overspread', 'his', 'features', 'but', 'he', 'said', 'not', 'a', 'word', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'though', 'blaming', 'herself', 'for', 'her', 'own', 'weakness', 'could', 'not', 'go', 'on', 'at', 'length', 'darcy', 'spoke', 'and', 'in', 'a', 'constrained', 'manner', 'said', 'mr', 'wickham', 'is', 'blessed', 'with', 'such', 'happy', 'manners', 'as', 'may', 'ensure', 'his', 'making', 'friendswhether', 'he', 'may', 'be', 'equally', 'capable', 'of', 'retaining', 'them', 'is', 'less', 'certain', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'so', 'unlucky', 'as', 'to', 'lose', 'your', 'friendship', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'with', 'emphasis', 'and', 'in', 'a', 'manner', 'which', 'he', 'is', 'likely', 'to', 'suffer', 'from', 'all', 'his', 'life', 'darcy', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'and', 'seemed', 'desirous', 'of', 'changing', 'the', 'subject', 'at', 'that', 'moment', 'sir', 'william', 'lucas', 'appeared', 'close', 'to', 'them', 'meaning', 'to', 'pass', 'through', 'the', 'set', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'but', 'on', 'perceiving', 'mr', 'darcy', 'he', 'stopped', 'with', 'a', 'bow', 'of', 'superior', 'courtesy', 'to', 'compliment', 'him', 'on', 'his', 'dancing', 'and', 'his', 'partner', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'most', 'highly', 'gratified', 'indeed', 'my', 'dear', 'sir', 'such', 'very', 'superior', 'dancing', 'is', 'not', 'often', 'seen', 'it', 'is', 'evident', 'that', 'you', 'belong', 'to', 'the', 'first', 'circles', 'allow', 'me', 'to', 'say', 'however', 'that', 'your', 'fair', 'partner', 'does', 'not', 'disgrace', 'you', 'and', 'that', 'i', 'must', 'hope', 'to', 'have', 'this', 'pleasure', 'often', 'repeated', 'especially', 'when', 'a', 'certain', 'desirable', 'event', 'my', 'dear', 'eliza', 'glancing', 'at', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'bingley', 'shall', 'take', 'place', 'what', 'congratulations', 'will', 'then', 'flow', 'in', 'i', 'appeal', 'to', 'mr', 'darcybut', 'let', 'me', 'not', 'interrupt', 'you', 'sir', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'thank', 'me', 'for', 'detaining', 'you', 'from', 'the', 'bewitching', 'converse', 'of', 'that', 'young', 'lady', 'whose', 'bright', 'eyes', 'are', 'also', 'upbraiding', 'me', 'the', 'latter', 'part', 'of', 'this', 'address', 'was', 'scarcely', 'heard', 'by', 'darcy', 'but', 'sir', 'williams', 'allusion', 'to', 'his', 'friend', 'seemed', 'to', 'strike', 'him', 'forcibly', 'and', 'his', 'eyes', 'were', 'directed', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'serious', 'expression', 'towards', 'bingley', 'and', 'jane', 'who', 'were', 'dancing', 'together', 'recovering', 'himself', 'however', 'shortly', 'he', 'turned', 'to', 'his', 'partner', 'and', 'said', 'sir', 'williams', 'interruption', 'has', 'made', 'me', 'forget', 'what', 'we', 'were', 'talking', 'of', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'we', 'were', 'speaking', 'at', 'all', 'sir', 'william', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'interrupted', 'two', 'people', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'who', 'had', 'less', 'to', 'say', 'for', 'themselves', 'we', 'have', 'tried', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'subjects', 'already', 'without', 'success', 'and', 'what', 'we', 'are', 'to', 'talk', 'of', 'next', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'imagine', 'what', 'think', 'you', 'of', 'books', 'said', 'he', 'smiling', 'booksoh', 'no', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'we', 'never', 'read', 'the', 'same', 'or', 'not', 'with', 'the', 'same', 'feelings', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'you', 'think', 'so', 'but', 'if', 'that', 'be', 'the', 'case', 'there', 'can', 'at', 'least', 'be', 'no', 'want', 'of', 'subject', 'we', 'may', 'compare', 'our', 'different', 'opinions', 'noi', 'can', 'not', 'talk', 'of', 'books', 'in', 'a', 'ballroom', 'my', 'head', 'is', 'always', 'full', 'of', 'something', 'else', 'the', 'present', 'always', 'occupies', 'you', 'in', 'such', 'scenesdoes', 'it', 'said', 'he', 'with', 'a', 'look', 'of', 'doubt', 'yes', 'always', 'she', 'replied', 'without', 'knowing', 'what', 'she', 'said', 'for', 'her', 'thoughts', 'had', 'wandered', 'far', 'from', 'the', 'subject', 'as', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'appeared', 'by', 'her', 'suddenly', 'exclaiming', 'i', 'remember', 'hearing', 'you', 'once', 'say', 'mr', 'darcy', 'that', 'you', 'hardly', 'ever', 'forgave', 'that', 'your', 'resentment', 'once', 'created', 'was', 'unappeasable', 'you', 'are', 'very', 'cautious', 'i', 'suppose', 'as', 'to', 'its', 'being', 'created', 'i', 'am', 'said', 'he', 'with', 'a', 'firm', 'voice', 'and', 'never', 'allow', 'yourself', 'to', 'be', 'blinded', 'by', 'prejudice', 'i', 'hope', 'not', 'it', 'is', 'particularly', 'incumbent', 'on', 'those', 'who', 'never', 'change', 'their', 'opinion', 'to', 'be', 'secure', 'of', 'judging', 'properly', 'at', 'first', 'may', 'i', 'ask', 'to', 'what', 'these', 'questions', 'tend', 'merely', 'to', 'the', 'illustration', 'of', 'your', 'character', 'said', 'she', 'endeavouring', 'to', 'shake', 'off', 'her', 'gravity', 'i', 'am', 'trying', 'to', 'make', 'it', 'out', 'and', 'what', 'is', 'your', 'success', 'she', 'shook', 'her', 'head', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'get', 'on', 'at', 'all', 'i', 'hear', 'such', 'different', 'accounts', 'of', 'you', 'as', 'puzzle', 'me', 'exceedingly', 'i', 'can', 'readily', 'believe', 'answered', 'he', 'gravely', 'that', 'reports', 'may', 'vary', 'greatly', 'with', 'respect', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'wish', 'miss', 'bennet', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'not', 'to', 'sketch', 'my', 'character', 'at', 'the', 'present', 'moment', 'as', 'there', 'is', 'reason', 'to', 'fear', 'that', 'the', 'performance', 'would', 'reflect', 'no', 'credit', 'on', 'either', 'but', 'if', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'take', 'your', 'likeness', 'now', 'i', 'may', 'never', 'have', 'another', 'opportunity', 'i', 'would', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'suspend', 'any', 'pleasure', 'of', 'yours', 'he', 'coldly', 'replied', 'she', 'said', 'no', 'more', 'and', 'they', 'went', 'down', 'the', 'other', 'dance', 'and', 'parted', 'in', 'silence', 'and', 'on', 'each', 'side', 'dissatisfied', 'though', 'not', 'to', 'an', 'equal', 'degree', 'for', 'in', 'darcys', 'breast', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'tolerably', 'powerful', 'feeling', 'towards', 'her', 'which', 'soon', 'procured', 'her', 'pardon', 'and', 'directed', 'all', 'his', 'anger', 'against', 'another', 'they', 'had', 'not', 'long', 'separated', 'when', 'miss', 'bingley', 'came', 'towards', 'her', 'and', 'with', 'an', 'expression', 'of', 'civil', 'disdain', 'accosted', 'her', 'so', 'miss', 'eliza', 'i', 'hear', 'you', 'are', 'quite', 'delighted', 'with', 'george', 'wickham', 'your', 'sister', 'has', 'been', 'talking', 'to', 'me', 'about', 'him', 'and', 'asking', 'me', 'a', 'thousand', 'questions', 'and', 'i', 'find', 'that', 'the', 'young', 'man', 'quite', 'forgot', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'among', 'his', 'other', 'communication', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'the', 'son', 'of', 'old', 'wickham', 'the', 'late', 'mr', 'darcys', 'steward', 'let', 'me', 'recommend', 'you', 'however', 'as', 'a', 'friend', 'not', 'to', 'give', 'implicit', 'confidence', 'to', 'all', 'his', 'assertions', 'for', 'as', 'to', 'mr', 'darcys', 'using', 'him', 'ill', 'it', 'is', 'perfectly', 'false', 'for', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'he', 'has', 'always', 'been', 'remarkably', 'kind', 'to', 'him', 'though', 'george', 'wickham', 'has', 'treated', 'mr', 'darcy', 'in', 'a', 'most', 'infamous', 'manner', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'the', 'particulars', 'but', 'i', 'know', 'very', 'well', 'that', 'mr', 'darcy', 'is', 'not', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'to', 'blame', 'that', 'he', 'can', 'not', 'bear', 'to', 'hear', 'george', 'wickham', 'mentioned', 'and', 'that', 'though', 'my', 'brother', 'thought', 'that', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'well', 'avoid', 'including', 'him', 'in', 'his', 'invitation', 'to', 'the', 'officers', 'he', 'was', 'excessively', 'glad', 'to', 'find', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'taken', 'himself', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'way', 'his', 'coming', 'into', 'the', 'country', 'at', 'all', 'is', 'a', 'most', 'insolent', 'thing', 'indeed', 'and', 'i', 'wonder', 'how', 'he', 'could', 'presume', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'i', 'pity', 'you', 'miss', 'eliza', 'for', 'this', 'discovery', 'of', 'your', 'favourites', 'guilt', 'but', 'really', 'considering', 'his', 'descent', 'one', 'could', 'not', 'expect', 'much', 'better', 'his', 'guilt', 'and', 'his', 'descent', 'appear', 'by', 'your', 'account', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'same', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'angrily', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'you', 'accuse', 'him', 'of', 'nothing', 'worse', 'than', 'of', 'being', 'the', 'son', 'of', 'mr', 'darcys', 'steward', 'and', 'of', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'assure', 'you', 'he', 'informed', 'me', 'himself', 'i', 'beg', 'your', 'pardon', 'replied', 'miss', 'bingley', 'turning', 'away', 'with', 'a', 'sneer', 'excuse', 'my', 'interferenceit', 'was', 'kindly', 'meant', 'insolent', 'girl', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'to', 'herself', 'you', 'are', 'much', 'mistaken', 'if', 'you', 'expect', 'to', 'influence', 'me', 'by', 'such', 'a', 'paltry', 'attack', 'as', 'this', 'i', 'see', 'nothing', 'in', 'it', 'but', 'your', 'own', 'wilful', 'ignorance', 'and', 'the', 'malice', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'she', 'then', 'sought', 'her', 'eldest', 'sister', 'who', 'had', 'undertaken', 'to', 'make', 'enquiries', 'on', 'the', 'same', 'subject', 'of', 'bingley', 'jane', 'met', 'her', 'with', 'a', 'smile', 'of', 'such', 'sweet', 'complacency', 'a', 'glow', 'of', 'such', 'happy', 'expression', 'as', 'sufficiently', 'marked', 'how', 'well', 'she', 'was', 'satisfied', 'with', 'the', 'occurrences', 'of', 'the', 'evening', 'elizabeth', 'instantly', 'read', 'her', 'feelings', 'and', 'at', 'that', 'moment', 'solicitude', 'for', 'wickham', 'resentment', 'against', 'his', 'enemies', 'and', 'everything', 'else', 'gave', 'way', 'before', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'janes', 'being', 'in', 'the', 'fairest', 'way', 'for', 'happiness', 'i', 'want', 'to', 'know', 'said', 'she', 'with', 'a', 'countenance', 'no', 'less', 'smiling', 'than', 'her', 'sisters', 'what', 'you', 'have', 'learnt', 'about', 'mr', 'wickham', 'but', 'perhaps', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'too', 'pleasantly', 'engaged', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'any', 'third', 'person', 'in', 'which', 'case', 'you', 'may', 'be', 'sure', 'of', 'my', 'pardon', 'no', 'replied', 'jane', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'forgotten', 'him', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'nothing', 'satisfactory', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'mr', 'bingley', 'does', 'not', 'know', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'his', 'history', 'and', 'is', 'quite', 'ignorant', 'of', 'the', 'circumstances', 'which', 'have', 'principally', 'offended', 'mr', 'darcy', 'but', 'he', 'will', 'vouch', 'for', 'the', 'good', 'conduct', 'the', 'probity', 'and', 'honour', 'of', 'his', 'friend', 'and', 'is', 'perfectly', 'convinced', 'that', 'mr', 'wickham', 'has', 'deserved', 'much', 'less', 'attention', 'from', 'mr', 'darcy', 'than', 'he', 'has', 'received', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'to', 'say', 'by', 'his', 'account', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'his', 'sisters', 'mr', 'wickham', 'is', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'a', 'respectable', 'young', 'man', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'very', 'imprudent', 'and', 'has', 'deserved', 'to', 'lose', 'mr', 'darcys', 'regard', 'mr', 'bingley', 'does', 'not', 'know', 'mr', 'wickham', 'himself', 'no', 'he', 'never', 'saw', 'him', 'till', 'the', 'other', 'morning', 'at', 'meryton', 'this', 'account', 'then', 'is', 'what', 'he', 'has', 'received', 'from', 'mr', 'darcy', 'i', 'am', 'satisfied', 'but', 'what', 'does', 'he', 'say', 'of', 'the', 'living', 'he', 'does', 'not', 'exactly', 'recollect', 'the', 'circumstances', 'though', 'he', 'has', 'heard', 'them', 'from', 'mr', 'darcy', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'but', 'he', 'believes', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'left', 'to', 'him', 'conditionally', 'only', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'a', 'doubt', 'of', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'sincerity', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'warmly', 'but', 'you', 'must', 'excuse', 'my', 'not', 'being', 'convinced', 'by', 'assurances', 'only', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'defense', 'of', 'his', 'friend', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'able', 'one', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'but', 'since', 'he', 'is', 'unacquainted', 'with', 'several', 'parts', 'of', 'the', 'story', 'and', 'has', 'learnt', 'the', 'rest', 'from', 'that', 'friend', 'himself', 'i', 'shall', 'venture', 'to', 'still', 'think', 'of', 'both', 'gentlemen', 'as', 'i', 'did', 'before', 'she', 'then', 'changed', 'the', 'discourse', 'to', 'one', 'more', 'gratifying', 'to', 'each', 'and', 'on', 'which', 'there', 'could', 'be', 'no', 'difference', 'of', 'sentiment', 'elizabeth', 'listened', 'with', 'delight', 'to', 'the', 'happy', 'though', 'modest', 'hopes', 'which', 'jane', 'entertained', 'of', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'regard', 'and', 'said', 'all', 'in', 'her', 'power', 'to', 'heighten', 'her', 'confidence', 'in', 'it', 'on', 'their', 'being', 'joined', 'by', 'mr', 'bingley', 'himself', 'elizabeth', 'withdrew', 'to', 'miss', 'lucas', 'to', 'whose', 'enquiry', 'after', 'the', 'pleasantness', 'of', 'her', 'last', 'partner', 'she', 'had', 'scarcely', 'replied', 'before', 'mr', 'collins', 'came', 'up', 'to', 'them', 'and', 'told', 'her', 'with', 'great', 'exultation', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'just', 'been', 'so', 'fortunate', 'as', 'to', 'make', 'a', 'most', 'important', 'discovery', 'i', 'have', 'found', 'out', 'said', 'he', 'by', 'a', 'singular', 'accident', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'now', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'a', 'near', 'relation', 'of', 'my', 'patroness', 'i', 'happened', 'to', 'overhear', 'the', 'gentleman', 'himself', 'mentioning', 'to', 'the', 'young', 'lady', 'who', 'does', 'the', 'honours', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'the', 'names', 'of', 'his', 'cousin', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'and', 'of', 'her', 'mother', 'lady', 'catherine', 'how', 'wonderfully', 'these', 'sort', 'of', 'things', 'occur', 'who', 'would', 'have', 'thought', 'of', 'my', 'meeting', 'with', 'perhaps', 'a', 'nephew', 'of', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'in', 'this', 'assembly', 'i', 'am', 'most', 'thankful', 'that', 'the', 'discovery', 'is', 'made', 'in', 'time', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'pay', 'my', 'respects', 'to', 'him', 'which', 'i', 'am', 'now', 'going', 'to', 'do', 'and', 'trust', 'he', 'will', 'excuse', 'my', 'not', 'having', 'done', 'it', 'before', 'my', 'total', 'ignorance', 'of', 'the', 'connection', 'must', 'plead', 'my', 'apology', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'going', 'to', 'introduce', 'yourself', 'to', 'mr', 'darcy', 'indeed', 'i', 'am', 'i', 'shall', 'entreat', 'his', 'pardon', 'for', 'not', 'having', 'done', 'it', 'earlier', 'i', 'believe', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'lady', 'catherines', 'nephew', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'in', 'my', 'power', 'to', 'assure', 'him', 'that', 'her', 'ladyship', 'was', 'quite', 'well', 'yesterday', 'sennight', 'elizabeth', 'tried', 'hard', 'to', 'dissuade', 'him', 'from', 'such', 'a', 'scheme', 'assuring', 'him', 'that', 'mr', 'darcy', 'would', 'consider', 'his', 'addressing', 'him', 'without', 'introduction', 'as', 'an', 'impertinent', 'freedom', 'rather', 'than', 'a', 'compliment', 'to', 'his', 'aunt', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'necessary', 'there', 'should', 'be', 'any', 'notice', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'and', 'that', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'it', 'must', 'belong', 'to', 'mr', 'darcy', 'the', 'superior', 'in', 'consequence', 'to', 'begin', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'mr', 'collins', 'listened', 'to', 'her', 'with', 'the', 'determined', 'air', 'of', 'following', 'his', 'own', 'inclination', 'and', 'when', 'she', 'ceased', 'speaking', 'replied', 'thus', 'my', 'dear', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'highest', 'opinion', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'in', 'your', 'excellent', 'judgement', 'in', 'all', 'matters', 'within', 'the', 'scope', 'of', 'your', 'understanding', 'but', 'permit', 'me', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'there', 'must', 'be', 'a', 'wide', 'difference', 'between', 'the', 'established', 'forms', 'of', 'ceremony', 'amongst', 'the', 'laity', 'and', 'those', 'which', 'regulate', 'the', 'clergy', 'for', 'give', 'me', 'leave', 'to', 'observe', 'that', 'i', 'consider', 'the', 'clerical', 'office', 'as', 'equal', 'in', 'point', 'of', 'dignity', 'with', 'the', 'highest', 'rank', 'in', 'the', 'kingdomprovided', 'that', 'a', 'proper', 'humility', 'of', 'behaviour', 'is', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'maintained', 'you', 'must', 'therefore', 'allow', 'me', 'to', 'follow', 'the', 'dictates', 'of', 'my', 'conscience', 'on', 'this', 'occasion', 'which', 'leads', 'me', 'to', 'perform', 'what', 'i', 'look', 'on', 'as', 'a', 'point', 'of', 'duty', 'pardon', 'me', 'for', 'neglecting', 'to', 'profit', 'by', 'your', 'advice', 'which', 'on', 'every', 'other', 'subject', 'shall', 'be', 'my', 'constant', 'guide', 'though', 'in', 'the', 'case', 'before', 'us', 'i', 'consider', 'myself', 'more', 'fitted', 'by', 'education', 'and', 'habitual', 'study', 'to', 'decide', 'on', 'what', 'is', 'right', 'than', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'like', 'yourself', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'low', 'bow', 'he', 'left', 'her', 'to', 'attack', 'mr', 'darcy', 'whose', 'reception', 'of', 'his', 'advances', 'she', 'eagerly', 'watched', 'and', 'whose', 'astonishment', 'at', 'being', 'so', 'addressed', 'was', 'very', 'evident', 'her', 'cousin', 'prefaced', 'his', 'speech', 'with', 'a', 'solemn', 'bow', 'and', 'though', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'hear', 'a', 'word', 'of', 'it', 'she', 'felt', 'as', 'if', 'hearing', 'it', 'all', 'and', 'saw', 'in', 'the', 'motion', 'of', 'his', 'lips', 'the', 'words', 'apology', 'hunsford', 'and', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'it', 'vexed', 'her', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'expose', 'himself', 'to', 'such', 'a', 'man', 'mr', 'darcy', 'was', 'eyeing', 'him', 'with', 'unrestrained', 'wonder', 'and', 'when', 'at', 'last', 'mr', 'collins', 'allowed', 'him', 'time', 'to', 'speak', 'replied', 'with', 'an', 'air', 'of', 'distant', 'civility', 'mr', 'collins', 'however', 'was', 'not', 'discouraged', 'from', 'speaking', 'again', 'and', 'mr', 'darcys', 'contempt', 'seemed', 'abundantly', 'increasing', 'with', 'the', 'length', 'of', 'his', 'second', 'speech', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'it', 'he', 'only', 'made', 'him', 'a', 'slight', 'bow', 'and', 'moved', 'another', 'way', 'mr', 'collins', 'then', 'returned', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'reason', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'said', 'he', 'to', 'be', 'dissatisfied', 'with', 'my', 'reception', 'mr', 'darcy', 'seemed', 'much', 'pleased', 'with', 'the', 'attention', 'he', 'answered', 'me', 'with', 'the', 'utmost', 'civility', 'and', 'even', 'paid', 'me', 'the', 'compliment', 'of', 'saying', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'so', 'well', 'convinced', 'of', 'lady', 'catherines', 'discernment', 'as', 'to', 'be', 'certain', 'she', 'could', 'never', 'bestow', 'a', 'favour', 'unworthily', 'it', 'was', 'really', 'a', 'very', 'handsome', 'thought', 'upon', 'the', 'whole', 'i', 'am', 'much', 'pleased', 'with', 'him', 'as', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'no', 'longer', 'any', 'interest', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'to', 'pursue', 'she', 'turned', 'her', 'attention', 'almost', 'entirely', 'on', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'the', 'train', 'of', 'agreeable', 'reflections', 'which', 'her', 'observations', 'gave', 'birth', 'to', 'made', 'her', 'perhaps', 'almost', 'as', 'happy', 'as', 'jane', 'she', 'saw', 'her', 'in', 'idea', 'settled', 'in', 'that', 'very', 'house', 'in', 'all', 'the', 'felicity', 'which', 'a', 'marriage', 'of', 'true', 'affection', 'could', 'bestow', 'and', 'she', 'felt', 'capable', 'under', 'such', 'circumstances', 'of', 'endeavouring', 'even', 'to', 'like', 'bingleys', 'two', 'sisters', 'her', 'mothers', 'thoughts', 'she', 'plainly', 'saw', 'were', 'bent', 'the', 'same', 'way', 'and', 'she', 'determined', 'not', 'to', 'venture', 'near', 'her', 'lest', 'she', 'might', 'hear', 'too', 'much', 'when', 'they', 'sat', 'down', 'to', 'supper', 'therefore', 'she', 'considered', 'it', 'a', 'most', 'unlucky', 'perverseness', 'which', 'placed', 'them', 'within', 'one', 'of', 'each', 'other', 'and', 'deeply', 'was', 'she', 'vexed', 'to', 'find', 'that', 'her', 'mother', 'was', 'talking', 'to', 'that', 'one', 'person', 'lady', 'lucas', 'freely', 'openly', 'and', 'of', 'nothing', 'else', 'but', 'her', 'expectation', 'that', 'jane', 'would', 'soon', 'be', 'married', 'to', 'mr', 'bingley', 'it', 'was', 'an', 'animating', 'subject', 'and', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'seemed', 'incapable', 'of', 'fatigue', 'while', 'enumerating', 'the', 'advantages', 'of', 'the', 'match', 'his', 'being', 'such', 'a', 'charming', 'young', 'man', 'and', 'so', 'rich', 'and', 'living', 'but', 'three', 'miles', 'from', 'them', 'were', 'the', 'first', 'points', 'of', 'selfgratulation', 'and', 'then', 'it', 'was', 'such', 'a', 'comfort', 'to', 'think', 'how', 'fond', 'the', 'two', 'sisters', 'were', 'of', 'jane', 'and', 'to', 'be', 'certain', 'that', 'they', 'must', 'desire', 'the', 'connection', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'do', 'it', 'was', 'moreover', 'such', 'a', 'promising', 'thing', 'for', 'her', 'younger', 'daughters', 'as', 'janes', 'marrying', 'so', 'greatly', 'must', 'throw', 'them', 'in', 'the', 'way', 'of', 'other', 'rich', 'men', 'and', 'lastly', 'it', 'was', 'so', 'pleasant', 'at', 'her', 'time', 'of', 'life', 'to', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'consign', 'her', 'single', 'daughters', 'to', 'the', 'care', 'of', 'their', 'sister', 'that', 'she', 'might', 'not', 'be', 'obliged', 'to', 'go', 'into', 'company', 'more', 'than', 'she', 'liked', 'it', 'was', 'necessary', 'to', 'make', 'this', 'circumstance', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'pleasure', 'because', 'on', 'such', 'occasions', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'etiquette', 'but', 'no', 'one', 'was', 'less', 'likely', 'than', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'to', 'find', 'comfort', 'in', 'staying', 'home', 'at', 'any', 'period', 'of', 'her', 'life', 'she', 'concluded', 'with', 'many', 'good', 'wishes', 'that', 'lady', 'lucas', 'might', 'soon', 'be', 'equally', 'fortunate', 'though', 'evidently', 'and', 'triumphantly', 'believing', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'chance', 'of', 'it', 'in', 'vain', 'did', 'elizabeth', 'endeavour', 'to', 'check', 'the', 'rapidity', 'of', 'her', 'mothers', 'words', 'or', 'persuade', 'her', 'to', 'describe', 'her', 'felicity', 'in', 'a', 'less', 'audible', 'whisper', 'for', 'to', 'her', 'inexpressible', 'vexation', 'she', 'could', 'perceive', 'that', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'it', 'was', 'overheard', 'by', 'mr', 'darcy', 'who', 'sat', 'opposite', 'to', 'them', 'her', 'mother', 'only', 'scolded', 'her', 'for', 'being', 'nonsensical', 'what', 'is', 'mr', 'darcy', 'to', 'me', 'pray', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'afraid', 'of', 'him', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'we', 'owe', 'him', 'no', 'such', 'particular', 'civility', 'as', 'to', 'be', 'obliged', 'to', 'say', 'nothing', 'he', 'may', 'not', 'like', 'to', 'hear', 'for', 'heavens', 'sake', 'madam', 'speak', 'lower', 'what', 'advantage', 'can', 'it', 'be', 'for', 'you', 'to', 'offend', 'mr', 'darcy', 'you', 'will', 'never', 'recommend', 'yourself', 'to', 'his', 'friend', 'by', 'so', 'doing', 'nothing', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'say', 'however', 'had', 'any', 'influence', 'her', 'mother', 'would', 'talk', 'of', 'her', 'views', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'intelligible', 'tone', 'elizabeth', 'blushed', 'and', 'blushed', 'again', 'with', 'shame', 'and', 'vexation', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'frequently', 'glancing', 'her', 'eye', 'at', 'mr', 'darcy', 'though', 'every', 'glance', 'convinced', 'her', 'of', 'what', 'she', 'dreaded', 'for', 'though', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'always', 'looking', 'at', 'her', 'mother', 'she', 'was', 'convinced', 'that', 'his', 'attention', 'was', 'invariably', 'fixed', 'by', 'her', 'the', 'expression', 'of', 'his', 'face', 'changed', 'gradually', 'from', 'indignant', 'contempt', 'to', 'a', 'composed', 'and', 'steady', 'gravity', 'at', 'length', 'however', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'had', 'no', 'more', 'to', 'say', 'and', 'lady', 'lucas', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'long', 'yawning', 'at', 'the', 'repetition', 'of', 'delights', 'which', 'she', 'saw', 'no', 'likelihood', 'of', 'sharing', 'was', 'left', 'to', 'the', 'comforts', 'of', 'cold', 'ham', 'and', 'chicken', 'elizabeth', 'now', 'began', 'to', 'revive', 'but', 'not', 'long', 'was', 'the', 'interval', 'of', 'tranquillity', 'for', 'when', 'supper', 'was', 'over', 'singing', 'was', 'talked', 'of', 'and', 'she', 'had', 'the', 'mortification', 'of', 'seeing', 'mary', 'after', 'very', 'little', 'entreaty', 'preparing', 'to', 'oblige', 'the', 'company', 'by', 'many', 'significant', 'looks', 'and', 'silent', 'entreaties', 'did', 'she', 'endeavour', 'to', 'prevent', 'such', 'a', 'proof', 'of', 'complaisance', 'but', 'in', 'vain', 'mary', 'would', 'not', 'understand', 'them', 'such', 'an', 'opportunity', 'of', 'exhibiting', 'was', 'delightful', 'to', 'her', 'and', 'she', 'began', 'her', 'song', 'elizabeths', 'eyes', 'were', 'fixed', 'on', 'her', 'with', 'most', 'painful', 'sensations', 'and', 'she', 'watched', 'her', 'progress', 'through', 'the', 'several', 'stanzas', 'with', 'an', 'impatience', 'which', 'was', 'very', 'ill', 'rewarded', 'at', 'their', 'close', 'for', 'mary', 'on', 'receiving', 'amongst', 'the', 'thanks', 'of', 'the', 'table', 'the', 'hint', 'of', 'a', 'hope', 'that', 'she', 'might', 'be', 'prevailed', 'on', 'to', 'favour', 'them', 'again', 'after', 'the', 'pause', 'of', 'half', 'a', 'minute', 'began', 'another', 'marys', 'powers', 'were', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'fitted', 'for', 'such', 'a', 'display', 'her', 'voice', 'was', 'weak', 'and', 'her', 'manner', 'affected', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'in', 'agonies', 'she', 'looked', 'at', 'jane', 'to', 'see', 'how', 'she', 'bore', 'it', 'but', 'jane', 'was', 'very', 'composedly', 'talking', 'to', 'bingley', 'she', 'looked', 'at', 'his', 'two', 'sisters', 'and', 'saw', 'them', 'making', 'signs', 'of', 'derision', 'at', 'each', 'other', 'and', 'at', 'darcy', 'who', 'continued', 'however', 'imperturbably', 'grave', 'she', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'father', 'to', 'entreat', 'his', 'interference', 'lest', 'mary', 'should', 'be', 'singing', 'all', 'night', 'he', 'took', 'the', 'hint', 'and', 'when', 'mary', 'had', 'finished', 'her', 'second', 'song', 'said', 'aloud', 'that', 'will', 'do', 'extremely', 'well', 'child', 'you', 'have', 'delighted', 'us', 'long', 'enough', 'let', 'the', 'other', 'young', 'ladies', 'have', 'time', 'to', 'exhibit', 'mary', 'though', 'pretending', 'not', 'to', 'hear', 'was', 'somewhat', 'disconcerted', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'sorry', 'for', 'her', 'and', 'sorry', 'for', 'her', 'fathers', 'speech', 'was', 'afraid', 'her', 'anxiety', 'had', 'done', 'no', 'good', 'others', 'of', 'the', 'party', 'were', 'now', 'applied', 'to', 'if', 'i', 'said', 'mr', 'collins', 'were', 'so', 'fortunate', 'as', 'to', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'sing', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'great', 'pleasure', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'in', 'obliging', 'the', 'company', 'with', 'an', 'air', 'for', 'i', 'consider', 'music', 'as', 'a', 'very', 'innocent', 'diversion', 'and', 'perfectly', 'compatible', 'with', 'the', 'profession', 'of', 'a', 'clergyman', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'mean', 'however', 'to', 'assert', 'that', 'we', 'can', 'be', 'justified', 'in', 'devoting', 'too', 'much', 'of', 'our', 'time', 'to', 'music', 'for', 'there', 'are', 'certainly', 'other', 'things', 'to', 'be', 'attended', 'to', 'the', 'rector', 'of', 'a', 'parish', 'has', 'much', 'to', 'do', 'in', 'the', 'first', 'place', 'he', 'must', 'make', 'such', 'an', 'agreement', 'for', 'tithes', 'as', 'may', 'be', 'beneficial', 'to', 'himself', 'and', 'not', 'offensive', 'to', 'his', 'patron', 'he', 'must', 'write', 'his', 'own', 'sermons', 'and', 'the', 'time', 'that', 'remains', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'too', 'much', 'for', 'his', 'parish', 'duties', 'and', 'the', 'care', 'and', 'improvement', 'of', 'his', 'dwelling', 'which', 'he', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'excused', 'from', 'making', 'as', 'comfortable', 'as', 'possible', 'and', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'it', 'of', 'light', 'importance', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'have', 'attentive', 'and', 'conciliatory', 'manners', 'towards', 'everybody', 'especially', 'towards', 'those', 'to', 'whom', 'he', 'owes', 'his', 'preferment', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'acquit', 'him', 'of', 'that', 'duty', 'nor', 'could', 'i', 'think', 'well', 'of', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'should', 'omit', 'an', 'occasion', 'of', 'testifying', 'his', 'respect', 'towards', 'anybody', 'connected', 'with', 'the', 'family', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'bow', 'to', 'mr', 'darcy', 'he', 'concluded', 'his', 'speech', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'spoken', 'so', 'loud', 'as', 'to', 'be', 'heard', 'by', 'half', 'the', 'room', 'many', 'staredmany', 'smiled', 'but', 'no', 'one', 'looked', 'more', 'amused', 'than', 'mr', 'bennet', 'himself', 'while', 'his', 'wife', 'seriously', 'commended', 'mr', 'collins', 'for', 'having', 'spoken', 'so', 'sensibly', 'and', 'observed', 'in', 'a', 'halfwhisper', 'to', 'lady', 'lucas', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'remarkably', 'clever', 'good', 'kind', 'of', 'young', 'man', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'it', 'appeared', 'that', 'had', 'her', 'family', 'made', 'an', 'agreement', 'to', 'expose', 'themselves', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'they', 'could', 'during', 'the', 'evening', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'impossible', 'for', 'them', 'to', 'play', 'their', 'parts', 'with', 'more', 'spirit', 'or', 'finer', 'success', 'and', 'happy', 'did', 'she', 'think', 'it', 'for', 'bingley', 'and', 'her', 'sister', 'that', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'exhibition', 'had', 'escaped', 'his', 'notice', 'and', 'that', 'his', 'feelings', 'were', 'not', 'of', 'a', 'sort', 'to', 'be', 'much', 'distressed', 'by', 'the', 'folly', 'which', 'he', 'must', 'have', 'witnessed', 'that', 'his', 'two', 'sisters', 'and', 'mr', 'darcy', 'however', 'should', 'have', 'such', 'an', 'opportunity', 'of', 'ridiculing', 'her', 'relations', 'was', 'bad', 'enough', 'and', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'determine', 'whether', 'the', 'silent', 'contempt', 'of', 'the', 'gentleman', 'or', 'the', 'insolent', 'smiles', 'of', 'the', 'ladies', 'were', 'more', 'intolerable', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'evening', 'brought', 'her', 'little', 'amusement', 'she', 'was', 'teased', 'by', 'mr', 'collins', 'who', 'continued', 'most', 'perseveringly', 'by', 'her', 'side', 'and', 'though', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'prevail', 'on', 'her', 'to', 'dance', 'with', 'him', 'again', 'put', 'it', 'out', 'of', 'her', 'power', 'to', 'dance', 'with', 'others', 'in', 'vain', 'did', 'she', 'entreat', 'him', 'to', 'stand', 'up', 'with', 'somebody', 'else', 'and', 'offer', 'to', 'introduce', 'him', 'to', 'any', 'young', 'lady', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'he', 'assured', 'her', 'that', 'as', 'to', 'dancing', 'he', 'was', 'perfectly', 'indifferent', 'to', 'it', 'that', 'his', 'chief', 'object', 'was', 'by', 'delicate', 'attentions', 'to', 'recommend', 'himself', 'to', 'her', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'therefore', 'make', 'a', 'point', 'of', 'remaining', 'close', 'to', 'her', 'the', 'whole', 'evening', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'arguing', 'upon', 'such', 'a', 'project', 'she', 'owed', 'her', 'greatest', 'relief', 'to', 'her', 'friend', 'miss', 'lucas', 'who', 'often', 'joined', 'them', 'and', 'goodnaturedly', 'engaged', 'mr', 'collinss', 'conversation', 'to', 'herself', 'she', 'was', 'at', 'least', 'free', 'from', 'the', 'offense', 'of', 'mr', 'darcys', 'further', 'notice', 'though', 'often', 'standing', 'within', 'a', 'very', 'short', 'distance', 'of', 'her', 'quite', 'disengaged', 'he', 'never', 'came', 'near', 'enough', 'to', 'speak', 'she', 'felt', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'probable', 'consequence', 'of', 'her', 'allusions', 'to', 'mr', 'wickham', 'and', 'rejoiced', 'in', 'it', 'the', 'longbourn', 'party', 'were', 'the', 'last', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'company', 'to', 'depart', 'and', 'by', 'a', 'manoeuvre', 'of', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'had', 'to', 'wait', 'for', 'their', 'carriage', 'a', 'quarter', 'of', 'an', 'hour', 'after', 'everybody', 'else', 'was', 'gone', 'which', 'gave', 'them', 'time', 'to', 'see', 'how', 'heartily', 'they', 'were', 'wished', 'away', 'by', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'her', 'sister', 'scarcely', 'opened', 'their', 'mouths', 'except', 'to', 'complain', 'of', 'fatigue', 'and', 'were', 'evidently', 'impatient', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'house', 'to', 'themselves', 'they', 'repulsed', 'every', 'attempt', 'of', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'at', 'conversation', 'and', 'by', 'so', 'doing', 'threw', 'a', 'languor', 'over', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'which', 'was', 'very', 'little', 'relieved', 'by', 'the', 'long', 'speeches', 'of', 'mr', 'collins', 'who', 'was', 'complimenting', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'his', 'sisters', 'on', 'the', 'elegance', 'of', 'their', 'entertainment', 'and', 'the', 'hospitality', 'and', 'politeness', 'which', 'had', 'marked', 'their', 'behaviour', 'to', 'their', 'guests', 'darcy', 'said', 'nothing', 'at', 'all', 'mr', 'bennet', 'in', 'equal', 'silence', 'was', 'enjoying', 'the', 'scene', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'jane', 'were', 'standing', 'together', 'a', 'little', 'detached', 'from', 'the', 'rest', 'and', 'talked', 'only', 'to', 'each', 'other', 'elizabeth', 'preserved', 'as', 'steady', 'a', 'silence', 'as', 'either', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'or', 'miss', 'bingley', 'and', 'even', 'lydia', 'was', 'too', 'much', 'fatigued', 'to', 'utter', 'more', 'than', 'the', 'occasional', 'exclamation', 'of', 'lord', 'how', 'tired', 'i', 'am', 'accompanied', 'by', 'a', 'violent', 'yawn', 'when', 'at', 'length', 'they', 'arose', 'to', 'take', 'leave', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'most', 'pressingly', 'civil', 'in', 'her', 'hope', 'of', 'seeing', 'the', 'whole', 'family', 'soon', 'at', 'longbourn', 'and', 'addressed', 'herself', 'especially', 'to', 'mr', 'bingley', 'to', 'assure', 'him', 'how', 'happy', 'he', 'would', 'make', 'them', 'by', 'eating', 'a', 'family', 'dinner', 'with', 'them', 'at', 'any', 'time', 'without', 'the', 'ceremony', 'of', 'a', 'formal', 'invitation', 'bingley', 'was', 'all', 'grateful', 'pleasure', 'and', 'he', 'readily', 'engaged', 'for', 'taking', 'the', 'earliest', 'opportunity', 'of', 'waiting', 'on', 'her', 'after', 'his', 'return', 'from', 'london', 'whither', 'he', 'was', 'obliged', 'to', 'go', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'for', 'a', 'short', 'time', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'perfectly', 'satisfied', 'and', 'quitted', 'the', 'house', 'under', 'the', 'delightful', 'persuasion', 'that', 'allowing', 'for', 'the', 'necessary', 'preparations', 'of', 'settlements', 'new', 'carriages', 'and', 'wedding', 'clothes', 'she', 'should', 'undoubtedly', 'see', 'her', 'daughter', 'settled', 'at', 'netherfield', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'three', 'or', 'four', 'months', 'of', 'having', 'another', 'daughter', 'married', 'to', 'mr', 'collins', 'she', 'thought', 'with', 'equal', 'certainty', 'and', 'with', 'considerable', 'though', 'not', 'equal', 'pleasure', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'the', 'least', 'dear', 'to', 'her', 'of', 'all', 'her', 'children', 'and', 'though', 'the', 'man', 'and', 'the', 'match', 'were', 'quite', 'good', 'enough', 'for', 'her', 'the', 'worth', 'of', 'each', 'was', 'eclipsed', 'by', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'netherfield', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'opened', 'a', 'new', 'scene', 'at', 'longbourn', 'mr', 'collins', 'made', 'his', 'declaration', 'in', 'form', 'having', 'resolved', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'without', 'loss', 'of', 'time', 'as', 'his', 'leave', 'of', 'absence', 'extended', 'only', 'to', 'the', 'following', 'saturday', 'and', 'having', 'no', 'feelings', 'of', 'diffidence', 'to', 'make', 'it', 'distressing', 'to', 'himself', 'even', 'at', 'the', 'moment', 'he', 'set', 'about', 'it', 'in', 'a', 'very', 'orderly', 'manner', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'observances', 'which', 'he', 'supposed', 'a', 'regular', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'business', 'on', 'finding', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'younger', 'girls', 'together', 'soon', 'after', 'breakfast', 'he', 'addressed', 'the', 'mother', 'in', 'these', 'words', 'may', 'i', 'hope', 'madam', 'for', 'your', 'interest', 'with', 'your', 'fair', 'daughter', 'elizabeth', 'when', 'i', 'solicit', 'for', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'a', 'private', 'audience', 'with', 'her', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'this', 'morning', 'before', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'time', 'for', 'anything', 'but', 'a', 'blush', 'of', 'surprise', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'answered', 'instantly', 'oh', 'dearyescertainly', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'lizzy', 'will', 'be', 'very', 'happyi', 'am', 'sure', 'she', 'can', 'have', 'no', 'objection', 'come', 'kitty', 'i', 'want', 'you', 'up', 'stairs', 'and', 'gathering', 'her', 'work', 'together', 'she', 'was', 'hastening', 'away', 'when', 'elizabeth', 'called', 'out', 'dear', 'madam', 'do', 'not', 'go', 'i', 'beg', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'go', 'mr', 'collins', 'must', 'excuse', 'me', 'he', 'can', 'have', 'nothing', 'to', 'say', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'anybody', 'need', 'not', 'hear', 'i', 'am', 'going', 'away', 'myself', 'no', 'no', 'nonsense', 'lizzy', 'i', 'desire', 'you', 'to', 'stay', 'where', 'you', 'are', 'and', 'upon', 'elizabeths', 'seeming', 'really', 'with', 'vexed', 'and', 'embarrassed', 'looks', 'about', 'to', 'escape', 'she', 'added', 'lizzy', 'i', 'insist', 'upon', 'your', 'staying', 'and', 'hearing', 'mr', 'collins', 'elizabeth', 'would', 'not', 'oppose', 'such', 'an', 'injunctionand', 'a', 'moments', 'consideration', 'making', 'her', 'also', 'sensible', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'wisest', 'to', 'get', 'it', 'over', 'as', 'soon', 'and', 'as', 'quietly', 'as', 'possible', 'she', 'sat', 'down', 'again', 'and', 'tried', 'to', 'conceal', 'by', 'incessant', 'employment', 'the', 'feelings', 'which', 'were', 'divided', 'between', 'distress', 'and', 'diversion', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'kitty', 'walked', 'off', 'and', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'gone', 'mr', 'collins', 'began', 'believe', 'me', 'my', 'dear', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'that', 'your', 'modesty', 'so', 'far', 'from', 'doing', 'you', 'any', 'disservice', 'rather', 'adds', 'to', 'your', 'other', 'perfections', 'you', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'less', 'amiable', 'in', 'my', 'eyes', 'had', 'there', 'not', 'been', 'this', 'little', 'unwillingness', 'but', 'allow', 'me', 'to', 'assure', 'you', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'your', 'respected', 'mothers', 'permission', 'for', 'this', 'address', 'you', 'can', 'hardly', 'doubt', 'the', 'purport', 'of', 'my', 'discourse', 'however', 'your', 'natural', 'delicacy', 'may', 'lead', 'you', 'to', 'dissemble', 'my', 'attentions', 'have', 'been', 'too', 'marked', 'to', 'be', 'mistaken', 'almost', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'i', 'entered', 'the', 'house', 'i', 'singled', 'you', 'out', 'as', 'the', 'companion', 'of', 'my', 'future', 'life', 'but', 'before', 'i', 'am', 'run', 'away', 'with', 'by', 'my', 'feelings', 'on', 'this', 'subject', 'perhaps', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'advisable', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'state', 'my', 'reasons', 'for', 'marryingand', 'moreover', 'for', 'coming', 'into', 'hertfordshire', 'with', 'the', 'design', 'of', 'selecting', 'a', 'wife', 'as', 'i', 'certainly', 'did', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'mr', 'collins', 'with', 'all', 'his', 'solemn', 'composure', 'being', 'run', 'away', 'with', 'by', 'his', 'feelings', 'made', 'elizabeth', 'so', 'near', 'laughing', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'use', 'the', 'short', 'pause', 'he', 'allowed', 'in', 'any', 'attempt', 'to', 'stop', 'him', 'further', 'and', 'he', 'continued', 'my', 'reasons', 'for', 'marrying', 'are', 'first', 'that', 'i', 'think', 'it', 'a', 'right', 'thing', 'for', 'every', 'clergyman', 'in', 'easy', 'circumstances', 'like', 'myself', 'to', 'set', 'the', 'example', 'of', 'matrimony', 'in', 'his', 'parish', 'secondly', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'convinced', 'that', 'it', 'will', 'add', 'very', 'greatly', 'to', 'my', 'happiness', 'and', 'thirdlywhich', 'perhaps', 'i', 'ought', 'to', 'have', 'mentioned', 'earlier', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'particular', 'advice', 'and', 'recommendation', 'of', 'the', 'very', 'noble', 'lady', 'whom', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'calling', 'patroness', 'twice', 'has', 'she', 'condescended', 'to', 'give', 'me', 'her', 'opinion', 'unasked', 'too', 'on', 'this', 'subject', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'but', 'the', 'very', 'saturday', 'night', 'before', 'i', 'left', 'hunsfordbetween', 'our', 'pools', 'at', 'quadrille', 'while', 'mrs', 'jenkinson', 'was', 'arranging', 'miss', 'de', 'bourghs', 'footstool', 'that', 'she', 'said', 'mr', 'collins', 'you', 'must', 'marry', 'a', 'clergyman', 'like', 'you', 'must', 'marry', 'choose', 'properly', 'choose', 'a', 'gentlewoman', 'for', 'my', 'sake', 'and', 'for', 'your', 'own', 'let', 'her', 'be', 'an', 'active', 'useful', 'sort', 'of', 'person', 'not', 'brought', 'up', 'high', 'but', 'able', 'to', 'make', 'a', 'small', 'income', 'go', 'a', 'good', 'way', 'this', 'is', 'my', 'advice', 'find', 'such', 'a', 'woman', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'you', 'can', 'bring', 'her', 'to', 'hunsford', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'visit', 'her', 'allow', 'me', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'to', 'observe', 'my', 'fair', 'cousin', 'that', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'reckon', 'the', 'notice', 'and', 'kindness', 'of', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'as', 'among', 'the', 'least', 'of', 'the', 'advantages', 'in', 'my', 'power', 'to', 'offer', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'her', 'manners', 'beyond', 'anything', 'i', 'can', 'describe', 'and', 'your', 'wit', 'and', 'vivacity', 'i', 'think', 'must', 'be', 'acceptable', 'to', 'her', 'especially', 'when', 'tempered', 'with', 'the', 'silence', 'and', 'respect', 'which', 'her', 'rank', 'will', 'inevitably', 'excite', 'thus', 'much', 'for', 'my', 'general', 'intention', 'in', 'favour', 'of', 'matrimony', 'it', 'remains', 'to', 'be', 'told', 'why', 'my', 'views', 'were', 'directed', 'towards', 'longbourn', 'instead', 'of', 'my', 'own', 'neighbourhood', 'where', 'i', 'can', 'assure', 'you', 'there', 'are', 'many', 'amiable', 'young', 'women', 'but', 'the', 'fact', 'is', 'that', 'being', 'as', 'i', 'am', 'to', 'inherit', 'this', 'estate', 'after', 'the', 'death', 'of', 'your', 'honoured', 'father', 'who', 'however', 'may', 'live', 'many', 'years', 'longer', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'satisfy', 'myself', 'without', 'resolving', 'to', 'choose', 'a', 'wife', 'from', 'among', 'his', 'daughters', 'that', 'the', 'loss', 'to', 'them', 'might', 'be', 'as', 'little', 'as', 'possible', 'when', 'the', 'melancholy', 'event', 'takes', 'placewhich', 'however', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'already', 'said', 'may', 'not', 'be', 'for', 'several', 'years', 'this', 'has', 'been', 'my', 'motive', 'my', 'fair', 'cousin', 'and', 'i', 'flatter', 'myself', 'it', 'will', 'not', 'sink', 'me', 'in', 'your', 'esteem', 'and', 'now', 'nothing', 'remains', 'for', 'me', 'but', 'to', 'assure', 'you', 'in', 'the', 'most', 'animated', 'language', 'of', 'the', 'violence', 'of', 'my', 'affection', 'to', 'fortune', 'i', 'am', 'perfectly', 'indifferent', 'and', 'shall', 'make', 'no', 'demand', 'of', 'that', 'nature', 'on', 'your', 'father', 'since', 'i', 'am', 'well', 'aware', 'that', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'complied', 'with', 'and', 'that', 'one', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'in', 'the', 'four', 'per', 'cents', 'which', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'yours', 'till', 'after', 'your', 'mothers', 'decease', 'is', 'all', 'that', 'you', 'may', 'ever', 'be', 'entitled', 'to', 'on', 'that', 'head', 'therefore', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'uniformly', 'silent', 'and', 'you', 'may', 'assure', 'yourself', 'that', 'no', 'ungenerous', 'reproach', 'shall', 'ever', 'pass', 'my', 'lips', 'when', 'we', 'are', 'married', 'it', 'was', 'absolutely', 'necessary', 'to', 'interrupt', 'him', 'now', 'you', 'are', 'too', 'hasty', 'sir', 'she', 'cried', 'you', 'forget', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'let', 'me', 'do', 'it', 'without', 'further', 'loss', 'of', 'time', 'accept', 'my', 'thanks', 'for', 'the', 'compliment', 'you', 'are', 'paying', 'me', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'sensible', 'of', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'your', 'proposals', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'impossible', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'do', 'otherwise', 'than', 'to', 'decline', 'them', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'now', 'to', 'learn', 'replied', 'mr', 'collins', 'with', 'a', 'formal', 'wave', 'of', 'the', 'hand', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'usual', 'with', 'young', 'ladies', 'to', 'reject', 'the', 'addresses', 'of', 'the', 'man', 'whom', 'they', 'secretly', 'mean', 'to', 'accept', 'when', 'he', 'first', 'applies', 'for', 'their', 'favour', 'and', 'that', 'sometimes', 'the', 'refusal', 'is', 'repeated', 'a', 'second', 'or', 'even', 'a', 'third', 'time', 'i', 'am', 'therefore', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'discouraged', 'by', 'what', 'you', 'have', 'just', 'said', 'and', 'shall', 'hope', 'to', 'lead', 'you', 'to', 'the', 'altar', 'ere', 'long', 'upon', 'my', 'word', 'sir', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'your', 'hope', 'is', 'a', 'rather', 'extraordinary', 'one', 'after', 'my', 'declaration', 'i', 'do', 'assure', 'you', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'young', 'ladies', 'if', 'such', 'young', 'ladies', 'there', 'are', 'who', 'are', 'so', 'daring', 'as', 'to', 'risk', 'their', 'happiness', 'on', 'the', 'chance', 'of', 'being', 'asked', 'a', 'second', 'time', 'i', 'am', 'perfectly', 'serious', 'in', 'my', 'refusal', 'you', 'could', 'not', 'make', 'me', 'happy', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'convinced', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'the', 'last', 'woman', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'who', 'could', 'make', 'you', 'so', 'nay', 'were', 'your', 'friend', 'lady', 'catherine', 'to', 'know', 'me', 'i', 'am', 'persuaded', 'she', 'would', 'find', 'me', 'in', 'every', 'respect', 'ill', 'qualified', 'for', 'the', 'situation', 'were', 'it', 'certain', 'that', 'lady', 'catherine', 'would', 'think', 'so', 'said', 'mr', 'collins', 'very', 'gravelybut', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'imagine', 'that', 'her', 'ladyship', 'would', 'at', 'all', 'disapprove', 'of', 'you', 'and', 'you', 'may', 'be', 'certain', 'when', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'seeing', 'her', 'again', 'i', 'shall', 'speak', 'in', 'the', 'very', 'highest', 'terms', 'of', 'your', 'modesty', 'economy', 'and', 'other', 'amiable', 'qualification', 'indeed', 'mr', 'collins', 'all', 'praise', 'of', 'me', 'will', 'be', 'unnecessary', 'you', 'must', 'give', 'me', 'leave', 'to', 'judge', 'for', 'myself', 'and', 'pay', 'me', 'the', 'compliment', 'of', 'believing', 'what', 'i', 'say', 'i', 'wish', 'you', 'very', 'happy', 'and', 'very', 'rich', 'and', 'by', 'refusing', 'your', 'hand', 'do', 'all', 'in', 'my', 'power', 'to', 'prevent', 'your', 'being', 'otherwise', 'in', 'making', 'me', 'the', 'offer', 'you', 'must', 'have', 'satisfied', 'the', 'delicacy', 'of', 'your', 'feelings', 'with', 'regard', 'to', 'my', 'family', 'and', 'may', 'take', 'possession', 'of', 'longbourn', 'estate', 'whenever', 'it', 'falls', 'without', 'any', 'selfreproach', 'this', 'matter', 'may', 'be', 'considered', 'therefore', 'as', 'finally', 'settled', 'and', 'rising', 'as', 'she', 'thus', 'spoke', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'quitted', 'the', 'room', 'had', 'mr', 'collins', 'not', 'thus', 'addressed', 'her', 'when', 'i', 'do', 'myself', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'speaking', 'to', 'you', 'next', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'i', 'shall', 'hope', 'to', 'receive', 'a', 'more', 'favourable', 'answer', 'than', 'you', 'have', 'now', 'given', 'me', 'though', 'i', 'am', 'far', 'from', 'accusing', 'you', 'of', 'cruelty', 'at', 'present', 'because', 'i', 'know', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'established', 'custom', 'of', 'your', 'sex', 'to', 'reject', 'a', 'man', 'on', 'the', 'first', 'application', 'and', 'perhaps', 'you', 'have', 'even', 'now', 'said', 'as', 'much', 'to', 'encourage', 'my', 'suit', 'as', 'would', 'be', 'consistent', 'with', 'the', 'true', 'delicacy', 'of', 'the', 'female', 'character', 'really', 'mr', 'collins', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'with', 'some', 'warmth', 'you', 'puzzle', 'me', 'exceedingly', 'if', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'hitherto', 'said', 'can', 'appear', 'to', 'you', 'in', 'the', 'form', 'of', 'encouragement', 'i', 'know', 'not', 'how', 'to', 'express', 'my', 'refusal', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'way', 'as', 'to', 'convince', 'you', 'of', 'its', 'being', 'one', 'you', 'must', 'give', 'me', 'leave', 'to', 'flatter', 'myself', 'my', 'dear', 'cousin', 'that', 'your', 'refusal', 'of', 'my', 'addresses', 'is', 'merely', 'words', 'of', 'course', 'my', 'reasons', 'for', 'believing', 'it', 'are', 'briefly', 'these', 'it', 'does', 'not', 'appear', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'my', 'hand', 'is', 'unworthy', 'of', 'your', 'acceptance', 'or', 'that', 'the', 'establishment', 'i', 'can', 'offer', 'would', 'be', 'any', 'other', 'than', 'highly', 'desirable', 'my', 'situation', 'in', 'life', 'my', 'connections', 'with', 'the', 'family', 'of', 'de', 'bourgh', 'and', 'my', 'relationship', 'to', 'your', 'own', 'are', 'circumstances', 'highly', 'in', 'my', 'favour', 'and', 'you', 'should', 'take', 'it', 'into', 'further', 'consideration', 'that', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'your', 'manifold', 'attractions', 'it', 'is', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'certain', 'that', 'another', 'offer', 'of', 'marriage', 'may', 'ever', 'be', 'made', 'you', 'your', 'portion', 'is', 'unhappily', 'so', 'small', 'that', 'it', 'will', 'in', 'all', 'likelihood', 'undo', 'the', 'effects', 'of', 'your', 'loveliness', 'and', 'amiable', 'qualifications', 'as', 'i', 'must', 'therefore', 'conclude', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'serious', 'in', 'your', 'rejection', 'of', 'me', 'i', 'shall', 'choose', 'to', 'attribute', 'it', 'to', 'your', 'wish', 'of', 'increasing', 'my', 'love', 'by', 'suspense', 'according', 'to', 'the', 'usual', 'practice', 'of', 'elegant', 'females', 'i', 'do', 'assure', 'you', 'sir', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'pretensions', 'whatever', 'to', 'that', 'kind', 'of', 'elegance', 'which', 'consists', 'in', 'tormenting', 'a', 'respectable', 'man', 'i', 'would', 'rather', 'be', 'paid', 'the', 'compliment', 'of', 'being', 'believed', 'sincere', 'i', 'thank', 'you', 'again', 'and', 'again', 'for', 'the', 'honour', 'you', 'have', 'done', 'me', 'in', 'your', 'proposals', 'but', 'to', 'accept', 'them', 'is', 'absolutely', 'impossible', 'my', 'feelings', 'in', 'every', 'respect', 'forbid', 'it', 'can', 'i', 'speak', 'plainer', 'do', 'not', 'consider', 'me', 'now', 'as', 'an', 'elegant', 'female', 'intending', 'to', 'plague', 'you', 'but', 'as', 'a', 'rational', 'creature', 'speaking', 'the', 'truth', 'from', 'her', 'heart', 'you', 'are', 'uniformly', 'charming', 'cried', 'he', 'with', 'an', 'air', 'of', 'awkward', 'gallantry', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'persuaded', 'that', 'when', 'sanctioned', 'by', 'the', 'express', 'authority', 'of', 'both', 'your', 'excellent', 'parents', 'my', 'proposals', 'will', 'not', 'fail', 'of', 'being', 'acceptable', 'to', 'such', 'perseverance', 'in', 'wilful', 'selfdeception', 'elizabeth', 'would', 'make', 'no', 'reply', 'and', 'immediately', 'and', 'in', 'silence', 'withdrew', 'determined', 'if', 'he', 'persisted', 'in', 'considering', 'her', 'repeated', 'refusals', 'as', 'flattering', 'encouragement', 'to', 'apply', 'to', 'her', 'father', 'whose', 'negative', 'might', 'be', 'uttered', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'manner', 'as', 'to', 'be', 'decisive', 'and', 'whose', 'behaviour', 'at', 'least', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'mistaken', 'for', 'the', 'affectation', 'and', 'coquetry', 'of', 'an', 'elegant', 'female', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'not', 'left', 'long', 'to', 'the', 'silent', 'contemplation', 'of', 'his', 'successful', 'love', 'for', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'having', 'dawdled', 'about', 'in', 'the', 'vestibule', 'to', 'watch', 'for', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'conference', 'no', 'sooner', 'saw', 'elizabeth', 'open', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'with', 'quick', 'step', 'pass', 'her', 'towards', 'the', 'staircase', 'than', 'she', 'entered', 'the', 'breakfastroom', 'and', 'congratulated', 'both', 'him', 'and', 'herself', 'in', 'warm', 'terms', 'on', 'the', 'happy', 'prospect', 'of', 'their', 'nearer', 'connection', 'mr', 'collins', 'received', 'and', 'returned', 'these', 'felicitations', 'with', 'equal', 'pleasure', 'and', 'then', 'proceeded', 'to', 'relate', 'the', 'particulars', 'of', 'their', 'interview', 'with', 'the', 'result', 'of', 'which', 'he', 'trusted', 'he', 'had', 'every', 'reason', 'to', 'be', 'satisfied', 'since', 'the', 'refusal', 'which', 'his', 'cousin', 'had', 'steadfastly', 'given', 'him', 'would', 'naturally', 'flow', 'from', 'her', 'bashful', 'modesty', 'and', 'the', 'genuine', 'delicacy', 'of', 'her', 'character', 'this', 'information', 'however', 'startled', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'glad', 'to', 'be', 'equally', 'satisfied', 'that', 'her', 'daughter', 'had', 'meant', 'to', 'encourage', 'him', 'by', 'protesting', 'against', 'his', 'proposals', 'but', 'she', 'dared', 'not', 'believe', 'it', 'and', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'saying', 'so', 'but', 'depend', 'upon', 'it', 'mr', 'collins', 'she', 'added', 'that', 'lizzy', 'shall', 'be', 'brought', 'to', 'reason', 'i', 'will', 'speak', 'to', 'her', 'about', 'it', 'directly', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'headstrong', 'foolish', 'girl', 'and', 'does', 'not', 'know', 'her', 'own', 'interest', 'but', 'i', 'will', 'make', 'her', 'know', 'it', 'pardon', 'me', 'for', 'interrupting', 'you', 'madam', 'cried', 'mr', 'collins', 'but', 'if', 'she', 'is', 'really', 'headstrong', 'and', 'foolish', 'i', 'know', 'not', 'whether', 'she', 'would', 'altogether', 'be', 'a', 'very', 'desirable', 'wife', 'to', 'a', 'man', 'in', 'my', 'situation', 'who', 'naturally', 'looks', 'for', 'happiness', 'in', 'the', 'marriage', 'state', 'if', 'therefore', 'she', 'actually', 'persists', 'in', 'rejecting', 'my', 'suit', 'perhaps', 'it', 'were', 'better', 'not', 'to', 'force', 'her', 'into', 'accepting', 'me', 'because', 'if', 'liable', 'to', 'such', 'defects', 'of', 'temper', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'contribute', 'much', 'to', 'my', 'felicity', 'sir', 'you', 'quite', 'misunderstand', 'me', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'alarmed', 'lizzy', 'is', 'only', 'headstrong', 'in', 'such', 'matters', 'as', 'these', 'in', 'everything', 'else', 'she', 'is', 'as', 'goodnatured', 'a', 'girl', 'as', 'ever', 'lived', 'i', 'will', 'go', 'directly', 'to', 'mr', 'bennet', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'very', 'soon', 'settle', 'it', 'with', 'her', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'give', 'him', 'time', 'to', 'reply', 'but', 'hurrying', 'instantly', 'to', 'her', 'husband', 'called', 'out', 'as', 'she', 'entered', 'the', 'library', 'oh', 'mr', 'bennet', 'you', 'are', 'wanted', 'immediately', 'we', 'are', 'all', 'in', 'an', 'uproar', 'you', 'must', 'come', 'and', 'make', 'lizzy', 'marry', 'mr', 'collins', 'for', 'she', 'vows', 'she', 'will', 'not', 'have', 'him', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'make', 'haste', 'he', 'will', 'change', 'his', 'mind', 'and', 'not', 'have', 'her', 'mr', 'bennet', 'raised', 'his', 'eyes', 'from', 'his', 'book', 'as', 'she', 'entered', 'and', 'fixed', 'them', 'on', 'her', 'face', 'with', 'a', 'calm', 'unconcern', 'which', 'was', 'not', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'altered', 'by', 'her', 'communication', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'understanding', 'you', 'said', 'he', 'when', 'she', 'had', 'finished', 'her', 'speech', 'of', 'what', 'are', 'you', 'talking', 'of', 'mr', 'collins', 'and', 'lizzy', 'lizzy', 'declares', 'she', 'will', 'not', 'have', 'mr', 'collins', 'and', 'mr', 'collins', 'begins', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'he', 'will', 'not', 'have', 'lizzy', 'and', 'what', 'am', 'i', 'to', 'do', 'on', 'the', 'occasion', 'it', 'seems', 'an', 'hopeless', 'business', 'speak', 'to', 'lizzy', 'about', 'it', 'yourself', 'tell', 'her', 'that', 'you', 'insist', 'upon', 'her', 'marrying', 'him', 'let', 'her', 'be', 'called', 'down', 'she', 'shall', 'hear', 'my', 'opinion', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'rang', 'the', 'bell', 'and', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'summoned', 'to', 'the', 'library', 'come', 'here', 'child', 'cried', 'her', 'father', 'as', 'she', 'appeared', 'i', 'have', 'sent', 'for', 'you', 'on', 'an', 'affair', 'of', 'importance', 'i', 'understand', 'that', 'mr', 'collins', 'has', 'made', 'you', 'an', 'offer', 'of', 'marriage', 'is', 'it', 'true', 'elizabeth', 'replied', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'very', 'welland', 'this', 'offer', 'of', 'marriage', 'you', 'have', 'refused', 'i', 'have', 'sir', 'very', 'well', 'we', 'now', 'come', 'to', 'the', 'point', 'your', 'mother', 'insists', 'upon', 'your', 'accepting', 'it', 'is', 'it', 'not', 'so', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'yes', 'or', 'i', 'will', 'never', 'see', 'her', 'again', 'an', 'unhappy', 'alternative', 'is', 'before', 'you', 'elizabeth', 'from', 'this', 'day', 'you', 'must', 'be', 'a', 'stranger', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'your', 'parents', 'your', 'mother', 'will', 'never', 'see', 'you', 'again', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'marry', 'mr', 'collins', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'never', 'see', 'you', 'again', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'but', 'smile', 'at', 'such', 'a', 'conclusion', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'beginning', 'but', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'who', 'had', 'persuaded', 'herself', 'that', 'her', 'husband', 'regarded', 'the', 'affair', 'as', 'she', 'wished', 'was', 'excessively', 'disappointed', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'mr', 'bennet', 'in', 'talking', 'this', 'way', 'you', 'promised', 'me', 'to', 'insist', 'upon', 'her', 'marrying', 'him', 'my', 'dear', 'replied', 'her', 'husband', 'i', 'have', 'two', 'small', 'favours', 'to', 'request', 'first', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'allow', 'me', 'the', 'free', 'use', 'of', 'my', 'understanding', 'on', 'the', 'present', 'occasion', 'and', 'secondly', 'of', 'my', 'room', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'glad', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'library', 'to', 'myself', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'may', 'be', 'not', 'yet', 'however', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'her', 'disappointment', 'in', 'her', 'husband', 'did', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'give', 'up', 'the', 'point', 'she', 'talked', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'again', 'and', 'again', 'coaxed', 'and', 'threatened', 'her', 'by', 'turns', 'she', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'secure', 'jane', 'in', 'her', 'interest', 'but', 'jane', 'with', 'all', 'possible', 'mildness', 'declined', 'interfering', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'sometimes', 'with', 'real', 'earnestness', 'and', 'sometimes', 'with', 'playful', 'gaiety', 'replied', 'to', 'her', 'attacks', 'though', 'her', 'manner', 'varied', 'however', 'her', 'determination', 'never', 'did', 'mr', 'collins', 'meanwhile', 'was', 'meditating', 'in', 'solitude', 'on', 'what', 'had', 'passed', 'he', 'thought', 'too', 'well', 'of', 'himself', 'to', 'comprehend', 'on', 'what', 'motives', 'his', 'cousin', 'could', 'refuse', 'him', 'and', 'though', 'his', 'pride', 'was', 'hurt', 'he', 'suffered', 'in', 'no', 'other', 'way', 'his', 'regard', 'for', 'her', 'was', 'quite', 'imaginary', 'and', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'her', 'deserving', 'her', 'mothers', 'reproach', 'prevented', 'his', 'feeling', 'any', 'regret', 'while', 'the', 'family', 'were', 'in', 'this', 'confusion', 'charlotte', 'lucas', 'came', 'to', 'spend', 'the', 'day', 'with', 'them', 'she', 'was', 'met', 'in', 'the', 'vestibule', 'by', 'lydia', 'who', 'flying', 'to', 'her', 'cried', 'in', 'a', 'half', 'whisper', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'you', 'are', 'come', 'for', 'there', 'is', 'such', 'fun', 'here', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'has', 'happened', 'this', 'morning', 'mr', 'collins', 'has', 'made', 'an', 'offer', 'to', 'lizzy', 'and', 'she', 'will', 'not', 'have', 'him', 'charlotte', 'hardly', 'had', 'time', 'to', 'answer', 'before', 'they', 'were', 'joined', 'by', 'kitty', 'who', 'came', 'to', 'tell', 'the', 'same', 'news', 'and', 'no', 'sooner', 'had', 'they', 'entered', 'the', 'breakfastroom', 'where', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'alone', 'than', 'she', 'likewise', 'began', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'calling', 'on', 'miss', 'lucas', 'for', 'her', 'compassion', 'and', 'entreating', 'her', 'to', 'persuade', 'her', 'friend', 'lizzy', 'to', 'comply', 'with', 'the', 'wishes', 'of', 'all', 'her', 'family', 'pray', 'do', 'my', 'dear', 'miss', 'lucas', 'she', 'added', 'in', 'a', 'melancholy', 'tone', 'for', 'nobody', 'is', 'on', 'my', 'side', 'nobody', 'takes', 'part', 'with', 'me', 'i', 'am', 'cruelly', 'used', 'nobody', 'feels', 'for', 'my', 'poor', 'nerves', 'charlottes', 'reply', 'was', 'spared', 'by', 'the', 'entrance', 'of', 'jane', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'aye', 'there', 'she', 'comes', 'continued', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'looking', 'as', 'unconcerned', 'as', 'may', 'be', 'and', 'caring', 'no', 'more', 'for', 'us', 'than', 'if', 'we', 'were', 'at', 'york', 'provided', 'she', 'can', 'have', 'her', 'own', 'way', 'but', 'i', 'tell', 'you', 'miss', 'lizzyif', 'you', 'take', 'it', 'into', 'your', 'head', 'to', 'go', 'on', 'refusing', 'every', 'offer', 'of', 'marriage', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'you', 'will', 'never', 'get', 'a', 'husband', 'at', 'alland', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'who', 'is', 'to', 'maintain', 'you', 'when', 'your', 'father', 'is', 'dead', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'keep', 'youand', 'so', 'i', 'warn', 'you', 'i', 'have', 'done', 'with', 'you', 'from', 'this', 'very', 'day', 'i', 'told', 'you', 'in', 'the', 'library', 'you', 'know', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'never', 'speak', 'to', 'you', 'again', 'and', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'me', 'as', 'good', 'as', 'my', 'word', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'pleasure', 'in', 'talking', 'to', 'undutiful', 'children', 'not', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'much', 'pleasure', 'indeed', 'in', 'talking', 'to', 'anybody', 'people', 'who', 'suffer', 'as', 'i', 'do', 'from', 'nervous', 'complaints', 'can', 'have', 'no', 'great', 'inclination', 'for', 'talking', 'nobody', 'can', 'tell', 'what', 'i', 'suffer', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'always', 'so', 'those', 'who', 'do', 'not', 'complain', 'are', 'never', 'pitied', 'her', 'daughters', 'listened', 'in', 'silence', 'to', 'this', 'effusion', 'sensible', 'that', 'any', 'attempt', 'to', 'reason', 'with', 'her', 'or', 'soothe', 'her', 'would', 'only', 'increase', 'the', 'irritation', 'she', 'talked', 'on', 'therefore', 'without', 'interruption', 'from', 'any', 'of', 'them', 'till', 'they', 'were', 'joined', 'by', 'mr', 'collins', 'who', 'entered', 'the', 'room', 'with', 'an', 'air', 'more', 'stately', 'than', 'usual', 'and', 'on', 'perceiving', 'whom', 'she', 'said', 'to', 'the', 'girls', 'now', 'i', 'do', 'insist', 'upon', 'it', 'that', 'you', 'all', 'of', 'you', 'hold', 'your', 'tongues', 'and', 'let', 'me', 'and', 'mr', 'collins', 'have', 'a', 'little', 'conversation', 'together', 'elizabeth', 'passed', 'quietly', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'jane', 'and', 'kitty', 'followed', 'but', 'lydia', 'stood', 'her', 'ground', 'determined', 'to', 'hear', 'all', 'she', 'could', 'and', 'charlotte', 'detained', 'first', 'by', 'the', 'civility', 'of', 'mr', 'collins', 'whose', 'enquiries', 'after', 'herself', 'and', 'all', 'her', 'family', 'were', 'very', 'minute', 'and', 'then', 'by', 'a', 'little', 'curiosity', 'satisfied', 'herself', 'with', 'walking', 'to', 'the', 'window', 'and', 'pretending', 'not', 'to', 'hear', 'in', 'a', 'doleful', 'voice', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'began', 'the', 'projected', 'conversation', 'oh', 'mr', 'collins', 'my', 'dear', 'madam', 'replied', 'he', 'let', 'us', 'be', 'for', 'ever', 'silent', 'on', 'this', 'point', 'far', 'be', 'it', 'from', 'me', 'he', 'presently', 'continued', 'in', 'a', 'voice', 'that', 'marked', 'his', 'displeasure', 'to', 'resent', 'the', 'behaviour', 'of', 'your', 'daughter', 'resignation', 'to', 'inevitable', 'evils', 'is', 'the', 'duty', 'of', 'us', 'all', 'the', 'peculiar', 'duty', 'of', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'who', 'has', 'been', 'so', 'fortunate', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'in', 'early', 'preferment', 'and', 'i', 'trust', 'i', 'am', 'resigned', 'perhaps', 'not', 'the', 'less', 'so', 'from', 'feeling', 'a', 'doubt', 'of', 'my', 'positive', 'happiness', 'had', 'my', 'fair', 'cousin', 'honoured', 'me', 'with', 'her', 'hand', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'often', 'observed', 'that', 'resignation', 'is', 'never', 'so', 'perfect', 'as', 'when', 'the', 'blessing', 'denied', 'begins', 'to', 'lose', 'somewhat', 'of', 'its', 'value', 'in', 'our', 'estimation', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'i', 'hope', 'consider', 'me', 'as', 'showing', 'any', 'disrespect', 'to', 'your', 'family', 'my', 'dear', 'madam', 'by', 'thus', 'withdrawing', 'my', 'pretensions', 'to', 'your', 'daughters', 'favour', 'without', 'having', 'paid', 'yourself', 'and', 'mr', 'bennet', 'the', 'compliment', 'of', 'requesting', 'you', 'to', 'interpose', 'your', 'authority', 'in', 'my', 'behalf', 'my', 'conduct', 'may', 'i', 'fear', 'be', 'objectionable', 'in', 'having', 'accepted', 'my', 'dismission', 'from', 'your', 'daughters', 'lips', 'instead', 'of', 'your', 'own', 'but', 'we', 'are', 'all', 'liable', 'to', 'error', 'i', 'have', 'certainly', 'meant', 'well', 'through', 'the', 'whole', 'affair', 'my', 'object', 'has', 'been', 'to', 'secure', 'an', 'amiable', 'companion', 'for', 'myself', 'with', 'due', 'consideration', 'for', 'the', 'advantage', 'of', 'all', 'your', 'family', 'and', 'if', 'my', 'manner', 'has', 'been', 'at', 'all', 'reprehensible', 'i', 'here', 'beg', 'leave', 'to', 'apologise', 'the', 'discussion', 'of', 'mr', 'collinss', 'offer', 'was', 'now', 'nearly', 'at', 'an', 'end', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'only', 'to', 'suffer', 'from', 'the', 'uncomfortable', 'feelings', 'necessarily', 'attending', 'it', 'and', 'occasionally', 'from', 'some', 'peevish', 'allusions', 'of', 'her', 'mother', 'as', 'for', 'the', 'gentleman', 'himself', 'his', 'feelings', 'were', 'chiefly', 'expressed', 'not', 'by', 'embarrassment', 'or', 'dejection', 'or', 'by', 'trying', 'to', 'avoid', 'her', 'but', 'by', 'stiffness', 'of', 'manner', 'and', 'resentful', 'silence', 'he', 'scarcely', 'ever', 'spoke', 'to', 'her', 'and', 'the', 'assiduous', 'attentions', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'so', 'sensible', 'of', 'himself', 'were', 'transferred', 'for', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'to', 'miss', 'lucas', 'whose', 'civility', 'in', 'listening', 'to', 'him', 'was', 'a', 'seasonable', 'relief', 'to', 'them', 'all', 'and', 'especially', 'to', 'her', 'friend', 'the', 'morrow', 'produced', 'no', 'abatement', 'of', 'mrs', 'bennets', 'illhumour', 'or', 'ill', 'health', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'also', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'state', 'of', 'angry', 'pride', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'hoped', 'that', 'his', 'resentment', 'might', 'shorten', 'his', 'visit', 'but', 'his', 'plan', 'did', 'not', 'appear', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'affected', 'by', 'it', 'he', 'was', 'always', 'to', 'have', 'gone', 'on', 'saturday', 'and', 'to', 'saturday', 'he', 'meant', 'to', 'stay', 'after', 'breakfast', 'the', 'girls', 'walked', 'to', 'meryton', 'to', 'enquire', 'if', 'mr', 'wickham', 'were', 'returned', 'and', 'to', 'lament', 'over', 'his', 'absence', 'from', 'the', 'netherfield', 'ball', 'he', 'joined', 'them', 'on', 'their', 'entering', 'the', 'town', 'and', 'attended', 'them', 'to', 'their', 'aunts', 'where', 'his', 'regret', 'and', 'vexation', 'and', 'the', 'concern', 'of', 'everybody', 'was', 'well', 'talked', 'over', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'however', 'he', 'voluntarily', 'acknowledged', 'that', 'the', 'necessity', 'of', 'his', 'absence', 'had', 'been', 'selfimposed', 'i', 'found', 'said', 'he', 'as', 'the', 'time', 'drew', 'near', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'better', 'not', 'meet', 'mr', 'darcy', 'that', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'room', 'the', 'same', 'party', 'with', 'him', 'for', 'so', 'many', 'hours', 'together', 'might', 'be', 'more', 'than', 'i', 'could', 'bear', 'and', 'that', 'scenes', 'might', 'arise', 'unpleasant', 'to', 'more', 'than', 'myself', 'she', 'highly', 'approved', 'his', 'forbearance', 'and', 'they', 'had', 'leisure', 'for', 'a', 'full', 'discussion', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'for', 'all', 'the', 'commendation', 'which', 'they', 'civilly', 'bestowed', 'on', 'each', 'other', 'as', 'wickham', 'and', 'another', 'officer', 'walked', 'back', 'with', 'them', 'to', 'longbourn', 'and', 'during', 'the', 'walk', 'he', 'particularly', 'attended', 'to', 'her', 'his', 'accompanying', 'them', 'was', 'a', 'double', 'advantage', 'she', 'felt', 'all', 'the', 'compliment', 'it', 'offered', 'to', 'herself', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'most', 'acceptable', 'as', 'an', 'occasion', 'of', 'introducing', 'him', 'to', 'her', 'father', 'and', 'mother', 'soon', 'after', 'their', 'return', 'a', 'letter', 'was', 'delivered', 'to', 'miss', 'bennet', 'it', 'came', 'from', 'netherfield', 'the', 'envelope', 'contained', 'a', 'sheet', 'of', 'elegant', 'little', 'hotpressed', 'paper', 'well', 'covered', 'with', 'a', 'ladys', 'fair', 'flowing', 'hand', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'saw', 'her', 'sisters', 'countenance', 'change', 'as', 'she', 'read', 'it', 'and', 'saw', 'her', 'dwelling', 'intently', 'on', 'some', 'particular', 'passages', 'jane', 'recollected', 'herself', 'soon', 'and', 'putting', 'the', 'letter', 'away', 'tried', 'to', 'join', 'with', 'her', 'usual', 'cheerfulness', 'in', 'the', 'general', 'conversation', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'an', 'anxiety', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'which', 'drew', 'off', 'her', 'attention', 'even', 'from', 'wickham', 'and', 'no', 'sooner', 'had', 'he', 'and', 'his', 'companion', 'taken', 'leave', 'than', 'a', 'glance', 'from', 'jane', 'invited', 'her', 'to', 'follow', 'her', 'up', 'stairs', 'when', 'they', 'had', 'gained', 'their', 'own', 'room', 'jane', 'taking', 'out', 'the', 'letter', 'said', 'this', 'is', 'from', 'caroline', 'bingley', 'what', 'it', 'contains', 'has', 'surprised', 'me', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'have', 'left', 'netherfield', 'by', 'this', 'time', 'and', 'are', 'on', 'their', 'way', 'to', 'townand', 'without', 'any', 'intention', 'of', 'coming', 'back', 'again', 'you', 'shall', 'hear', 'what', 'she', 'says', 'she', 'then', 'read', 'the', 'first', 'sentence', 'aloud', 'which', 'comprised', 'the', 'information', 'of', 'their', 'having', 'just', 'resolved', 'to', 'follow', 'their', 'brother', 'to', 'town', 'directly', 'and', 'of', 'their', 'meaning', 'to', 'dine', 'in', 'grosvenor', 'street', 'where', 'mr', 'hurst', 'had', 'a', 'house', 'the', 'next', 'was', 'in', 'these', 'words', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'pretend', 'to', 'regret', 'anything', 'i', 'shall', 'leave', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'except', 'your', 'society', 'my', 'dearest', 'friend', 'but', 'we', 'will', 'hope', 'at', 'some', 'future', 'period', 'to', 'enjoy', 'many', 'returns', 'of', 'that', 'delightful', 'intercourse', 'we', 'have', 'known', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'meanwhile', 'may', 'lessen', 'the', 'pain', 'of', 'separation', 'by', 'a', 'very', 'frequent', 'and', 'most', 'unreserved', 'correspondence', 'i', 'depend', 'on', 'you', 'for', 'that', 'to', 'these', 'highflown', 'expressions', 'elizabeth', 'listened', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'insensibility', 'of', 'distrust', 'and', 'though', 'the', 'suddenness', 'of', 'their', 'removal', 'surprised', 'her', 'she', 'saw', 'nothing', 'in', 'it', 'really', 'to', 'lament', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'supposed', 'that', 'their', 'absence', 'from', 'netherfield', 'would', 'prevent', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'being', 'there', 'and', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'their', 'society', 'she', 'was', 'persuaded', 'that', 'jane', 'must', 'cease', 'to', 'regard', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'enjoyment', 'of', 'his', 'it', 'is', 'unlucky', 'said', 'she', 'after', 'a', 'short', 'pause', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'see', 'your', 'friends', 'before', 'they', 'leave', 'the', 'country', 'but', 'may', 'we', 'not', 'hope', 'that', 'the', 'period', 'of', 'future', 'happiness', 'to', 'which', 'miss', 'bingley', 'looks', 'forward', 'may', 'arrive', 'earlier', 'than', 'she', 'is', 'aware', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'delightful', 'intercourse', 'you', 'have', 'known', 'as', 'friends', 'will', 'be', 'renewed', 'with', 'yet', 'greater', 'satisfaction', 'as', 'sisters', 'mr', 'bingley', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'detained', 'in', 'london', 'by', 'them', 'caroline', 'decidedly', 'says', 'that', 'none', 'of', 'the', 'party', 'will', 'return', 'into', 'hertfordshire', 'this', 'winter', 'i', 'will', 'read', 'it', 'to', 'you', 'when', 'my', 'brother', 'left', 'us', 'yesterday', 'he', 'imagined', 'that', 'the', 'business', 'which', 'took', 'him', 'to', 'london', 'might', 'be', 'concluded', 'in', 'three', 'or', 'four', 'days', 'but', 'as', 'we', 'are', 'certain', 'it', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'so', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'convinced', 'that', 'when', 'charles', 'gets', 'to', 'town', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'in', 'no', 'hurry', 'to', 'leave', 'it', 'again', 'we', 'have', 'determined', 'on', 'following', 'him', 'thither', 'that', 'he', 'may', 'not', 'be', 'obliged', 'to', 'spend', 'his', 'vacant', 'hours', 'in', 'a', 'comfortless', 'hotel', 'many', 'of', 'my', 'acquaintances', 'are', 'already', 'there', 'for', 'the', 'winter', 'i', 'wish', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'hear', 'that', 'you', 'my', 'dearest', 'friend', 'had', 'any', 'intention', 'of', 'making', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'crowdbut', 'of', 'that', 'i', 'despair', 'i', 'sincerely', 'hope', 'your', 'christmas', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'may', 'abound', 'in', 'the', 'gaieties', 'which', 'that', 'season', 'generally', 'brings', 'and', 'that', 'your', 'beaux', 'will', 'be', 'so', 'numerous', 'as', 'to', 'prevent', 'your', 'feeling', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'the', 'three', 'of', 'whom', 'we', 'shall', 'deprive', 'you', 'it', 'is', 'evident', 'by', 'this', 'added', 'jane', 'that', 'he', 'comes', 'back', 'no', 'more', 'this', 'winter', 'it', 'is', 'only', 'evident', 'that', 'miss', 'bingley', 'does', 'not', 'mean', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'why', 'will', 'you', 'think', 'so', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'his', 'own', 'doing', 'he', 'is', 'his', 'own', 'master', 'but', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'all', 'i', 'will', 'read', 'you', 'the', 'passage', 'which', 'particularly', 'hurts', 'me', 'i', 'will', 'have', 'no', 'reserves', 'from', 'you', 'mr', 'darcy', 'is', 'impatient', 'to', 'see', 'his', 'sister', 'and', 'to', 'confess', 'the', 'truth', 'we', 'are', 'scarcely', 'less', 'eager', 'to', 'meet', 'her', 'again', 'i', 'really', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'georgiana', 'darcy', 'has', 'her', 'equal', 'for', 'beauty', 'elegance', 'and', 'accomplishments', 'and', 'the', 'affection', 'she', 'inspires', 'in', 'louisa', 'and', 'myself', 'is', 'heightened', 'into', 'something', 'still', 'more', 'interesting', 'from', 'the', 'hope', 'we', 'dare', 'entertain', 'of', 'her', 'being', 'hereafter', 'our', 'sister', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'whether', 'i', 'ever', 'before', 'mentioned', 'to', 'you', 'my', 'feelings', 'on', 'this', 'subject', 'but', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'leave', 'the', 'country', 'without', 'confiding', 'them', 'and', 'i', 'trust', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'esteem', 'them', 'unreasonable', 'my', 'brother', 'admires', 'her', 'greatly', 'already', 'he', 'will', 'have', 'frequent', 'opportunity', 'now', 'of', 'seeing', 'her', 'on', 'the', 'most', 'intimate', 'footing', 'her', 'relations', 'all', 'wish', 'the', 'connection', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'his', 'own', 'and', 'a', 'sisters', 'partiality', 'is', 'not', 'misleading', 'me', 'i', 'think', 'when', 'i', 'call', 'charles', 'most', 'capable', 'of', 'engaging', 'any', 'womans', 'heart', 'with', 'all', 'these', 'circumstances', 'to', 'favour', 'an', 'attachment', 'and', 'nothing', 'to', 'prevent', 'it', 'am', 'i', 'wrong', 'my', 'dearest', 'jane', 'in', 'indulging', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'an', 'event', 'which', 'will', 'secure', 'the', 'happiness', 'of', 'so', 'many', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'of', 'this', 'sentence', 'my', 'dear', 'lizzy', 'said', 'jane', 'as', 'she', 'finished', 'it', 'is', 'it', 'not', 'clear', 'enough', 'does', 'it', 'not', 'expressly', 'declare', 'that', 'caroline', 'neither', 'expects', 'nor', 'wishes', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'her', 'sister', 'that', 'she', 'is', 'perfectly', 'convinced', 'of', 'her', 'brothers', 'indifference', 'and', 'that', 'if', 'she', 'suspects', 'the', 'nature', 'of', 'my', 'feelings', 'for', 'him', 'she', 'means', 'most', 'kindly', 'to', 'put', 'me', 'on', 'my', 'guard', 'can', 'there', 'be', 'any', 'other', 'opinion', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'yes', 'there', 'can', 'for', 'mine', 'is', 'totally', 'different', 'will', 'you', 'hear', 'it', 'most', 'willingly', 'you', 'shall', 'have', 'it', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'words', 'miss', 'bingley', 'sees', 'that', 'her', 'brother', 'is', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'you', 'and', 'wants', 'him', 'to', 'marry', 'miss', 'darcy', 'she', 'follows', 'him', 'to', 'town', 'in', 'hope', 'of', 'keeping', 'him', 'there', 'and', 'tries', 'to', 'persuade', 'you', 'that', 'he', 'does', 'not', 'care', 'about', 'you', 'jane', 'shook', 'her', 'head', 'indeed', 'jane', 'you', 'ought', 'to', 'believe', 'me', 'no', 'one', 'who', 'has', 'ever', 'seen', 'you', 'together', 'can', 'doubt', 'his', 'affection', 'miss', 'bingley', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'can', 'not', 'she', 'is', 'not', 'such', 'a', 'simpleton', 'could', 'she', 'have', 'seen', 'half', 'as', 'much', 'love', 'in', 'mr', 'darcy', 'for', 'herself', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'ordered', 'her', 'wedding', 'clothes', 'but', 'the', 'case', 'is', 'this', 'we', 'are', 'not', 'rich', 'enough', 'or', 'grand', 'enough', 'for', 'them', 'and', 'she', 'is', 'the', 'more', 'anxious', 'to', 'get', 'miss', 'darcy', 'for', 'her', 'brother', 'from', 'the', 'notion', 'that', 'when', 'there', 'has', 'been', 'one', 'intermarriage', 'she', 'may', 'have', 'less', 'trouble', 'in', 'achieving', 'a', 'second', 'in', 'which', 'there', 'is', 'certainly', 'some', 'ingenuity', 'and', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'it', 'would', 'succeed', 'if', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'were', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'way', 'but', 'my', 'dearest', 'jane', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'seriously', 'imagine', 'that', 'because', 'miss', 'bingley', 'tells', 'you', 'her', 'brother', 'greatly', 'admires', 'miss', 'darcy', 'he', 'is', 'in', 'the', 'smallest', 'degree', 'less', 'sensible', 'of', 'your', 'merit', 'than', 'when', 'he', 'took', 'leave', 'of', 'you', 'on', 'tuesday', 'or', 'that', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'in', 'her', 'power', 'to', 'persuade', 'him', 'that', 'instead', 'of', 'being', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'you', 'he', 'is', 'very', 'much', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'her', 'friend', 'if', 'we', 'thought', 'alike', 'of', 'miss', 'bingley', 'replied', 'jane', 'your', 'representation', 'of', 'all', 'this', 'might', 'make', 'me', 'quite', 'easy', 'but', 'i', 'know', 'the', 'foundation', 'is', 'unjust', 'caroline', 'is', 'incapable', 'of', 'wilfully', 'deceiving', 'anyone', 'and', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'hope', 'in', 'this', 'case', 'is', 'that', 'she', 'is', 'deceiving', 'herself', 'that', 'is', 'right', 'you', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'started', 'a', 'more', 'happy', 'idea', 'since', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'take', 'comfort', 'in', 'mine', 'believe', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'deceived', 'by', 'all', 'means', 'you', 'have', 'now', 'done', 'your', 'duty', 'by', 'her', 'and', 'must', 'fret', 'no', 'longer', 'but', 'my', 'dear', 'sister', 'can', 'i', 'be', 'happy', 'even', 'supposing', 'the', 'best', 'in', 'accepting', 'a', 'man', 'whose', 'sisters', 'and', 'friends', 'are', 'all', 'wishing', 'him', 'to', 'marry', 'elsewhere', 'you', 'must', 'decide', 'for', 'yourself', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'if', 'upon', 'mature', 'deliberation', 'you', 'find', 'that', 'the', 'misery', 'of', 'disobliging', 'his', 'two', 'sisters', 'is', 'more', 'than', 'equivalent', 'to', 'the', 'happiness', 'of', 'being', 'his', 'wife', 'i', 'advise', 'you', 'by', 'all', 'means', 'to', 'refuse', 'him', 'how', 'can', 'you', 'talk', 'so', 'said', 'jane', 'faintly', 'smiling', 'you', 'must', 'know', 'that', 'though', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'exceedingly', 'grieved', 'at', 'their', 'disapprobation', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'hesitate', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'think', 'you', 'would', 'and', 'that', 'being', 'the', 'case', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'consider', 'your', 'situation', 'with', 'much', 'compassion', 'but', 'if', 'he', 'returns', 'no', 'more', 'this', 'winter', 'my', 'choice', 'will', 'never', 'be', 'required', 'a', 'thousand', 'things', 'may', 'arise', 'in', 'six', 'months', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'his', 'returning', 'no', 'more', 'elizabeth', 'treated', 'with', 'the', 'utmost', 'contempt', 'it', 'appeared', 'to', 'her', 'merely', 'the', 'suggestion', 'of', 'carolines', 'interested', 'wishes', 'and', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'suppose', 'that', 'those', 'wishes', 'however', 'openly', 'or', 'artfully', 'spoken', 'could', 'influence', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'so', 'totally', 'independent', 'of', 'everyone', 'she', 'represented', 'to', 'her', 'sister', 'as', 'forcibly', 'as', 'possible', 'what', 'she', 'felt', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'and', 'had', 'soon', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'seeing', 'its', 'happy', 'effect', 'janes', 'temper', 'was', 'not', 'desponding', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'gradually', 'led', 'to', 'hope', 'though', 'the', 'diffidence', 'of', 'affection', 'sometimes', 'overcame', 'the', 'hope', 'that', 'bingley', 'would', 'return', 'to', 'netherfield', 'and', 'answer', 'every', 'wish', 'of', 'her', 'heart', 'they', 'agreed', 'that', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'should', 'only', 'hear', 'of', 'the', 'departure', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'without', 'being', 'alarmed', 'on', 'the', 'score', 'of', 'the', 'gentlemans', 'conduct', 'but', 'even', 'this', 'partial', 'communication', 'gave', 'her', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'concern', 'and', 'she', 'bewailed', 'it', 'as', 'exceedingly', 'unlucky', 'that', 'the', 'ladies', 'should', 'happen', 'to', 'go', 'away', 'just', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'getting', 'so', 'intimate', 'together', 'after', 'lamenting', 'it', 'however', 'at', 'some', 'length', 'she', 'had', 'the', 'consolation', 'that', 'mr', 'bingley', 'would', 'be', 'soon', 'down', 'again', 'and', 'soon', 'dining', 'at', 'longbourn', 'and', 'the', 'conclusion', 'of', 'all', 'was', 'the', 'comfortable', 'declaration', 'that', 'though', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'invited', 'only', 'to', 'a', 'family', 'dinner', 'she', 'would', 'take', 'care', 'to', 'have', 'two', 'full', 'courses', 'the', 'bennets', 'were', 'engaged', 'to', 'dine', 'with', 'the', 'lucases', 'and', 'again', 'during', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'was', 'miss', 'lucas', 'so', 'kind', 'as', 'to', 'listen', 'to', 'mr', 'collins', 'elizabeth', 'took', 'an', 'opportunity', 'of', 'thanking', 'her', 'it', 'keeps', 'him', 'in', 'good', 'humour', 'said', 'she', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'more', 'obliged', 'to', 'you', 'than', 'i', 'can', 'express', 'charlotte', 'assured', 'her', 'friend', 'of', 'her', 'satisfaction', 'in', 'being', 'useful', 'and', 'that', 'it', 'amply', 'repaid', 'her', 'for', 'the', 'little', 'sacrifice', 'of', 'her', 'time', 'this', 'was', 'very', 'amiable', 'but', 'charlottes', 'kindness', 'extended', 'farther', 'than', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'any', 'conception', 'of', 'its', 'object', 'was', 'nothing', 'else', 'than', 'to', 'secure', 'her', 'from', 'any', 'return', 'of', 'mr', 'collinss', 'addresses', 'by', 'engaging', 'them', 'towards', 'herself', 'such', 'was', 'miss', 'lucass', 'scheme', 'and', 'appearances', 'were', 'so', 'favourable', 'that', 'when', 'they', 'parted', 'at', 'night', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'felt', 'almost', 'secure', 'of', 'success', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'to', 'leave', 'hertfordshire', 'so', 'very', 'soon', 'but', 'here', 'she', 'did', 'injustice', 'to', 'the', 'fire', 'and', 'independence', 'of', 'his', 'character', 'for', 'it', 'led', 'him', 'to', 'escape', 'out', 'of', 'longbourn', 'house', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'with', 'admirable', 'slyness', 'and', 'hasten', 'to', 'lucas', 'lodge', 'to', 'throw', 'himself', 'at', 'her', 'feet', 'he', 'was', 'anxious', 'to', 'avoid', 'the', 'notice', 'of', 'his', 'cousins', 'from', 'a', 'conviction', 'that', 'if', 'they', 'saw', 'him', 'depart', 'they', 'could', 'not', 'fail', 'to', 'conjecture', 'his', 'design', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'willing', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'attempt', 'known', 'till', 'its', 'success', 'might', 'be', 'known', 'likewise', 'for', 'though', 'feeling', 'almost', 'secure', 'and', 'with', 'reason', 'for', 'charlotte', 'had', 'been', 'tolerably', 'encouraging', 'he', 'was', 'comparatively', 'diffident', 'since', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'wednesday', 'his', 'reception', 'however', 'was', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'flattering', 'kind', 'miss', 'lucas', 'perceived', 'him', 'from', 'an', 'upper', 'window', 'as', 'he', 'walked', 'towards', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'instantly', 'set', 'out', 'to', 'meet', 'him', 'accidentally', 'in', 'the', 'lane', 'but', 'little', 'had', 'she', 'dared', 'to', 'hope', 'that', 'so', 'much', 'love', 'and', 'eloquence', 'awaited', 'her', 'there', 'in', 'as', 'short', 'a', 'time', 'as', 'mr', 'collinss', 'long', 'speeches', 'would', 'allow', 'everything', 'was', 'settled', 'between', 'them', 'to', 'the', 'satisfaction', 'of', 'both', 'and', 'as', 'they', 'entered', 'the', 'house', 'he', 'earnestly', 'entreated', 'her', 'to', 'name', 'the', 'day', 'that', 'was', 'to', 'make', 'him', 'the', 'happiest', 'of', 'men', 'and', 'though', 'such', 'a', 'solicitation', 'must', 'be', 'waived', 'for', 'the', 'present', 'the', 'lady', 'felt', 'no', 'inclination', 'to', 'trifle', 'with', 'his', 'happiness', 'the', 'stupidity', 'with', 'which', 'he', 'was', 'favoured', 'by', 'nature', 'must', 'guard', 'his', 'courtship', 'from', 'any', 'charm', 'that', 'could', 'make', 'a', 'woman', 'wish', 'for', 'its', 'continuance', 'and', 'miss', 'lucas', 'who', 'accepted', 'him', 'solely', 'from', 'the', 'pure', 'and', 'disinterested', 'desire', 'of', 'an', 'establishment', 'cared', 'not', 'how', 'soon', 'that', 'establishment', 'were', 'gained', 'sir', 'william', 'and', 'lady', 'lucas', 'were', 'speedily', 'applied', 'to', 'for', 'their', 'consent', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'bestowed', 'with', 'a', 'most', 'joyful', 'alacrity', 'mr', 'collinss', 'present', 'circumstances', 'made', 'it', 'a', 'most', 'eligible', 'match', 'for', 'their', 'daughter', 'to', 'whom', 'they', 'could', 'give', 'little', 'fortune', 'and', 'his', 'prospects', 'of', 'future', 'wealth', 'were', 'exceedingly', 'fair', 'lady', 'lucas', 'began', 'directly', 'to', 'calculate', 'with', 'more', 'interest', 'than', 'the', 'matter', 'had', 'ever', 'excited', 'before', 'how', 'many', 'years', 'longer', 'mr', 'bennet', 'was', 'likely', 'to', 'live', 'and', 'sir', 'william', 'gave', 'it', 'as', 'his', 'decided', 'opinion', 'that', 'whenever', 'mr', 'collins', 'should', 'be', 'in', 'possession', 'of', 'the', 'longbourn', 'estate', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'highly', 'expedient', 'that', 'both', 'he', 'and', 'his', 'wife', 'should', 'make', 'their', 'appearance', 'at', 'st', 'jamess', 'the', 'whole', 'family', 'in', 'short', 'were', 'properly', 'overjoyed', 'on', 'the', 'occasion', 'the', 'younger', 'girls', 'formed', 'hopes', 'of', 'coming', 'out', 'a', 'year', 'or', 'two', 'sooner', 'than', 'they', 'might', 'otherwise', 'have', 'done', 'and', 'the', 'boys', 'were', 'relieved', 'from', 'their', 'apprehension', 'of', 'charlottes', 'dying', 'an', 'old', 'maid', 'charlotte', 'herself', 'was', 'tolerably', 'composed', 'she', 'had', 'gained', 'her', 'point', 'and', 'had', 'time', 'to', 'consider', 'of', 'it', 'her', 'reflections', 'were', 'in', 'general', 'satisfactory', 'mr', 'collins', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'was', 'neither', 'sensible', 'nor', 'agreeable', 'his', 'society', 'was', 'irksome', 'and', 'his', 'attachment', 'to', 'her', 'must', 'be', 'imaginary', 'but', 'still', 'he', 'would', 'be', 'her', 'husband', 'without', 'thinking', 'highly', 'either', 'of', 'men', 'or', 'matrimony', 'marriage', 'had', 'always', 'been', 'her', 'object', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'only', 'provision', 'for', 'welleducated', 'young', 'women', 'of', 'small', 'fortune', 'and', 'however', 'uncertain', 'of', 'giving', 'happiness', 'must', 'be', 'their', 'pleasantest', 'preservative', 'from', 'want', 'this', 'preservative', 'she', 'had', 'now', 'obtained', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'age', 'of', 'twentyseven', 'without', 'having', 'ever', 'been', 'handsome', 'she', 'felt', 'all', 'the', 'good', 'luck', 'of', 'it', 'the', 'least', 'agreeable', 'circumstance', 'in', 'the', 'business', 'was', 'the', 'surprise', 'it', 'must', 'occasion', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'bennet', 'whose', 'friendship', 'she', 'valued', 'beyond', 'that', 'of', 'any', 'other', 'person', 'elizabeth', 'would', 'wonder', 'and', 'probably', 'would', 'blame', 'her', 'and', 'though', 'her', 'resolution', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'shaken', 'her', 'feelings', 'must', 'be', 'hurt', 'by', 'such', 'a', 'disapprobation', 'she', 'resolved', 'to', 'give', 'her', 'the', 'information', 'herself', 'and', 'therefore', 'charged', 'mr', 'collins', 'when', 'he', 'returned', 'to', 'longbourn', 'to', 'dinner', 'to', 'drop', 'no', 'hint', 'of', 'what', 'had', 'passed', 'before', 'any', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'a', 'promise', 'of', 'secrecy', 'was', 'of', 'course', 'very', 'dutifully', 'given', 'but', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'kept', 'without', 'difficulty', 'for', 'the', 'curiosity', 'excited', 'by', 'his', 'long', 'absence', 'burst', 'forth', 'in', 'such', 'very', 'direct', 'questions', 'on', 'his', 'return', 'as', 'required', 'some', 'ingenuity', 'to', 'evade', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'exercising', 'great', 'selfdenial', 'for', 'he', 'was', 'longing', 'to', 'publish', 'his', 'prosperous', 'love', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'to', 'begin', 'his', 'journey', 'too', 'early', 'on', 'the', 'morrow', 'to', 'see', 'any', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'the', 'ceremony', 'of', 'leavetaking', 'was', 'performed', 'when', 'the', 'ladies', 'moved', 'for', 'the', 'night', 'and', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'with', 'great', 'politeness', 'and', 'cordiality', 'said', 'how', 'happy', 'they', 'should', 'be', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'at', 'longbourn', 'again', 'whenever', 'his', 'engagements', 'might', 'allow', 'him', 'to', 'visit', 'them', 'my', 'dear', 'madam', 'he', 'replied', 'this', 'invitation', 'is', 'particularly', 'gratifying', 'because', 'it', 'is', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'hoping', 'to', 'receive', 'and', 'you', 'may', 'be', 'very', 'certain', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'avail', 'myself', 'of', 'it', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'possible', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'astonished', 'and', 'mr', 'bennet', 'who', 'could', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'wish', 'for', 'so', 'speedy', 'a', 'return', 'immediately', 'said', 'but', 'is', 'there', 'not', 'danger', 'of', 'lady', 'catherines', 'disapprobation', 'here', 'my', 'good', 'sir', 'you', 'had', 'better', 'neglect', 'your', 'relations', 'than', 'run', 'the', 'risk', 'of', 'offending', 'your', 'patroness', 'my', 'dear', 'sir', 'replied', 'mr', 'collins', 'i', 'am', 'particularly', 'obliged', 'to', 'you', 'for', 'this', 'friendly', 'caution', 'and', 'you', 'may', 'depend', 'upon', 'my', 'not', 'taking', 'so', 'material', 'a', 'step', 'without', 'her', 'ladyships', 'concurrence', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'too', 'much', 'upon', 'your', 'guard', 'risk', 'anything', 'rather', 'than', 'her', 'displeasure', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'find', 'it', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'raised', 'by', 'your', 'coming', 'to', 'us', 'again', 'which', 'i', 'should', 'think', 'exceedingly', 'probable', 'stay', 'quietly', 'at', 'home', 'and', 'be', 'satisfied', 'that', 'we', 'shall', 'take', 'no', 'offence', 'believe', 'me', 'my', 'dear', 'sir', 'my', 'gratitude', 'is', 'warmly', 'excited', 'by', 'such', 'affectionate', 'attention', 'and', 'depend', 'upon', 'it', 'you', 'will', 'speedily', 'receive', 'from', 'me', 'a', 'letter', 'of', 'thanks', 'for', 'this', 'and', 'for', 'every', 'other', 'mark', 'of', 'your', 'regard', 'during', 'my', 'stay', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'as', 'for', 'my', 'fair', 'cousins', 'though', 'my', 'absence', 'may', 'not', 'be', 'long', 'enough', 'to', 'render', 'it', 'necessary', 'i', 'shall', 'now', 'take', 'the', 'liberty', 'of', 'wishing', 'them', 'health', 'and', 'happiness', 'not', 'excepting', 'my', 'cousin', 'elizabeth', 'with', 'proper', 'civilities', 'the', 'ladies', 'then', 'withdrew', 'all', 'of', 'them', 'equally', 'surprised', 'that', 'he', 'meditated', 'a', 'quick', 'return', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'wished', 'to', 'understand', 'by', 'it', 'that', 'he', 'thought', 'of', 'paying', 'his', 'addresses', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'her', 'younger', 'girls', 'and', 'mary', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'prevailed', 'on', 'to', 'accept', 'him', 'she', 'rated', 'his', 'abilities', 'much', 'higher', 'than', 'any', 'of', 'the', 'others', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'solidity', 'in', 'his', 'reflections', 'which', 'often', 'struck', 'her', 'and', 'though', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'so', 'clever', 'as', 'herself', 'she', 'thought', 'that', 'if', 'encouraged', 'to', 'read', 'and', 'improve', 'himself', 'by', 'such', 'an', 'example', 'as', 'hers', 'he', 'might', 'become', 'a', 'very', 'agreeable', 'companion', 'but', 'on', 'the', 'following', 'morning', 'every', 'hope', 'of', 'this', 'kind', 'was', 'done', 'away', 'miss', 'lucas', 'called', 'soon', 'after', 'breakfast', 'and', 'in', 'a', 'private', 'conference', 'with', 'elizabeth', 'related', 'the', 'event', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'mr', 'collinss', 'fancying', 'himself', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'her', 'friend', 'had', 'once', 'occurred', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'within', 'the', 'last', 'day', 'or', 'two', 'but', 'that', 'charlotte', 'could', 'encourage', 'him', 'seemed', 'almost', 'as', 'far', 'from', 'possibility', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'encourage', 'him', 'herself', 'and', 'her', 'astonishment', 'was', 'consequently', 'so', 'great', 'as', 'to', 'overcome', 'at', 'first', 'the', 'bounds', 'of', 'decorum', 'and', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'crying', 'out', 'engaged', 'to', 'mr', 'collins', 'my', 'dear', 'charlotteimpossible', 'the', 'steady', 'countenance', 'which', 'miss', 'lucas', 'had', 'commanded', 'in', 'telling', 'her', 'story', 'gave', 'way', 'to', 'a', 'momentary', 'confusion', 'here', 'on', 'receiving', 'so', 'direct', 'a', 'reproach', 'though', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'no', 'more', 'than', 'she', 'expected', 'she', 'soon', 'regained', 'her', 'composure', 'and', 'calmly', 'replied', 'why', 'should', 'you', 'be', 'surprised', 'my', 'dear', 'eliza', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'it', 'incredible', 'that', 'mr', 'collins', 'should', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'procure', 'any', 'womans', 'good', 'opinion', 'because', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'so', 'happy', 'as', 'to', 'succeed', 'with', 'you', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'now', 'recollected', 'herself', 'and', 'making', 'a', 'strong', 'effort', 'for', 'it', 'was', 'able', 'to', 'assure', 'with', 'tolerable', 'firmness', 'that', 'the', 'prospect', 'of', 'their', 'relationship', 'was', 'highly', 'grateful', 'to', 'her', 'and', 'that', 'she', 'wished', 'her', 'all', 'imaginable', 'happiness', 'i', 'see', 'what', 'you', 'are', 'feeling', 'replied', 'charlotte', 'you', 'must', 'be', 'surprised', 'very', 'much', 'surprisedso', 'lately', 'as', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'wishing', 'to', 'marry', 'you', 'but', 'when', 'you', 'have', 'had', 'time', 'to', 'think', 'it', 'over', 'i', 'hope', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'satisfied', 'with', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'done', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'romantic', 'you', 'know', 'i', 'never', 'was', 'i', 'ask', 'only', 'a', 'comfortable', 'home', 'and', 'considering', 'mr', 'collinss', 'character', 'connection', 'and', 'situation', 'in', 'life', 'i', 'am', 'convinced', 'that', 'my', 'chance', 'of', 'happiness', 'with', 'him', 'is', 'as', 'fair', 'as', 'most', 'people', 'can', 'boast', 'on', 'entering', 'the', 'marriage', 'state', 'elizabeth', 'quietly', 'answered', 'undoubtedly', 'and', 'after', 'an', 'awkward', 'pause', 'they', 'returned', 'to', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'charlotte', 'did', 'not', 'stay', 'much', 'longer', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'then', 'left', 'to', 'reflect', 'on', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'heard', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'long', 'time', 'before', 'she', 'became', 'at', 'all', 'reconciled', 'to', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'so', 'unsuitable', 'a', 'match', 'the', 'strangeness', 'of', 'mr', 'collinss', 'making', 'two', 'offers', 'of', 'marriage', 'within', 'three', 'days', 'was', 'nothing', 'in', 'comparison', 'of', 'his', 'being', 'now', 'accepted', 'she', 'had', 'always', 'felt', 'that', 'charlottes', 'opinion', 'of', 'matrimony', 'was', 'not', 'exactly', 'like', 'her', 'own', 'but', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'supposed', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'possible', 'that', 'when', 'called', 'into', 'action', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'sacrificed', 'every', 'better', 'feeling', 'to', 'worldly', 'advantage', 'charlotte', 'the', 'wife', 'of', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'a', 'most', 'humiliating', 'picture', 'and', 'to', 'the', 'pang', 'of', 'a', 'friend', 'disgracing', 'herself', 'and', 'sunk', 'in', 'her', 'esteem', 'was', 'added', 'the', 'distressing', 'conviction', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'for', 'that', 'friend', 'to', 'be', 'tolerably', 'happy', 'in', 'the', 'lot', 'she', 'had', 'chosen', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'sitting', 'with', 'her', 'mother', 'and', 'sisters', 'reflecting', 'on', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'heard', 'and', 'doubting', 'whether', 'she', 'was', 'authorised', 'to', 'mention', 'it', 'when', 'sir', 'william', 'lucas', 'himself', 'appeared', 'sent', 'by', 'his', 'daughter', 'to', 'announce', 'her', 'engagement', 'to', 'the', 'family', 'with', 'many', 'compliments', 'to', 'them', 'and', 'much', 'selfgratulation', 'on', 'the', 'prospect', 'of', 'a', 'connection', 'between', 'the', 'houses', 'he', 'unfolded', 'the', 'matterto', 'an', 'audience', 'not', 'merely', 'wondering', 'but', 'incredulous', 'for', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'with', 'more', 'perseverance', 'than', 'politeness', 'protested', 'he', 'must', 'be', 'entirely', 'mistaken', 'and', 'lydia', 'always', 'unguarded', 'and', 'often', 'uncivil', 'boisterously', 'exclaimed', 'good', 'lord', 'sir', 'william', 'how', 'can', 'you', 'tell', 'such', 'a', 'story', 'do', 'not', 'you', 'know', 'that', 'mr', 'collins', 'wants', 'to', 'marry', 'lizzy', 'nothing', 'less', 'than', 'the', 'complaisance', 'of', 'a', 'courtier', 'could', 'have', 'borne', 'without', 'anger', 'such', 'treatment', 'but', 'sir', 'williams', 'good', 'breeding', 'carried', 'him', 'through', 'it', 'all', 'and', 'though', 'he', 'begged', 'leave', 'to', 'be', 'positive', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'truth', 'of', 'his', 'information', 'he', 'listened', 'to', 'all', 'their', 'impertinence', 'with', 'the', 'most', 'forbearing', 'courtesy', 'elizabeth', 'feeling', 'it', 'incumbent', 'on', 'her', 'to', 'relieve', 'him', 'from', 'so', 'unpleasant', 'a', 'situation', 'now', 'put', 'herself', 'forward', 'to', 'confirm', 'his', 'account', 'by', 'mentioning', 'her', 'prior', 'knowledge', 'of', 'it', 'from', 'charlotte', 'herself', 'and', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'put', 'a', 'stop', 'to', 'the', 'exclamations', 'of', 'her', 'mother', 'and', 'sisters', 'by', 'the', 'earnestness', 'of', 'her', 'congratulations', 'to', 'sir', 'william', 'in', 'which', 'she', 'was', 'readily', 'joined', 'by', 'jane', 'and', 'by', 'making', 'a', 'variety', 'of', 'remarks', 'on', 'the', 'happiness', 'that', 'might', 'be', 'expected', 'from', 'the', 'match', 'the', 'excellent', 'character', 'of', 'mr', 'collins', 'and', 'the', 'convenient', 'distance', 'of', 'hunsford', 'from', 'london', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'in', 'fact', 'too', 'much', 'overpowered', 'to', 'say', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'while', 'sir', 'william', 'remained', 'but', 'no', 'sooner', 'had', 'he', 'left', 'them', 'than', 'her', 'feelings', 'found', 'a', 'rapid', 'vent', 'in', 'the', 'first', 'place', 'she', 'persisted', 'in', 'disbelieving', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'secondly', 'she', 'was', 'very', 'sure', 'that', 'mr', 'collins', 'had', 'been', 'taken', 'in', 'thirdly', 'she', 'trusted', 'that', 'they', 'would', 'never', 'be', 'happy', 'together', 'and', 'fourthly', 'that', 'the', 'match', 'might', 'be', 'broken', 'off', 'two', 'inferences', 'however', 'were', 'plainly', 'deduced', 'from', 'the', 'whole', 'one', 'that', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'the', 'real', 'cause', 'of', 'the', 'mischief', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'that', 'she', 'herself', 'had', 'been', 'barbarously', 'misused', 'by', 'them', 'all', 'and', 'on', 'these', 'two', 'points', 'she', 'principally', 'dwelt', 'during', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'nothing', 'could', 'console', 'and', 'nothing', 'could', 'appease', 'her', 'nor', 'did', 'that', 'day', 'wear', 'out', 'her', 'resentment', 'a', 'week', 'elapsed', 'before', 'she', 'could', 'see', 'elizabeth', 'without', 'scolding', 'her', 'a', 'month', 'passed', 'away', 'before', 'she', 'could', 'speak', 'to', 'sir', 'william', 'or', 'lady', 'lucas', 'without', 'being', 'rude', 'and', 'many', 'months', 'were', 'gone', 'before', 'she', 'could', 'at', 'all', 'forgive', 'their', 'daughter', 'mr', 'bennets', 'emotions', 'were', 'much', 'more', 'tranquil', 'on', 'the', 'occasion', 'and', 'such', 'as', 'he', 'did', 'experience', 'he', 'pronounced', 'to', 'be', 'of', 'a', 'most', 'agreeable', 'sort', 'for', 'it', 'gratified', 'him', 'he', 'said', 'to', 'discover', 'that', 'charlotte', 'lucas', 'whom', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'used', 'to', 'think', 'tolerably', 'sensible', 'was', 'as', 'foolish', 'as', 'his', 'wife', 'and', 'more', 'foolish', 'than', 'his', 'daughter', 'jane', 'confessed', 'herself', 'a', 'little', 'surprised', 'at', 'the', 'match', 'but', 'she', 'said', 'less', 'of', 'her', 'astonishment', 'than', 'of', 'her', 'earnest', 'desire', 'for', 'their', 'happiness', 'nor', 'could', 'elizabeth', 'persuade', 'her', 'to', 'consider', 'it', 'as', 'improbable', 'kitty', 'and', 'lydia', 'were', 'far', 'from', 'envying', 'miss', 'lucas', 'for', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'only', 'a', 'clergyman', 'and', 'it', 'affected', 'them', 'in', 'no', 'other', 'way', 'than', 'as', 'a', 'piece', 'of', 'news', 'to', 'spread', 'at', 'meryton', 'lady', 'lucas', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'insensible', 'of', 'triumph', 'on', 'being', 'able', 'to', 'retort', 'on', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'the', 'comfort', 'of', 'having', 'a', 'daughter', 'well', 'married', 'and', 'she', 'called', 'at', 'longbourn', 'rather', 'oftener', 'than', 'usual', 'to', 'say', 'how', 'happy', 'she', 'was', 'though', 'mrs', 'bennets', 'sour', 'looks', 'and', 'illnatured', 'remarks', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'enough', 'to', 'drive', 'happiness', 'away', 'between', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'charlotte', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'restraint', 'which', 'kept', 'them', 'mutually', 'silent', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'persuaded', 'that', 'no', 'real', 'confidence', 'could', 'ever', 'subsist', 'between', 'them', 'again', 'her', 'disappointment', 'in', 'charlotte', 'made', 'her', 'turn', 'with', 'fonder', 'regard', 'to', 'her', 'sister', 'of', 'whose', 'rectitude', 'and', 'delicacy', 'she', 'was', 'sure', 'her', 'opinion', 'could', 'never', 'be', 'shaken', 'and', 'for', 'whose', 'happiness', 'she', 'grew', 'daily', 'more', 'anxious', 'as', 'bingley', 'had', 'now', 'been', 'gone', 'a', 'week', 'and', 'nothing', 'more', 'was', 'heard', 'of', 'his', 'return', 'jane', 'had', 'sent', 'caroline', 'an', 'early', 'answer', 'to', 'her', 'letter', 'and', 'was', 'counting', 'the', 'days', 'till', 'she', 'might', 'reasonably', 'hope', 'to', 'hear', 'again', 'the', 'promised', 'letter', 'of', 'thanks', 'from', 'mr', 'collins', 'arrived', 'on', 'tuesday', 'addressed', 'to', 'their', 'father', 'and', 'written', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'solemnity', 'of', 'gratitude', 'which', 'a', 'twelvemonths', 'abode', 'in', 'the', 'family', 'might', 'have', 'prompted', 'after', 'discharging', 'his', 'conscience', 'on', 'that', 'head', 'he', 'proceeded', 'to', 'inform', 'them', 'with', 'many', 'rapturous', 'expressions', 'of', 'his', 'happiness', 'in', 'having', 'obtained', 'the', 'affection', 'of', 'their', 'amiable', 'neighbour', 'miss', 'lucas', 'and', 'then', 'explained', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'merely', 'with', 'the', 'view', 'of', 'enjoying', 'her', 'society', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'so', 'ready', 'to', 'close', 'with', 'their', 'kind', 'wish', 'of', 'seeing', 'him', 'again', 'at', 'longbourn', 'whither', 'he', 'hoped', 'to', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'return', 'on', 'monday', 'fortnight', 'for', 'lady', 'catherine', 'he', 'added', 'so', 'heartily', 'approved', 'his', 'marriage', 'that', 'she', 'wished', 'it', 'to', 'take', 'place', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'possible', 'which', 'he', 'trusted', 'would', 'be', 'an', 'unanswerable', 'argument', 'with', 'his', 'amiable', 'charlotte', 'to', 'name', 'an', 'early', 'day', 'for', 'making', 'him', 'the', 'happiest', 'of', 'men', 'mr', 'collinss', 'return', 'into', 'hertfordshire', 'was', 'no', 'longer', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'pleasure', 'to', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'she', 'was', 'as', 'much', 'disposed', 'to', 'complain', 'of', 'it', 'as', 'her', 'husband', 'it', 'was', 'very', 'strange', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'come', 'to', 'longbourn', 'instead', 'of', 'to', 'lucas', 'lodge', 'it', 'was', 'also', 'very', 'inconvenient', 'and', 'exceedingly', 'troublesome', 'she', 'hated', 'having', 'visitors', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'while', 'her', 'health', 'was', 'so', 'indifferent', 'and', 'lovers', 'were', 'of', 'all', 'people', 'the', 'most', 'disagreeable', 'such', 'were', 'the', 'gentle', 'murmurs', 'of', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'they', 'gave', 'way', 'only', 'to', 'the', 'greater', 'distress', 'of', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'continued', 'absence', 'neither', 'jane', 'nor', 'elizabeth', 'were', 'comfortable', 'on', 'this', 'subject', 'day', 'after', 'day', 'passed', 'away', 'without', 'bringing', 'any', 'other', 'tidings', 'of', 'him', 'than', 'the', 'report', 'which', 'shortly', 'prevailed', 'in', 'meryton', 'of', 'his', 'coming', 'no', 'more', 'to', 'netherfield', 'the', 'whole', 'winter', 'a', 'report', 'which', 'highly', 'incensed', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'which', 'she', 'never', 'failed', 'to', 'contradict', 'as', 'a', 'most', 'scandalous', 'falsehood', 'even', 'elizabeth', 'began', 'to', 'fearnot', 'that', 'bingley', 'was', 'indifferentbut', 'that', 'his', 'sisters', 'would', 'be', 'successful', 'in', 'keeping', 'him', 'away', 'unwilling', 'as', 'she', 'was', 'to', 'admit', 'an', 'idea', 'so', 'destructive', 'of', 'janes', 'happiness', 'and', 'so', 'dishonorable', 'to', 'the', 'stability', 'of', 'her', 'lover', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'prevent', 'its', 'frequently', 'occurring', 'the', 'united', 'efforts', 'of', 'his', 'two', 'unfeeling', 'sisters', 'and', 'of', 'his', 'overpowering', 'friend', 'assisted', 'by', 'the', 'attractions', 'of', 'miss', 'darcy', 'and', 'the', 'amusements', 'of', 'london', 'might', 'be', 'too', 'much', 'she', 'feared', 'for', 'the', 'strength', 'of', 'his', 'attachment', 'as', 'for', 'jane', 'her', 'anxiety', 'under', 'this', 'suspense', 'was', 'of', 'course', 'more', 'painful', 'than', 'elizabeths', 'but', 'whatever', 'she', 'felt', 'she', 'was', 'desirous', 'of', 'concealing', 'and', 'between', 'herself', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'therefore', 'the', 'subject', 'was', 'never', 'alluded', 'to', 'but', 'as', 'no', 'such', 'delicacy', 'restrained', 'her', 'mother', 'an', 'hour', 'seldom', 'passed', 'in', 'which', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'talk', 'of', 'bingley', 'express', 'her', 'impatience', 'for', 'his', 'arrival', 'or', 'even', 'require', 'jane', 'to', 'confess', 'that', 'if', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'come', 'back', 'she', 'would', 'think', 'herself', 'very', 'ill', 'used', 'it', 'needed', 'all', 'janes', 'steady', 'mildness', 'to', 'bear', 'these', 'attacks', 'with', 'tolerable', 'tranquillity', 'mr', 'collins', 'returned', 'most', 'punctually', 'on', 'monday', 'fortnight', 'but', 'his', 'reception', 'at', 'longbourn', 'was', 'not', 'quite', 'so', 'gracious', 'as', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'on', 'his', 'first', 'introduction', 'he', 'was', 'too', 'happy', 'however', 'to', 'need', 'much', 'attention', 'and', 'luckily', 'for', 'the', 'others', 'the', 'business', 'of', 'lovemaking', 'relieved', 'them', 'from', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'his', 'company', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'every', 'day', 'was', 'spent', 'by', 'him', 'at', 'lucas', 'lodge', 'and', 'he', 'sometimes', 'returned', 'to', 'longbourn', 'only', 'in', 'time', 'to', 'make', 'an', 'apology', 'for', 'his', 'absence', 'before', 'the', 'family', 'went', 'to', 'bed', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'really', 'in', 'a', 'most', 'pitiable', 'state', 'the', 'very', 'mention', 'of', 'anything', 'concerning', 'the', 'match', 'threw', 'her', 'into', 'an', 'agony', 'of', 'illhumour', 'and', 'wherever', 'she', 'went', 'she', 'was', 'sure', 'of', 'hearing', 'it', 'talked', 'of', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'miss', 'lucas', 'was', 'odious', 'to', 'her', 'as', 'her', 'successor', 'in', 'that', 'house', 'she', 'regarded', 'her', 'with', 'jealous', 'abhorrence', 'whenever', 'charlotte', 'came', 'to', 'see', 'them', 'she', 'concluded', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'anticipating', 'the', 'hour', 'of', 'possession', 'and', 'whenever', 'she', 'spoke', 'in', 'a', 'low', 'voice', 'to', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'convinced', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'talking', 'of', 'the', 'longbourn', 'estate', 'and', 'resolving', 'to', 'turn', 'herself', 'and', 'her', 'daughters', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'mr', 'bennet', 'were', 'dead', 'she', 'complained', 'bitterly', 'of', 'all', 'this', 'to', 'her', 'husband', 'indeed', 'mr', 'bennet', 'said', 'she', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'hard', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'charlotte', 'lucas', 'should', 'ever', 'be', 'mistress', 'of', 'this', 'house', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'forced', 'to', 'make', 'way', 'for', 'her', 'and', 'live', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'take', 'her', 'place', 'in', 'it', 'my', 'dear', 'do', 'not', 'give', 'way', 'to', 'such', 'gloomy', 'thoughts', 'let', 'us', 'hope', 'for', 'better', 'things', 'let', 'us', 'flatter', 'ourselves', 'that', 'i', 'may', 'be', 'the', 'survivor', 'this', 'was', 'not', 'very', 'consoling', 'to', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'therefore', 'instead', 'of', 'making', 'any', 'answer', 'she', 'went', 'on', 'as', 'before', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'bear', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'they', 'should', 'have', 'all', 'this', 'estate', 'if', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'for', 'the', 'entail', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'mind', 'it', 'what', 'should', 'not', 'you', 'mind', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'mind', 'anything', 'at', 'all', 'let', 'us', 'be', 'thankful', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'preserved', 'from', 'a', 'state', 'of', 'such', 'insensibility', 'i', 'never', 'can', 'be', 'thankful', 'mr', 'bennet', 'for', 'anything', 'about', 'the', 'entail', 'how', 'anyone', 'could', 'have', 'the', 'conscience', 'to', 'entail', 'away', 'an', 'estate', 'from', 'ones', 'own', 'daughters', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'understand', 'and', 'all', 'for', 'the', 'sake', 'of', 'mr', 'collins', 'too', 'why', 'should', 'he', 'have', 'it', 'more', 'than', 'anybody', 'else', 'i', 'leave', 'it', 'to', 'yourself', 'to', 'determine', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'letter', 'arrived', 'and', 'put', 'an', 'end', 'to', 'doubt', 'the', 'very', 'first', 'sentence', 'conveyed', 'the', 'assurance', 'of', 'their', 'being', 'all', 'settled', 'in', 'london', 'for', 'the', 'winter', 'and', 'concluded', 'with', 'her', 'brothers', 'regret', 'at', 'not', 'having', 'had', 'time', 'to', 'pay', 'his', 'respects', 'to', 'his', 'friends', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'before', 'he', 'left', 'the', 'country', 'hope', 'was', 'over', 'entirely', 'over', 'and', 'when', 'jane', 'could', 'attend', 'to', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'letter', 'she', 'found', 'little', 'except', 'the', 'professed', 'affection', 'of', 'the', 'writer', 'that', 'could', 'give', 'her', 'any', 'comfort', 'miss', 'darcys', 'praise', 'occupied', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'it', 'her', 'many', 'attractions', 'were', 'again', 'dwelt', 'on', 'and', 'caroline', 'boasted', 'joyfully', 'of', 'their', 'increasing', 'intimacy', 'and', 'ventured', 'to', 'predict', 'the', 'accomplishment', 'of', 'the', 'wishes', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'unfolded', 'in', 'her', 'former', 'letter', 'she', 'wrote', 'also', 'with', 'great', 'pleasure', 'of', 'her', 'brothers', 'being', 'an', 'inmate', 'of', 'mr', 'darcys', 'house', 'and', 'mentioned', 'with', 'raptures', 'some', 'plans', 'of', 'the', 'latter', 'with', 'regard', 'to', 'new', 'furniture', 'elizabeth', 'to', 'whom', 'jane', 'very', 'soon', 'communicated', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'all', 'this', 'heard', 'it', 'in', 'silent', 'indignation', 'her', 'heart', 'was', 'divided', 'between', 'concern', 'for', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'resentment', 'against', 'all', 'others', 'to', 'carolines', 'assertion', 'of', 'her', 'brothers', 'being', 'partial', 'to', 'miss', 'darcy', 'she', 'paid', 'no', 'credit', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'really', 'fond', 'of', 'jane', 'she', 'doubted', 'no', 'more', 'than', 'she', 'had', 'ever', 'done', 'and', 'much', 'as', 'she', 'had', 'always', 'been', 'disposed', 'to', 'like', 'him', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'think', 'without', 'anger', 'hardly', 'without', 'contempt', 'on', 'that', 'easiness', 'of', 'temper', 'that', 'want', 'of', 'proper', 'resolution', 'which', 'now', 'made', 'him', 'the', 'slave', 'of', 'his', 'designing', 'friends', 'and', 'led', 'him', 'to', 'sacrifice', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'happiness', 'to', 'the', 'caprice', 'of', 'their', 'inclination', 'had', 'his', 'own', 'happiness', 'however', 'been', 'the', 'only', 'sacrifice', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'allowed', 'to', 'sport', 'with', 'it', 'in', 'whatever', 'manner', 'he', 'thought', 'best', 'but', 'her', 'sisters', 'was', 'involved', 'in', 'it', 'as', 'she', 'thought', 'he', 'must', 'be', 'sensible', 'himself', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'subject', 'in', 'short', 'on', 'which', 'reflection', 'would', 'be', 'long', 'indulged', 'and', 'must', 'be', 'unavailing', 'she', 'could', 'think', 'of', 'nothing', 'else', 'and', 'yet', 'whether', 'bingleys', 'regard', 'had', 'really', 'died', 'away', 'or', 'were', 'suppressed', 'by', 'his', 'friends', 'interference', 'whether', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'aware', 'of', 'janes', 'attachment', 'or', 'whether', 'it', 'had', 'escaped', 'his', 'observation', 'whatever', 'were', 'the', 'case', 'though', 'her', 'opinion', 'of', 'him', 'must', 'be', 'materially', 'affected', 'by', 'the', 'difference', 'her', 'sisters', 'situation', 'remained', 'the', 'same', 'her', 'peace', 'equally', 'wounded', 'a', 'day', 'or', 'two', 'passed', 'before', 'jane', 'had', 'courage', 'to', 'speak', 'of', 'her', 'feelings', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'but', 'at', 'last', 'on', 'mrs', 'bennets', 'leaving', 'them', 'together', 'after', 'a', 'longer', 'irritation', 'than', 'usual', 'about', 'netherfield', 'and', 'its', 'master', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'saying', 'oh', 'that', 'my', 'dear', 'mother', 'had', 'more', 'command', 'over', 'herself', 'she', 'can', 'have', 'no', 'idea', 'of', 'the', 'pain', 'she', 'gives', 'me', 'by', 'her', 'continual', 'reflections', 'on', 'him', 'but', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'repine', 'it', 'can', 'not', 'last', 'long', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'forgot', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'all', 'be', 'as', 'we', 'were', 'before', 'elizabeth', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'sister', 'with', 'incredulous', 'solicitude', 'but', 'said', 'nothing', 'you', 'doubt', 'me', 'cried', 'jane', 'slightly', 'colouring', 'indeed', 'you', 'have', 'no', 'reason', 'he', 'may', 'live', 'in', 'my', 'memory', 'as', 'the', 'most', 'amiable', 'man', 'of', 'my', 'acquaintance', 'but', 'that', 'is', 'all', 'i', 'have', 'nothing', 'either', 'to', 'hope', 'or', 'fear', 'and', 'nothing', 'to', 'reproach', 'him', 'with', 'thank', 'god', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'that', 'pain', 'a', 'little', 'time', 'thereforei', 'shall', 'certainly', 'try', 'to', 'get', 'the', 'better', 'with', 'a', 'stronger', 'voice', 'she', 'soon', 'added', 'i', 'have', 'this', 'comfort', 'immediately', 'that', 'it', 'has', 'not', 'been', 'more', 'than', 'an', 'error', 'of', 'fancy', 'on', 'my', 'side', 'and', 'that', 'it', 'has', 'done', 'no', 'harm', 'to', 'anyone', 'but', 'myself', 'my', 'dear', 'jane', 'exclaimed', 'elizabeth', 'you', 'are', 'too', 'good', 'your', 'sweetness', 'and', 'disinterestedness', 'are', 'really', 'angelic', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'to', 'say', 'to', 'you', 'i', 'feel', 'as', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'never', 'done', 'you', 'justice', 'or', 'loved', 'you', 'as', 'you', 'deserve', 'miss', 'bennet', 'eagerly', 'disclaimed', 'all', 'extraordinary', 'merit', 'and', 'threw', 'back', 'the', 'praise', 'on', 'her', 'sisters', 'warm', 'affection', 'nay', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'this', 'is', 'not', 'fair', 'you', 'wish', 'to', 'think', 'all', 'the', 'world', 'respectable', 'and', 'are', 'hurt', 'if', 'i', 'speak', 'ill', 'of', 'anybody', 'i', 'only', 'want', 'to', 'think', 'you', 'perfect', 'and', 'you', 'set', 'yourself', 'against', 'it', 'do', 'not', 'be', 'afraid', 'of', 'my', 'running', 'into', 'any', 'excess', 'of', 'my', 'encroaching', 'on', 'your', 'privilege', 'of', 'universal', 'goodwill', 'you', 'need', 'not', 'there', 'are', 'few', 'people', 'whom', 'i', 'really', 'love', 'and', 'still', 'fewer', 'of', 'whom', 'i', 'think', 'well', 'the', 'more', 'i', 'see', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'the', 'more', 'am', 'i', 'dissatisfied', 'with', 'it', 'and', 'every', 'day', 'confirms', 'my', 'belief', 'of', 'the', 'inconsistency', 'of', 'all', 'human', 'characters', 'and', 'of', 'the', 'little', 'dependence', 'that', 'can', 'be', 'placed', 'on', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'merit', 'or', 'sense', 'i', 'have', 'met', 'with', 'two', 'instances', 'lately', 'one', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'mention', 'the', 'other', 'is', 'charlottes', 'marriage', 'it', 'is', 'unaccountable', 'in', 'every', 'view', 'it', 'is', 'unaccountable', 'my', 'dear', 'lizzy', 'do', 'not', 'give', 'way', 'to', 'such', 'feelings', 'as', 'these', 'they', 'will', 'ruin', 'your', 'happiness', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'make', 'allowance', 'enough', 'for', 'difference', 'of', 'situation', 'and', 'temper', 'consider', 'mr', 'collinss', 'respectability', 'and', 'charlottes', 'steady', 'prudent', 'character', 'remember', 'that', 'she', 'is', 'one', 'of', 'a', 'large', 'family', 'that', 'as', 'to', 'fortune', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'most', 'eligible', 'match', 'and', 'be', 'ready', 'to', 'believe', 'for', 'everybodys', 'sake', 'that', 'she', 'may', 'feel', 'something', 'like', 'regard', 'and', 'esteem', 'for', 'our', 'cousin', 'to', 'oblige', 'you', 'i', 'would', 'try', 'to', 'believe', 'almost', 'anything', 'but', 'no', 'one', 'else', 'could', 'be', 'benefited', 'by', 'such', 'a', 'belief', 'as', 'this', 'for', 'were', 'i', 'persuaded', 'that', 'charlotte', 'had', 'any', 'regard', 'for', 'him', 'i', 'should', 'only', 'think', 'worse', 'of', 'her', 'understanding', 'than', 'i', 'now', 'do', 'of', 'her', 'heart', 'my', 'dear', 'jane', 'mr', 'collins', 'is', 'a', 'conceited', 'pompous', 'narrowminded', 'silly', 'man', 'you', 'know', 'he', 'is', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'i', 'do', 'and', 'you', 'must', 'feel', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'i', 'do', 'that', 'the', 'woman', 'who', 'married', 'him', 'can', 'not', 'have', 'a', 'proper', 'way', 'of', 'thinking', 'you', 'shall', 'not', 'defend', 'her', 'though', 'it', 'is', 'charlotte', 'lucas', 'you', 'shall', 'not', 'for', 'the', 'sake', 'of', 'one', 'individual', 'change', 'the', 'meaning', 'of', 'principle', 'and', 'integrity', 'nor', 'endeavour', 'to', 'persuade', 'yourself', 'or', 'me', 'that', 'selfishness', 'is', 'prudence', 'and', 'insensibility', 'of', 'danger', 'security', 'for', 'happiness', 'i', 'must', 'think', 'your', 'language', 'too', 'strong', 'in', 'speaking', 'of', 'both', 'replied', 'jane', 'and', 'i', 'hope', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'convinced', 'of', 'it', 'by', 'seeing', 'them', 'happy', 'together', 'but', 'enough', 'of', 'this', 'you', 'alluded', 'to', 'something', 'else', 'you', 'mentioned', 'two', 'instances', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'misunderstand', 'you', 'but', 'i', 'entreat', 'you', 'dear', 'lizzy', 'not', 'to', 'pain', 'me', 'by', 'thinking', 'that', 'person', 'to', 'blame', 'and', 'saying', 'your', 'opinion', 'of', 'him', 'is', 'sunk', 'we', 'must', 'not', 'be', 'so', 'ready', 'to', 'fancy', 'ourselves', 'intentionally', 'injured', 'we', 'must', 'not', 'expect', 'a', 'lively', 'young', 'man', 'to', 'be', 'always', 'so', 'guarded', 'and', 'circumspect', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'often', 'nothing', 'but', 'our', 'own', 'vanity', 'that', 'deceives', 'us', 'women', 'fancy', 'admiration', 'means', 'more', 'than', 'it', 'does', 'and', 'men', 'take', 'care', 'that', 'they', 'should', 'if', 'it', 'is', 'designedly', 'done', 'they', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'justified', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'idea', 'of', 'there', 'being', 'so', 'much', 'design', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'as', 'some', 'persons', 'imagine', 'i', 'am', 'far', 'from', 'attributing', 'any', 'part', 'of', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'conduct', 'to', 'design', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'but', 'without', 'scheming', 'to', 'do', 'wrong', 'or', 'to', 'make', 'others', 'unhappy', 'there', 'may', 'be', 'error', 'and', 'there', 'may', 'be', 'misery', 'thoughtlessness', 'want', 'of', 'attention', 'to', 'other', 'peoples', 'feelings', 'and', 'want', 'of', 'resolution', 'will', 'do', 'the', 'business', 'and', 'do', 'you', 'impute', 'it', 'to', 'either', 'of', 'those', 'yes', 'to', 'the', 'last', 'but', 'if', 'i', 'go', 'on', 'i', 'shall', 'displease', 'you', 'by', 'saying', 'what', 'i', 'think', 'of', 'persons', 'you', 'esteem', 'stop', 'me', 'whilst', 'you', 'can', 'you', 'persist', 'then', 'in', 'supposing', 'his', 'sisters', 'influence', 'him', 'yes', 'in', 'conjunction', 'with', 'his', 'friend', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'believe', 'it', 'why', 'should', 'they', 'try', 'to', 'influence', 'him', 'they', 'can', 'only', 'wish', 'his', 'happiness', 'and', 'if', 'he', 'is', 'attached', 'to', 'me', 'no', 'other', 'woman', 'can', 'secure', 'it', 'your', 'first', 'position', 'is', 'false', 'they', 'may', 'wish', 'many', 'things', 'besides', 'his', 'happiness', 'they', 'may', 'wish', 'his', 'increase', 'of', 'wealth', 'and', 'consequence', 'they', 'may', 'wish', 'him', 'to', 'marry', 'a', 'girl', 'who', 'has', 'all', 'the', 'importance', 'of', 'money', 'great', 'connections', 'and', 'pride', 'beyond', 'a', 'doubt', 'they', 'do', 'wish', 'him', 'to', 'choose', 'miss', 'darcy', 'replied', 'jane', 'but', 'this', 'may', 'be', 'from', 'better', 'feelings', 'than', 'you', 'are', 'supposing', 'they', 'have', 'known', 'her', 'much', 'longer', 'than', 'they', 'have', 'known', 'me', 'no', 'wonder', 'if', 'they', 'love', 'her', 'better', 'but', 'whatever', 'may', 'be', 'their', 'own', 'wishes', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'unlikely', 'they', 'should', 'have', 'opposed', 'their', 'brothers', 'what', 'sister', 'would', 'think', 'herself', 'at', 'liberty', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'unless', 'there', 'were', 'something', 'very', 'objectionable', 'if', 'they', 'believed', 'him', 'attached', 'to', 'me', 'they', 'would', 'not', 'try', 'to', 'part', 'us', 'if', 'he', 'were', 'so', 'they', 'could', 'not', 'succeed', 'by', 'supposing', 'such', 'an', 'affection', 'you', 'make', 'everybody', 'acting', 'unnaturally', 'and', 'wrong', 'and', 'me', 'most', 'unhappy', 'do', 'not', 'distress', 'me', 'by', 'the', 'idea', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'ashamed', 'of', 'having', 'been', 'mistakenor', 'at', 'least', 'it', 'is', 'light', 'it', 'is', 'nothing', 'in', 'comparison', 'of', 'what', 'i', 'should', 'feel', 'in', 'thinking', 'ill', 'of', 'him', 'or', 'his', 'sisters', 'let', 'me', 'take', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'best', 'light', 'in', 'the', 'light', 'in', 'which', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'understood', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'oppose', 'such', 'a', 'wish', 'and', 'from', 'this', 'time', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'name', 'was', 'scarcely', 'ever', 'mentioned', 'between', 'them', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'still', 'continued', 'to', 'wonder', 'and', 'repine', 'at', 'his', 'returning', 'no', 'more', 'and', 'though', 'a', 'day', 'seldom', 'passed', 'in', 'which', 'elizabeth', 'did', 'not', 'account', 'for', 'it', 'clearly', 'there', 'was', 'little', 'chance', 'of', 'her', 'ever', 'considering', 'it', 'with', 'less', 'perplexity', 'her', 'daughter', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'convince', 'her', 'of', 'what', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'believe', 'herself', 'that', 'his', 'attentions', 'to', 'jane', 'had', 'been', 'merely', 'the', 'effect', 'of', 'a', 'common', 'and', 'transient', 'liking', 'which', 'ceased', 'when', 'he', 'saw', 'her', 'no', 'more', 'but', 'though', 'the', 'probability', 'of', 'the', 'statement', 'was', 'admitted', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'she', 'had', 'the', 'same', 'story', 'to', 'repeat', 'every', 'day', 'mrs', 'bennets', 'best', 'comfort', 'was', 'that', 'mr', 'bingley', 'must', 'be', 'down', 'again', 'in', 'the', 'summer', 'mr', 'bennet', 'treated', 'the', 'matter', 'differently', 'so', 'lizzy', 'said', 'he', 'one', 'day', 'your', 'sister', 'is', 'crossed', 'in', 'love', 'i', 'find', 'i', 'congratulate', 'her', 'next', 'to', 'being', 'married', 'a', 'girl', 'likes', 'to', 'be', 'crossed', 'a', 'little', 'in', 'love', 'now', 'and', 'then', 'it', 'is', 'something', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'and', 'it', 'gives', 'her', 'a', 'sort', 'of', 'distinction', 'among', 'her', 'companions', 'when', 'is', 'your', 'turn', 'to', 'come', 'you', 'will', 'hardly', 'bear', 'to', 'be', 'long', 'outdone', 'by', 'jane', 'now', 'is', 'your', 'time', 'here', 'are', 'officers', 'enough', 'in', 'meryton', 'to', 'disappoint', 'all', 'the', 'young', 'ladies', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'let', 'wickham', 'be', 'your', 'man', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'pleasant', 'fellow', 'and', 'would', 'jilt', 'you', 'creditably', 'thank', 'you', 'sir', 'but', 'a', 'less', 'agreeable', 'man', 'would', 'satisfy', 'me', 'we', 'must', 'not', 'all', 'expect', 'janes', 'good', 'fortune', 'true', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'comfort', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'whatever', 'of', 'that', 'kind', 'may', 'befall', 'you', 'you', 'have', 'an', 'affectionate', 'mother', 'who', 'will', 'make', 'the', 'most', 'of', 'it', 'mr', 'wickhams', 'society', 'was', 'of', 'material', 'service', 'in', 'dispelling', 'the', 'gloom', 'which', 'the', 'late', 'perverse', 'occurrences', 'had', 'thrown', 'on', 'many', 'of', 'the', 'longbourn', 'family', 'they', 'saw', 'him', 'often', 'and', 'to', 'his', 'other', 'recommendations', 'was', 'now', 'added', 'that', 'of', 'general', 'unreserve', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'what', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'already', 'heard', 'his', 'claims', 'on', 'mr', 'darcy', 'and', 'all', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'suffered', 'from', 'him', 'was', 'now', 'openly', 'acknowledged', 'and', 'publicly', 'canvassed', 'and', 'everybody', 'was', 'pleased', 'to', 'know', 'how', 'much', 'they', 'had', 'always', 'disliked', 'mr', 'darcy', 'before', 'they', 'had', 'known', 'anything', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'miss', 'bennet', 'was', 'the', 'only', 'creature', 'who', 'could', 'suppose', 'there', 'might', 'be', 'any', 'extenuating', 'circumstances', 'in', 'the', 'case', 'unknown', 'to', 'the', 'society', 'of', 'hertfordshire', 'her', 'mild', 'and', 'steady', 'candour', 'always', 'pleaded', 'for', 'allowances', 'and', 'urged', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'mistakesbut', 'by', 'everybody', 'else', 'mr', 'darcy', 'was', 'condemned', 'as', 'the', 'worst', 'of', 'men', 'after', 'a', 'week', 'spent', 'in', 'professions', 'of', 'love', 'and', 'schemes', 'of', 'felicity', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'called', 'from', 'his', 'amiable', 'charlotte', 'by', 'the', 'arrival', 'of', 'saturday', 'the', 'pain', 'of', 'separation', 'however', 'might', 'be', 'alleviated', 'on', 'his', 'side', 'by', 'preparations', 'for', 'the', 'reception', 'of', 'his', 'bride', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'reason', 'to', 'hope', 'that', 'shortly', 'after', 'his', 'return', 'into', 'hertfordshire', 'the', 'day', 'would', 'be', 'fixed', 'that', 'was', 'to', 'make', 'him', 'the', 'happiest', 'of', 'men', 'he', 'took', 'leave', 'of', 'his', 'relations', 'at', 'longbourn', 'with', 'as', 'much', 'solemnity', 'as', 'before', 'wished', 'his', 'fair', 'cousins', 'health', 'and', 'happiness', 'again', 'and', 'promised', 'their', 'father', 'another', 'letter', 'of', 'thanks', 'on', 'the', 'following', 'monday', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'had', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'receiving', 'her', 'brother', 'and', 'his', 'wife', 'who', 'came', 'as', 'usual', 'to', 'spend', 'the', 'christmas', 'at', 'longbourn', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'was', 'a', 'sensible', 'gentlemanlike', 'man', 'greatly', 'superior', 'to', 'his', 'sister', 'as', 'well', 'by', 'nature', 'as', 'education', 'the', 'netherfield', 'ladies', 'would', 'have', 'had', 'difficulty', 'in', 'believing', 'that', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'lived', 'by', 'trade', 'and', 'within', 'view', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'warehouses', 'could', 'have', 'been', 'so', 'wellbred', 'and', 'agreeable', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'who', 'was', 'several', 'years', 'younger', 'than', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'was', 'an', 'amiable', 'intelligent', 'elegant', 'woman', 'and', 'a', 'great', 'favourite', 'with', 'all', 'her', 'longbourn', 'nieces', 'between', 'the', 'two', 'eldest', 'and', 'herself', 'especially', 'there', 'subsisted', 'a', 'particular', 'regard', 'they', 'had', 'frequently', 'been', 'staying', 'with', 'her', 'in', 'town', 'the', 'first', 'part', 'of', 'mrs', 'gardiners', 'business', 'on', 'her', 'arrival', 'was', 'to', 'distribute', 'her', 'presents', 'and', 'describe', 'the', 'newest', 'fashions', 'when', 'this', 'was', 'done', 'she', 'had', 'a', 'less', 'active', 'part', 'to', 'play', 'it', 'became', 'her', 'turn', 'to', 'listen', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'had', 'many', 'grievances', 'to', 'relate', 'and', 'much', 'to', 'complain', 'of', 'they', 'had', 'all', 'been', 'very', 'illused', 'since', 'she', 'last', 'saw', 'her', 'sister', 'two', 'of', 'her', 'girls', 'had', 'been', 'upon', 'the', 'point', 'of', 'marriage', 'and', 'after', 'all', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'in', 'it', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'blame', 'jane', 'she', 'continued', 'for', 'jane', 'would', 'have', 'got', 'mr', 'bingley', 'if', 'she', 'could', 'but', 'lizzy', 'oh', 'sister', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'hard', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'she', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'mr', 'collinss', 'wife', 'by', 'this', 'time', 'had', 'it', 'not', 'been', 'for', 'her', 'own', 'perverseness', 'he', 'made', 'her', 'an', 'offer', 'in', 'this', 'very', 'room', 'and', 'she', 'refused', 'him', 'the', 'consequence', 'of', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'lady', 'lucas', 'will', 'have', 'a', 'daughter', 'married', 'before', 'i', 'have', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'longbourn', 'estate', 'is', 'just', 'as', 'much', 'entailed', 'as', 'ever', 'the', 'lucases', 'are', 'very', 'artful', 'people', 'indeed', 'sister', 'they', 'are', 'all', 'for', 'what', 'they', 'can', 'get', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'to', 'say', 'it', 'of', 'them', 'but', 'so', 'it', 'is', 'it', 'makes', 'me', 'very', 'nervous', 'and', 'poorly', 'to', 'be', 'thwarted', 'so', 'in', 'my', 'own', 'family', 'and', 'to', 'have', 'neighbours', 'who', 'think', 'of', 'themselves', 'before', 'anybody', 'else', 'however', 'your', 'coming', 'just', 'at', 'this', 'time', 'is', 'the', 'greatest', 'of', 'comforts', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'glad', 'to', 'hear', 'what', 'you', 'tell', 'us', 'of', 'long', 'sleeves', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'to', 'whom', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'this', 'news', 'had', 'been', 'given', 'before', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'jane', 'and', 'elizabeths', 'correspondence', 'with', 'her', 'made', 'her', 'sister', 'a', 'slight', 'answer', 'and', 'in', 'compassion', 'to', 'her', 'nieces', 'turned', 'the', 'conversation', 'when', 'alone', 'with', 'elizabeth', 'afterwards', 'she', 'spoke', 'more', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'it', 'seems', 'likely', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'desirable', 'match', 'for', 'jane', 'said', 'she', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'it', 'went', 'off', 'but', 'these', 'things', 'happen', 'so', 'often', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'such', 'as', 'you', 'describe', 'mr', 'bingley', 'so', 'easily', 'falls', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'a', 'pretty', 'girl', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'weeks', 'and', 'when', 'accident', 'separates', 'them', 'so', 'easily', 'forgets', 'her', 'that', 'these', 'sort', 'of', 'inconsistencies', 'are', 'very', 'frequent', 'an', 'excellent', 'consolation', 'in', 'its', 'way', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'but', 'it', 'will', 'not', 'do', 'for', 'us', 'we', 'do', 'not', 'suffer', 'by', 'accident', 'it', 'does', 'not', 'often', 'happen', 'that', 'the', 'interference', 'of', 'friends', 'will', 'persuade', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'of', 'independent', 'fortune', 'to', 'think', 'no', 'more', 'of', 'a', 'girl', 'whom', 'he', 'was', 'violently', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'only', 'a', 'few', 'days', 'before', 'but', 'that', 'expression', 'of', 'violently', 'in', 'love', 'is', 'so', 'hackneyed', 'so', 'doubtful', 'so', 'indefinite', 'that', 'it', 'gives', 'me', 'very', 'little', 'idea', 'it', 'is', 'as', 'often', 'applied', 'to', 'feelings', 'which', 'arise', 'from', 'a', 'halfhours', 'acquaintance', 'as', 'to', 'a', 'real', 'strong', 'attachment', 'pray', 'how', 'violent', 'was', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'love', 'i', 'never', 'saw', 'a', 'more', 'promising', 'inclination', 'he', 'was', 'growing', 'quite', 'inattentive', 'to', 'other', 'people', 'and', 'wholly', 'engrossed', 'by', 'her', 'every', 'time', 'they', 'met', 'it', 'was', 'more', 'decided', 'and', 'remarkable', 'at', 'his', 'own', 'ball', 'he', 'offended', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'young', 'ladies', 'by', 'not', 'asking', 'them', 'to', 'dance', 'and', 'i', 'spoke', 'to', 'him', 'twice', 'myself', 'without', 'receiving', 'an', 'answer', 'could', 'there', 'be', 'finer', 'symptoms', 'is', 'not', 'general', 'incivility', 'the', 'very', 'essence', 'of', 'love', 'oh', 'yesof', 'that', 'kind', 'of', 'love', 'which', 'i', 'suppose', 'him', 'to', 'have', 'felt', 'poor', 'jane', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'for', 'her', 'because', 'with', 'her', 'disposition', 'she', 'may', 'not', 'get', 'over', 'it', 'immediately', 'it', 'had', 'better', 'have', 'happened', 'to', 'you', 'lizzy', 'you', 'would', 'have', 'laughed', 'yourself', 'out', 'of', 'it', 'sooner', 'but', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'she', 'would', 'be', 'prevailed', 'upon', 'to', 'go', 'back', 'with', 'us', 'change', 'of', 'scene', 'might', 'be', 'of', 'serviceand', 'perhaps', 'a', 'little', 'relief', 'from', 'home', 'may', 'be', 'as', 'useful', 'as', 'anything', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'exceedingly', 'pleased', 'with', 'this', 'proposal', 'and', 'felt', 'persuaded', 'of', 'her', 'sisters', 'ready', 'acquiescence', 'i', 'hope', 'added', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'that', 'no', 'consideration', 'with', 'regard', 'to', 'this', 'young', 'man', 'will', 'influence', 'her', 'we', 'live', 'in', 'so', 'different', 'a', 'part', 'of', 'town', 'all', 'our', 'connections', 'are', 'so', 'different', 'and', 'as', 'you', 'well', 'know', 'we', 'go', 'out', 'so', 'little', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'improbable', 'that', 'they', 'should', 'meet', 'at', 'all', 'unless', 'he', 'really', 'comes', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'and', 'that', 'is', 'quite', 'impossible', 'for', 'he', 'is', 'now', 'in', 'the', 'custody', 'of', 'his', 'friend', 'and', 'mr', 'darcy', 'would', 'no', 'more', 'suffer', 'him', 'to', 'call', 'on', 'jane', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'part', 'of', 'london', 'my', 'dear', 'aunt', 'how', 'could', 'you', 'think', 'of', 'it', 'mr', 'darcy', 'may', 'perhaps', 'have', 'heard', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'place', 'as', 'gracechurch', 'street', 'but', 'he', 'would', 'hardly', 'think', 'a', 'months', 'ablution', 'enough', 'to', 'cleanse', 'him', 'from', 'its', 'impurities', 'were', 'he', 'once', 'to', 'enter', 'it', 'and', 'depend', 'upon', 'it', 'mr', 'bingley', 'never', 'stirs', 'without', 'him', 'so', 'much', 'the', 'better', 'i', 'hope', 'they', 'will', 'not', 'meet', 'at', 'all', 'but', 'does', 'not', 'jane', 'correspond', 'with', 'his', 'sister', 'she', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'help', 'calling', 'she', 'will', 'drop', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'entirely', 'but', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'the', 'certainty', 'in', 'which', 'elizabeth', 'affected', 'to', 'place', 'this', 'point', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'the', 'still', 'more', 'interesting', 'one', 'of', 'bingleys', 'being', 'withheld', 'from', 'seeing', 'jane', 'she', 'felt', 'a', 'solicitude', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'which', 'convinced', 'her', 'on', 'examination', 'that', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'consider', 'it', 'entirely', 'hopeless', 'it', 'was', 'possible', 'and', 'sometimes', 'she', 'thought', 'it', 'probable', 'that', 'his', 'affection', 'might', 'be', 'reanimated', 'and', 'the', 'influence', 'of', 'his', 'friends', 'successfully', 'combated', 'by', 'the', 'more', 'natural', 'influence', 'of', 'janes', 'attractions', 'miss', 'bennet', 'accepted', 'her', 'aunts', 'invitation', 'with', 'pleasure', 'and', 'the', 'bingleys', 'were', 'no', 'otherwise', 'in', 'her', 'thoughts', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'than', 'as', 'she', 'hoped', 'by', 'carolines', 'not', 'living', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'house', 'with', 'her', 'brother', 'she', 'might', 'occasionally', 'spend', 'a', 'morning', 'with', 'her', 'without', 'any', 'danger', 'of', 'seeing', 'him', 'the', 'gardiners', 'stayed', 'a', 'week', 'at', 'longbourn', 'and', 'what', 'with', 'the', 'phillipses', 'the', 'lucases', 'and', 'the', 'officers', 'there', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'day', 'without', 'its', 'engagement', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'had', 'so', 'carefully', 'provided', 'for', 'the', 'entertainment', 'of', 'her', 'brother', 'and', 'sister', 'that', 'they', 'did', 'not', 'once', 'sit', 'down', 'to', 'a', 'family', 'dinner', 'when', 'the', 'engagement', 'was', 'for', 'home', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'officers', 'always', 'made', 'part', 'of', 'itof', 'which', 'officers', 'mr', 'wickham', 'was', 'sure', 'to', 'be', 'one', 'and', 'on', 'these', 'occasions', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'rendered', 'suspicious', 'by', 'elizabeths', 'warm', 'commendation', 'narrowly', 'observed', 'them', 'both', 'without', 'supposing', 'them', 'from', 'what', 'she', 'saw', 'to', 'be', 'very', 'seriously', 'in', 'love', 'their', 'preference', 'of', 'each', 'other', 'was', 'plain', 'enough', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'a', 'little', 'uneasy', 'and', 'she', 'resolved', 'to', 'speak', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'before', 'she', 'left', 'hertfordshire', 'and', 'represent', 'to', 'her', 'the', 'imprudence', 'of', 'encouraging', 'such', 'an', 'attachment', 'to', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'wickham', 'had', 'one', 'means', 'of', 'affording', 'pleasure', 'unconnected', 'with', 'his', 'general', 'powers', 'about', 'ten', 'or', 'a', 'dozen', 'years', 'ago', 'before', 'her', 'marriage', 'she', 'had', 'spent', 'a', 'considerable', 'time', 'in', 'that', 'very', 'part', 'of', 'derbyshire', 'to', 'which', 'he', 'belonged', 'they', 'had', 'therefore', 'many', 'acquaintances', 'in', 'common', 'and', 'though', 'wickham', 'had', 'been', 'little', 'there', 'since', 'the', 'death', 'of', 'darcys', 'father', 'it', 'was', 'yet', 'in', 'his', 'power', 'to', 'give', 'her', 'fresher', 'intelligence', 'of', 'her', 'former', 'friends', 'than', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'in', 'the', 'way', 'of', 'procuring', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'had', 'seen', 'pemberley', 'and', 'known', 'the', 'late', 'mr', 'darcy', 'by', 'character', 'perfectly', 'well', 'here', 'consequently', 'was', 'an', 'inexhaustible', 'subject', 'of', 'discourse', 'in', 'comparing', 'her', 'recollection', 'of', 'pemberley', 'with', 'the', 'minute', 'description', 'which', 'wickham', 'could', 'give', 'and', 'in', 'bestowing', 'her', 'tribute', 'of', 'praise', 'on', 'the', 'character', 'of', 'its', 'late', 'possessor', 'she', 'was', 'delighting', 'both', 'him', 'and', 'herself', 'on', 'being', 'made', 'acquainted', 'with', 'the', 'present', 'mr', 'darcys', 'treatment', 'of', 'him', 'she', 'tried', 'to', 'remember', 'some', 'of', 'that', 'gentlemans', 'reputed', 'disposition', 'when', 'quite', 'a', 'lad', 'which', 'might', 'agree', 'with', 'it', 'and', 'was', 'confident', 'at', 'last', 'that', 'she', 'recollected', 'having', 'heard', 'mr', 'fitzwilliam', 'darcy', 'formerly', 'spoken', 'of', 'as', 'a', 'very', 'proud', 'illnatured', 'boy', 'mrs', 'gardiners', 'caution', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'punctually', 'and', 'kindly', 'given', 'on', 'the', 'first', 'favourable', 'opportunity', 'of', 'speaking', 'to', 'her', 'alone', 'after', 'honestly', 'telling', 'her', 'what', 'she', 'thought', 'she', 'thus', 'went', 'on', 'you', 'are', 'too', 'sensible', 'a', 'girl', 'lizzy', 'to', 'fall', 'in', 'love', 'merely', 'because', 'you', 'are', 'warned', 'against', 'it', 'and', 'therefore', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'afraid', 'of', 'speaking', 'openly', 'seriously', 'i', 'would', 'have', 'you', 'be', 'on', 'your', 'guard', 'do', 'not', 'involve', 'yourself', 'or', 'endeavour', 'to', 'involve', 'him', 'in', 'an', 'affection', 'which', 'the', 'want', 'of', 'fortune', 'would', 'make', 'so', 'very', 'imprudent', 'i', 'have', 'nothing', 'to', 'say', 'against', 'him', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'most', 'interesting', 'young', 'man', 'and', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'the', 'fortune', 'he', 'ought', 'to', 'have', 'i', 'should', 'think', 'you', 'could', 'not', 'do', 'better', 'but', 'as', 'it', 'is', 'you', 'must', 'not', 'let', 'your', 'fancy', 'run', 'away', 'with', 'you', 'you', 'have', 'sense', 'and', 'we', 'all', 'expect', 'you', 'to', 'use', 'it', 'your', 'father', 'would', 'depend', 'on', 'your', 'resolution', 'and', 'good', 'conduct', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'you', 'must', 'not', 'disappoint', 'your', 'father', 'my', 'dear', 'aunt', 'this', 'is', 'being', 'serious', 'indeed', 'yes', 'and', 'i', 'hope', 'to', 'engage', 'you', 'to', 'be', 'serious', 'likewise', 'well', 'then', 'you', 'need', 'not', 'be', 'under', 'any', 'alarm', 'i', 'will', 'take', 'care', 'of', 'myself', 'and', 'of', 'mr', 'wickham', 'too', 'he', 'shall', 'not', 'be', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'me', 'if', 'i', 'can', 'prevent', 'it', 'elizabeth', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'serious', 'now', 'i', 'beg', 'your', 'pardon', 'i', 'will', 'try', 'again', 'at', 'present', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'mr', 'wickham', 'no', 'i', 'certainly', 'am', 'not', 'but', 'he', 'is', 'beyond', 'all', 'comparison', 'the', 'most', 'agreeable', 'man', 'i', 'ever', 'sawand', 'if', 'he', 'becomes', 'really', 'attached', 'to', 'mei', 'believe', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'better', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'not', 'i', 'see', 'the', 'imprudence', 'of', 'it', 'oh', 'that', 'abominable', 'mr', 'darcy', 'my', 'fathers', 'opinion', 'of', 'me', 'does', 'me', 'the', 'greatest', 'honour', 'and', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'miserable', 'to', 'forfeit', 'it', 'my', 'father', 'however', 'is', 'partial', 'to', 'mr', 'wickham', 'in', 'short', 'my', 'dear', 'aunt', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'very', 'sorry', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'means', 'of', 'making', 'any', 'of', 'you', 'unhappy', 'but', 'since', 'we', 'see', 'every', 'day', 'that', 'where', 'there', 'is', 'affection', 'young', 'people', 'are', 'seldom', 'withheld', 'by', 'immediate', 'want', 'of', 'fortune', 'from', 'entering', 'into', 'engagements', 'with', 'each', 'other', 'how', 'can', 'i', 'promise', 'to', 'be', 'wiser', 'than', 'so', 'many', 'of', 'my', 'fellowcreatures', 'if', 'i', 'am', 'tempted', 'or', 'how', 'am', 'i', 'even', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'wisdom', 'to', 'resist', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'promise', 'you', 'therefore', 'is', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'a', 'hurry', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'in', 'a', 'hurry', 'to', 'believe', 'myself', 'his', 'first', 'object', 'when', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'company', 'with', 'him', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'wishing', 'in', 'short', 'i', 'will', 'do', 'my', 'best', 'perhaps', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'as', 'well', 'if', 'you', 'discourage', 'his', 'coming', 'here', 'so', 'very', 'often', 'at', 'least', 'you', 'should', 'not', 'remind', 'your', 'mother', 'of', 'inviting', 'him', 'as', 'i', 'did', 'the', 'other', 'day', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'with', 'a', 'conscious', 'smile', 'very', 'true', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'wise', 'in', 'me', 'to', 'refrain', 'from', 'that', 'but', 'do', 'not', 'imagine', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'always', 'here', 'so', 'often', 'it', 'is', 'on', 'your', 'account', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'so', 'frequently', 'invited', 'this', 'week', 'you', 'know', 'my', 'mothers', 'ideas', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'necessity', 'of', 'constant', 'company', 'for', 'her', 'friends', 'but', 'really', 'and', 'upon', 'my', 'honour', 'i', 'will', 'try', 'to', 'do', 'what', 'i', 'think', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'wisest', 'and', 'now', 'i', 'hope', 'you', 'are', 'satisfied', 'her', 'aunt', 'assured', 'her', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'having', 'thanked', 'her', 'for', 'the', 'kindness', 'of', 'her', 'hints', 'they', 'parted', 'a', 'wonderful', 'instance', 'of', 'advice', 'being', 'given', 'on', 'such', 'a', 'point', 'without', 'being', 'resented', 'mr', 'collins', 'returned', 'into', 'hertfordshire', 'soon', 'after', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'quitted', 'by', 'the', 'gardiners', 'and', 'jane', 'but', 'as', 'he', 'took', 'up', 'his', 'abode', 'with', 'the', 'lucases', 'his', 'arrival', 'was', 'no', 'great', 'inconvenience', 'to', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'his', 'marriage', 'was', 'now', 'fast', 'approaching', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'at', 'length', 'so', 'far', 'resigned', 'as', 'to', 'think', 'it', 'inevitable', 'and', 'even', 'repeatedly', 'to', 'say', 'in', 'an', 'illnatured', 'tone', 'that', 'she', 'wished', 'they', 'might', 'be', 'happy', 'thursday', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'wedding', 'day', 'and', 'on', 'wednesday', 'miss', 'lucas', 'paid', 'her', 'farewell', 'visit', 'and', 'when', 'she', 'rose', 'to', 'take', 'leave', 'elizabeth', 'ashamed', 'of', 'her', 'mothers', 'ungracious', 'and', 'reluctant', 'good', 'wishes', 'and', 'sincerely', 'affected', 'herself', 'accompanied', 'her', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'as', 'they', 'went', 'downstairs', 'together', 'charlotte', 'said', 'i', 'shall', 'depend', 'on', 'hearing', 'from', 'you', 'very', 'often', 'eliza', 'that', 'you', 'certainly', 'shall', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'another', 'favour', 'to', 'ask', 'you', 'will', 'you', 'come', 'and', 'see', 'me', 'we', 'shall', 'often', 'meet', 'i', 'hope', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'likely', 'to', 'leave', 'kent', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'promise', 'me', 'therefore', 'to', 'come', 'to', 'hunsford', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'refuse', 'though', 'she', 'foresaw', 'little', 'pleasure', 'in', 'the', 'visit', 'my', 'father', 'and', 'maria', 'are', 'coming', 'to', 'me', 'in', 'march', 'added', 'charlotte', 'and', 'i', 'hope', 'you', 'will', 'consent', 'to', 'be', 'of', 'the', 'party', 'indeed', 'eliza', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'as', 'welcome', 'as', 'either', 'of', 'them', 'the', 'wedding', 'took', 'place', 'the', 'bride', 'and', 'bridegroom', 'set', 'off', 'for', 'kent', 'from', 'the', 'church', 'door', 'and', 'everybody', 'had', 'as', 'much', 'to', 'say', 'or', 'to', 'hear', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'as', 'usual', 'elizabeth', 'soon', 'heard', 'from', 'her', 'friend', 'and', 'their', 'correspondence', 'was', 'as', 'regular', 'and', 'frequent', 'as', 'it', 'had', 'ever', 'been', 'that', 'it', 'should', 'be', 'equally', 'unreserved', 'was', 'impossible', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'never', 'address', 'her', 'without', 'feeling', 'that', 'all', 'the', 'comfort', 'of', 'intimacy', 'was', 'over', 'and', 'though', 'determined', 'not', 'to', 'slacken', 'as', 'a', 'correspondent', 'it', 'was', 'for', 'the', 'sake', 'of', 'what', 'had', 'been', 'rather', 'than', 'what', 'was', 'charlottes', 'first', 'letters', 'were', 'received', 'with', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'of', 'eagerness', 'there', 'could', 'not', 'but', 'be', 'curiosity', 'to', 'know', 'how', 'she', 'would', 'speak', 'of', 'her', 'new', 'home', 'how', 'she', 'would', 'like', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'how', 'happy', 'she', 'would', 'dare', 'pronounce', 'herself', 'to', 'be', 'though', 'when', 'the', 'letters', 'were', 'read', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'that', 'charlotte', 'expressed', 'herself', 'on', 'every', 'point', 'exactly', 'as', 'she', 'might', 'have', 'foreseen', 'she', 'wrote', 'cheerfully', 'seemed', 'surrounded', 'with', 'comforts', 'and', 'mentioned', 'nothing', 'which', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'praise', 'the', 'house', 'furniture', 'neighbourhood', 'and', 'roads', 'were', 'all', 'to', 'her', 'taste', 'and', 'lady', 'catherines', 'behaviour', 'was', 'most', 'friendly', 'and', 'obliging', 'it', 'was', 'mr', 'collinss', 'picture', 'of', 'hunsford', 'and', 'rosings', 'rationally', 'softened', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'perceived', 'that', 'she', 'must', 'wait', 'for', 'her', 'own', 'visit', 'there', 'to', 'know', 'the', 'rest', 'jane', 'had', 'already', 'written', 'a', 'few', 'lines', 'to', 'her', 'sister', 'to', 'announce', 'their', 'safe', 'arrival', 'in', 'london', 'and', 'when', 'she', 'wrote', 'again', 'elizabeth', 'hoped', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'in', 'her', 'power', 'to', 'say', 'something', 'of', 'the', 'bingleys', 'her', 'impatience', 'for', 'this', 'second', 'letter', 'was', 'as', 'well', 'rewarded', 'as', 'impatience', 'generally', 'is', 'jane', 'had', 'been', 'a', 'week', 'in', 'town', 'without', 'either', 'seeing', 'or', 'hearing', 'from', 'caroline', 'she', 'accounted', 'for', 'it', 'however', 'by', 'supposing', 'that', 'her', 'last', 'letter', 'to', 'her', 'friend', 'from', 'longbourn', 'had', 'by', 'some', 'accident', 'been', 'lost', 'my', 'aunt', 'she', 'continued', 'is', 'going', 'tomorrow', 'into', 'that', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'town', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'take', 'the', 'opportunity', 'of', 'calling', 'in', 'grosvenor', 'street', 'she', 'wrote', 'again', 'when', 'the', 'visit', 'was', 'paid', 'and', 'she', 'had', 'seen', 'miss', 'bingley', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'think', 'caroline', 'in', 'spirits', 'were', 'her', 'words', 'but', 'she', 'was', 'very', 'glad', 'to', 'see', 'me', 'and', 'reproached', 'me', 'for', 'giving', 'her', 'no', 'notice', 'of', 'my', 'coming', 'to', 'london', 'i', 'was', 'right', 'therefore', 'my', 'last', 'letter', 'had', 'never', 'reached', 'her', 'i', 'enquired', 'after', 'their', 'brother', 'of', 'course', 'he', 'was', 'well', 'but', 'so', 'much', 'engaged', 'with', 'mr', 'darcy', 'that', 'they', 'scarcely', 'ever', 'saw', 'him', 'i', 'found', 'that', 'miss', 'darcy', 'was', 'expected', 'to', 'dinner', 'i', 'wish', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'her', 'my', 'visit', 'was', 'not', 'long', 'as', 'caroline', 'and', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'were', 'going', 'out', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'i', 'shall', 'see', 'them', 'soon', 'here', 'elizabeth', 'shook', 'her', 'head', 'over', 'this', 'letter', 'it', 'convinced', 'her', 'that', 'accident', 'only', 'could', 'discover', 'to', 'mr', 'bingley', 'her', 'sisters', 'being', 'in', 'town', 'four', 'weeks', 'passed', 'away', 'and', 'jane', 'saw', 'nothing', 'of', 'him', 'she', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'persuade', 'herself', 'that', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'regret', 'it', 'but', 'she', 'could', 'no', 'longer', 'be', 'blind', 'to', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'inattention', 'after', 'waiting', 'at', 'home', 'every', 'morning', 'for', 'a', 'fortnight', 'and', 'inventing', 'every', 'evening', 'a', 'fresh', 'excuse', 'for', 'her', 'the', 'visitor', 'did', 'at', 'last', 'appear', 'but', 'the', 'shortness', 'of', 'her', 'stay', 'and', 'yet', 'more', 'the', 'alteration', 'of', 'her', 'manner', 'would', 'allow', 'jane', 'to', 'deceive', 'herself', 'no', 'longer', 'the', 'letter', 'which', 'she', 'wrote', 'on', 'this', 'occasion', 'to', 'her', 'sister', 'will', 'prove', 'what', 'she', 'felt', 'my', 'dearest', 'lizzy', 'will', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'be', 'incapable', 'of', 'triumphing', 'in', 'her', 'better', 'judgement', 'at', 'my', 'expense', 'when', 'i', 'confess', 'myself', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'entirely', 'deceived', 'in', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'regard', 'for', 'me', 'but', 'my', 'dear', 'sister', 'though', 'the', 'event', 'has', 'proved', 'you', 'right', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'me', 'obstinate', 'if', 'i', 'still', 'assert', 'that', 'considering', 'what', 'her', 'behaviour', 'was', 'my', 'confidence', 'was', 'as', 'natural', 'as', 'your', 'suspicion', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'comprehend', 'her', 'reason', 'for', 'wishing', 'to', 'be', 'intimate', 'with', 'me', 'but', 'if', 'the', 'same', 'circumstances', 'were', 'to', 'happen', 'again', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'deceived', 'again', 'caroline', 'did', 'not', 'return', 'my', 'visit', 'till', 'yesterday', 'and', 'not', 'a', 'note', 'not', 'a', 'line', 'did', 'i', 'receive', 'in', 'the', 'meantime', 'when', 'she', 'did', 'come', 'it', 'was', 'very', 'evident', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'pleasure', 'in', 'it', 'she', 'made', 'a', 'slight', 'formal', 'apology', 'for', 'not', 'calling', 'before', 'said', 'not', 'a', 'word', 'of', 'wishing', 'to', 'see', 'me', 'again', 'and', 'was', 'in', 'every', 'respect', 'so', 'altered', 'a', 'creature', 'that', 'when', 'she', 'went', 'away', 'i', 'was', 'perfectly', 'resolved', 'to', 'continue', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'no', 'longer', 'i', 'pity', 'though', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'help', 'blaming', 'her', 'she', 'was', 'very', 'wrong', 'in', 'singling', 'me', 'out', 'as', 'she', 'did', 'i', 'can', 'safely', 'say', 'that', 'every', 'advance', 'to', 'intimacy', 'began', 'on', 'her', 'side', 'but', 'i', 'pity', 'her', 'because', 'she', 'must', 'feel', 'that', 'she', 'has', 'been', 'acting', 'wrong', 'and', 'because', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'sure', 'that', 'anxiety', 'for', 'her', 'brother', 'is', 'the', 'cause', 'of', 'it', 'i', 'need', 'not', 'explain', 'myself', 'farther', 'and', 'though', 'we', 'know', 'this', 'anxiety', 'to', 'be', 'quite', 'needless', 'yet', 'if', 'she', 'feels', 'it', 'it', 'will', 'easily', 'account', 'for', 'her', 'behaviour', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'so', 'deservedly', 'dear', 'as', 'he', 'is', 'to', 'his', 'sister', 'whatever', 'anxiety', 'she', 'must', 'feel', 'on', 'his', 'behalf', 'is', 'natural', 'and', 'amiable', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'but', 'wonder', 'however', 'at', 'her', 'having', 'any', 'such', 'fears', 'now', 'because', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'at', 'all', 'cared', 'about', 'me', 'we', 'must', 'have', 'met', 'long', 'ago', 'he', 'knows', 'of', 'my', 'being', 'in', 'town', 'i', 'am', 'certain', 'from', 'something', 'she', 'said', 'herself', 'and', 'yet', 'it', 'would', 'seem', 'by', 'her', 'manner', 'of', 'talking', 'as', 'if', 'she', 'wanted', 'to', 'persuade', 'herself', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'really', 'partial', 'to', 'miss', 'darcy', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'understand', 'it', 'if', 'i', 'were', 'not', 'afraid', 'of', 'judging', 'harshly', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'almost', 'tempted', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'strong', 'appearance', 'of', 'duplicity', 'in', 'all', 'this', 'but', 'i', 'will', 'endeavour', 'to', 'banish', 'every', 'painful', 'thought', 'and', 'think', 'only', 'of', 'what', 'will', 'make', 'me', 'happyyour', 'affection', 'and', 'the', 'invariable', 'kindness', 'of', 'my', 'dear', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'let', 'me', 'hear', 'from', 'you', 'very', 'soon', 'miss', 'bingley', 'said', 'something', 'of', 'his', 'never', 'returning', 'to', 'netherfield', 'again', 'of', 'giving', 'up', 'the', 'house', 'but', 'not', 'with', 'any', 'certainty', 'we', 'had', 'better', 'not', 'mention', 'it', 'i', 'am', 'extremely', 'glad', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'such', 'pleasant', 'accounts', 'from', 'our', 'friends', 'at', 'hunsford', 'pray', 'go', 'to', 'see', 'them', 'with', 'sir', 'william', 'and', 'maria', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'very', 'comfortable', 'thereyours', 'etc', 'this', 'letter', 'gave', 'elizabeth', 'some', 'pain', 'but', 'her', 'spirits', 'returned', 'as', 'she', 'considered', 'that', 'jane', 'would', 'no', 'longer', 'be', 'duped', 'by', 'the', 'sister', 'at', 'least', 'all', 'expectation', 'from', 'the', 'brother', 'was', 'now', 'absolutely', 'over', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'even', 'wish', 'for', 'a', 'renewal', 'of', 'his', 'attentions', 'his', 'character', 'sunk', 'on', 'every', 'review', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'as', 'a', 'punishment', 'for', 'him', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'a', 'possible', 'advantage', 'to', 'jane', 'she', 'seriously', 'hoped', 'he', 'might', 'really', 'soon', 'marry', 'mr', 'darcys', 'sister', 'as', 'by', 'wickhams', 'account', 'she', 'would', 'make', 'him', 'abundantly', 'regret', 'what', 'he', 'had', 'thrown', 'away', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'about', 'this', 'time', 'reminded', 'elizabeth', 'of', 'her', 'promise', 'concerning', 'that', 'gentleman', 'and', 'required', 'information', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'such', 'to', 'send', 'as', 'might', 'rather', 'give', 'contentment', 'to', 'her', 'aunt', 'than', 'to', 'herself', 'his', 'apparent', 'partiality', 'had', 'subsided', 'his', 'attentions', 'were', 'over', 'he', 'was', 'the', 'admirer', 'of', 'some', 'one', 'else', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'watchful', 'enough', 'to', 'see', 'it', 'all', 'but', 'she', 'could', 'see', 'it', 'and', 'write', 'of', 'it', 'without', 'material', 'pain', 'her', 'heart', 'had', 'been', 'but', 'slightly', 'touched', 'and', 'her', 'vanity', 'was', 'satisfied', 'with', 'believing', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'his', 'only', 'choice', 'had', 'fortune', 'permitted', 'it', 'the', 'sudden', 'acquisition', 'of', 'ten', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'was', 'the', 'most', 'remarkable', 'charm', 'of', 'the', 'young', 'lady', 'to', 'whom', 'he', 'was', 'now', 'rendering', 'himself', 'agreeable', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'less', 'clearsighted', 'perhaps', 'in', 'this', 'case', 'than', 'in', 'charlottes', 'did', 'not', 'quarrel', 'with', 'him', 'for', 'his', 'wish', 'of', 'independence', 'nothing', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'could', 'be', 'more', 'natural', 'and', 'while', 'able', 'to', 'suppose', 'that', 'it', 'cost', 'him', 'a', 'few', 'struggles', 'to', 'relinquish', 'her', 'she', 'was', 'ready', 'to', 'allow', 'it', 'a', 'wise', 'and', 'desirable', 'measure', 'for', 'both', 'and', 'could', 'very', 'sincerely', 'wish', 'him', 'happy', 'all', 'this', 'was', 'acknowledged', 'to', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'and', 'after', 'relating', 'the', 'circumstances', 'she', 'thus', 'went', 'on', 'i', 'am', 'now', 'convinced', 'my', 'dear', 'aunt', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'never', 'been', 'much', 'in', 'love', 'for', 'had', 'i', 'really', 'experienced', 'that', 'pure', 'and', 'elevating', 'passion', 'i', 'should', 'at', 'present', 'detest', 'his', 'very', 'name', 'and', 'wish', 'him', 'all', 'manner', 'of', 'evil', 'but', 'my', 'feelings', 'are', 'not', 'only', 'cordial', 'towards', 'him', 'they', 'are', 'even', 'impartial', 'towards', 'miss', 'king', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'find', 'out', 'that', 'i', 'hate', 'her', 'at', 'all', 'or', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'unwilling', 'to', 'think', 'her', 'a', 'very', 'good', 'sort', 'of', 'girl', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'no', 'love', 'in', 'all', 'this', 'my', 'watchfulness', 'has', 'been', 'effectual', 'and', 'though', 'i', 'certainly', 'should', 'be', 'a', 'more', 'interesting', 'object', 'to', 'all', 'my', 'acquaintances', 'were', 'i', 'distractedly', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'him', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'regret', 'my', 'comparative', 'insignificance', 'importance', 'may', 'sometimes', 'be', 'purchased', 'too', 'dearly', 'kitty', 'and', 'lydia', 'take', 'his', 'defection', 'much', 'more', 'to', 'heart', 'than', 'i', 'do', 'they', 'are', 'young', 'in', 'the', 'ways', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'and', 'not', 'yet', 'open', 'to', 'the', 'mortifying', 'conviction', 'that', 'handsome', 'young', 'men', 'must', 'have', 'something', 'to', 'live', 'on', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'the', 'plain', 'with', 'no', 'greater', 'events', 'than', 'these', 'in', 'the', 'longbourn', 'family', 'and', 'otherwise', 'diversified', 'by', 'little', 'beyond', 'the', 'walks', 'to', 'meryton', 'sometimes', 'dirty', 'and', 'sometimes', 'cold', 'did', 'january', 'and', 'february', 'pass', 'away', 'march', 'was', 'to', 'take', 'elizabeth', 'to', 'hunsford', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'at', 'first', 'thought', 'very', 'seriously', 'of', 'going', 'thither', 'but', 'charlotte', 'she', 'soon', 'found', 'was', 'depending', 'on', 'the', 'plan', 'and', 'she', 'gradually', 'learned', 'to', 'consider', 'it', 'herself', 'with', 'greater', 'pleasure', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'greater', 'certainty', 'absence', 'had', 'increased', 'her', 'desire', 'of', 'seeing', 'charlotte', 'again', 'and', 'weakened', 'her', 'disgust', 'of', 'mr', 'collins', 'there', 'was', 'novelty', 'in', 'the', 'scheme', 'and', 'as', 'with', 'such', 'a', 'mother', 'and', 'such', 'uncompanionable', 'sisters', 'home', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'faultless', 'a', 'little', 'change', 'was', 'not', 'unwelcome', 'for', 'its', 'own', 'sake', 'the', 'journey', 'would', 'moreover', 'give', 'her', 'a', 'peep', 'at', 'jane', 'and', 'in', 'short', 'as', 'the', 'time', 'drew', 'near', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'very', 'sorry', 'for', 'any', 'delay', 'everything', 'however', 'went', 'on', 'smoothly', 'and', 'was', 'finally', 'settled', 'according', 'to', 'charlottes', 'first', 'sketch', 'she', 'was', 'to', 'accompany', 'sir', 'william', 'and', 'his', 'second', 'daughter', 'the', 'improvement', 'of', 'spending', 'a', 'night', 'in', 'london', 'was', 'added', 'in', 'time', 'and', 'the', 'plan', 'became', 'perfect', 'as', 'plan', 'could', 'be', 'the', 'only', 'pain', 'was', 'in', 'leaving', 'her', 'father', 'who', 'would', 'certainly', 'miss', 'her', 'and', 'who', 'when', 'it', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'point', 'so', 'little', 'liked', 'her', 'going', 'that', 'he', 'told', 'her', 'to', 'write', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'almost', 'promised', 'to', 'answer', 'her', 'letter', 'the', 'farewell', 'between', 'herself', 'and', 'mr', 'wickham', 'was', 'perfectly', 'friendly', 'on', 'his', 'side', 'even', 'more', 'his', 'present', 'pursuit', 'could', 'not', 'make', 'him', 'forget', 'that', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'been', 'the', 'first', 'to', 'excite', 'and', 'to', 'deserve', 'his', 'attention', 'the', 'first', 'to', 'listen', 'and', 'to', 'pity', 'the', 'first', 'to', 'be', 'admired', 'and', 'in', 'his', 'manner', 'of', 'bidding', 'her', 'adieu', 'wishing', 'her', 'every', 'enjoyment', 'reminding', 'her', 'of', 'what', 'she', 'was', 'to', 'expect', 'in', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'and', 'trusting', 'their', 'opinion', 'of', 'hertheir', 'opinion', 'of', 'everybodywould', 'always', 'coincide', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'solicitude', 'an', 'interest', 'which', 'she', 'felt', 'must', 'ever', 'attach', 'her', 'to', 'him', 'with', 'a', 'most', 'sincere', 'regard', 'and', 'she', 'parted', 'from', 'him', 'convinced', 'that', 'whether', 'married', 'or', 'single', 'he', 'must', 'always', 'be', 'her', 'model', 'of', 'the', 'amiable', 'and', 'pleasing', 'her', 'fellowtravellers', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'were', 'not', 'of', 'a', 'kind', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'think', 'him', 'less', 'agreeable', 'sir', 'william', 'lucas', 'and', 'his', 'daughter', 'maria', 'a', 'goodhumoured', 'girl', 'but', 'as', 'emptyheaded', 'as', 'himself', 'had', 'nothing', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'could', 'be', 'worth', 'hearing', 'and', 'were', 'listened', 'to', 'with', 'about', 'as', 'much', 'delight', 'as', 'the', 'rattle', 'of', 'the', 'chaise', 'elizabeth', 'loved', 'absurdities', 'but', 'she', 'had', 'known', 'sir', 'williams', 'too', 'long', 'he', 'could', 'tell', 'her', 'nothing', 'new', 'of', 'the', 'wonders', 'of', 'his', 'presentation', 'and', 'knighthood', 'and', 'his', 'civilities', 'were', 'worn', 'out', 'like', 'his', 'information', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'journey', 'of', 'only', 'twentyfour', 'miles', 'and', 'they', 'began', 'it', 'so', 'early', 'as', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'gracechurch', 'street', 'by', 'noon', 'as', 'they', 'drove', 'to', 'mr', 'gardiners', 'door', 'jane', 'was', 'at', 'a', 'drawingroom', 'window', 'watching', 'their', 'arrival', 'when', 'they', 'entered', 'the', 'passage', 'she', 'was', 'there', 'to', 'welcome', 'them', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'looking', 'earnestly', 'in', 'her', 'face', 'was', 'pleased', 'to', 'see', 'it', 'healthful', 'and', 'lovely', 'as', 'ever', 'on', 'the', 'stairs', 'were', 'a', 'troop', 'of', 'little', 'boys', 'and', 'girls', 'whose', 'eagerness', 'for', 'their', 'cousins', 'appearance', 'would', 'not', 'allow', 'them', 'to', 'wait', 'in', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'and', 'whose', 'shyness', 'as', 'they', 'had', 'not', 'seen', 'her', 'for', 'a', 'twelvemonth', 'prevented', 'their', 'coming', 'lower', 'all', 'was', 'joy', 'and', 'kindness', 'the', 'day', 'passed', 'most', 'pleasantly', 'away', 'the', 'morning', 'in', 'bustle', 'and', 'shopping', 'and', 'the', 'evening', 'at', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'theatres', 'elizabeth', 'then', 'contrived', 'to', 'sit', 'by', 'her', 'aunt', 'their', 'first', 'object', 'was', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'more', 'grieved', 'than', 'astonished', 'to', 'hear', 'in', 'reply', 'to', 'her', 'minute', 'enquiries', 'that', 'though', 'jane', 'always', 'struggled', 'to', 'support', 'her', 'spirits', 'there', 'were', 'periods', 'of', 'dejection', 'it', 'was', 'reasonable', 'however', 'to', 'hope', 'that', 'they', 'would', 'not', 'continue', 'long', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'gave', 'her', 'the', 'particulars', 'also', 'of', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'visit', 'in', 'gracechurch', 'street', 'and', 'repeated', 'conversations', 'occurring', 'at', 'different', 'times', 'between', 'jane', 'and', 'herself', 'which', 'proved', 'that', 'the', 'former', 'had', 'from', 'her', 'heart', 'given', 'up', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'then', 'rallied', 'her', 'niece', 'on', 'wickhams', 'desertion', 'and', 'complimented', 'her', 'on', 'bearing', 'it', 'so', 'well', 'but', 'my', 'dear', 'elizabeth', 'she', 'added', 'what', 'sort', 'of', 'girl', 'is', 'miss', 'king', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'sorry', 'to', 'think', 'our', 'friend', 'mercenary', 'pray', 'my', 'dear', 'aunt', 'what', 'is', 'the', 'difference', 'in', 'matrimonial', 'affairs', 'between', 'the', 'mercenary', 'and', 'the', 'prudent', 'motive', 'where', 'does', 'discretion', 'end', 'and', 'avarice', 'begin', 'last', 'christmas', 'you', 'were', 'afraid', 'of', 'his', 'marrying', 'me', 'because', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'imprudent', 'and', 'now', 'because', 'he', 'is', 'trying', 'to', 'get', 'a', 'girl', 'with', 'only', 'ten', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'you', 'want', 'to', 'find', 'out', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'mercenary', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'only', 'tell', 'me', 'what', 'sort', 'of', 'girl', 'miss', 'king', 'is', 'i', 'shall', 'know', 'what', 'to', 'think', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'good', 'kind', 'of', 'girl', 'i', 'believe', 'i', 'know', 'no', 'harm', 'of', 'her', 'but', 'he', 'paid', 'her', 'not', 'the', 'smallest', 'attention', 'till', 'her', 'grandfathers', 'death', 'made', 'her', 'mistress', 'of', 'this', 'fortune', 'nowhy', 'should', 'he', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'not', 'allowable', 'for', 'him', 'to', 'gain', 'my', 'affections', 'because', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'money', 'what', 'occasion', 'could', 'there', 'be', 'for', 'making', 'love', 'to', 'a', 'girl', 'whom', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'care', 'about', 'and', 'who', 'was', 'equally', 'poor', 'but', 'there', 'seems', 'an', 'indelicacy', 'in', 'directing', 'his', 'attentions', 'towards', 'her', 'so', 'soon', 'after', 'this', 'event', 'a', 'man', 'in', 'distressed', 'circumstances', 'has', 'not', 'time', 'for', 'all', 'those', 'elegant', 'decorums', 'which', 'other', 'people', 'may', 'observe', 'if', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'object', 'to', 'it', 'why', 'should', 'we', 'her', 'not', 'objecting', 'does', 'not', 'justify', 'him', 'it', 'only', 'shows', 'her', 'being', 'deficient', 'in', 'something', 'herselfsense', 'or', 'feeling', 'well', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'have', 'it', 'as', 'you', 'choose', 'he', 'shall', 'be', 'mercenary', 'and', 'she', 'shall', 'be', 'foolish', 'no', 'lizzy', 'that', 'is', 'what', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'choose', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'sorry', 'you', 'know', 'to', 'think', 'ill', 'of', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'who', 'has', 'lived', 'so', 'long', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'oh', 'if', 'that', 'is', 'all', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'very', 'poor', 'opinion', 'of', 'young', 'men', 'who', 'live', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'and', 'their', 'intimate', 'friends', 'who', 'live', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'are', 'not', 'much', 'better', 'i', 'am', 'sick', 'of', 'them', 'all', 'thank', 'heaven', 'i', 'am', 'going', 'tomorrow', 'where', 'i', 'shall', 'find', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'has', 'not', 'one', 'agreeable', 'quality', 'who', 'has', 'neither', 'manner', 'nor', 'sense', 'to', 'recommend', 'him', 'stupid', 'men', 'are', 'the', 'only', 'ones', 'worth', 'knowing', 'after', 'all', 'take', 'care', 'lizzy', 'that', 'speech', 'savours', 'strongly', 'of', 'disappointment', 'before', 'they', 'were', 'separated', 'by', 'the', 'conclusion', 'of', 'the', 'play', 'she', 'had', 'the', 'unexpected', 'happiness', 'of', 'an', 'invitation', 'to', 'accompany', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'in', 'a', 'tour', 'of', 'pleasure', 'which', 'they', 'proposed', 'taking', 'in', 'the', 'summer', 'we', 'have', 'not', 'determined', 'how', 'far', 'it', 'shall', 'carry', 'us', 'said', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'but', 'perhaps', 'to', 'the', 'lakes', 'no', 'scheme', 'could', 'have', 'been', 'more', 'agreeable', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'her', 'acceptance', 'of', 'the', 'invitation', 'was', 'most', 'ready', 'and', 'grateful', 'oh', 'my', 'dear', 'dear', 'aunt', 'she', 'rapturously', 'cried', 'what', 'delight', 'what', 'felicity', 'you', 'give', 'me', 'fresh', 'life', 'and', 'vigour', 'adieu', 'to', 'disappointment', 'and', 'spleen', 'what', 'are', 'young', 'men', 'to', 'rocks', 'and', 'mountains', 'oh', 'what', 'hours', 'of', 'transport', 'we', 'shall', 'spend', 'and', 'when', 'we', 'do', 'return', 'it', 'shall', 'not', 'be', 'like', 'other', 'travellers', 'without', 'being', 'able', 'to', 'give', 'one', 'accurate', 'idea', 'of', 'anything', 'we', 'will', 'know', 'where', 'we', 'have', 'gonewe', 'will', 'recollect', 'what', 'we', 'have', 'seen', 'lakes', 'mountains', 'and', 'rivers', 'shall', 'not', 'be', 'jumbled', 'together', 'in', 'our', 'imaginations', 'nor', 'when', 'we', 'attempt', 'to', 'describe', 'any', 'particular', 'scene', 'will', 'we', 'begin', 'quarreling', 'about', 'its', 'relative', 'situation', 'let', 'our', 'first', 'effusions', 'be', 'less', 'insupportable', 'than', 'those', 'of', 'the', 'generality', 'of', 'travellers', 'every', 'object', 'in', 'the', 'next', 'days', 'journey', 'was', 'new', 'and', 'interesting', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'her', 'spirits', 'were', 'in', 'a', 'state', 'of', 'enjoyment', 'for', 'she', 'had', 'seen', 'her', 'sister', 'looking', 'so', 'well', 'as', 'to', 'banish', 'all', 'fear', 'for', 'her', 'health', 'and', 'the', 'prospect', 'of', 'her', 'northern', 'tour', 'was', 'a', 'constant', 'source', 'of', 'delight', 'when', 'they', 'left', 'the', 'high', 'road', 'for', 'the', 'lane', 'to', 'hunsford', 'every', 'eye', 'was', 'in', 'search', 'of', 'the', 'parsonage', 'and', 'every', 'turning', 'expected', 'to', 'bring', 'it', 'in', 'view', 'the', 'palings', 'of', 'rosings', 'park', 'was', 'their', 'boundary', 'on', 'one', 'side', 'elizabeth', 'smiled', 'at', 'the', 'recollection', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'heard', 'of', 'its', 'inhabitants', 'at', 'length', 'the', 'parsonage', 'was', 'discernible', 'the', 'garden', 'sloping', 'to', 'the', 'road', 'the', 'house', 'standing', 'in', 'it', 'the', 'green', 'pales', 'and', 'the', 'laurel', 'hedge', 'everything', 'declared', 'they', 'were', 'arriving', 'mr', 'collins', 'and', 'charlotte', 'appeared', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'the', 'carriage', 'stopped', 'at', 'the', 'small', 'gate', 'which', 'led', 'by', 'a', 'short', 'gravel', 'walk', 'to', 'the', 'house', 'amidst', 'the', 'nods', 'and', 'smiles', 'of', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'in', 'a', 'moment', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'chaise', 'rejoicing', 'at', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'each', 'other', 'mrs', 'collins', 'welcomed', 'her', 'friend', 'with', 'the', 'liveliest', 'pleasure', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'more', 'and', 'more', 'satisfied', 'with', 'coming', 'when', 'she', 'found', 'herself', 'so', 'affectionately', 'received', 'she', 'saw', 'instantly', 'that', 'her', 'cousins', 'manners', 'were', 'not', 'altered', 'by', 'his', 'marriage', 'his', 'formal', 'civility', 'was', 'just', 'what', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'and', 'he', 'detained', 'her', 'some', 'minutes', 'at', 'the', 'gate', 'to', 'hear', 'and', 'satisfy', 'his', 'enquiries', 'after', 'all', 'her', 'family', 'they', 'were', 'then', 'with', 'no', 'other', 'delay', 'than', 'his', 'pointing', 'out', 'the', 'neatness', 'of', 'the', 'entrance', 'taken', 'into', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'in', 'the', 'parlour', 'he', 'welcomed', 'them', 'a', 'second', 'time', 'with', 'ostentatious', 'formality', 'to', 'his', 'humble', 'abode', 'and', 'punctually', 'repeated', 'all', 'his', 'wifes', 'offers', 'of', 'refreshment', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'prepared', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'in', 'his', 'glory', 'and', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'in', 'fancying', 'that', 'in', 'displaying', 'the', 'good', 'proportion', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'its', 'aspect', 'and', 'its', 'furniture', 'he', 'addressed', 'himself', 'particularly', 'to', 'her', 'as', 'if', 'wishing', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'feel', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'lost', 'in', 'refusing', 'him', 'but', 'though', 'everything', 'seemed', 'neat', 'and', 'comfortable', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'able', 'to', 'gratify', 'him', 'by', 'any', 'sigh', 'of', 'repentance', 'and', 'rather', 'looked', 'with', 'wonder', 'at', 'her', 'friend', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'have', 'so', 'cheerful', 'an', 'air', 'with', 'such', 'a', 'companion', 'when', 'mr', 'collins', 'said', 'anything', 'of', 'which', 'his', 'wife', 'might', 'reasonably', 'be', 'ashamed', 'which', 'certainly', 'was', 'not', 'unseldom', 'she', 'involuntarily', 'turned', 'her', 'eye', 'on', 'charlotte', 'once', 'or', 'twice', 'she', 'could', 'discern', 'a', 'faint', 'blush', 'but', 'in', 'general', 'charlotte', 'wisely', 'did', 'not', 'hear', 'after', 'sitting', 'long', 'enough', 'to', 'admire', 'every', 'article', 'of', 'furniture', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'from', 'the', 'sideboard', 'to', 'the', 'fender', 'to', 'give', 'an', 'account', 'of', 'their', 'journey', 'and', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'had', 'happened', 'in', 'london', 'mr', 'collins', 'invited', 'them', 'to', 'take', 'a', 'stroll', 'in', 'the', 'garden', 'which', 'was', 'large', 'and', 'well', 'laid', 'out', 'and', 'to', 'the', 'cultivation', 'of', 'which', 'he', 'attended', 'himself', 'to', 'work', 'in', 'this', 'garden', 'was', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'most', 'respectable', 'pleasures', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'admired', 'the', 'command', 'of', 'countenance', 'with', 'which', 'charlotte', 'talked', 'of', 'the', 'healthfulness', 'of', 'the', 'exercise', 'and', 'owned', 'she', 'encouraged', 'it', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'possible', 'here', 'leading', 'the', 'way', 'through', 'every', 'walk', 'and', 'cross', 'walk', 'and', 'scarcely', 'allowing', 'them', 'an', 'interval', 'to', 'utter', 'the', 'praises', 'he', 'asked', 'for', 'every', 'view', 'was', 'pointed', 'out', 'with', 'a', 'minuteness', 'which', 'left', 'beauty', 'entirely', 'behind', 'he', 'could', 'number', 'the', 'fields', 'in', 'every', 'direction', 'and', 'could', 'tell', 'how', 'many', 'trees', 'there', 'were', 'in', 'the', 'most', 'distant', 'clump', 'but', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'views', 'which', 'his', 'garden', 'or', 'which', 'the', 'country', 'or', 'kingdom', 'could', 'boast', 'none', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'compared', 'with', 'the', 'prospect', 'of', 'rosings', 'afforded', 'by', 'an', 'opening', 'in', 'the', 'trees', 'that', 'bordered', 'the', 'park', 'nearly', 'opposite', 'the', 'front', 'of', 'his', 'house', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'handsome', 'modern', 'building', 'well', 'situated', 'on', 'rising', 'ground', 'from', 'his', 'garden', 'mr', 'collins', 'would', 'have', 'led', 'them', 'round', 'his', 'two', 'meadows', 'but', 'the', 'ladies', 'not', 'having', 'shoes', 'to', 'encounter', 'the', 'remains', 'of', 'a', 'white', 'frost', 'turned', 'back', 'and', 'while', 'sir', 'william', 'accompanied', 'him', 'charlotte', 'took', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'friend', 'over', 'the', 'house', 'extremely', 'well', 'pleased', 'probably', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'opportunity', 'of', 'showing', 'it', 'without', 'her', 'husbands', 'help', 'it', 'was', 'rather', 'small', 'but', 'well', 'built', 'and', 'convenient', 'and', 'everything', 'was', 'fitted', 'up', 'and', 'arranged', 'with', 'a', 'neatness', 'and', 'consistency', 'of', 'which', 'elizabeth', 'gave', 'charlotte', 'all', 'the', 'credit', 'when', 'mr', 'collins', 'could', 'be', 'forgotten', 'there', 'was', 'really', 'an', 'air', 'of', 'great', 'comfort', 'throughout', 'and', 'by', 'charlottes', 'evident', 'enjoyment', 'of', 'it', 'elizabeth', 'supposed', 'he', 'must', 'be', 'often', 'forgotten', 'she', 'had', 'already', 'learnt', 'that', 'lady', 'catherine', 'was', 'still', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'it', 'was', 'spoken', 'of', 'again', 'while', 'they', 'were', 'at', 'dinner', 'when', 'mr', 'collins', 'joining', 'in', 'observed', 'yes', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'you', 'will', 'have', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'seeing', 'lady', 'catherine', 'de', 'bourgh', 'on', 'the', 'ensuing', 'sunday', 'at', 'church', 'and', 'i', 'need', 'not', 'say', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'delighted', 'with', 'her', 'she', 'is', 'all', 'affability', 'and', 'condescension', 'and', 'i', 'doubt', 'not', 'but', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'honoured', 'with', 'some', 'portion', 'of', 'her', 'notice', 'when', 'service', 'is', 'over', 'i', 'have', 'scarcely', 'any', 'hesitation', 'in', 'saying', 'she', 'will', 'include', 'you', 'and', 'my', 'sister', 'maria', 'in', 'every', 'invitation', 'with', 'which', 'she', 'honours', 'us', 'during', 'your', 'stay', 'here', 'her', 'behaviour', 'to', 'my', 'dear', 'charlotte', 'is', 'charming', 'we', 'dine', 'at', 'rosings', 'twice', 'every', 'week', 'and', 'are', 'never', 'allowed', 'to', 'walk', 'home', 'her', 'ladyships', 'carriage', 'is', 'regularly', 'ordered', 'for', 'us', 'i', 'should', 'say', 'one', 'of', 'her', 'ladyships', 'carriages', 'for', 'she', 'has', 'several', 'lady', 'catherine', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'respectable', 'sensible', 'woman', 'indeed', 'added', 'charlotte', 'and', 'a', 'most', 'attentive', 'neighbour', 'very', 'true', 'my', 'dear', 'that', 'is', 'exactly', 'what', 'i', 'say', 'she', 'is', 'the', 'sort', 'of', 'woman', 'whom', 'one', 'can', 'not', 'regard', 'with', 'too', 'much', 'deference', 'the', 'evening', 'was', 'spent', 'chiefly', 'in', 'talking', 'over', 'hertfordshire', 'news', 'and', 'telling', 'again', 'what', 'had', 'already', 'been', 'written', 'and', 'when', 'it', 'closed', 'elizabeth', 'in', 'the', 'solitude', 'of', 'her', 'chamber', 'had', 'to', 'meditate', 'upon', 'charlottes', 'degree', 'of', 'contentment', 'to', 'understand', 'her', 'address', 'in', 'guiding', 'and', 'composure', 'in', 'bearing', 'with', 'her', 'husband', 'and', 'to', 'acknowledge', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'all', 'done', 'very', 'well', 'she', 'had', 'also', 'to', 'anticipate', 'how', 'her', 'visit', 'would', 'pass', 'the', 'quiet', 'tenor', 'of', 'their', 'usual', 'employments', 'the', 'vexatious', 'interruptions', 'of', 'mr', 'collins', 'and', 'the', 'gaieties', 'of', 'their', 'intercourse', 'with', 'rosings', 'a', 'lively', 'imagination', 'soon', 'settled', 'it', 'all', 'about', 'the', 'middle', 'of', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'as', 'she', 'was', 'in', 'her', 'room', 'getting', 'ready', 'for', 'a', 'walk', 'a', 'sudden', 'noise', 'below', 'seemed', 'to', 'speak', 'the', 'whole', 'house', 'in', 'confusion', 'and', 'after', 'listening', 'a', 'moment', 'she', 'heard', 'somebody', 'running', 'up', 'stairs', 'in', 'a', 'violent', 'hurry', 'and', 'calling', 'loudly', 'after', 'her', 'she', 'opened', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'met', 'maria', 'in', 'the', 'landing', 'place', 'who', 'breathless', 'with', 'agitation', 'cried', 'out', 'oh', 'my', 'dear', 'eliza', 'pray', 'make', 'haste', 'and', 'come', 'into', 'the', 'diningroom', 'for', 'there', 'is', 'such', 'a', 'sight', 'to', 'be', 'seen', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'tell', 'you', 'what', 'it', 'is', 'make', 'haste', 'and', 'come', 'down', 'this', 'moment', 'elizabeth', 'asked', 'questions', 'in', 'vain', 'maria', 'would', 'tell', 'her', 'nothing', 'more', 'and', 'down', 'they', 'ran', 'into', 'the', 'diningroom', 'which', 'fronted', 'the', 'lane', 'in', 'quest', 'of', 'this', 'wonder', 'it', 'was', 'two', 'ladies', 'stopping', 'in', 'a', 'low', 'phaeton', 'at', 'the', 'garden', 'gate', 'and', 'is', 'this', 'all', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'i', 'expected', 'at', 'least', 'that', 'the', 'pigs', 'were', 'got', 'into', 'the', 'garden', 'and', 'here', 'is', 'nothing', 'but', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'her', 'daughter', 'la', 'my', 'dear', 'said', 'maria', 'quite', 'shocked', 'at', 'the', 'mistake', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'lady', 'catherine', 'the', 'old', 'lady', 'is', 'mrs', 'jenkinson', 'who', 'lives', 'with', 'them', 'the', 'other', 'is', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'only', 'look', 'at', 'her', 'she', 'is', 'quite', 'a', 'little', 'creature', 'who', 'would', 'have', 'thought', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'be', 'so', 'thin', 'and', 'small', 'she', 'is', 'abominably', 'rude', 'to', 'keep', 'charlotte', 'out', 'of', 'doors', 'in', 'all', 'this', 'wind', 'why', 'does', 'she', 'not', 'come', 'in', 'oh', 'charlotte', 'says', 'she', 'hardly', 'ever', 'does', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'greatest', 'of', 'favours', 'when', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'comes', 'in', 'i', 'like', 'her', 'appearance', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'struck', 'with', 'other', 'ideas', 'she', 'looks', 'sickly', 'and', 'cross', 'yes', 'she', 'will', 'do', 'for', 'him', 'very', 'well', 'she', 'will', 'make', 'him', 'a', 'very', 'proper', 'wife', 'mr', 'collins', 'and', 'charlotte', 'were', 'both', 'standing', 'at', 'the', 'gate', 'in', 'conversation', 'with', 'the', 'ladies', 'and', 'sir', 'william', 'to', 'elizabeths', 'high', 'diversion', 'was', 'stationed', 'in', 'the', 'doorway', 'in', 'earnest', 'contemplation', 'of', 'the', 'greatness', 'before', 'him', 'and', 'constantly', 'bowing', 'whenever', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'looked', 'that', 'way', 'at', 'length', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'more', 'to', 'be', 'said', 'the', 'ladies', 'drove', 'on', 'and', 'the', 'others', 'returned', 'into', 'the', 'house', 'mr', 'collins', 'no', 'sooner', 'saw', 'the', 'two', 'girls', 'than', 'he', 'began', 'to', 'congratulate', 'them', 'on', 'their', 'good', 'fortune', 'which', 'charlotte', 'explained', 'by', 'letting', 'them', 'know', 'that', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'was', 'asked', 'to', 'dine', 'at', 'rosings', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'mr', 'collinss', 'triumph', 'in', 'consequence', 'of', 'this', 'invitation', 'was', 'complete', 'the', 'power', 'of', 'displaying', 'the', 'grandeur', 'of', 'his', 'patroness', 'to', 'his', 'wondering', 'visitors', 'and', 'of', 'letting', 'them', 'see', 'her', 'civility', 'towards', 'himself', 'and', 'his', 'wife', 'was', 'exactly', 'what', 'he', 'had', 'wished', 'for', 'and', 'that', 'an', 'opportunity', 'of', 'doing', 'it', 'should', 'be', 'given', 'so', 'soon', 'was', 'such', 'an', 'instance', 'of', 'lady', 'catherines', 'condescension', 'as', 'he', 'knew', 'not', 'how', 'to', 'admire', 'enough', 'i', 'confess', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'at', 'all', 'surprised', 'by', 'her', 'ladyships', 'asking', 'us', 'on', 'sunday', 'to', 'drink', 'tea', 'and', 'spend', 'the', 'evening', 'at', 'rosings', 'i', 'rather', 'expected', 'from', 'my', 'knowledge', 'of', 'her', 'affability', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'happen', 'but', 'who', 'could', 'have', 'foreseen', 'such', 'an', 'attention', 'as', 'this', 'who', 'could', 'have', 'imagined', 'that', 'we', 'should', 'receive', 'an', 'invitation', 'to', 'dine', 'there', 'an', 'invitation', 'moreover', 'including', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'so', 'immediately', 'after', 'your', 'arrival', 'i', 'am', 'the', 'less', 'surprised', 'at', 'what', 'has', 'happened', 'replied', 'sir', 'william', 'from', 'that', 'knowledge', 'of', 'what', 'the', 'manners', 'of', 'the', 'great', 'really', 'are', 'which', 'my', 'situation', 'in', 'life', 'has', 'allowed', 'me', 'to', 'acquire', 'about', 'the', 'court', 'such', 'instances', 'of', 'elegant', 'breeding', 'are', 'not', 'uncommon', 'scarcely', 'anything', 'was', 'talked', 'of', 'the', 'whole', 'day', 'or', 'next', 'morning', 'but', 'their', 'visit', 'to', 'rosings', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'carefully', 'instructing', 'them', 'in', 'what', 'they', 'were', 'to', 'expect', 'that', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'such', 'rooms', 'so', 'many', 'servants', 'and', 'so', 'splendid', 'a', 'dinner', 'might', 'not', 'wholly', 'overpower', 'them', 'when', 'the', 'ladies', 'were', 'separating', 'for', 'the', 'toilette', 'he', 'said', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'do', 'not', 'make', 'yourself', 'uneasy', 'my', 'dear', 'cousin', 'about', 'your', 'apparel', 'lady', 'catherine', 'is', 'far', 'from', 'requiring', 'that', 'elegance', 'of', 'dress', 'in', 'us', 'which', 'becomes', 'herself', 'and', 'her', 'daughter', 'i', 'would', 'advise', 'you', 'merely', 'to', 'put', 'on', 'whatever', 'of', 'your', 'clothes', 'is', 'superior', 'to', 'the', 'restthere', 'is', 'no', 'occasion', 'for', 'anything', 'more', 'lady', 'catherine', 'will', 'not', 'think', 'the', 'worse', 'of', 'you', 'for', 'being', 'simply', 'dressed', 'she', 'likes', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'distinction', 'of', 'rank', 'preserved', 'while', 'they', 'were', 'dressing', 'he', 'came', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'times', 'to', 'their', 'different', 'doors', 'to', 'recommend', 'their', 'being', 'quick', 'as', 'lady', 'catherine', 'very', 'much', 'objected', 'to', 'be', 'kept', 'waiting', 'for', 'her', 'dinner', 'such', 'formidable', 'accounts', 'of', 'her', 'ladyship', 'and', 'her', 'manner', 'of', 'living', 'quite', 'frightened', 'maria', 'lucas', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'little', 'used', 'to', 'company', 'and', 'she', 'looked', 'forward', 'to', 'her', 'introduction', 'at', 'rosings', 'with', 'as', 'much', 'apprehension', 'as', 'her', 'father', 'had', 'done', 'to', 'his', 'presentation', 'at', 'st', 'jamess', 'as', 'the', 'weather', 'was', 'fine', 'they', 'had', 'a', 'pleasant', 'walk', 'of', 'about', 'half', 'a', 'mile', 'across', 'the', 'park', 'every', 'park', 'has', 'its', 'beauty', 'and', 'its', 'prospects', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'saw', 'much', 'to', 'be', 'pleased', 'with', 'though', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'in', 'such', 'raptures', 'as', 'mr', 'collins', 'expected', 'the', 'scene', 'to', 'inspire', 'and', 'was', 'but', 'slightly', 'affected', 'by', 'his', 'enumeration', 'of', 'the', 'windows', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'his', 'relation', 'of', 'what', 'the', 'glazing', 'altogether', 'had', 'originally', 'cost', 'sir', 'lewis', 'de', 'bourgh', 'when', 'they', 'ascended', 'the', 'steps', 'to', 'the', 'hall', 'marias', 'alarm', 'was', 'every', 'moment', 'increasing', 'and', 'even', 'sir', 'william', 'did', 'not', 'look', 'perfectly', 'calm', 'elizabeths', 'courage', 'did', 'not', 'fail', 'her', 'she', 'had', 'heard', 'nothing', 'of', 'lady', 'catherine', 'that', 'spoke', 'her', 'awful', 'from', 'any', 'extraordinary', 'talents', 'or', 'miraculous', 'virtue', 'and', 'the', 'mere', 'stateliness', 'of', 'money', 'or', 'rank', 'she', 'thought', 'she', 'could', 'witness', 'without', 'trepidation', 'from', 'the', 'entrancehall', 'of', 'which', 'mr', 'collins', 'pointed', 'out', 'with', 'a', 'rapturous', 'air', 'the', 'fine', 'proportion', 'and', 'the', 'finished', 'ornaments', 'they', 'followed', 'the', 'servants', 'through', 'an', 'antechamber', 'to', 'the', 'room', 'where', 'lady', 'catherine', 'her', 'daughter', 'and', 'mrs', 'jenkinson', 'were', 'sitting', 'her', 'ladyship', 'with', 'great', 'condescension', 'arose', 'to', 'receive', 'them', 'and', 'as', 'mrs', 'collins', 'had', 'settled', 'it', 'with', 'her', 'husband', 'that', 'the', 'office', 'of', 'introduction', 'should', 'be', 'hers', 'it', 'was', 'performed', 'in', 'a', 'proper', 'manner', 'without', 'any', 'of', 'those', 'apologies', 'and', 'thanks', 'which', 'he', 'would', 'have', 'thought', 'necessary', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'having', 'been', 'at', 'st', 'jamess', 'sir', 'william', 'was', 'so', 'completely', 'awed', 'by', 'the', 'grandeur', 'surrounding', 'him', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'but', 'just', 'courage', 'enough', 'to', 'make', 'a', 'very', 'low', 'bow', 'and', 'take', 'his', 'seat', 'without', 'saying', 'a', 'word', 'and', 'his', 'daughter', 'frightened', 'almost', 'out', 'of', 'her', 'senses', 'sat', 'on', 'the', 'edge', 'of', 'her', 'chair', 'not', 'knowing', 'which', 'way', 'to', 'look', 'elizabeth', 'found', 'herself', 'quite', 'equal', 'to', 'the', 'scene', 'and', 'could', 'observe', 'the', 'three', 'ladies', 'before', 'her', 'composedly', 'lady', 'catherine', 'was', 'a', 'tall', 'large', 'woman', 'with', 'stronglymarked', 'features', 'which', 'might', 'once', 'have', 'been', 'handsome', 'her', 'air', 'was', 'not', 'conciliating', 'nor', 'was', 'her', 'manner', 'of', 'receiving', 'them', 'such', 'as', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'visitors', 'forget', 'their', 'inferior', 'rank', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'rendered', 'formidable', 'by', 'silence', 'but', 'whatever', 'she', 'said', 'was', 'spoken', 'in', 'so', 'authoritative', 'a', 'tone', 'as', 'marked', 'her', 'selfimportance', 'and', 'brought', 'mr', 'wickham', 'immediately', 'to', 'elizabeths', 'mind', 'and', 'from', 'the', 'observation', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'altogether', 'she', 'believed', 'lady', 'catherine', 'to', 'be', 'exactly', 'what', 'he', 'represented', 'when', 'after', 'examining', 'the', 'mother', 'in', 'whose', 'countenance', 'and', 'deportment', 'she', 'soon', 'found', 'some', 'resemblance', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'she', 'turned', 'her', 'eyes', 'on', 'the', 'daughter', 'she', 'could', 'almost', 'have', 'joined', 'in', 'marias', 'astonishment', 'at', 'her', 'being', 'so', 'thin', 'and', 'so', 'small', 'there', 'was', 'neither', 'in', 'figure', 'nor', 'face', 'any', 'likeness', 'between', 'the', 'ladies', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'was', 'pale', 'and', 'sickly', 'her', 'features', 'though', 'not', 'plain', 'were', 'insignificant', 'and', 'she', 'spoke', 'very', 'little', 'except', 'in', 'a', 'low', 'voice', 'to', 'mrs', 'jenkinson', 'in', 'whose', 'appearance', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'remarkable', 'and', 'who', 'was', 'entirely', 'engaged', 'in', 'listening', 'to', 'what', 'she', 'said', 'and', 'placing', 'a', 'screen', 'in', 'the', 'proper', 'direction', 'before', 'her', 'eyes', 'after', 'sitting', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'sent', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'windows', 'to', 'admire', 'the', 'view', 'mr', 'collins', 'attending', 'them', 'to', 'point', 'out', 'its', 'beauties', 'and', 'lady', 'catherine', 'kindly', 'informing', 'them', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'much', 'better', 'worth', 'looking', 'at', 'in', 'the', 'summer', 'the', 'dinner', 'was', 'exceedingly', 'handsome', 'and', 'there', 'were', 'all', 'the', 'servants', 'and', 'all', 'the', 'articles', 'of', 'plate', 'which', 'mr', 'collins', 'had', 'promised', 'and', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'likewise', 'foretold', 'he', 'took', 'his', 'seat', 'at', 'the', 'bottom', 'of', 'the', 'table', 'by', 'her', 'ladyships', 'desire', 'and', 'looked', 'as', 'if', 'he', 'felt', 'that', 'life', 'could', 'furnish', 'nothing', 'greater', 'he', 'carved', 'and', 'ate', 'and', 'praised', 'with', 'delighted', 'alacrity', 'and', 'every', 'dish', 'was', 'commended', 'first', 'by', 'him', 'and', 'then', 'by', 'sir', 'william', 'who', 'was', 'now', 'enough', 'recovered', 'to', 'echo', 'whatever', 'his', 'soninlaw', 'said', 'in', 'a', 'manner', 'which', 'elizabeth', 'wondered', 'lady', 'catherine', 'could', 'bear', 'but', 'lady', 'catherine', 'seemed', 'gratified', 'by', 'their', 'excessive', 'admiration', 'and', 'gave', 'most', 'gracious', 'smiles', 'especially', 'when', 'any', 'dish', 'on', 'the', 'table', 'proved', 'a', 'novelty', 'to', 'them', 'the', 'party', 'did', 'not', 'supply', 'much', 'conversation', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'ready', 'to', 'speak', 'whenever', 'there', 'was', 'an', 'opening', 'but', 'she', 'was', 'seated', 'between', 'charlotte', 'and', 'miss', 'de', 'bourghthe', 'former', 'of', 'whom', 'was', 'engaged', 'in', 'listening', 'to', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'the', 'latter', 'said', 'not', 'a', 'word', 'to', 'her', 'all', 'dinnertime', 'mrs', 'jenkinson', 'was', 'chiefly', 'employed', 'in', 'watching', 'how', 'little', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'ate', 'pressing', 'her', 'to', 'try', 'some', 'other', 'dish', 'and', 'fearing', 'she', 'was', 'indisposed', 'maria', 'thought', 'speaking', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'question', 'and', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'did', 'nothing', 'but', 'eat', 'and', 'admire', 'when', 'the', 'ladies', 'returned', 'to', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'there', 'was', 'little', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'but', 'to', 'hear', 'lady', 'catherine', 'talk', 'which', 'she', 'did', 'without', 'any', 'intermission', 'till', 'coffee', 'came', 'in', 'delivering', 'her', 'opinion', 'on', 'every', 'subject', 'in', 'so', 'decisive', 'a', 'manner', 'as', 'proved', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'used', 'to', 'have', 'her', 'judgement', 'controverted', 'she', 'enquired', 'into', 'charlottes', 'domestic', 'concerns', 'familiarly', 'and', 'minutely', 'gave', 'her', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'advice', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'management', 'of', 'them', 'all', 'told', 'her', 'how', 'everything', 'ought', 'to', 'be', 'regulated', 'in', 'so', 'small', 'a', 'family', 'as', 'hers', 'and', 'instructed', 'her', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'care', 'of', 'her', 'cows', 'and', 'her', 'poultry', 'elizabeth', 'found', 'that', 'nothing', 'was', 'beneath', 'this', 'great', 'ladys', 'attention', 'which', 'could', 'furnish', 'her', 'with', 'an', 'occasion', 'of', 'dictating', 'to', 'others', 'in', 'the', 'intervals', 'of', 'her', 'discourse', 'with', 'mrs', 'collins', 'she', 'addressed', 'a', 'variety', 'of', 'questions', 'to', 'maria', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'but', 'especially', 'to', 'the', 'latter', 'of', 'whose', 'connections', 'she', 'knew', 'the', 'least', 'and', 'who', 'she', 'observed', 'to', 'mrs', 'collins', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'genteel', 'pretty', 'kind', 'of', 'girl', 'she', 'asked', 'her', 'at', 'different', 'times', 'how', 'many', 'sisters', 'she', 'had', 'whether', 'they', 'were', 'older', 'or', 'younger', 'than', 'herself', 'whether', 'any', 'of', 'them', 'were', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'married', 'whether', 'they', 'were', 'handsome', 'where', 'they', 'had', 'been', 'educated', 'what', 'carriage', 'her', 'father', 'kept', 'and', 'what', 'had', 'been', 'her', 'mothers', 'maiden', 'name', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'all', 'the', 'impertinence', 'of', 'her', 'questions', 'but', 'answered', 'them', 'very', 'composedly', 'lady', 'catherine', 'then', 'observed', 'your', 'fathers', 'estate', 'is', 'entailed', 'on', 'mr', 'collins', 'i', 'think', 'for', 'your', 'sake', 'turning', 'to', 'charlotte', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'of', 'it', 'but', 'otherwise', 'i', 'see', 'no', 'occasion', 'for', 'entailing', 'estates', 'from', 'the', 'female', 'line', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'thought', 'necessary', 'in', 'sir', 'lewis', 'de', 'bourghs', 'family', 'do', 'you', 'play', 'and', 'sing', 'miss', 'bennet', 'a', 'little', 'oh', 'thensome', 'time', 'or', 'other', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'happy', 'to', 'hear', 'you', 'our', 'instrument', 'is', 'a', 'capital', 'one', 'probably', 'superior', 'toyou', 'shall', 'try', 'it', 'some', 'day', 'do', 'your', 'sisters', 'play', 'and', 'sing', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'does', 'why', 'did', 'not', 'you', 'all', 'learn', 'you', 'ought', 'all', 'to', 'have', 'learned', 'the', 'miss', 'webbs', 'all', 'play', 'and', 'their', 'father', 'has', 'not', 'so', 'good', 'an', 'income', 'as', 'yours', 'do', 'you', 'draw', 'no', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'what', 'none', 'of', 'you', 'not', 'one', 'that', 'is', 'very', 'strange', 'but', 'i', 'suppose', 'you', 'had', 'no', 'opportunity', 'your', 'mother', 'should', 'have', 'taken', 'you', 'to', 'town', 'every', 'spring', 'for', 'the', 'benefit', 'of', 'masters', 'my', 'mother', 'would', 'have', 'had', 'no', 'objection', 'but', 'my', 'father', 'hates', 'london', 'has', 'your', 'governess', 'left', 'you', 'we', 'never', 'had', 'any', 'governess', 'no', 'governess', 'how', 'was', 'that', 'possible', 'five', 'daughters', 'brought', 'up', 'at', 'home', 'without', 'a', 'governess', 'i', 'never', 'heard', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'thing', 'your', 'mother', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'quite', 'a', 'slave', 'to', 'your', 'education', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'hardly', 'help', 'smiling', 'as', 'she', 'assured', 'her', 'that', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'the', 'case', 'then', 'who', 'taught', 'you', 'who', 'attended', 'to', 'you', 'without', 'a', 'governess', 'you', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'neglected', 'compared', 'with', 'some', 'families', 'i', 'believe', 'we', 'were', 'but', 'such', 'of', 'us', 'as', 'wished', 'to', 'learn', 'never', 'wanted', 'the', 'means', 'we', 'were', 'always', 'encouraged', 'to', 'read', 'and', 'had', 'all', 'the', 'masters', 'that', 'were', 'necessary', 'those', 'who', 'chose', 'to', 'be', 'idle', 'certainly', 'might', 'aye', 'no', 'doubt', 'but', 'that', 'is', 'what', 'a', 'governess', 'will', 'prevent', 'and', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'known', 'your', 'mother', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'advised', 'her', 'most', 'strenuously', 'to', 'engage', 'one', 'i', 'always', 'say', 'that', 'nothing', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'in', 'education', 'without', 'steady', 'and', 'regular', 'instruction', 'and', 'nobody', 'but', 'a', 'governess', 'can', 'give', 'it', 'it', 'is', 'wonderful', 'how', 'many', 'families', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'the', 'means', 'of', 'supplying', 'in', 'that', 'way', 'i', 'am', 'always', 'glad', 'to', 'get', 'a', 'young', 'person', 'well', 'placed', 'out', 'four', 'nieces', 'of', 'mrs', 'jenkinson', 'are', 'most', 'delightfully', 'situated', 'through', 'my', 'means', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'but', 'the', 'other', 'day', 'that', 'i', 'recommended', 'another', 'young', 'person', 'who', 'was', 'merely', 'accidentally', 'mentioned', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'the', 'family', 'are', 'quite', 'delighted', 'with', 'her', 'mrs', 'collins', 'did', 'i', 'tell', 'you', 'of', 'lady', 'metcalfs', 'calling', 'yesterday', 'to', 'thank', 'me', 'she', 'finds', 'miss', 'pope', 'a', 'treasure', 'lady', 'catherine', 'said', 'she', 'you', 'have', 'given', 'me', 'a', 'treasure', 'are', 'any', 'of', 'your', 'younger', 'sisters', 'out', 'miss', 'bennet', 'yes', 'maam', 'all', 'all', 'what', 'all', 'five', 'out', 'at', 'once', 'very', 'odd', 'and', 'you', 'only', 'the', 'second', 'the', 'younger', 'ones', 'out', 'before', 'the', 'elder', 'ones', 'are', 'married', 'your', 'younger', 'sisters', 'must', 'be', 'very', 'young', 'yes', 'my', 'youngest', 'is', 'not', 'sixteen', 'perhaps', 'she', 'is', 'full', 'young', 'to', 'be', 'much', 'in', 'company', 'but', 'really', 'maam', 'i', 'think', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'very', 'hard', 'upon', 'younger', 'sisters', 'that', 'they', 'should', 'not', 'have', 'their', 'share', 'of', 'society', 'and', 'amusement', 'because', 'the', 'elder', 'may', 'not', 'have', 'the', 'means', 'or', 'inclination', 'to', 'marry', 'early', 'the', 'lastborn', 'has', 'as', 'good', 'a', 'right', 'to', 'the', 'pleasures', 'of', 'youth', 'as', 'the', 'first', 'and', 'to', 'be', 'kept', 'back', 'on', 'such', 'a', 'motive', 'i', 'think', 'it', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'very', 'likely', 'to', 'promote', 'sisterly', 'affection', 'or', 'delicacy', 'of', 'mind', 'upon', 'my', 'word', 'said', 'her', 'ladyship', 'you', 'give', 'your', 'opinion', 'very', 'decidedly', 'for', 'so', 'young', 'a', 'person', 'pray', 'what', 'is', 'your', 'age', 'with', 'three', 'younger', 'sisters', 'grown', 'up', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'smiling', 'your', 'ladyship', 'can', 'hardly', 'expect', 'me', 'to', 'own', 'it', 'lady', 'catherine', 'seemed', 'quite', 'astonished', 'at', 'not', 'receiving', 'a', 'direct', 'answer', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'suspected', 'herself', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'first', 'creature', 'who', 'had', 'ever', 'dared', 'to', 'trifle', 'with', 'so', 'much', 'dignified', 'impertinence', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'more', 'than', 'twenty', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'therefore', 'you', 'need', 'not', 'conceal', 'your', 'age', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'oneandtwenty', 'when', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'had', 'joined', 'them', 'and', 'tea', 'was', 'over', 'the', 'cardtables', 'were', 'placed', 'lady', 'catherine', 'sir', 'william', 'and', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'collins', 'sat', 'down', 'to', 'quadrille', 'and', 'as', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'chose', 'to', 'play', 'at', 'cassino', 'the', 'two', 'girls', 'had', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'assisting', 'mrs', 'jenkinson', 'to', 'make', 'up', 'her', 'party', 'their', 'table', 'was', 'superlatively', 'stupid', 'scarcely', 'a', 'syllable', 'was', 'uttered', 'that', 'did', 'not', 'relate', 'to', 'the', 'game', 'except', 'when', 'mrs', 'jenkinson', 'expressed', 'her', 'fears', 'of', 'miss', 'de', 'bourghs', 'being', 'too', 'hot', 'or', 'too', 'cold', 'or', 'having', 'too', 'much', 'or', 'too', 'little', 'light', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'more', 'passed', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'table', 'lady', 'catherine', 'was', 'generally', 'speakingstating', 'the', 'mistakes', 'of', 'the', 'three', 'others', 'or', 'relating', 'some', 'anecdote', 'of', 'herself', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'employed', 'in', 'agreeing', 'to', 'everything', 'her', 'ladyship', 'said', 'thanking', 'her', 'for', 'every', 'fish', 'he', 'won', 'and', 'apologising', 'if', 'he', 'thought', 'he', 'won', 'too', 'many', 'sir', 'william', 'did', 'not', 'say', 'much', 'he', 'was', 'storing', 'his', 'memory', 'with', 'anecdotes', 'and', 'noble', 'names', 'when', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'her', 'daughter', 'had', 'played', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'they', 'chose', 'the', 'tables', 'were', 'broken', 'up', 'the', 'carriage', 'was', 'offered', 'to', 'mrs', 'collins', 'gratefully', 'accepted', 'and', 'immediately', 'ordered', 'the', 'party', 'then', 'gathered', 'round', 'the', 'fire', 'to', 'hear', 'lady', 'catherine', 'determine', 'what', 'weather', 'they', 'were', 'to', 'have', 'on', 'the', 'morrow', 'from', 'these', 'instructions', 'they', 'were', 'summoned', 'by', 'the', 'arrival', 'of', 'the', 'coach', 'and', 'with', 'many', 'speeches', 'of', 'thankfulness', 'on', 'mr', 'collinss', 'side', 'and', 'as', 'many', 'bows', 'on', 'sir', 'williams', 'they', 'departed', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'they', 'had', 'driven', 'from', 'the', 'door', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'called', 'on', 'by', 'her', 'cousin', 'to', 'give', 'her', 'opinion', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'seen', 'at', 'rosings', 'which', 'for', 'charlottes', 'sake', 'she', 'made', 'more', 'favourable', 'than', 'it', 'really', 'was', 'but', 'her', 'commendation', 'though', 'costing', 'her', 'some', 'trouble', 'could', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'satisfy', 'mr', 'collins', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'soon', 'obliged', 'to', 'take', 'her', 'ladyships', 'praise', 'into', 'his', 'own', 'hands', 'sir', 'william', 'stayed', 'only', 'a', 'week', 'at', 'hunsford', 'but', 'his', 'visit', 'was', 'long', 'enough', 'to', 'convince', 'him', 'of', 'his', 'daughters', 'being', 'most', 'comfortably', 'settled', 'and', 'of', 'her', 'possessing', 'such', 'a', 'husband', 'and', 'such', 'a', 'neighbour', 'as', 'were', 'not', 'often', 'met', 'with', 'while', 'sir', 'william', 'was', 'with', 'them', 'mr', 'collins', 'devoted', 'his', 'morning', 'to', 'driving', 'him', 'out', 'in', 'his', 'gig', 'and', 'showing', 'him', 'the', 'country', 'but', 'when', 'he', 'went', 'away', 'the', 'whole', 'family', 'returned', 'to', 'their', 'usual', 'employments', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'thankful', 'to', 'find', 'that', 'they', 'did', 'not', 'see', 'more', 'of', 'her', 'cousin', 'by', 'the', 'alteration', 'for', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'the', 'time', 'between', 'breakfast', 'and', 'dinner', 'was', 'now', 'passed', 'by', 'him', 'either', 'at', 'work', 'in', 'the', 'garden', 'or', 'in', 'reading', 'and', 'writing', 'and', 'looking', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'window', 'in', 'his', 'own', 'bookroom', 'which', 'fronted', 'the', 'road', 'the', 'room', 'in', 'which', 'the', 'ladies', 'sat', 'was', 'backwards', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'at', 'first', 'rather', 'wondered', 'that', 'charlotte', 'should', 'not', 'prefer', 'the', 'diningparlour', 'for', 'common', 'use', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'better', 'sized', 'room', 'and', 'had', 'a', 'more', 'pleasant', 'aspect', 'but', 'she', 'soon', 'saw', 'that', 'her', 'friend', 'had', 'an', 'excellent', 'reason', 'for', 'what', 'she', 'did', 'for', 'mr', 'collins', 'would', 'undoubtedly', 'have', 'been', 'much', 'less', 'in', 'his', 'own', 'apartment', 'had', 'they', 'sat', 'in', 'one', 'equally', 'lively', 'and', 'she', 'gave', 'charlotte', 'credit', 'for', 'the', 'arrangement', 'from', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'they', 'could', 'distinguish', 'nothing', 'in', 'the', 'lane', 'and', 'were', 'indebted', 'to', 'mr', 'collins', 'for', 'the', 'knowledge', 'of', 'what', 'carriages', 'went', 'along', 'and', 'how', 'often', 'especially', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'drove', 'by', 'in', 'her', 'phaeton', 'which', 'he', 'never', 'failed', 'coming', 'to', 'inform', 'them', 'of', 'though', 'it', 'happened', 'almost', 'every', 'day', 'she', 'not', 'unfrequently', 'stopped', 'at', 'the', 'parsonage', 'and', 'had', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'conversation', 'with', 'charlotte', 'but', 'was', 'scarcely', 'ever', 'prevailed', 'upon', 'to', 'get', 'out', 'very', 'few', 'days', 'passed', 'in', 'which', 'mr', 'collins', 'did', 'not', 'walk', 'to', 'rosings', 'and', 'not', 'many', 'in', 'which', 'his', 'wife', 'did', 'not', 'think', 'it', 'necessary', 'to', 'go', 'likewise', 'and', 'till', 'elizabeth', 'recollected', 'that', 'there', 'might', 'be', 'other', 'family', 'livings', 'to', 'be', 'disposed', 'of', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'understand', 'the', 'sacrifice', 'of', 'so', 'many', 'hours', 'now', 'and', 'then', 'they', 'were', 'honoured', 'with', 'a', 'call', 'from', 'her', 'ladyship', 'and', 'nothing', 'escaped', 'her', 'observation', 'that', 'was', 'passing', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'during', 'these', 'visits', 'she', 'examined', 'into', 'their', 'employments', 'looked', 'at', 'their', 'work', 'and', 'advised', 'them', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'differently', 'found', 'fault', 'with', 'the', 'arrangement', 'of', 'the', 'furniture', 'or', 'detected', 'the', 'housemaid', 'in', 'negligence', 'and', 'if', 'she', 'accepted', 'any', 'refreshment', 'seemed', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'only', 'for', 'the', 'sake', 'of', 'finding', 'out', 'that', 'mrs', 'collinss', 'joints', 'of', 'meat', 'were', 'too', 'large', 'for', 'her', 'family', 'elizabeth', 'soon', 'perceived', 'that', 'though', 'this', 'great', 'lady', 'was', 'not', 'in', 'the', 'commission', 'of', 'the', 'peace', 'of', 'the', 'county', 'she', 'was', 'a', 'most', 'active', 'magistrate', 'in', 'her', 'own', 'parish', 'the', 'minutest', 'concerns', 'of', 'which', 'were', 'carried', 'to', 'her', 'by', 'mr', 'collins', 'and', 'whenever', 'any', 'of', 'the', 'cottagers', 'were', 'disposed', 'to', 'be', 'quarrelsome', 'discontented', 'or', 'too', 'poor', 'she', 'sallied', 'forth', 'into', 'the', 'village', 'to', 'settle', 'their', 'differences', 'silence', 'their', 'complaints', 'and', 'scold', 'them', 'into', 'harmony', 'and', 'plenty', 'the', 'entertainment', 'of', 'dining', 'at', 'rosings', 'was', 'repeated', 'about', 'twice', 'a', 'week', 'and', 'allowing', 'for', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'sir', 'william', 'and', 'there', 'being', 'only', 'one', 'cardtable', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'every', 'such', 'entertainment', 'was', 'the', 'counterpart', 'of', 'the', 'first', 'their', 'other', 'engagements', 'were', 'few', 'as', 'the', 'style', 'of', 'living', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'in', 'general', 'was', 'beyond', 'mr', 'collinss', 'reach', 'this', 'however', 'was', 'no', 'evil', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'upon', 'the', 'whole', 'she', 'spent', 'her', 'time', 'comfortably', 'enough', 'there', 'were', 'halfhours', 'of', 'pleasant', 'conversation', 'with', 'charlotte', 'and', 'the', 'weather', 'was', 'so', 'fine', 'for', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'year', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'often', 'great', 'enjoyment', 'out', 'of', 'doors', 'her', 'favourite', 'walk', 'and', 'where', 'she', 'frequently', 'went', 'while', 'the', 'others', 'were', 'calling', 'on', 'lady', 'catherine', 'was', 'along', 'the', 'open', 'grove', 'which', 'edged', 'that', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'park', 'where', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'nice', 'sheltered', 'path', 'which', 'no', 'one', 'seemed', 'to', 'value', 'but', 'herself', 'and', 'where', 'she', 'felt', 'beyond', 'the', 'reach', 'of', 'lady', 'catherines', 'curiosity', 'in', 'this', 'quiet', 'way', 'the', 'first', 'fortnight', 'of', 'her', 'visit', 'soon', 'passed', 'away', 'easter', 'was', 'approaching', 'and', 'the', 'week', 'preceding', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'bring', 'an', 'addition', 'to', 'the', 'family', 'at', 'rosings', 'which', 'in', 'so', 'small', 'a', 'circle', 'must', 'be', 'important', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'heard', 'soon', 'after', 'her', 'arrival', 'that', 'mr', 'darcy', 'was', 'expected', 'there', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'a', 'few', 'weeks', 'and', 'though', 'there', 'were', 'not', 'many', 'of', 'her', 'acquaintances', 'whom', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'prefer', 'his', 'coming', 'would', 'furnish', 'one', 'comparatively', 'new', 'to', 'look', 'at', 'in', 'their', 'rosings', 'parties', 'and', 'she', 'might', 'be', 'amused', 'in', 'seeing', 'how', 'hopeless', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'designs', 'on', 'him', 'were', 'by', 'his', 'behaviour', 'to', 'his', 'cousin', 'for', 'whom', 'he', 'was', 'evidently', 'destined', 'by', 'lady', 'catherine', 'who', 'talked', 'of', 'his', 'coming', 'with', 'the', 'greatest', 'satisfaction', 'spoke', 'of', 'him', 'in', 'terms', 'of', 'the', 'highest', 'admiration', 'and', 'seemed', 'almost', 'angry', 'to', 'find', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'already', 'been', 'frequently', 'seen', 'by', 'miss', 'lucas', 'and', 'herself', 'his', 'arrival', 'was', 'soon', 'known', 'at', 'the', 'parsonage', 'for', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'walking', 'the', 'whole', 'morning', 'within', 'view', 'of', 'the', 'lodges', 'opening', 'into', 'hunsford', 'lane', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'earliest', 'assurance', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'after', 'making', 'his', 'bow', 'as', 'the', 'carriage', 'turned', 'into', 'the', 'park', 'hurried', 'home', 'with', 'the', 'great', 'intelligence', 'on', 'the', 'following', 'morning', 'he', 'hastened', 'to', 'rosings', 'to', 'pay', 'his', 'respects', 'there', 'were', 'two', 'nephews', 'of', 'lady', 'catherine', 'to', 'require', 'them', 'for', 'mr', 'darcy', 'had', 'brought', 'with', 'him', 'a', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'the', 'younger', 'son', 'of', 'his', 'uncle', 'lord', 'and', 'to', 'the', 'great', 'surprise', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'party', 'when', 'mr', 'collins', 'returned', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'accompanied', 'him', 'charlotte', 'had', 'seen', 'them', 'from', 'her', 'husbands', 'room', 'crossing', 'the', 'road', 'and', 'immediately', 'running', 'into', 'the', 'other', 'told', 'the', 'girls', 'what', 'an', 'honour', 'they', 'might', 'expect', 'adding', 'i', 'may', 'thank', 'you', 'eliza', 'for', 'this', 'piece', 'of', 'civility', 'mr', 'darcy', 'would', 'never', 'have', 'come', 'so', 'soon', 'to', 'wait', 'upon', 'me', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'scarcely', 'time', 'to', 'disclaim', 'all', 'right', 'to', 'the', 'compliment', 'before', 'their', 'approach', 'was', 'announced', 'by', 'the', 'doorbell', 'and', 'shortly', 'afterwards', 'the', 'three', 'gentlemen', 'entered', 'the', 'room', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'who', 'led', 'the', 'way', 'was', 'about', 'thirty', 'not', 'handsome', 'but', 'in', 'person', 'and', 'address', 'most', 'truly', 'the', 'gentleman', 'mr', 'darcy', 'looked', 'just', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'used', 'to', 'look', 'in', 'hertfordshirepaid', 'his', 'compliments', 'with', 'his', 'usual', 'reserve', 'to', 'mrs', 'collins', 'and', 'whatever', 'might', 'be', 'his', 'feelings', 'toward', 'her', 'friend', 'met', 'her', 'with', 'every', 'appearance', 'of', 'composure', 'elizabeth', 'merely', 'curtseyed', 'to', 'him', 'without', 'saying', 'a', 'word', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'entered', 'into', 'conversation', 'directly', 'with', 'the', 'readiness', 'and', 'ease', 'of', 'a', 'wellbred', 'man', 'and', 'talked', 'very', 'pleasantly', 'but', 'his', 'cousin', 'after', 'having', 'addressed', 'a', 'slight', 'observation', 'on', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'garden', 'to', 'mrs', 'collins', 'sat', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'without', 'speaking', 'to', 'anybody', 'at', 'length', 'however', 'his', 'civility', 'was', 'so', 'far', 'awakened', 'as', 'to', 'enquire', 'of', 'elizabeth', 'after', 'the', 'health', 'of', 'her', 'family', 'she', 'answered', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'usual', 'way', 'and', 'after', 'a', 'moments', 'pause', 'added', 'my', 'eldest', 'sister', 'has', 'been', 'in', 'town', 'these', 'three', 'months', 'have', 'you', 'never', 'happened', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'there', 'she', 'was', 'perfectly', 'sensible', 'that', 'he', 'never', 'had', 'but', 'she', 'wished', 'to', 'see', 'whether', 'he', 'would', 'betray', 'any', 'consciousness', 'of', 'what', 'had', 'passed', 'between', 'the', 'bingleys', 'and', 'jane', 'and', 'she', 'thought', 'he', 'looked', 'a', 'little', 'confused', 'as', 'he', 'answered', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'never', 'been', 'so', 'fortunate', 'as', 'to', 'meet', 'miss', 'bennet', 'the', 'subject', 'was', 'pursued', 'no', 'farther', 'and', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'went', 'away', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliams', 'manners', 'were', 'very', 'much', 'admired', 'at', 'the', 'parsonage', 'and', 'the', 'ladies', 'all', 'felt', 'that', 'he', 'must', 'add', 'considerably', 'to', 'the', 'pleasures', 'of', 'their', 'engagements', 'at', 'rosings', 'it', 'was', 'some', 'days', 'however', 'before', 'they', 'received', 'any', 'invitation', 'thitherfor', 'while', 'there', 'were', 'visitors', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'they', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'necessary', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'till', 'easterday', 'almost', 'a', 'week', 'after', 'the', 'gentlemens', 'arrival', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'honoured', 'by', 'such', 'an', 'attention', 'and', 'then', 'they', 'were', 'merely', 'asked', 'on', 'leaving', 'church', 'to', 'come', 'there', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'for', 'the', 'last', 'week', 'they', 'had', 'seen', 'very', 'little', 'of', 'lady', 'catherine', 'or', 'her', 'daughter', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'had', 'called', 'at', 'the', 'parsonage', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'during', 'the', 'time', 'but', 'mr', 'darcy', 'they', 'had', 'seen', 'only', 'at', 'church', 'the', 'invitation', 'was', 'accepted', 'of', 'course', 'and', 'at', 'a', 'proper', 'hour', 'they', 'joined', 'the', 'party', 'in', 'lady', 'catherines', 'drawingroom', 'her', 'ladyship', 'received', 'them', 'civilly', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'plain', 'that', 'their', 'company', 'was', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'so', 'acceptable', 'as', 'when', 'she', 'could', 'get', 'nobody', 'else', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'in', 'fact', 'almost', 'engrossed', 'by', 'her', 'nephews', 'speaking', 'to', 'them', 'especially', 'to', 'darcy', 'much', 'more', 'than', 'to', 'any', 'other', 'person', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'seemed', 'really', 'glad', 'to', 'see', 'them', 'anything', 'was', 'a', 'welcome', 'relief', 'to', 'him', 'at', 'rosings', 'and', 'mrs', 'collinss', 'pretty', 'friend', 'had', 'moreover', 'caught', 'his', 'fancy', 'very', 'much', 'he', 'now', 'seated', 'himself', 'by', 'her', 'and', 'talked', 'so', 'agreeably', 'of', 'kent', 'and', 'hertfordshire', 'of', 'travelling', 'and', 'staying', 'at', 'home', 'of', 'new', 'books', 'and', 'music', 'that', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'never', 'been', 'half', 'so', 'well', 'entertained', 'in', 'that', 'room', 'before', 'and', 'they', 'conversed', 'with', 'so', 'much', 'spirit', 'and', 'flow', 'as', 'to', 'draw', 'the', 'attention', 'of', 'lady', 'catherine', 'herself', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'his', 'eyes', 'had', 'been', 'soon', 'and', 'repeatedly', 'turned', 'towards', 'them', 'with', 'a', 'look', 'of', 'curiosity', 'and', 'that', 'her', 'ladyship', 'after', 'a', 'while', 'shared', 'the', 'feeling', 'was', 'more', 'openly', 'acknowledged', 'for', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'scruple', 'to', 'call', 'out', 'what', 'is', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'saying', 'fitzwilliam', 'what', 'is', 'it', 'you', 'are', 'talking', 'of', 'what', 'are', 'you', 'telling', 'miss', 'bennet', 'let', 'me', 'hear', 'what', 'it', 'is', 'we', 'are', 'speaking', 'of', 'music', 'madam', 'said', 'he', 'when', 'no', 'longer', 'able', 'to', 'avoid', 'a', 'reply', 'of', 'music', 'then', 'pray', 'speak', 'aloud', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'all', 'subjects', 'my', 'delight', 'i', 'must', 'have', 'my', 'share', 'in', 'the', 'conversation', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'speaking', 'of', 'music', 'there', 'are', 'few', 'people', 'in', 'england', 'i', 'suppose', 'who', 'have', 'more', 'true', 'enjoyment', 'of', 'music', 'than', 'myself', 'or', 'a', 'better', 'natural', 'taste', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'ever', 'learnt', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'great', 'proficient', 'and', 'so', 'would', 'anne', 'if', 'her', 'health', 'had', 'allowed', 'her', 'to', 'apply', 'i', 'am', 'confident', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'performed', 'delightfully', 'how', 'does', 'georgiana', 'get', 'on', 'darcy', 'mr', 'darcy', 'spoke', 'with', 'affectionate', 'praise', 'of', 'his', 'sisters', 'proficiency', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'glad', 'to', 'hear', 'such', 'a', 'good', 'account', 'of', 'her', 'said', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'pray', 'tell', 'her', 'from', 'me', 'that', 'she', 'can', 'not', 'expect', 'to', 'excel', 'if', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'practice', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'madam', 'he', 'replied', 'that', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'need', 'such', 'advice', 'she', 'practises', 'very', 'constantly', 'so', 'much', 'the', 'better', 'it', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'done', 'too', 'much', 'and', 'when', 'i', 'next', 'write', 'to', 'her', 'i', 'shall', 'charge', 'her', 'not', 'to', 'neglect', 'it', 'on', 'any', 'account', 'i', 'often', 'tell', 'young', 'ladies', 'that', 'no', 'excellence', 'in', 'music', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'acquired', 'without', 'constant', 'practice', 'i', 'have', 'told', 'miss', 'bennet', 'several', 'times', 'that', 'she', 'will', 'never', 'play', 'really', 'well', 'unless', 'she', 'practises', 'more', 'and', 'though', 'mrs', 'collins', 'has', 'no', 'instrument', 'she', 'is', 'very', 'welcome', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'often', 'told', 'her', 'to', 'come', 'to', 'rosings', 'every', 'day', 'and', 'play', 'on', 'the', 'pianoforte', 'in', 'mrs', 'jenkinsons', 'room', 'she', 'would', 'be', 'in', 'nobodys', 'way', 'you', 'know', 'in', 'that', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'mr', 'darcy', 'looked', 'a', 'little', 'ashamed', 'of', 'his', 'aunts', 'illbreeding', 'and', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'when', 'coffee', 'was', 'over', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'reminded', 'elizabeth', 'of', 'having', 'promised', 'to', 'play', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'she', 'sat', 'down', 'directly', 'to', 'the', 'instrument', 'he', 'drew', 'a', 'chair', 'near', 'her', 'lady', 'catherine', 'listened', 'to', 'half', 'a', 'song', 'and', 'then', 'talked', 'as', 'before', 'to', 'her', 'other', 'nephew', 'till', 'the', 'latter', 'walked', 'away', 'from', 'her', 'and', 'making', 'with', 'his', 'usual', 'deliberation', 'towards', 'the', 'pianoforte', 'stationed', 'himself', 'so', 'as', 'to', 'command', 'a', 'full', 'view', 'of', 'the', 'fair', 'performers', 'countenance', 'elizabeth', 'saw', 'what', 'he', 'was', 'doing', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'first', 'convenient', 'pause', 'turned', 'to', 'him', 'with', 'an', 'arch', 'smile', 'and', 'said', 'you', 'mean', 'to', 'frighten', 'me', 'mr', 'darcy', 'by', 'coming', 'in', 'all', 'this', 'state', 'to', 'hear', 'me', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'alarmed', 'though', 'your', 'sister', 'does', 'play', 'so', 'well', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'stubbornness', 'about', 'me', 'that', 'never', 'can', 'bear', 'to', 'be', 'frightened', 'at', 'the', 'will', 'of', 'others', 'my', 'courage', 'always', 'rises', 'at', 'every', 'attempt', 'to', 'intimidate', 'me', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'say', 'you', 'are', 'mistaken', 'he', 'replied', 'because', 'you', 'could', 'not', 'really', 'believe', 'me', 'to', 'entertain', 'any', 'design', 'of', 'alarming', 'you', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'your', 'acquaintance', 'long', 'enough', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'you', 'find', 'great', 'enjoyment', 'in', 'occasionally', 'professing', 'opinions', 'which', 'in', 'fact', 'are', 'not', 'your', 'own', 'elizabeth', 'laughed', 'heartily', 'at', 'this', 'picture', 'of', 'herself', 'and', 'said', 'to', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'your', 'cousin', 'will', 'give', 'you', 'a', 'very', 'pretty', 'notion', 'of', 'me', 'and', 'teach', 'you', 'not', 'to', 'believe', 'a', 'word', 'i', 'say', 'i', 'am', 'particularly', 'unlucky', 'in', 'meeting', 'with', 'a', 'person', 'so', 'able', 'to', 'expose', 'my', 'real', 'character', 'in', 'a', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'where', 'i', 'had', 'hoped', 'to', 'pass', 'myself', 'off', 'with', 'some', 'degree', 'of', 'credit', 'indeed', 'mr', 'darcy', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'ungenerous', 'in', 'you', 'to', 'mention', 'all', 'that', 'you', 'knew', 'to', 'my', 'disadvantage', 'in', 'hertfordshireand', 'give', 'me', 'leave', 'to', 'say', 'very', 'impolitic', 'toofor', 'it', 'is', 'provoking', 'me', 'to', 'retaliate', 'and', 'such', 'things', 'may', 'come', 'out', 'as', 'will', 'shock', 'your', 'relations', 'to', 'hear', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'afraid', 'of', 'you', 'said', 'he', 'smilingly', 'pray', 'let', 'me', 'hear', 'what', 'you', 'have', 'to', 'accuse', 'him', 'of', 'cried', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'to', 'know', 'how', 'he', 'behaves', 'among', 'strangers', 'you', 'shall', 'hear', 'thenbut', 'prepare', 'yourself', 'for', 'something', 'very', 'dreadful', 'the', 'first', 'time', 'of', 'my', 'ever', 'seeing', 'him', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'you', 'must', 'know', 'was', 'at', 'a', 'balland', 'at', 'this', 'ball', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'he', 'did', 'he', 'danced', 'only', 'four', 'dances', 'though', 'gentlemen', 'were', 'scarce', 'and', 'to', 'my', 'certain', 'knowledge', 'more', 'than', 'one', 'young', 'lady', 'was', 'sitting', 'down', 'in', 'want', 'of', 'a', 'partner', 'mr', 'darcy', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'deny', 'the', 'fact', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'at', 'that', 'time', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'knowing', 'any', 'lady', 'in', 'the', 'assembly', 'beyond', 'my', 'own', 'party', 'true', 'and', 'nobody', 'can', 'ever', 'be', 'introduced', 'in', 'a', 'ballroom', 'well', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'what', 'do', 'i', 'play', 'next', 'my', 'fingers', 'wait', 'your', 'orders', 'perhaps', 'said', 'darcy', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'judged', 'better', 'had', 'i', 'sought', 'an', 'introduction', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'illqualified', 'to', 'recommend', 'myself', 'to', 'strangers', 'shall', 'we', 'ask', 'your', 'cousin', 'the', 'reason', 'of', 'this', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'still', 'addressing', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'shall', 'we', 'ask', 'him', 'why', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'sense', 'and', 'education', 'and', 'who', 'has', 'lived', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'is', 'ill', 'qualified', 'to', 'recommend', 'himself', 'to', 'strangers', 'i', 'can', 'answer', 'your', 'question', 'said', 'fitzwilliam', 'without', 'applying', 'to', 'him', 'it', 'is', 'because', 'he', 'will', 'not', 'give', 'himself', 'the', 'trouble', 'i', 'certainly', 'have', 'not', 'the', 'talent', 'which', 'some', 'people', 'possess', 'said', 'darcy', 'of', 'conversing', 'easily', 'with', 'those', 'i', 'have', 'never', 'seen', 'before', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'catch', 'their', 'tone', 'of', 'conversation', 'or', 'appear', 'interested', 'in', 'their', 'concerns', 'as', 'i', 'often', 'see', 'done', 'my', 'fingers', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'do', 'not', 'move', 'over', 'this', 'instrument', 'in', 'the', 'masterly', 'manner', 'which', 'i', 'see', 'so', 'many', 'womens', 'do', 'they', 'have', 'not', 'the', 'same', 'force', 'or', 'rapidity', 'and', 'do', 'not', 'produce', 'the', 'same', 'expression', 'but', 'then', 'i', 'have', 'always', 'supposed', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'my', 'own', 'faultbecause', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'take', 'the', 'trouble', 'of', 'practising', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'that', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'believe', 'my', 'fingers', 'as', 'capable', 'as', 'any', 'other', 'womans', 'of', 'superior', 'execution', 'darcy', 'smiled', 'and', 'said', 'you', 'are', 'perfectly', 'right', 'you', 'have', 'employed', 'your', 'time', 'much', 'better', 'no', 'one', 'admitted', 'to', 'the', 'privilege', 'of', 'hearing', 'you', 'can', 'think', 'anything', 'wanting', 'we', 'neither', 'of', 'us', 'perform', 'to', 'strangers', 'here', 'they', 'were', 'interrupted', 'by', 'lady', 'catherine', 'who', 'called', 'out', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'they', 'were', 'talking', 'of', 'elizabeth', 'immediately', 'began', 'playing', 'again', 'lady', 'catherine', 'approached', 'and', 'after', 'listening', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'said', 'to', 'darcy', 'miss', 'bennet', 'would', 'not', 'play', 'at', 'all', 'amiss', 'if', 'she', 'practised', 'more', 'and', 'could', 'have', 'the', 'advantage', 'of', 'a', 'london', 'master', 'she', 'has', 'a', 'very', 'good', 'notion', 'of', 'fingering', 'though', 'her', 'taste', 'is', 'not', 'equal', 'to', 'annes', 'anne', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'delightful', 'performer', 'had', 'her', 'health', 'allowed', 'her', 'to', 'learn', 'elizabeth', 'looked', 'at', 'darcy', 'to', 'see', 'how', 'cordially', 'he', 'assented', 'to', 'his', 'cousins', 'praise', 'but', 'neither', 'at', 'that', 'moment', 'nor', 'at', 'any', 'other', 'could', 'she', 'discern', 'any', 'symptom', 'of', 'love', 'and', 'from', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'his', 'behaviour', 'to', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'she', 'derived', 'this', 'comfort', 'for', 'miss', 'bingley', 'that', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'just', 'as', 'likely', 'to', 'marry', 'her', 'had', 'she', 'been', 'his', 'relation', 'lady', 'catherine', 'continued', 'her', 'remarks', 'on', 'elizabeths', 'performance', 'mixing', 'with', 'them', 'many', 'instructions', 'on', 'execution', 'and', 'taste', 'elizabeth', 'received', 'them', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'forbearance', 'of', 'civility', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'request', 'of', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'remained', 'at', 'the', 'instrument', 'till', 'her', 'ladyships', 'carriage', 'was', 'ready', 'to', 'take', 'them', 'all', 'home', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'sitting', 'by', 'herself', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'and', 'writing', 'to', 'jane', 'while', 'mrs', 'collins', 'and', 'maria', 'were', 'gone', 'on', 'business', 'into', 'the', 'village', 'when', 'she', 'was', 'startled', 'by', 'a', 'ring', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'the', 'certain', 'signal', 'of', 'a', 'visitor', 'as', 'she', 'had', 'heard', 'no', 'carriage', 'she', 'thought', 'it', 'not', 'unlikely', 'to', 'be', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'under', 'that', 'apprehension', 'was', 'putting', 'away', 'her', 'halffinished', 'letter', 'that', 'she', 'might', 'escape', 'all', 'impertinent', 'questions', 'when', 'the', 'door', 'opened', 'and', 'to', 'her', 'very', 'great', 'surprise', 'mr', 'darcy', 'and', 'mr', 'darcy', 'only', 'entered', 'the', 'room', 'he', 'seemed', 'astonished', 'too', 'on', 'finding', 'her', 'alone', 'and', 'apologised', 'for', 'his', 'intrusion', 'by', 'letting', 'her', 'know', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'understood', 'all', 'the', 'ladies', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'within', 'they', 'then', 'sat', 'down', 'and', 'when', 'her', 'enquiries', 'after', 'rosings', 'were', 'made', 'seemed', 'in', 'danger', 'of', 'sinking', 'into', 'total', 'silence', 'it', 'was', 'absolutely', 'necessary', 'therefore', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'something', 'and', 'in', 'this', 'emergence', 'recollecting', 'when', 'she', 'had', 'seen', 'him', 'last', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'and', 'feeling', 'curious', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'he', 'would', 'say', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'of', 'their', 'hasty', 'departure', 'she', 'observed', 'how', 'very', 'suddenly', 'you', 'all', 'quitted', 'netherfield', 'last', 'november', 'mr', 'darcy', 'it', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'most', 'agreeable', 'surprise', 'to', 'mr', 'bingley', 'to', 'see', 'you', 'all', 'after', 'him', 'so', 'soon', 'for', 'if', 'i', 'recollect', 'right', 'he', 'went', 'but', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'he', 'and', 'his', 'sisters', 'were', 'well', 'i', 'hope', 'when', 'you', 'left', 'london', 'perfectly', 'so', 'i', 'thank', 'you', 'she', 'found', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'to', 'receive', 'no', 'other', 'answer', 'and', 'after', 'a', 'short', 'pause', 'added', 'i', 'think', 'i', 'have', 'understood', 'that', 'mr', 'bingley', 'has', 'not', 'much', 'idea', 'of', 'ever', 'returning', 'to', 'netherfield', 'again', 'i', 'have', 'never', 'heard', 'him', 'say', 'so', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'probable', 'that', 'he', 'may', 'spend', 'very', 'little', 'of', 'his', 'time', 'there', 'in', 'the', 'future', 'he', 'has', 'many', 'friends', 'and', 'is', 'at', 'a', 'time', 'of', 'life', 'when', 'friends', 'and', 'engagements', 'are', 'continually', 'increasing', 'if', 'he', 'means', 'to', 'be', 'but', 'little', 'at', 'netherfield', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'better', 'for', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'give', 'up', 'the', 'place', 'entirely', 'for', 'then', 'we', 'might', 'possibly', 'get', 'a', 'settled', 'family', 'there', 'but', 'perhaps', 'mr', 'bingley', 'did', 'not', 'take', 'the', 'house', 'so', 'much', 'for', 'the', 'convenience', 'of', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'as', 'for', 'his', 'own', 'and', 'we', 'must', 'expect', 'him', 'to', 'keep', 'it', 'or', 'quit', 'it', 'on', 'the', 'same', 'principle', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'surprised', 'said', 'darcy', 'if', 'he', 'were', 'to', 'give', 'it', 'up', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'any', 'eligible', 'purchase', 'offers', 'elizabeth', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'she', 'was', 'afraid', 'of', 'talking', 'longer', 'of', 'his', 'friend', 'and', 'having', 'nothing', 'else', 'to', 'say', 'was', 'now', 'determined', 'to', 'leave', 'the', 'trouble', 'of', 'finding', 'a', 'subject', 'to', 'him', 'he', 'took', 'the', 'hint', 'and', 'soon', 'began', 'with', 'this', 'seems', 'a', 'very', 'comfortable', 'house', 'lady', 'catherine', 'i', 'believe', 'did', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'to', 'it', 'when', 'mr', 'collins', 'first', 'came', 'to', 'hunsford', 'i', 'believe', 'she', 'didand', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'bestowed', 'her', 'kindness', 'on', 'a', 'more', 'grateful', 'object', 'mr', 'collins', 'appears', 'to', 'be', 'very', 'fortunate', 'in', 'his', 'choice', 'of', 'a', 'wife', 'yes', 'indeed', 'his', 'friends', 'may', 'well', 'rejoice', 'in', 'his', 'having', 'met', 'with', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'very', 'few', 'sensible', 'women', 'who', 'would', 'have', 'accepted', 'him', 'or', 'have', 'made', 'him', 'happy', 'if', 'they', 'had', 'my', 'friend', 'has', 'an', 'excellent', 'understandingthough', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'certain', 'that', 'i', 'consider', 'her', 'marrying', 'mr', 'collins', 'as', 'the', 'wisest', 'thing', 'she', 'ever', 'did', 'she', 'seems', 'perfectly', 'happy', 'however', 'and', 'in', 'a', 'prudential', 'light', 'it', 'is', 'certainly', 'a', 'very', 'good', 'match', 'for', 'her', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'very', 'agreeable', 'for', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'settled', 'within', 'so', 'easy', 'a', 'distance', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'family', 'and', 'friends', 'an', 'easy', 'distance', 'do', 'you', 'call', 'it', 'it', 'is', 'nearly', 'fifty', 'miles', 'and', 'what', 'is', 'fifty', 'miles', 'of', 'good', 'road', 'little', 'more', 'than', 'half', 'a', 'days', 'journey', 'yes', 'i', 'call', 'it', 'a', 'very', 'easy', 'distance', 'i', 'should', 'never', 'have', 'considered', 'the', 'distance', 'as', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'advantages', 'of', 'the', 'match', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'i', 'should', 'never', 'have', 'said', 'mrs', 'collins', 'was', 'settled', 'near', 'her', 'family', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'proof', 'of', 'your', 'own', 'attachment', 'to', 'hertfordshire', 'anything', 'beyond', 'the', 'very', 'neighbourhood', 'of', 'longbourn', 'i', 'suppose', 'would', 'appear', 'far', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'sort', 'of', 'smile', 'which', 'elizabeth', 'fancied', 'she', 'understood', 'he', 'must', 'be', 'supposing', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'thinking', 'of', 'jane', 'and', 'netherfield', 'and', 'she', 'blushed', 'as', 'she', 'answered', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'mean', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'a', 'woman', 'may', 'not', 'be', 'settled', 'too', 'near', 'her', 'family', 'the', 'far', 'and', 'the', 'near', 'must', 'be', 'relative', 'and', 'depend', 'on', 'many', 'varying', 'circumstances', 'where', 'there', 'is', 'fortune', 'to', 'make', 'the', 'expenses', 'of', 'travelling', 'unimportant', 'distance', 'becomes', 'no', 'evil', 'but', 'that', 'is', 'not', 'the', 'case', 'here', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'collins', 'have', 'a', 'comfortable', 'income', 'but', 'not', 'such', 'a', 'one', 'as', 'will', 'allow', 'of', 'frequent', 'journeysand', 'i', 'am', 'persuaded', 'my', 'friend', 'would', 'not', 'call', 'herself', 'near', 'her', 'family', 'under', 'less', 'than', 'half', 'the', 'present', 'distance', 'mr', 'darcy', 'drew', 'his', 'chair', 'a', 'little', 'towards', 'her', 'and', 'said', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'have', 'a', 'right', 'to', 'such', 'very', 'strong', 'local', 'attachment', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'always', 'at', 'longbourn', 'elizabeth', 'looked', 'surprised', 'the', 'gentleman', 'experienced', 'some', 'change', 'of', 'feeling', 'he', 'drew', 'back', 'his', 'chair', 'took', 'a', 'newspaper', 'from', 'the', 'table', 'and', 'glancing', 'over', 'it', 'said', 'in', 'a', 'colder', 'voice', 'are', 'you', 'pleased', 'with', 'kent', 'a', 'short', 'dialogue', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'of', 'the', 'country', 'ensued', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'calm', 'and', 'conciseand', 'soon', 'put', 'an', 'end', 'to', 'by', 'the', 'entrance', 'of', 'charlotte', 'and', 'her', 'sister', 'just', 'returned', 'from', 'her', 'walk', 'the', 'têteàtête', 'surprised', 'them', 'mr', 'darcy', 'related', 'the', 'mistake', 'which', 'had', 'occasioned', 'his', 'intruding', 'on', 'miss', 'bennet', 'and', 'after', 'sitting', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'longer', 'without', 'saying', 'much', 'to', 'anybody', 'went', 'away', 'what', 'can', 'be', 'the', 'meaning', 'of', 'this', 'said', 'charlotte', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'gone', 'my', 'dear', 'eliza', 'he', 'must', 'be', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'you', 'or', 'he', 'would', 'never', 'have', 'called', 'on', 'us', 'in', 'this', 'familiar', 'way', 'but', 'when', 'elizabeth', 'told', 'of', 'his', 'silence', 'it', 'did', 'not', 'seem', 'very', 'likely', 'even', 'to', 'charlottes', 'wishes', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'case', 'and', 'after', 'various', 'conjectures', 'they', 'could', 'at', 'last', 'only', 'suppose', 'his', 'visit', 'to', 'proceed', 'from', 'the', 'difficulty', 'of', 'finding', 'anything', 'to', 'do', 'which', 'was', 'the', 'more', 'probable', 'from', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'year', 'all', 'field', 'sports', 'were', 'over', 'within', 'doors', 'there', 'was', 'lady', 'catherine', 'books', 'and', 'a', 'billiardtable', 'but', 'gentlemen', 'can', 'not', 'always', 'be', 'within', 'doors', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'nearness', 'of', 'the', 'parsonage', 'or', 'the', 'pleasantness', 'of', 'the', 'walk', 'to', 'it', 'or', 'of', 'the', 'people', 'who', 'lived', 'in', 'it', 'the', 'two', 'cousins', 'found', 'a', 'temptation', 'from', 'this', 'period', 'of', 'walking', 'thither', 'almost', 'every', 'day', 'they', 'called', 'at', 'various', 'times', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'sometimes', 'separately', 'sometimes', 'together', 'and', 'now', 'and', 'then', 'accompanied', 'by', 'their', 'aunt', 'it', 'was', 'plain', 'to', 'them', 'all', 'that', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'came', 'because', 'he', 'had', 'pleasure', 'in', 'their', 'society', 'a', 'persuasion', 'which', 'of', 'course', 'recommended', 'him', 'still', 'more', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'reminded', 'by', 'her', 'own', 'satisfaction', 'in', 'being', 'with', 'him', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'by', 'his', 'evident', 'admiration', 'of', 'her', 'of', 'her', 'former', 'favourite', 'george', 'wickham', 'and', 'though', 'in', 'comparing', 'them', 'she', 'saw', 'there', 'was', 'less', 'captivating', 'softness', 'in', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliams', 'manners', 'she', 'believed', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'the', 'best', 'informed', 'mind', 'but', 'why', 'mr', 'darcy', 'came', 'so', 'often', 'to', 'the', 'parsonage', 'it', 'was', 'more', 'difficult', 'to', 'understand', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'for', 'society', 'as', 'he', 'frequently', 'sat', 'there', 'ten', 'minutes', 'together', 'without', 'opening', 'his', 'lips', 'and', 'when', 'he', 'did', 'speak', 'it', 'seemed', 'the', 'effect', 'of', 'necessity', 'rather', 'than', 'of', 'choicea', 'sacrifice', 'to', 'propriety', 'not', 'a', 'pleasure', 'to', 'himself', 'he', 'seldom', 'appeared', 'really', 'animated', 'mrs', 'collins', 'knew', 'not', 'what', 'to', 'make', 'of', 'him', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliams', 'occasionally', 'laughing', 'at', 'his', 'stupidity', 'proved', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'generally', 'different', 'which', 'her', 'own', 'knowledge', 'of', 'him', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'told', 'her', 'and', 'as', 'she', 'would', 'liked', 'to', 'have', 'believed', 'this', 'change', 'the', 'effect', 'of', 'love', 'and', 'the', 'object', 'of', 'that', 'love', 'her', 'friend', 'eliza', 'she', 'set', 'herself', 'seriously', 'to', 'work', 'to', 'find', 'it', 'out', 'she', 'watched', 'him', 'whenever', 'they', 'were', 'at', 'rosings', 'and', 'whenever', 'he', 'came', 'to', 'hunsford', 'but', 'without', 'much', 'success', 'he', 'certainly', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'friend', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'but', 'the', 'expression', 'of', 'that', 'look', 'was', 'disputable', 'it', 'was', 'an', 'earnest', 'steadfast', 'gaze', 'but', 'she', 'often', 'doubted', 'whether', 'there', 'were', 'much', 'admiration', 'in', 'it', 'and', 'sometimes', 'it', 'seemed', 'nothing', 'but', 'absence', 'of', 'mind', 'she', 'had', 'once', 'or', 'twice', 'suggested', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'his', 'being', 'partial', 'to', 'her', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'always', 'laughed', 'at', 'the', 'idea', 'and', 'mrs', 'collins', 'did', 'not', 'think', 'it', 'right', 'to', 'press', 'the', 'subject', 'from', 'the', 'danger', 'of', 'raising', 'expectations', 'which', 'might', 'only', 'end', 'in', 'disappointment', 'for', 'in', 'her', 'opinion', 'it', 'admitted', 'not', 'of', 'a', 'doubt', 'that', 'all', 'her', 'friends', 'dislike', 'would', 'vanish', 'if', 'she', 'could', 'suppose', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'her', 'power', 'in', 'her', 'kind', 'schemes', 'for', 'elizabeth', 'she', 'sometimes', 'planned', 'her', 'marrying', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'he', 'was', 'beyond', 'comparison', 'the', 'most', 'pleasant', 'man', 'he', 'certainly', 'admired', 'her', 'and', 'his', 'situation', 'in', 'life', 'was', 'most', 'eligible', 'but', 'to', 'counterbalance', 'these', 'advantages', 'mr', 'darcy', 'had', 'considerable', 'patronage', 'in', 'the', 'church', 'and', 'his', 'cousin', 'could', 'have', 'none', 'at', 'all', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'did', 'elizabeth', 'in', 'her', 'ramble', 'within', 'the', 'park', 'unexpectedly', 'meet', 'mr', 'darcy', 'she', 'felt', 'all', 'the', 'perverseness', 'of', 'the', 'mischance', 'that', 'should', 'bring', 'him', 'where', 'no', 'one', 'else', 'was', 'brought', 'and', 'to', 'prevent', 'its', 'ever', 'happening', 'again', 'took', 'care', 'to', 'inform', 'him', 'at', 'first', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'favourite', 'haunt', 'of', 'hers', 'how', 'it', 'could', 'occur', 'a', 'second', 'time', 'therefore', 'was', 'very', 'odd', 'yet', 'it', 'did', 'and', 'even', 'a', 'third', 'it', 'seemed', 'like', 'wilful', 'illnature', 'or', 'a', 'voluntary', 'penance', 'for', 'on', 'these', 'occasions', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'merely', 'a', 'few', 'formal', 'enquiries', 'and', 'an', 'awkward', 'pause', 'and', 'then', 'away', 'but', 'he', 'actually', 'thought', 'it', 'necessary', 'to', 'turn', 'back', 'and', 'walk', 'with', 'her', 'he', 'never', 'said', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'nor', 'did', 'she', 'give', 'herself', 'the', 'trouble', 'of', 'talking', 'or', 'of', 'listening', 'much', 'but', 'it', 'struck', 'her', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'their', 'third', 'rencontre', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'asking', 'some', 'odd', 'unconnected', 'questionsabout', 'her', 'pleasure', 'in', 'being', 'at', 'hunsford', 'her', 'love', 'of', 'solitary', 'walks', 'and', 'her', 'opinion', 'of', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'collinss', 'happiness', 'and', 'that', 'in', 'speaking', 'of', 'rosings', 'and', 'her', 'not', 'perfectly', 'understanding', 'the', 'house', 'he', 'seemed', 'to', 'expect', 'that', 'whenever', 'she', 'came', 'into', 'kent', 'again', 'she', 'would', 'be', 'staying', 'there', 'too', 'his', 'words', 'seemed', 'to', 'imply', 'it', 'could', 'he', 'have', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'in', 'his', 'thoughts', 'she', 'supposed', 'if', 'he', 'meant', 'anything', 'he', 'must', 'mean', 'an', 'allusion', 'to', 'what', 'might', 'arise', 'in', 'that', 'quarter', 'it', 'distressed', 'her', 'a', 'little', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'quite', 'glad', 'to', 'find', 'herself', 'at', 'the', 'gate', 'in', 'the', 'pales', 'opposite', 'the', 'parsonage', 'she', 'was', 'engaged', 'one', 'day', 'as', 'she', 'walked', 'in', 'perusing', 'janes', 'last', 'letter', 'and', 'dwelling', 'on', 'some', 'passages', 'which', 'proved', 'that', 'jane', 'had', 'not', 'written', 'in', 'spirits', 'when', 'instead', 'of', 'being', 'again', 'surprised', 'by', 'mr', 'darcy', 'she', 'saw', 'on', 'looking', 'up', 'that', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'was', 'meeting', 'her', 'putting', 'away', 'the', 'letter', 'immediately', 'and', 'forcing', 'a', 'smile', 'she', 'said', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'before', 'that', 'you', 'ever', 'walked', 'this', 'way', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'making', 'the', 'tour', 'of', 'the', 'park', 'he', 'replied', 'as', 'i', 'generally', 'do', 'every', 'year', 'and', 'intend', 'to', 'close', 'it', 'with', 'a', 'call', 'at', 'the', 'parsonage', 'are', 'you', 'going', 'much', 'farther', 'no', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'turned', 'in', 'a', 'moment', 'and', 'accordingly', 'she', 'did', 'turn', 'and', 'they', 'walked', 'towards', 'the', 'parsonage', 'together', 'do', 'you', 'certainly', 'leave', 'kent', 'on', 'saturday', 'said', 'she', 'yesif', 'darcy', 'does', 'not', 'put', 'it', 'off', 'again', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'at', 'his', 'disposal', 'he', 'arranges', 'the', 'business', 'just', 'as', 'he', 'pleases', 'and', 'if', 'not', 'able', 'to', 'please', 'himself', 'in', 'the', 'arrangement', 'he', 'has', 'at', 'least', 'pleasure', 'in', 'the', 'great', 'power', 'of', 'choice', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'anybody', 'who', 'seems', 'more', 'to', 'enjoy', 'the', 'power', 'of', 'doing', 'what', 'he', 'likes', 'than', 'mr', 'darcy', 'he', 'likes', 'to', 'have', 'his', 'own', 'way', 'very', 'well', 'replied', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'but', 'so', 'we', 'all', 'do', 'it', 'is', 'only', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'better', 'means', 'of', 'having', 'it', 'than', 'many', 'others', 'because', 'he', 'is', 'rich', 'and', 'many', 'others', 'are', 'poor', 'i', 'speak', 'feelingly', 'a', 'younger', 'son', 'you', 'know', 'must', 'be', 'inured', 'to', 'selfdenial', 'and', 'dependence', 'in', 'my', 'opinion', 'the', 'younger', 'son', 'of', 'an', 'earl', 'can', 'know', 'very', 'little', 'of', 'either', 'now', 'seriously', 'what', 'have', 'you', 'ever', 'known', 'of', 'selfdenial', 'and', 'dependence', 'when', 'have', 'you', 'been', 'prevented', 'by', 'want', 'of', 'money', 'from', 'going', 'wherever', 'you', 'chose', 'or', 'procuring', 'anything', 'you', 'had', 'a', 'fancy', 'for', 'these', 'are', 'home', 'questionsand', 'perhaps', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'experienced', 'many', 'hardships', 'of', 'that', 'nature', 'but', 'in', 'matters', 'of', 'greater', 'weight', 'i', 'may', 'suffer', 'from', 'want', 'of', 'money', 'younger', 'sons', 'can', 'not', 'marry', 'where', 'they', 'like', 'unless', 'where', 'they', 'like', 'women', 'of', 'fortune', 'which', 'i', 'think', 'they', 'very', 'often', 'do', 'our', 'habits', 'of', 'expense', 'make', 'us', 'too', 'dependent', 'and', 'there', 'are', 'not', 'many', 'in', 'my', 'rank', 'of', 'life', 'who', 'can', 'afford', 'to', 'marry', 'without', 'some', 'attention', 'to', 'money', 'is', 'this', 'thought', 'elizabeth', 'meant', 'for', 'me', 'and', 'she', 'coloured', 'at', 'the', 'idea', 'but', 'recovering', 'herself', 'said', 'in', 'a', 'lively', 'tone', 'and', 'pray', 'what', 'is', 'the', 'usual', 'price', 'of', 'an', 'earls', 'younger', 'son', 'unless', 'the', 'elder', 'brother', 'is', 'very', 'sickly', 'i', 'suppose', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'ask', 'above', 'fifty', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'he', 'answered', 'her', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'style', 'and', 'the', 'subject', 'dropped', 'to', 'interrupt', 'a', 'silence', 'which', 'might', 'make', 'him', 'fancy', 'her', 'affected', 'with', 'what', 'had', 'passed', 'she', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'said', 'i', 'imagine', 'your', 'cousin', 'brought', 'you', 'down', 'with', 'him', 'chiefly', 'for', 'the', 'sake', 'of', 'having', 'someone', 'at', 'his', 'disposal', 'i', 'wonder', 'he', 'does', 'not', 'marry', 'to', 'secure', 'a', 'lasting', 'convenience', 'of', 'that', 'kind', 'but', 'perhaps', 'his', 'sister', 'does', 'as', 'well', 'for', 'the', 'present', 'and', 'as', 'she', 'is', 'under', 'his', 'sole', 'care', 'he', 'may', 'do', 'what', 'he', 'likes', 'with', 'her', 'no', 'said', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'that', 'is', 'an', 'advantage', 'which', 'he', 'must', 'divide', 'with', 'me', 'i', 'am', 'joined', 'with', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'guardianship', 'of', 'miss', 'darcy', 'are', 'you', 'indeed', 'and', 'pray', 'what', 'sort', 'of', 'guardians', 'do', 'you', 'make', 'does', 'your', 'charge', 'give', 'you', 'much', 'trouble', 'young', 'ladies', 'of', 'her', 'age', 'are', 'sometimes', 'a', 'little', 'difficult', 'to', 'manage', 'and', 'if', 'she', 'has', 'the', 'true', 'darcy', 'spirit', 'she', 'may', 'like', 'to', 'have', 'her', 'own', 'way', 'as', 'she', 'spoke', 'she', 'observed', 'him', 'looking', 'at', 'her', 'earnestly', 'and', 'the', 'manner', 'in', 'which', 'he', 'immediately', 'asked', 'her', 'why', 'she', 'supposed', 'miss', 'darcy', 'likely', 'to', 'give', 'them', 'any', 'uneasiness', 'convinced', 'her', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'somehow', 'or', 'other', 'got', 'pretty', 'near', 'the', 'truth', 'she', 'directly', 'replied', 'you', 'need', 'not', 'be', 'frightened', 'i', 'never', 'heard', 'any', 'harm', 'of', 'her', 'and', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'she', 'is', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'tractable', 'creatures', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'great', 'favourite', 'with', 'some', 'ladies', 'of', 'my', 'acquaintance', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'miss', 'bingley', 'i', 'think', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'you', 'say', 'that', 'you', 'know', 'them', 'i', 'know', 'them', 'a', 'little', 'their', 'brother', 'is', 'a', 'pleasant', 'gentlemanlike', 'manhe', 'is', 'a', 'great', 'friend', 'of', 'darcys', 'oh', 'yes', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'drily', 'mr', 'darcy', 'is', 'uncommonly', 'kind', 'to', 'mr', 'bingley', 'and', 'takes', 'a', 'prodigious', 'deal', 'of', 'care', 'of', 'him', 'care', 'of', 'him', 'yes', 'i', 'really', 'believe', 'darcy', 'does', 'take', 'care', 'of', 'him', 'in', 'those', 'points', 'where', 'he', 'most', 'wants', 'care', 'from', 'something', 'that', 'he', 'told', 'me', 'in', 'our', 'journey', 'hither', 'i', 'have', 'reason', 'to', 'think', 'bingley', 'very', 'much', 'indebted', 'to', 'him', 'but', 'i', 'ought', 'to', 'beg', 'his', 'pardon', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'right', 'to', 'suppose', 'that', 'bingley', 'was', 'the', 'person', 'meant', 'it', 'was', 'all', 'conjecture', 'what', 'is', 'it', 'you', 'mean', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'circumstance', 'which', 'darcy', 'could', 'not', 'wish', 'to', 'be', 'generally', 'known', 'because', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'to', 'get', 'round', 'to', 'the', 'ladys', 'family', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'an', 'unpleasant', 'thing', 'you', 'may', 'depend', 'upon', 'my', 'not', 'mentioning', 'it', 'and', 'remember', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'much', 'reason', 'for', 'supposing', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'bingley', 'what', 'he', 'told', 'me', 'was', 'merely', 'this', 'that', 'he', 'congratulated', 'himself', 'on', 'having', 'lately', 'saved', 'a', 'friend', 'from', 'the', 'inconveniences', 'of', 'a', 'most', 'imprudent', 'marriage', 'but', 'without', 'mentioning', 'names', 'or', 'any', 'other', 'particulars', 'and', 'i', 'only', 'suspected', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'bingley', 'from', 'believing', 'him', 'the', 'kind', 'of', 'young', 'man', 'to', 'get', 'into', 'a', 'scrape', 'of', 'that', 'sort', 'and', 'from', 'knowing', 'them', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'together', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'last', 'summer', 'did', 'mr', 'darcy', 'give', 'you', 'reasons', 'for', 'this', 'interference', 'i', 'understood', 'that', 'there', 'were', 'some', 'very', 'strong', 'objections', 'against', 'the', 'lady', 'and', 'what', 'arts', 'did', 'he', 'use', 'to', 'separate', 'them', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'talk', 'to', 'me', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'arts', 'said', 'fitzwilliam', 'smiling', 'he', 'only', 'told', 'me', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'now', 'told', 'you', 'elizabeth', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'and', 'walked', 'on', 'her', 'heart', 'swelling', 'with', 'indignation', 'after', 'watching', 'her', 'a', 'little', 'fitzwilliam', 'asked', 'her', 'why', 'she', 'was', 'so', 'thoughtful', 'i', 'am', 'thinking', 'of', 'what', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'telling', 'me', 'said', 'she', 'your', 'cousins', 'conduct', 'does', 'not', 'suit', 'my', 'feelings', 'why', 'was', 'he', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'judge', 'you', 'are', 'rather', 'disposed', 'to', 'call', 'his', 'interference', 'officious', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'see', 'what', 'right', 'mr', 'darcy', 'had', 'to', 'decide', 'on', 'the', 'propriety', 'of', 'his', 'friends', 'inclination', 'or', 'why', 'upon', 'his', 'own', 'judgement', 'alone', 'he', 'was', 'to', 'determine', 'and', 'direct', 'in', 'what', 'manner', 'his', 'friend', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'happy', 'but', 'she', 'continued', 'recollecting', 'herself', 'as', 'we', 'know', 'none', 'of', 'the', 'particulars', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'fair', 'to', 'condemn', 'him', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'supposed', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'much', 'affection', 'in', 'the', 'case', 'that', 'is', 'not', 'an', 'unnatural', 'surmise', 'said', 'fitzwilliam', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'lessening', 'of', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'my', 'cousins', 'triumph', 'very', 'sadly', 'this', 'was', 'spoken', 'jestingly', 'but', 'it', 'appeared', 'to', 'her', 'so', 'just', 'a', 'picture', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'trust', 'herself', 'with', 'an', 'answer', 'and', 'therefore', 'abruptly', 'changing', 'the', 'conversation', 'talked', 'on', 'indifferent', 'matters', 'until', 'they', 'reached', 'the', 'parsonage', 'there', 'shut', 'into', 'her', 'own', 'room', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'their', 'visitor', 'left', 'them', 'she', 'could', 'think', 'without', 'interruption', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'heard', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'supposed', 'that', 'any', 'other', 'people', 'could', 'be', 'meant', 'than', 'those', 'with', 'whom', 'she', 'was', 'connected', 'there', 'could', 'not', 'exist', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'two', 'men', 'over', 'whom', 'mr', 'darcy', 'could', 'have', 'such', 'boundless', 'influence', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'concerned', 'in', 'the', 'measures', 'taken', 'to', 'separate', 'bingley', 'and', 'jane', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'doubted', 'but', 'she', 'had', 'always', 'attributed', 'to', 'miss', 'bingley', 'the', 'principal', 'design', 'and', 'arrangement', 'of', 'them', 'if', 'his', 'own', 'vanity', 'however', 'did', 'not', 'mislead', 'him', 'he', 'was', 'the', 'cause', 'his', 'pride', 'and', 'caprice', 'were', 'the', 'cause', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'jane', 'had', 'suffered', 'and', 'still', 'continued', 'to', 'suffer', 'he', 'had', 'ruined', 'for', 'a', 'while', 'every', 'hope', 'of', 'happiness', 'for', 'the', 'most', 'affectionate', 'generous', 'heart', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'and', 'no', 'one', 'could', 'say', 'how', 'lasting', 'an', 'evil', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'inflicted', 'there', 'were', 'some', 'very', 'strong', 'objections', 'against', 'the', 'lady', 'were', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliams', 'words', 'and', 'those', 'strong', 'objections', 'probably', 'were', 'her', 'having', 'one', 'uncle', 'who', 'was', 'a', 'country', 'attorney', 'and', 'another', 'who', 'was', 'in', 'business', 'in', 'london', 'to', 'jane', 'herself', 'she', 'exclaimed', 'there', 'could', 'be', 'no', 'possibility', 'of', 'objection', 'all', 'loveliness', 'and', 'goodness', 'as', 'she', 'isher', 'understanding', 'excellent', 'her', 'mind', 'improved', 'and', 'her', 'manners', 'captivating', 'neither', 'could', 'anything', 'be', 'urged', 'against', 'my', 'father', 'who', 'though', 'with', 'some', 'peculiarities', 'has', 'abilities', 'mr', 'darcy', 'himself', 'need', 'not', 'disdain', 'and', 'respectability', 'which', 'he', 'will', 'probably', 'never', 'reach', 'when', 'she', 'thought', 'of', 'her', 'mother', 'her', 'confidence', 'gave', 'way', 'a', 'little', 'but', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'allow', 'that', 'any', 'objections', 'there', 'had', 'material', 'weight', 'with', 'mr', 'darcy', 'whose', 'pride', 'she', 'was', 'convinced', 'would', 'receive', 'a', 'deeper', 'wound', 'from', 'the', 'want', 'of', 'importance', 'in', 'his', 'friends', 'connections', 'than', 'from', 'their', 'want', 'of', 'sense', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'quite', 'decided', 'at', 'last', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'partly', 'governed', 'by', 'this', 'worst', 'kind', 'of', 'pride', 'and', 'partly', 'by', 'the', 'wish', 'of', 'retaining', 'mr', 'bingley', 'for', 'his', 'sister', 'the', 'agitation', 'and', 'tears', 'which', 'the', 'subject', 'occasioned', 'brought', 'on', 'a', 'headache', 'and', 'it', 'grew', 'so', 'much', 'worse', 'towards', 'the', 'evening', 'that', 'added', 'to', 'her', 'unwillingness', 'to', 'see', 'mr', 'darcy', 'it', 'determined', 'her', 'not', 'to', 'attend', 'her', 'cousins', 'to', 'rosings', 'where', 'they', 'were', 'engaged', 'to', 'drink', 'tea', 'mrs', 'collins', 'seeing', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'really', 'unwell', 'did', 'not', 'press', 'her', 'to', 'go', 'and', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'possible', 'prevented', 'her', 'husband', 'from', 'pressing', 'her', 'but', 'mr', 'collins', 'could', 'not', 'conceal', 'his', 'apprehension', 'of', 'lady', 'catherines', 'being', 'rather', 'displeased', 'by', 'her', 'staying', 'at', 'home', 'when', 'they', 'were', 'gone', 'elizabeth', 'as', 'if', 'intending', 'to', 'exasperate', 'herself', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'possible', 'against', 'mr', 'darcy', 'chose', 'for', 'her', 'employment', 'the', 'examination', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'letters', 'which', 'jane', 'had', 'written', 'to', 'her', 'since', 'her', 'being', 'in', 'kent', 'they', 'contained', 'no', 'actual', 'complaint', 'nor', 'was', 'there', 'any', 'revival', 'of', 'past', 'occurrences', 'or', 'any', 'communication', 'of', 'present', 'suffering', 'but', 'in', 'all', 'and', 'in', 'almost', 'every', 'line', 'of', 'each', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'want', 'of', 'that', 'cheerfulness', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'used', 'to', 'characterise', 'her', 'style', 'and', 'which', 'proceeding', 'from', 'the', 'serenity', 'of', 'a', 'mind', 'at', 'ease', 'with', 'itself', 'and', 'kindly', 'disposed', 'towards', 'everyone', 'had', 'been', 'scarcely', 'ever', 'clouded', 'elizabeth', 'noticed', 'every', 'sentence', 'conveying', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'uneasiness', 'with', 'an', 'attention', 'which', 'it', 'had', 'hardly', 'received', 'on', 'the', 'first', 'perusal', 'mr', 'darcys', 'shameful', 'boast', 'of', 'what', 'misery', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'able', 'to', 'inflict', 'gave', 'her', 'a', 'keener', 'sense', 'of', 'her', 'sisters', 'sufferings', 'it', 'was', 'some', 'consolation', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'his', 'visit', 'to', 'rosings', 'was', 'to', 'end', 'on', 'the', 'day', 'after', 'the', 'nextand', 'a', 'still', 'greater', 'that', 'in', 'less', 'than', 'a', 'fortnight', 'she', 'should', 'herself', 'be', 'with', 'jane', 'again', 'and', 'enabled', 'to', 'contribute', 'to', 'the', 'recovery', 'of', 'her', 'spirits', 'by', 'all', 'that', 'affection', 'could', 'do', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'think', 'of', 'darcys', 'leaving', 'kent', 'without', 'remembering', 'that', 'his', 'cousin', 'was', 'to', 'go', 'with', 'him', 'but', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'had', 'made', 'it', 'clear', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'no', 'intentions', 'at', 'all', 'and', 'agreeable', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'mean', 'to', 'be', 'unhappy', 'about', 'him', 'while', 'settling', 'this', 'point', 'she', 'was', 'suddenly', 'roused', 'by', 'the', 'sound', 'of', 'the', 'doorbell', 'and', 'her', 'spirits', 'were', 'a', 'little', 'fluttered', 'by', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'its', 'being', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'himself', 'who', 'had', 'once', 'before', 'called', 'late', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'and', 'might', 'now', 'come', 'to', 'enquire', 'particularly', 'after', 'her', 'but', 'this', 'idea', 'was', 'soon', 'banished', 'and', 'her', 'spirits', 'were', 'very', 'differently', 'affected', 'when', 'to', 'her', 'utter', 'amazement', 'she', 'saw', 'mr', 'darcy', 'walk', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'in', 'an', 'hurried', 'manner', 'he', 'immediately', 'began', 'an', 'enquiry', 'after', 'her', 'health', 'imputing', 'his', 'visit', 'to', 'a', 'wish', 'of', 'hearing', 'that', 'she', 'were', 'better', 'she', 'answered', 'him', 'with', 'cold', 'civility', 'he', 'sat', 'down', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'and', 'then', 'getting', 'up', 'walked', 'about', 'the', 'room', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'surprised', 'but', 'said', 'not', 'a', 'word', 'after', 'a', 'silence', 'of', 'several', 'minutes', 'he', 'came', 'towards', 'her', 'in', 'an', 'agitated', 'manner', 'and', 'thus', 'began', 'in', 'vain', 'i', 'have', 'struggled', 'it', 'will', 'not', 'do', 'my', 'feelings', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'repressed', 'you', 'must', 'allow', 'me', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'how', 'ardently', 'i', 'admire', 'and', 'love', 'you', 'elizabeths', 'astonishment', 'was', 'beyond', 'expression', 'she', 'stared', 'coloured', 'doubted', 'and', 'was', 'silent', 'this', 'he', 'considered', 'sufficient', 'encouragement', 'and', 'the', 'avowal', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'he', 'felt', 'and', 'had', 'long', 'felt', 'for', 'her', 'immediately', 'followed', 'he', 'spoke', 'well', 'but', 'there', 'were', 'feelings', 'besides', 'those', 'of', 'the', 'heart', 'to', 'be', 'detailed', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'more', 'eloquent', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'of', 'tenderness', 'than', 'of', 'pride', 'his', 'sense', 'of', 'her', 'inferiorityof', 'its', 'being', 'a', 'degradationof', 'the', 'family', 'obstacles', 'which', 'had', 'always', 'opposed', 'to', 'inclination', 'were', 'dwelt', 'on', 'with', 'a', 'warmth', 'which', 'seemed', 'due', 'to', 'the', 'consequence', 'he', 'was', 'wounding', 'but', 'was', 'very', 'unlikely', 'to', 'recommend', 'his', 'suit', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'her', 'deeplyrooted', 'dislike', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'insensible', 'to', 'the', 'compliment', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'mans', 'affection', 'and', 'though', 'her', 'intentions', 'did', 'not', 'vary', 'for', 'an', 'instant', 'she', 'was', 'at', 'first', 'sorry', 'for', 'the', 'pain', 'he', 'was', 'to', 'receive', 'till', 'roused', 'to', 'resentment', 'by', 'his', 'subsequent', 'language', 'she', 'lost', 'all', 'compassion', 'in', 'anger', 'she', 'tried', 'however', 'to', 'compose', 'herself', 'to', 'answer', 'him', 'with', 'patience', 'when', 'he', 'should', 'have', 'done', 'he', 'concluded', 'with', 'representing', 'to', 'her', 'the', 'strength', 'of', 'that', 'attachment', 'which', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'all', 'his', 'endeavours', 'he', 'had', 'found', 'impossible', 'to', 'conquer', 'and', 'with', 'expressing', 'his', 'hope', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'now', 'be', 'rewarded', 'by', 'her', 'acceptance', 'of', 'his', 'hand', 'as', 'he', 'said', 'this', 'she', 'could', 'easily', 'see', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'no', 'doubt', 'of', 'a', 'favourable', 'answer', 'he', 'spoke', 'of', 'apprehension', 'and', 'anxiety', 'but', 'his', 'countenance', 'expressed', 'real', 'security', 'such', 'a', 'circumstance', 'could', 'only', 'exasperate', 'farther', 'and', 'when', 'he', 'ceased', 'the', 'colour', 'rose', 'into', 'her', 'cheeks', 'and', 'she', 'said', 'in', 'such', 'cases', 'as', 'this', 'it', 'is', 'i', 'believe', 'the', 'established', 'mode', 'to', 'express', 'a', 'sense', 'of', 'obligation', 'for', 'the', 'sentiments', 'avowed', 'however', 'unequally', 'they', 'may', 'be', 'returned', 'it', 'is', 'natural', 'that', 'obligation', 'should', 'be', 'felt', 'and', 'if', 'i', 'could', 'feel', 'gratitude', 'i', 'would', 'now', 'thank', 'you', 'but', 'i', 'cannoti', 'have', 'never', 'desired', 'your', 'good', 'opinion', 'and', 'you', 'have', 'certainly', 'bestowed', 'it', 'most', 'unwillingly', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'to', 'have', 'occasioned', 'pain', 'to', 'anyone', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'most', 'unconsciously', 'done', 'however', 'and', 'i', 'hope', 'will', 'be', 'of', 'short', 'duration', 'the', 'feelings', 'which', 'you', 'tell', 'me', 'have', 'long', 'prevented', 'the', 'acknowledgment', 'of', 'your', 'regard', 'can', 'have', 'little', 'difficulty', 'in', 'overcoming', 'it', 'after', 'this', 'explanation', 'mr', 'darcy', 'who', 'was', 'leaning', 'against', 'the', 'mantelpiece', 'with', 'his', 'eyes', 'fixed', 'on', 'her', 'face', 'seemed', 'to', 'catch', 'her', 'words', 'with', 'no', 'less', 'resentment', 'than', 'surprise', 'his', 'complexion', 'became', 'pale', 'with', 'anger', 'and', 'the', 'disturbance', 'of', 'his', 'mind', 'was', 'visible', 'in', 'every', 'feature', 'he', 'was', 'struggling', 'for', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'composure', 'and', 'would', 'not', 'open', 'his', 'lips', 'till', 'he', 'believed', 'himself', 'to', 'have', 'attained', 'it', 'the', 'pause', 'was', 'to', 'elizabeths', 'feelings', 'dreadful', 'at', 'length', 'with', 'a', 'voice', 'of', 'forced', 'calmness', 'he', 'said', 'and', 'this', 'is', 'all', 'the', 'reply', 'which', 'i', 'am', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'expecting', 'i', 'might', 'perhaps', 'wish', 'to', 'be', 'informed', 'why', 'with', 'so', 'little', 'endeavour', 'at', 'civility', 'i', 'am', 'thus', 'rejected', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'small', 'importance', 'i', 'might', 'as', 'well', 'enquire', 'replied', 'she', 'why', 'with', 'so', 'evident', 'a', 'desire', 'of', 'offending', 'and', 'insulting', 'me', 'you', 'chose', 'to', 'tell', 'me', 'that', 'you', 'liked', 'me', 'against', 'your', 'will', 'against', 'your', 'reason', 'and', 'even', 'against', 'your', 'character', 'was', 'not', 'this', 'some', 'excuse', 'for', 'incivility', 'if', 'i', 'was', 'uncivil', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'other', 'provocations', 'you', 'know', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'not', 'my', 'feelings', 'decided', 'against', 'youhad', 'they', 'been', 'indifferent', 'or', 'had', 'they', 'even', 'been', 'favourable', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'any', 'consideration', 'would', 'tempt', 'me', 'to', 'accept', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'has', 'been', 'the', 'means', 'of', 'ruining', 'perhaps', 'for', 'ever', 'the', 'happiness', 'of', 'a', 'most', 'beloved', 'sister', 'as', 'she', 'pronounced', 'these', 'words', 'mr', 'darcy', 'changed', 'colour', 'but', 'the', 'emotion', 'was', 'short', 'and', 'he', 'listened', 'without', 'attempting', 'to', 'interrupt', 'her', 'while', 'she', 'continued', 'i', 'have', 'every', 'reason', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'to', 'think', 'ill', 'of', 'you', 'no', 'motive', 'can', 'excuse', 'the', 'unjust', 'and', 'ungenerous', 'part', 'you', 'acted', 'there', 'you', 'dare', 'not', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'deny', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'the', 'principal', 'if', 'not', 'the', 'only', 'means', 'of', 'dividing', 'them', 'from', 'each', 'otherof', 'exposing', 'one', 'to', 'the', 'censure', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'for', 'caprice', 'and', 'instability', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'to', 'its', 'derision', 'for', 'disappointed', 'hopes', 'and', 'involving', 'them', 'both', 'in', 'misery', 'of', 'the', 'acutest', 'kind', 'she', 'paused', 'and', 'saw', 'with', 'no', 'slight', 'indignation', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'listening', 'with', 'an', 'air', 'which', 'proved', 'him', 'wholly', 'unmoved', 'by', 'any', 'feeling', 'of', 'remorse', 'he', 'even', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'with', 'a', 'smile', 'of', 'affected', 'incredulity', 'can', 'you', 'deny', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'done', 'it', 'she', 'repeated', 'with', 'assumed', 'tranquillity', 'he', 'then', 'replied', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'wish', 'of', 'denying', 'that', 'i', 'did', 'everything', 'in', 'my', 'power', 'to', 'separate', 'my', 'friend', 'from', 'your', 'sister', 'or', 'that', 'i', 'rejoice', 'in', 'my', 'success', 'towards', 'him', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'kinder', 'than', 'towards', 'myself', 'elizabeth', 'disdained', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'noticing', 'this', 'civil', 'reflection', 'but', 'its', 'meaning', 'did', 'not', 'escape', 'nor', 'was', 'it', 'likely', 'to', 'conciliate', 'her', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'merely', 'this', 'affair', 'she', 'continued', 'on', 'which', 'my', 'dislike', 'is', 'founded', 'long', 'before', 'it', 'had', 'taken', 'place', 'my', 'opinion', 'of', 'you', 'was', 'decided', 'your', 'character', 'was', 'unfolded', 'in', 'the', 'recital', 'which', 'i', 'received', 'many', 'months', 'ago', 'from', 'mr', 'wickham', 'on', 'this', 'subject', 'what', 'can', 'you', 'have', 'to', 'say', 'in', 'what', 'imaginary', 'act', 'of', 'friendship', 'can', 'you', 'here', 'defend', 'yourself', 'or', 'under', 'what', 'misrepresentation', 'can', 'you', 'here', 'impose', 'upon', 'others', 'you', 'take', 'an', 'eager', 'interest', 'in', 'that', 'gentlemans', 'concerns', 'said', 'darcy', 'in', 'a', 'less', 'tranquil', 'tone', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'heightened', 'colour', 'who', 'that', 'knows', 'what', 'his', 'misfortunes', 'have', 'been', 'can', 'help', 'feeling', 'an', 'interest', 'in', 'him', 'his', 'misfortunes', 'repeated', 'darcy', 'contemptuously', 'yes', 'his', 'misfortunes', 'have', 'been', 'great', 'indeed', 'and', 'of', 'your', 'infliction', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'with', 'energy', 'you', 'have', 'reduced', 'him', 'to', 'his', 'present', 'state', 'of', 'povertycomparative', 'poverty', 'you', 'have', 'withheld', 'the', 'advantages', 'which', 'you', 'must', 'know', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'designed', 'for', 'him', 'you', 'have', 'deprived', 'the', 'best', 'years', 'of', 'his', 'life', 'of', 'that', 'independence', 'which', 'was', 'no', 'less', 'his', 'due', 'than', 'his', 'desert', 'you', 'have', 'done', 'all', 'this', 'and', 'yet', 'you', 'can', 'treat', 'the', 'mention', 'of', 'his', 'misfortune', 'with', 'contempt', 'and', 'ridicule', 'and', 'this', 'cried', 'darcy', 'as', 'he', 'walked', 'with', 'quick', 'steps', 'across', 'the', 'room', 'is', 'your', 'opinion', 'of', 'me', 'this', 'is', 'the', 'estimation', 'in', 'which', 'you', 'hold', 'me', 'i', 'thank', 'you', 'for', 'explaining', 'it', 'so', 'fully', 'my', 'faults', 'according', 'to', 'this', 'calculation', 'are', 'heavy', 'indeed', 'but', 'perhaps', 'added', 'he', 'stopping', 'in', 'his', 'walk', 'and', 'turning', 'towards', 'her', 'these', 'offenses', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'overlooked', 'had', 'not', 'your', 'pride', 'been', 'hurt', 'by', 'my', 'honest', 'confession', 'of', 'the', 'scruples', 'that', 'had', 'long', 'prevented', 'my', 'forming', 'any', 'serious', 'design', 'these', 'bitter', 'accusations', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'suppressed', 'had', 'i', 'with', 'greater', 'policy', 'concealed', 'my', 'struggles', 'and', 'flattered', 'you', 'into', 'the', 'belief', 'of', 'my', 'being', 'impelled', 'by', 'unqualified', 'unalloyed', 'inclination', 'by', 'reason', 'by', 'reflection', 'by', 'everything', 'but', 'disguise', 'of', 'every', 'sort', 'is', 'my', 'abhorrence', 'nor', 'am', 'i', 'ashamed', 'of', 'the', 'feelings', 'i', 'related', 'they', 'were', 'natural', 'and', 'just', 'could', 'you', 'expect', 'me', 'to', 'rejoice', 'in', 'the', 'inferiority', 'of', 'your', 'connectionsto', 'congratulate', 'myself', 'on', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'relations', 'whose', 'condition', 'in', 'life', 'is', 'so', 'decidedly', 'beneath', 'my', 'own', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'herself', 'growing', 'more', 'angry', 'every', 'moment', 'yet', 'she', 'tried', 'to', 'the', 'utmost', 'to', 'speak', 'with', 'composure', 'when', 'she', 'said', 'you', 'are', 'mistaken', 'mr', 'darcy', 'if', 'you', 'suppose', 'that', 'the', 'mode', 'of', 'your', 'declaration', 'affected', 'me', 'in', 'any', 'other', 'way', 'than', 'as', 'it', 'spared', 'me', 'the', 'concern', 'which', 'i', 'might', 'have', 'felt', 'in', 'refusing', 'you', 'had', 'you', 'behaved', 'in', 'a', 'more', 'gentlemanlike', 'manner', 'she', 'saw', 'him', 'start', 'at', 'this', 'but', 'he', 'said', 'nothing', 'and', 'she', 'continued', 'you', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'made', 'the', 'offer', 'of', 'your', 'hand', 'in', 'any', 'possible', 'way', 'that', 'would', 'have', 'tempted', 'me', 'to', 'accept', 'it', 'again', 'his', 'astonishment', 'was', 'obvious', 'and', 'he', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'with', 'an', 'expression', 'of', 'mingled', 'incredulity', 'and', 'mortification', 'she', 'went', 'on', 'from', 'the', 'very', 'beginningfrom', 'the', 'first', 'moment', 'i', 'may', 'almost', 'sayof', 'my', 'acquaintance', 'with', 'you', 'your', 'manners', 'impressing', 'me', 'with', 'the', 'fullest', 'belief', 'of', 'your', 'arrogance', 'your', 'conceit', 'and', 'your', 'selfish', 'disdain', 'of', 'the', 'feelings', 'of', 'others', 'were', 'such', 'as', 'to', 'form', 'the', 'groundwork', 'of', 'disapprobation', 'on', 'which', 'succeeding', 'events', 'have', 'built', 'so', 'immovable', 'a', 'dislike', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'known', 'you', 'a', 'month', 'before', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'the', 'last', 'man', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'whom', 'i', 'could', 'ever', 'be', 'prevailed', 'on', 'to', 'marry', 'you', 'have', 'said', 'quite', 'enough', 'madam', 'i', 'perfectly', 'comprehend', 'your', 'feelings', 'and', 'have', 'now', 'only', 'to', 'be', 'ashamed', 'of', 'what', 'my', 'own', 'have', 'been', 'forgive', 'me', 'for', 'having', 'taken', 'up', 'so', 'much', 'of', 'your', 'time', 'and', 'accept', 'my', 'best', 'wishes', 'for', 'your', 'health', 'and', 'happiness', 'and', 'with', 'these', 'words', 'he', 'hastily', 'left', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'heard', 'him', 'the', 'next', 'moment', 'open', 'the', 'front', 'door', 'and', 'quit', 'the', 'house', 'the', 'tumult', 'of', 'her', 'mind', 'was', 'now', 'painfully', 'great', 'she', 'knew', 'not', 'how', 'to', 'support', 'herself', 'and', 'from', 'actual', 'weakness', 'sat', 'down', 'and', 'cried', 'for', 'halfanhour', 'her', 'astonishment', 'as', 'she', 'reflected', 'on', 'what', 'had', 'passed', 'was', 'increased', 'by', 'every', 'review', 'of', 'it', 'that', 'she', 'should', 'receive', 'an', 'offer', 'of', 'marriage', 'from', 'mr', 'darcy', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'have', 'been', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'her', 'for', 'so', 'many', 'months', 'so', 'much', 'in', 'love', 'as', 'to', 'wish', 'to', 'marry', 'her', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'objections', 'which', 'had', 'made', 'him', 'prevent', 'his', 'friends', 'marrying', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'which', 'must', 'appear', 'at', 'least', 'with', 'equal', 'force', 'in', 'his', 'own', 'casewas', 'almost', 'incredible', 'it', 'was', 'gratifying', 'to', 'have', 'inspired', 'unconsciously', 'so', 'strong', 'an', 'affection', 'but', 'his', 'pride', 'his', 'abominable', 'pridehis', 'shameless', 'avowal', 'of', 'what', 'he', 'had', 'done', 'with', 'respect', 'to', 'janehis', 'unpardonable', 'assurance', 'in', 'acknowledging', 'though', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'justify', 'it', 'and', 'the', 'unfeeling', 'manner', 'in', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'mentioned', 'mr', 'wickham', 'his', 'cruelty', 'towards', 'whom', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'attempted', 'to', 'deny', 'soon', 'overcame', 'the', 'pity', 'which', 'the', 'consideration', 'of', 'his', 'attachment', 'had', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'excited', 'she', 'continued', 'in', 'very', 'agitated', 'reflections', 'till', 'the', 'sound', 'of', 'lady', 'catherines', 'carriage', 'made', 'her', 'feel', 'how', 'unequal', 'she', 'was', 'to', 'encounter', 'charlottes', 'observation', 'and', 'hurried', 'her', 'away', 'to', 'her', 'room', 'elizabeth', 'awoke', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'to', 'the', 'same', 'thoughts', 'and', 'meditations', 'which', 'had', 'at', 'length', 'closed', 'her', 'eyes', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'yet', 'recover', 'from', 'the', 'surprise', 'of', 'what', 'had', 'happened', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'anything', 'else', 'and', 'totally', 'indisposed', 'for', 'employment', 'she', 'resolved', 'soon', 'after', 'breakfast', 'to', 'indulge', 'herself', 'in', 'air', 'and', 'exercise', 'she', 'was', 'proceeding', 'directly', 'to', 'her', 'favourite', 'walk', 'when', 'the', 'recollection', 'of', 'mr', 'darcys', 'sometimes', 'coming', 'there', 'stopped', 'her', 'and', 'instead', 'of', 'entering', 'the', 'park', 'she', 'turned', 'up', 'the', 'lane', 'which', 'led', 'farther', 'from', 'the', 'turnpikeroad', 'the', 'park', 'paling', 'was', 'still', 'the', 'boundary', 'on', 'one', 'side', 'and', 'she', 'soon', 'passed', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'gates', 'into', 'the', 'ground', 'after', 'walking', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'times', 'along', 'that', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'lane', 'she', 'was', 'tempted', 'by', 'the', 'pleasantness', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'to', 'stop', 'at', 'the', 'gates', 'and', 'look', 'into', 'the', 'park', 'the', 'five', 'weeks', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'now', 'passed', 'in', 'kent', 'had', 'made', 'a', 'great', 'difference', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'and', 'every', 'day', 'was', 'adding', 'to', 'the', 'verdure', 'of', 'the', 'early', 'trees', 'she', 'was', 'on', 'the', 'point', 'of', 'continuing', 'her', 'walk', 'when', 'she', 'caught', 'a', 'glimpse', 'of', 'a', 'gentleman', 'within', 'the', 'sort', 'of', 'grove', 'which', 'edged', 'the', 'park', 'he', 'was', 'moving', 'that', 'way', 'and', 'fearful', 'of', 'its', 'being', 'mr', 'darcy', 'she', 'was', 'directly', 'retreating', 'but', 'the', 'person', 'who', 'advanced', 'was', 'now', 'near', 'enough', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'and', 'stepping', 'forward', 'with', 'eagerness', 'pronounced', 'her', 'name', 'she', 'had', 'turned', 'away', 'but', 'on', 'hearing', 'herself', 'called', 'though', 'in', 'a', 'voice', 'which', 'proved', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'mr', 'darcy', 'she', 'moved', 'again', 'towards', 'the', 'gate', 'he', 'had', 'by', 'that', 'time', 'reached', 'it', 'also', 'and', 'holding', 'out', 'a', 'letter', 'which', 'she', 'instinctively', 'took', 'said', 'with', 'a', 'look', 'of', 'haughty', 'composure', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'walking', 'in', 'the', 'grove', 'some', 'time', 'in', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'meeting', 'you', 'will', 'you', 'do', 'me', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'reading', 'that', 'letter', 'and', 'then', 'with', 'a', 'slight', 'bow', 'turned', 'again', 'into', 'the', 'plantation', 'and', 'was', 'soon', 'out', 'of', 'sight', 'with', 'no', 'expectation', 'of', 'pleasure', 'but', 'with', 'the', 'strongest', 'curiosity', 'elizabeth', 'opened', 'the', 'letter', 'and', 'to', 'her', 'still', 'increasing', 'wonder', 'perceived', 'an', 'envelope', 'containing', 'two', 'sheets', 'of', 'letterpaper', 'written', 'quite', 'through', 'in', 'a', 'very', 'close', 'hand', 'the', 'envelope', 'itself', 'was', 'likewise', 'full', 'pursuing', 'her', 'way', 'along', 'the', 'lane', 'she', 'then', 'began', 'it', 'it', 'was', 'dated', 'from', 'rosings', 'at', 'eight', 'oclock', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'and', 'was', 'as', 'follows', 'be', 'not', 'alarmed', 'madam', 'on', 'receiving', 'this', 'letter', 'by', 'the', 'apprehension', 'of', 'its', 'containing', 'any', 'repetition', 'of', 'those', 'sentiments', 'or', 'renewal', 'of', 'those', 'offers', 'which', 'were', 'last', 'night', 'so', 'disgusting', 'to', 'you', 'i', 'write', 'without', 'any', 'intention', 'of', 'paining', 'you', 'or', 'humbling', 'myself', 'by', 'dwelling', 'on', 'wishes', 'which', 'for', 'the', 'happiness', 'of', 'both', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'too', 'soon', 'forgotten', 'and', 'the', 'effort', 'which', 'the', 'formation', 'and', 'the', 'perusal', 'of', 'this', 'letter', 'must', 'occasion', 'should', 'have', 'been', 'spared', 'had', 'not', 'my', 'character', 'required', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'written', 'and', 'read', 'you', 'must', 'therefore', 'pardon', 'the', 'freedom', 'with', 'which', 'i', 'demand', 'your', 'attention', 'your', 'feelings', 'i', 'know', 'will', 'bestow', 'it', 'unwillingly', 'but', 'i', 'demand', 'it', 'of', 'your', 'justice', 'two', 'offenses', 'of', 'a', 'very', 'different', 'nature', 'and', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'of', 'equal', 'magnitude', 'you', 'last', 'night', 'laid', 'to', 'my', 'charge', 'the', 'first', 'mentioned', 'was', 'that', 'regardless', 'of', 'the', 'sentiments', 'of', 'either', 'i', 'had', 'detached', 'mr', 'bingley', 'from', 'your', 'sister', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'in', 'defiance', 'of', 'various', 'claims', 'in', 'defiance', 'of', 'honour', 'and', 'humanity', 'ruined', 'the', 'immediate', 'prosperity', 'and', 'blasted', 'the', 'prospects', 'of', 'mr', 'wickham', 'wilfully', 'and', 'wantonly', 'to', 'have', 'thrown', 'off', 'the', 'companion', 'of', 'my', 'youth', 'the', 'acknowledged', 'favourite', 'of', 'my', 'father', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'who', 'had', 'scarcely', 'any', 'other', 'dependence', 'than', 'on', 'our', 'patronage', 'and', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'brought', 'up', 'to', 'expect', 'its', 'exertion', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'depravity', 'to', 'which', 'the', 'separation', 'of', 'two', 'young', 'persons', 'whose', 'affection', 'could', 'be', 'the', 'growth', 'of', 'only', 'a', 'few', 'weeks', 'could', 'bear', 'no', 'comparison', 'but', 'from', 'the', 'severity', 'of', 'that', 'blame', 'which', 'was', 'last', 'night', 'so', 'liberally', 'bestowed', 'respecting', 'each', 'circumstance', 'i', 'shall', 'hope', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'future', 'secured', 'when', 'the', 'following', 'account', 'of', 'my', 'actions', 'and', 'their', 'motives', 'has', 'been', 'read', 'if', 'in', 'the', 'explanation', 'of', 'them', 'which', 'is', 'due', 'to', 'myself', 'i', 'am', 'under', 'the', 'necessity', 'of', 'relating', 'feelings', 'which', 'may', 'be', 'offensive', 'to', 'yours', 'i', 'can', 'only', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'the', 'necessity', 'must', 'be', 'obeyed', 'and', 'further', 'apology', 'would', 'be', 'absurd', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'long', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'before', 'i', 'saw', 'in', 'common', 'with', 'others', 'that', 'bingley', 'preferred', 'your', 'elder', 'sister', 'to', 'any', 'other', 'young', 'woman', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'till', 'the', 'evening', 'of', 'the', 'dance', 'at', 'netherfield', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'any', 'apprehension', 'of', 'his', 'feeling', 'a', 'serious', 'attachment', 'i', 'had', 'often', 'seen', 'him', 'in', 'love', 'before', 'at', 'that', 'ball', 'while', 'i', 'had', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'dancing', 'with', 'you', 'i', 'was', 'first', 'made', 'acquainted', 'by', 'sir', 'william', 'lucass', 'accidental', 'information', 'that', 'bingleys', 'attentions', 'to', 'your', 'sister', 'had', 'given', 'rise', 'to', 'a', 'general', 'expectation', 'of', 'their', 'marriage', 'he', 'spoke', 'of', 'it', 'as', 'a', 'certain', 'event', 'of', 'which', 'the', 'time', 'alone', 'could', 'be', 'undecided', 'from', 'that', 'moment', 'i', 'observed', 'my', 'friends', 'behaviour', 'attentively', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'then', 'perceive', 'that', 'his', 'partiality', 'for', 'miss', 'bennet', 'was', 'beyond', 'what', 'i', 'had', 'ever', 'witnessed', 'in', 'him', 'your', 'sister', 'i', 'also', 'watched', 'her', 'look', 'and', 'manners', 'were', 'open', 'cheerful', 'and', 'engaging', 'as', 'ever', 'but', 'without', 'any', 'symptom', 'of', 'peculiar', 'regard', 'and', 'i', 'remained', 'convinced', 'from', 'the', 'evenings', 'scrutiny', 'that', 'though', 'she', 'received', 'his', 'attentions', 'with', 'pleasure', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'invite', 'them', 'by', 'any', 'participation', 'of', 'sentiment', 'if', 'you', 'have', 'not', 'been', 'mistaken', 'here', 'i', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'in', 'error', 'your', 'superior', 'knowledge', 'of', 'your', 'sister', 'must', 'make', 'the', 'latter', 'probable', 'if', 'it', 'be', 'so', 'if', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'misled', 'by', 'such', 'error', 'to', 'inflict', 'pain', 'on', 'her', 'your', 'resentment', 'has', 'not', 'been', 'unreasonable', 'but', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'scruple', 'to', 'assert', 'that', 'the', 'serenity', 'of', 'your', 'sisters', 'countenance', 'and', 'air', 'was', 'such', 'as', 'might', 'have', 'given', 'the', 'most', 'acute', 'observer', 'a', 'conviction', 'that', 'however', 'amiable', 'her', 'temper', 'her', 'heart', 'was', 'not', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'easily', 'touched', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'desirous', 'of', 'believing', 'her', 'indifferent', 'is', 'certainbut', 'i', 'will', 'venture', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'my', 'investigation', 'and', 'decisions', 'are', 'not', 'usually', 'influenced', 'by', 'my', 'hopes', 'or', 'fears', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'believe', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'indifferent', 'because', 'i', 'wished', 'it', 'i', 'believed', 'it', 'on', 'impartial', 'conviction', 'as', 'truly', 'as', 'i', 'wished', 'it', 'in', 'reason', 'my', 'objections', 'to', 'the', 'marriage', 'were', 'not', 'merely', 'those', 'which', 'i', 'last', 'night', 'acknowledged', 'to', 'have', 'required', 'the', 'utmost', 'force', 'of', 'passion', 'to', 'put', 'aside', 'in', 'my', 'own', 'case', 'the', 'want', 'of', 'connection', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'so', 'great', 'an', 'evil', 'to', 'my', 'friend', 'as', 'to', 'me', 'but', 'there', 'were', 'other', 'causes', 'of', 'repugnance', 'causes', 'which', 'though', 'still', 'existing', 'and', 'existing', 'to', 'an', 'equal', 'degree', 'in', 'both', 'instances', 'i', 'had', 'myself', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'forget', 'because', 'they', 'were', 'not', 'immediately', 'before', 'me', 'these', 'causes', 'must', 'be', 'stated', 'though', 'briefly', 'the', 'situation', 'of', 'your', 'mothers', 'family', 'though', 'objectionable', 'was', 'nothing', 'in', 'comparison', 'to', 'that', 'total', 'want', 'of', 'propriety', 'so', 'frequently', 'so', 'almost', 'uniformly', 'betrayed', 'by', 'herself', 'by', 'your', 'three', 'younger', 'sisters', 'and', 'occasionally', 'even', 'by', 'your', 'father', 'pardon', 'me', 'it', 'pains', 'me', 'to', 'offend', 'you', 'but', 'amidst', 'your', 'concern', 'for', 'the', 'defects', 'of', 'your', 'nearest', 'relations', 'and', 'your', 'displeasure', 'at', 'this', 'representation', 'of', 'them', 'let', 'it', 'give', 'you', 'consolation', 'to', 'consider', 'that', 'to', 'have', 'conducted', 'yourselves', 'so', 'as', 'to', 'avoid', 'any', 'share', 'of', 'the', 'like', 'censure', 'is', 'praise', 'no', 'less', 'generally', 'bestowed', 'on', 'you', 'and', 'your', 'elder', 'sister', 'than', 'it', 'is', 'honourable', 'to', 'the', 'sense', 'and', 'disposition', 'of', 'both', 'i', 'will', 'only', 'say', 'farther', 'that', 'from', 'what', 'passed', 'that', 'evening', 'my', 'opinion', 'of', 'all', 'parties', 'was', 'confirmed', 'and', 'every', 'inducement', 'heightened', 'which', 'could', 'have', 'led', 'me', 'before', 'to', 'preserve', 'my', 'friend', 'from', 'what', 'i', 'esteemed', 'a', 'most', 'unhappy', 'connection', 'he', 'left', 'netherfield', 'for', 'london', 'on', 'the', 'day', 'following', 'as', 'you', 'i', 'am', 'certain', 'remember', 'with', 'the', 'design', 'of', 'soon', 'returning', 'the', 'part', 'which', 'i', 'acted', 'is', 'now', 'to', 'be', 'explained', 'his', 'sisters', 'uneasiness', 'had', 'been', 'equally', 'excited', 'with', 'my', 'own', 'our', 'coincidence', 'of', 'feeling', 'was', 'soon', 'discovered', 'and', 'alike', 'sensible', 'that', 'no', 'time', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'lost', 'in', 'detaching', 'their', 'brother', 'we', 'shortly', 'resolved', 'on', 'joining', 'him', 'directly', 'in', 'london', 'we', 'accordingly', 'wentand', 'there', 'i', 'readily', 'engaged', 'in', 'the', 'office', 'of', 'pointing', 'out', 'to', 'my', 'friend', 'the', 'certain', 'evils', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'choice', 'i', 'described', 'and', 'enforced', 'them', 'earnestly', 'but', 'however', 'this', 'remonstrance', 'might', 'have', 'staggered', 'or', 'delayed', 'his', 'determination', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'suppose', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'ultimately', 'have', 'prevented', 'the', 'marriage', 'had', 'it', 'not', 'been', 'seconded', 'by', 'the', 'assurance', 'that', 'i', 'hesitated', 'not', 'in', 'giving', 'of', 'your', 'sisters', 'indifference', 'he', 'had', 'before', 'believed', 'her', 'to', 'return', 'his', 'affection', 'with', 'sincere', 'if', 'not', 'with', 'equal', 'regard', 'but', 'bingley', 'has', 'great', 'natural', 'modesty', 'with', 'a', 'stronger', 'dependence', 'on', 'my', 'judgement', 'than', 'on', 'his', 'own', 'to', 'convince', 'him', 'therefore', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'deceived', 'himself', 'was', 'no', 'very', 'difficult', 'point', 'to', 'persuade', 'him', 'against', 'returning', 'into', 'hertfordshire', 'when', 'that', 'conviction', 'had', 'been', 'given', 'was', 'scarcely', 'the', 'work', 'of', 'a', 'moment', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'blame', 'myself', 'for', 'having', 'done', 'thus', 'much', 'there', 'is', 'but', 'one', 'part', 'of', 'my', 'conduct', 'in', 'the', 'whole', 'affair', 'on', 'which', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'reflect', 'with', 'satisfaction', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'i', 'condescended', 'to', 'adopt', 'the', 'measures', 'of', 'art', 'so', 'far', 'as', 'to', 'conceal', 'from', 'him', 'your', 'sisters', 'being', 'in', 'town', 'i', 'knew', 'it', 'myself', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'known', 'to', 'miss', 'bingley', 'but', 'her', 'brother', 'is', 'even', 'yet', 'ignorant', 'of', 'it', 'that', 'they', 'might', 'have', 'met', 'without', 'ill', 'consequence', 'is', 'perhaps', 'probable', 'but', 'his', 'regard', 'did', 'not', 'appear', 'to', 'me', 'enough', 'extinguished', 'for', 'him', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'without', 'some', 'danger', 'perhaps', 'this', 'concealment', 'this', 'disguise', 'was', 'beneath', 'me', 'it', 'is', 'done', 'however', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'done', 'for', 'the', 'best', 'on', 'this', 'subject', 'i', 'have', 'nothing', 'more', 'to', 'say', 'no', 'other', 'apology', 'to', 'offer', 'if', 'i', 'have', 'wounded', 'your', 'sisters', 'feelings', 'it', 'was', 'unknowingly', 'done', 'and', 'though', 'the', 'motives', 'which', 'governed', 'me', 'may', 'to', 'you', 'very', 'naturally', 'appear', 'insufficient', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'yet', 'learnt', 'to', 'condemn', 'them', 'with', 'respect', 'to', 'that', 'other', 'more', 'weighty', 'accusation', 'of', 'having', 'injured', 'mr', 'wickham', 'i', 'can', 'only', 'refute', 'it', 'by', 'laying', 'before', 'you', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'his', 'connection', 'with', 'my', 'family', 'of', 'what', 'he', 'has', 'particularly', 'accused', 'me', 'i', 'am', 'ignorant', 'but', 'of', 'the', 'truth', 'of', 'what', 'i', 'shall', 'relate', 'i', 'can', 'summon', 'more', 'than', 'one', 'witness', 'of', 'undoubted', 'veracity', 'mr', 'wickham', 'is', 'the', 'son', 'of', 'a', 'very', 'respectable', 'man', 'who', 'had', 'for', 'many', 'years', 'the', 'management', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'pemberley', 'estates', 'and', 'whose', 'good', 'conduct', 'in', 'the', 'discharge', 'of', 'his', 'trust', 'naturally', 'inclined', 'my', 'father', 'to', 'be', 'of', 'service', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'on', 'george', 'wickham', 'who', 'was', 'his', 'godson', 'his', 'kindness', 'was', 'therefore', 'liberally', 'bestowed', 'my', 'father', 'supported', 'him', 'at', 'school', 'and', 'afterwards', 'at', 'cambridgemost', 'important', 'assistance', 'as', 'his', 'own', 'father', 'always', 'poor', 'from', 'the', 'extravagance', 'of', 'his', 'wife', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'unable', 'to', 'give', 'him', 'a', 'gentlemans', 'education', 'my', 'father', 'was', 'not', 'only', 'fond', 'of', 'this', 'young', 'mans', 'society', 'whose', 'manners', 'were', 'always', 'engaging', 'he', 'had', 'also', 'the', 'highest', 'opinion', 'of', 'him', 'and', 'hoping', 'the', 'church', 'would', 'be', 'his', 'profession', 'intended', 'to', 'provide', 'for', 'him', 'in', 'it', 'as', 'for', 'myself', 'it', 'is', 'many', 'many', 'years', 'since', 'i', 'first', 'began', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'him', 'in', 'a', 'very', 'different', 'manner', 'the', 'vicious', 'propensitiesthe', 'want', 'of', 'principle', 'which', 'he', 'was', 'careful', 'to', 'guard', 'from', 'the', 'knowledge', 'of', 'his', 'best', 'friend', 'could', 'not', 'escape', 'the', 'observation', 'of', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'of', 'nearly', 'the', 'same', 'age', 'with', 'himself', 'and', 'who', 'had', 'opportunities', 'of', 'seeing', 'him', 'in', 'unguarded', 'moments', 'which', 'mr', 'darcy', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'here', 'again', 'i', 'shall', 'give', 'you', 'painto', 'what', 'degree', 'you', 'only', 'can', 'tell', 'but', 'whatever', 'may', 'be', 'the', 'sentiments', 'which', 'mr', 'wickham', 'has', 'created', 'a', 'suspicion', 'of', 'their', 'nature', 'shall', 'not', 'prevent', 'me', 'from', 'unfolding', 'his', 'real', 'characterit', 'adds', 'even', 'another', 'motive', 'my', 'excellent', 'father', 'died', 'about', 'five', 'years', 'ago', 'and', 'his', 'attachment', 'to', 'mr', 'wickham', 'was', 'to', 'the', 'last', 'so', 'steady', 'that', 'in', 'his', 'will', 'he', 'particularly', 'recommended', 'it', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'promote', 'his', 'advancement', 'in', 'the', 'best', 'manner', 'that', 'his', 'profession', 'might', 'allowand', 'if', 'he', 'took', 'orders', 'desired', 'that', 'a', 'valuable', 'family', 'living', 'might', 'be', 'his', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'it', 'became', 'vacant', 'there', 'was', 'also', 'a', 'legacy', 'of', 'one', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'his', 'own', 'father', 'did', 'not', 'long', 'survive', 'mine', 'and', 'within', 'half', 'a', 'year', 'from', 'these', 'events', 'mr', 'wickham', 'wrote', 'to', 'inform', 'me', 'that', 'having', 'finally', 'resolved', 'against', 'taking', 'orders', 'he', 'hoped', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'think', 'it', 'unreasonable', 'for', 'him', 'to', 'expect', 'some', 'more', 'immediate', 'pecuniary', 'advantage', 'in', 'lieu', 'of', 'the', 'preferment', 'by', 'which', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'benefited', 'he', 'had', 'some', 'intention', 'he', 'added', 'of', 'studying', 'law', 'and', 'i', 'must', 'be', 'aware', 'that', 'the', 'interest', 'of', 'one', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'very', 'insufficient', 'support', 'therein', 'i', 'rather', 'wished', 'than', 'believed', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'sincere', 'but', 'at', 'any', 'rate', 'was', 'perfectly', 'ready', 'to', 'accede', 'to', 'his', 'proposal', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'mr', 'wickham', 'ought', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'clergyman', 'the', 'business', 'was', 'therefore', 'soon', 'settledhe', 'resigned', 'all', 'claim', 'to', 'assistance', 'in', 'the', 'church', 'were', 'it', 'possible', 'that', 'he', 'could', 'ever', 'be', 'in', 'a', 'situation', 'to', 'receive', 'it', 'and', 'accepted', 'in', 'return', 'three', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'all', 'connection', 'between', 'us', 'seemed', 'now', 'dissolved', 'i', 'thought', 'too', 'ill', 'of', 'him', 'to', 'invite', 'him', 'to', 'pemberley', 'or', 'admit', 'his', 'society', 'in', 'town', 'in', 'town', 'i', 'believe', 'he', 'chiefly', 'lived', 'but', 'his', 'studying', 'the', 'law', 'was', 'a', 'mere', 'pretence', 'and', 'being', 'now', 'free', 'from', 'all', 'restraint', 'his', 'life', 'was', 'a', 'life', 'of', 'idleness', 'and', 'dissipation', 'for', 'about', 'three', 'years', 'i', 'heard', 'little', 'of', 'him', 'but', 'on', 'the', 'decease', 'of', 'the', 'incumbent', 'of', 'the', 'living', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'designed', 'for', 'him', 'he', 'applied', 'to', 'me', 'again', 'by', 'letter', 'for', 'the', 'presentation', 'his', 'circumstances', 'he', 'assured', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'difficulty', 'in', 'believing', 'it', 'were', 'exceedingly', 'bad', 'he', 'had', 'found', 'the', 'law', 'a', 'most', 'unprofitable', 'study', 'and', 'was', 'now', 'absolutely', 'resolved', 'on', 'being', 'ordained', 'if', 'i', 'would', 'present', 'him', 'to', 'the', 'living', 'in', 'questionof', 'which', 'he', 'trusted', 'there', 'could', 'be', 'little', 'doubt', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'well', 'assured', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'other', 'person', 'to', 'provide', 'for', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'forgotten', 'my', 'revered', 'fathers', 'intentions', 'you', 'will', 'hardly', 'blame', 'me', 'for', 'refusing', 'to', 'comply', 'with', 'this', 'entreaty', 'or', 'for', 'resisting', 'every', 'repetition', 'to', 'it', 'his', 'resentment', 'was', 'in', 'proportion', 'to', 'the', 'distress', 'of', 'his', 'circumstancesand', 'he', 'was', 'doubtless', 'as', 'violent', 'in', 'his', 'abuse', 'of', 'me', 'to', 'others', 'as', 'in', 'his', 'reproaches', 'to', 'myself', 'after', 'this', 'period', 'every', 'appearance', 'of', 'acquaintance', 'was', 'dropped', 'how', 'he', 'lived', 'i', 'know', 'not', 'but', 'last', 'summer', 'he', 'was', 'again', 'most', 'painfully', 'obtruded', 'on', 'my', 'notice', 'i', 'must', 'now', 'mention', 'a', 'circumstance', 'which', 'i', 'would', 'wish', 'to', 'forget', 'myself', 'and', 'which', 'no', 'obligation', 'less', 'than', 'the', 'present', 'should', 'induce', 'me', 'to', 'unfold', 'to', 'any', 'human', 'being', 'having', 'said', 'thus', 'much', 'i', 'feel', 'no', 'doubt', 'of', 'your', 'secrecy', 'my', 'sister', 'who', 'is', 'more', 'than', 'ten', 'years', 'my', 'junior', 'was', 'left', 'to', 'the', 'guardianship', 'of', 'my', 'mothers', 'nephew', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'and', 'myself', 'about', 'a', 'year', 'ago', 'she', 'was', 'taken', 'from', 'school', 'and', 'an', 'establishment', 'formed', 'for', 'her', 'in', 'london', 'and', 'last', 'summer', 'she', 'went', 'with', 'the', 'lady', 'who', 'presided', 'over', 'it', 'to', 'ramsgate', 'and', 'thither', 'also', 'went', 'mr', 'wickham', 'undoubtedly', 'by', 'design', 'for', 'there', 'proved', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'prior', 'acquaintance', 'between', 'him', 'and', 'mrs', 'younge', 'in', 'whose', 'character', 'we', 'were', 'most', 'unhappily', 'deceived', 'and', 'by', 'her', 'connivance', 'and', 'aid', 'he', 'so', 'far', 'recommended', 'himself', 'to', 'georgiana', 'whose', 'affectionate', 'heart', 'retained', 'a', 'strong', 'impression', 'of', 'his', 'kindness', 'to', 'her', 'as', 'a', 'child', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'persuaded', 'to', 'believe', 'herself', 'in', 'love', 'and', 'to', 'consent', 'to', 'an', 'elopement', 'she', 'was', 'then', 'but', 'fifteen', 'which', 'must', 'be', 'her', 'excuse', 'and', 'after', 'stating', 'her', 'imprudence', 'i', 'am', 'happy', 'to', 'add', 'that', 'i', 'owed', 'the', 'knowledge', 'of', 'it', 'to', 'herself', 'i', 'joined', 'them', 'unexpectedly', 'a', 'day', 'or', 'two', 'before', 'the', 'intended', 'elopement', 'and', 'then', 'georgiana', 'unable', 'to', 'support', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'grieving', 'and', 'offending', 'a', 'brother', 'whom', 'she', 'almost', 'looked', 'up', 'to', 'as', 'a', 'father', 'acknowledged', 'the', 'whole', 'to', 'me', 'you', 'may', 'imagine', 'what', 'i', 'felt', 'and', 'how', 'i', 'acted', 'regard', 'for', 'my', 'sisters', 'credit', 'and', 'feelings', 'prevented', 'any', 'public', 'exposure', 'but', 'i', 'wrote', 'to', 'mr', 'wickham', 'who', 'left', 'the', 'place', 'immediately', 'and', 'mrs', 'younge', 'was', 'of', 'course', 'removed', 'from', 'her', 'charge', 'mr', 'wickhams', 'chief', 'object', 'was', 'unquestionably', 'my', 'sisters', 'fortune', 'which', 'is', 'thirty', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'help', 'supposing', 'that', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'revenging', 'himself', 'on', 'me', 'was', 'a', 'strong', 'inducement', 'his', 'revenge', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'complete', 'indeed', 'this', 'madam', 'is', 'a', 'faithful', 'narrative', 'of', 'every', 'event', 'in', 'which', 'we', 'have', 'been', 'concerned', 'together', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'absolutely', 'reject', 'it', 'as', 'false', 'you', 'will', 'i', 'hope', 'acquit', 'me', 'henceforth', 'of', 'cruelty', 'towards', 'mr', 'wickham', 'i', 'know', 'not', 'in', 'what', 'manner', 'under', 'what', 'form', 'of', 'falsehood', 'he', 'had', 'imposed', 'on', 'you', 'but', 'his', 'success', 'is', 'not', 'perhaps', 'to', 'be', 'wondered', 'at', 'ignorant', 'as', 'you', 'previously', 'were', 'of', 'everything', 'concerning', 'either', 'detection', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'in', 'your', 'power', 'and', 'suspicion', 'certainly', 'not', 'in', 'your', 'inclination', 'you', 'may', 'possibly', 'wonder', 'why', 'all', 'this', 'was', 'not', 'told', 'you', 'last', 'night', 'but', 'i', 'was', 'not', 'then', 'master', 'enough', 'of', 'myself', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'could', 'or', 'ought', 'to', 'be', 'revealed', 'for', 'the', 'truth', 'of', 'everything', 'here', 'related', 'i', 'can', 'appeal', 'more', 'particularly', 'to', 'the', 'testimony', 'of', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'who', 'from', 'our', 'near', 'relationship', 'and', 'constant', 'intimacy', 'and', 'still', 'more', 'as', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'executors', 'of', 'my', 'fathers', 'will', 'has', 'been', 'unavoidably', 'acquainted', 'with', 'every', 'particular', 'of', 'these', 'transactions', 'if', 'your', 'abhorrence', 'of', 'me', 'should', 'make', 'my', 'assertions', 'valueless', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'prevented', 'by', 'the', 'same', 'cause', 'from', 'confiding', 'in', 'my', 'cousin', 'and', 'that', 'there', 'may', 'be', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'consulting', 'him', 'i', 'shall', 'endeavour', 'to', 'find', 'some', 'opportunity', 'of', 'putting', 'this', 'letter', 'in', 'your', 'hands', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'i', 'will', 'only', 'add', 'god', 'bless', 'you', 'fitzwilliam', 'darcy', 'if', 'elizabeth', 'when', 'mr', 'darcy', 'gave', 'her', 'the', 'letter', 'did', 'not', 'expect', 'it', 'to', 'contain', 'a', 'renewal', 'of', 'his', 'offers', 'she', 'had', 'formed', 'no', 'expectation', 'at', 'all', 'of', 'its', 'contents', 'but', 'such', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'it', 'may', 'well', 'be', 'supposed', 'how', 'eagerly', 'she', 'went', 'through', 'them', 'and', 'what', 'a', 'contrariety', 'of', 'emotion', 'they', 'excited', 'her', 'feelings', 'as', 'she', 'read', 'were', 'scarcely', 'to', 'be', 'defined', 'with', 'amazement', 'did', 'she', 'first', 'understand', 'that', 'he', 'believed', 'any', 'apology', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'his', 'power', 'and', 'steadfastly', 'was', 'she', 'persuaded', 'that', 'he', 'could', 'have', 'no', 'explanation', 'to', 'give', 'which', 'a', 'just', 'sense', 'of', 'shame', 'would', 'not', 'conceal', 'with', 'a', 'strong', 'prejudice', 'against', 'everything', 'he', 'might', 'say', 'she', 'began', 'his', 'account', 'of', 'what', 'had', 'happened', 'at', 'netherfield', 'she', 'read', 'with', 'an', 'eagerness', 'which', 'hardly', 'left', 'her', 'power', 'of', 'comprehension', 'and', 'from', 'impatience', 'of', 'knowing', 'what', 'the', 'next', 'sentence', 'might', 'bring', 'was', 'incapable', 'of', 'attending', 'to', 'the', 'sense', 'of', 'the', 'one', 'before', 'her', 'eyes', 'his', 'belief', 'of', 'her', 'sisters', 'insensibility', 'she', 'instantly', 'resolved', 'to', 'be', 'false', 'and', 'his', 'account', 'of', 'the', 'real', 'the', 'worst', 'objections', 'to', 'the', 'match', 'made', 'her', 'too', 'angry', 'to', 'have', 'any', 'wish', 'of', 'doing', 'him', 'justice', 'he', 'expressed', 'no', 'regret', 'for', 'what', 'he', 'had', 'done', 'which', 'satisfied', 'her', 'his', 'style', 'was', 'not', 'penitent', 'but', 'haughty', 'it', 'was', 'all', 'pride', 'and', 'insolence', 'but', 'when', 'this', 'subject', 'was', 'succeeded', 'by', 'his', 'account', 'of', 'mr', 'wickhamwhen', 'she', 'read', 'with', 'somewhat', 'clearer', 'attention', 'a', 'relation', 'of', 'events', 'which', 'if', 'true', 'must', 'overthrow', 'every', 'cherished', 'opinion', 'of', 'his', 'worth', 'and', 'which', 'bore', 'so', 'alarming', 'an', 'affinity', 'to', 'his', 'own', 'history', 'of', 'himselfher', 'feelings', 'were', 'yet', 'more', 'acutely', 'painful', 'and', 'more', 'difficult', 'of', 'definition', 'astonishment', 'apprehension', 'and', 'even', 'horror', 'oppressed', 'her', 'she', 'wished', 'to', 'discredit', 'it', 'entirely', 'repeatedly', 'exclaiming', 'this', 'must', 'be', 'false', 'this', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'this', 'must', 'be', 'the', 'grossest', 'falsehoodand', 'when', 'she', 'had', 'gone', 'through', 'the', 'whole', 'letter', 'though', 'scarcely', 'knowing', 'anything', 'of', 'the', 'last', 'page', 'or', 'two', 'put', 'it', 'hastily', 'away', 'protesting', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'regard', 'it', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'never', 'look', 'in', 'it', 'again', 'in', 'this', 'perturbed', 'state', 'of', 'mind', 'with', 'thoughts', 'that', 'could', 'rest', 'on', 'nothing', 'she', 'walked', 'on', 'but', 'it', 'would', 'not', 'do', 'in', 'half', 'a', 'minute', 'the', 'letter', 'was', 'unfolded', 'again', 'and', 'collecting', 'herself', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'she', 'again', 'began', 'the', 'mortifying', 'perusal', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'related', 'to', 'wickham', 'and', 'commanded', 'herself', 'so', 'far', 'as', 'to', 'examine', 'the', 'meaning', 'of', 'every', 'sentence', 'the', 'account', 'of', 'his', 'connection', 'with', 'the', 'pemberley', 'family', 'was', 'exactly', 'what', 'he', 'had', 'related', 'himself', 'and', 'the', 'kindness', 'of', 'the', 'late', 'mr', 'darcy', 'though', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'before', 'known', 'its', 'extent', 'agreed', 'equally', 'well', 'with', 'his', 'own', 'words', 'so', 'far', 'each', 'recital', 'confirmed', 'the', 'other', 'but', 'when', 'she', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'will', 'the', 'difference', 'was', 'great', 'what', 'wickham', 'had', 'said', 'of', 'the', 'living', 'was', 'fresh', 'in', 'her', 'memory', 'and', 'as', 'she', 'recalled', 'his', 'very', 'words', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'not', 'to', 'feel', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'gross', 'duplicity', 'on', 'one', 'side', 'or', 'the', 'other', 'and', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'she', 'flattered', 'herself', 'that', 'her', 'wishes', 'did', 'not', 'err', 'but', 'when', 'she', 'read', 'and', 'reread', 'with', 'the', 'closest', 'attention', 'the', 'particulars', 'immediately', 'following', 'of', 'wickhams', 'resigning', 'all', 'pretensions', 'to', 'the', 'living', 'of', 'his', 'receiving', 'in', 'lieu', 'so', 'considerable', 'a', 'sum', 'as', 'three', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'again', 'was', 'she', 'forced', 'to', 'hesitate', 'she', 'put', 'down', 'the', 'letter', 'weighed', 'every', 'circumstance', 'with', 'what', 'she', 'meant', 'to', 'be', 'impartialitydeliberated', 'on', 'the', 'probability', 'of', 'each', 'statementbut', 'with', 'little', 'success', 'on', 'both', 'sides', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'assertion', 'again', 'she', 'read', 'on', 'but', 'every', 'line', 'proved', 'more', 'clearly', 'that', 'the', 'affair', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'believed', 'it', 'impossible', 'that', 'any', 'contrivance', 'could', 'so', 'represent', 'as', 'to', 'render', 'mr', 'darcys', 'conduct', 'in', 'it', 'less', 'than', 'infamous', 'was', 'capable', 'of', 'a', 'turn', 'which', 'must', 'make', 'him', 'entirely', 'blameless', 'throughout', 'the', 'whole', 'the', 'extravagance', 'and', 'general', 'profligacy', 'which', 'he', 'scrupled', 'not', 'to', 'lay', 'at', 'mr', 'wickhams', 'charge', 'exceedingly', 'shocked', 'her', 'the', 'more', 'so', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'bring', 'no', 'proof', 'of', 'its', 'injustice', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'heard', 'of', 'him', 'before', 'his', 'entrance', 'into', 'the', 'shire', 'militia', 'in', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'engaged', 'at', 'the', 'persuasion', 'of', 'the', 'young', 'man', 'who', 'on', 'meeting', 'him', 'accidentally', 'in', 'town', 'had', 'there', 'renewed', 'a', 'slight', 'acquaintance', 'of', 'his', 'former', 'way', 'of', 'life', 'nothing', 'had', 'been', 'known', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'but', 'what', 'he', 'told', 'himself', 'as', 'to', 'his', 'real', 'character', 'had', 'information', 'been', 'in', 'her', 'power', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'felt', 'a', 'wish', 'of', 'enquiring', 'his', 'countenance', 'voice', 'and', 'manner', 'had', 'established', 'him', 'at', 'once', 'in', 'the', 'possession', 'of', 'every', 'virtue', 'she', 'tried', 'to', 'recollect', 'some', 'instance', 'of', 'goodness', 'some', 'distinguished', 'trait', 'of', 'integrity', 'or', 'benevolence', 'that', 'might', 'rescue', 'him', 'from', 'the', 'attacks', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'or', 'at', 'least', 'by', 'the', 'predominance', 'of', 'virtue', 'atone', 'for', 'those', 'casual', 'errors', 'under', 'which', 'she', 'would', 'endeavour', 'to', 'class', 'what', 'mr', 'darcy', 'had', 'described', 'as', 'the', 'idleness', 'and', 'vice', 'of', 'many', 'years', 'continuance', 'but', 'no', 'such', 'recollection', 'befriended', 'her', 'she', 'could', 'see', 'him', 'instantly', 'before', 'her', 'in', 'every', 'charm', 'of', 'air', 'and', 'address', 'but', 'she', 'could', 'remember', 'no', 'more', 'substantial', 'good', 'than', 'the', 'general', 'approbation', 'of', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'and', 'the', 'regard', 'which', 'his', 'social', 'powers', 'had', 'gained', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'mess', 'after', 'pausing', 'on', 'this', 'point', 'a', 'considerable', 'while', 'she', 'once', 'more', 'continued', 'to', 'read', 'but', 'alas', 'the', 'story', 'which', 'followed', 'of', 'his', 'designs', 'on', 'miss', 'darcy', 'received', 'some', 'confirmation', 'from', 'what', 'had', 'passed', 'between', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'and', 'herself', 'only', 'the', 'morning', 'before', 'and', 'at', 'last', 'she', 'was', 'referred', 'for', 'the', 'truth', 'of', 'every', 'particular', 'to', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'himselffrom', 'whom', 'she', 'had', 'previously', 'received', 'the', 'information', 'of', 'his', 'near', 'concern', 'in', 'all', 'his', 'cousins', 'affairs', 'and', 'whose', 'character', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'reason', 'to', 'question', 'at', 'one', 'time', 'she', 'had', 'almost', 'resolved', 'on', 'applying', 'to', 'him', 'but', 'the', 'idea', 'was', 'checked', 'by', 'the', 'awkwardness', 'of', 'the', 'application', 'and', 'at', 'length', 'wholly', 'banished', 'by', 'the', 'conviction', 'that', 'mr', 'darcy', 'would', 'never', 'have', 'hazarded', 'such', 'a', 'proposal', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'well', 'assured', 'of', 'his', 'cousins', 'corroboration', 'she', 'perfectly', 'remembered', 'everything', 'that', 'had', 'passed', 'in', 'conversation', 'between', 'wickham', 'and', 'herself', 'in', 'their', 'first', 'evening', 'at', 'mr', 'phillipss', 'many', 'of', 'his', 'expressions', 'were', 'still', 'fresh', 'in', 'her', 'memory', 'she', 'was', 'now', 'struck', 'with', 'the', 'impropriety', 'of', 'such', 'communications', 'to', 'a', 'stranger', 'and', 'wondered', 'it', 'had', 'escaped', 'her', 'before', 'she', 'saw', 'the', 'indelicacy', 'of', 'putting', 'himself', 'forward', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'done', 'and', 'the', 'inconsistency', 'of', 'his', 'professions', 'with', 'his', 'conduct', 'she', 'remembered', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'boasted', 'of', 'having', 'no', 'fear', 'of', 'seeing', 'mr', 'darcythat', 'mr', 'darcy', 'might', 'leave', 'the', 'country', 'but', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'stand', 'his', 'ground', 'yet', 'he', 'had', 'avoided', 'the', 'netherfield', 'ball', 'the', 'very', 'next', 'week', 'she', 'remembered', 'also', 'that', 'till', 'the', 'netherfield', 'family', 'had', 'quitted', 'the', 'country', 'he', 'had', 'told', 'his', 'story', 'to', 'no', 'one', 'but', 'herself', 'but', 'that', 'after', 'their', 'removal', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'everywhere', 'discussed', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'then', 'no', 'reserves', 'no', 'scruples', 'in', 'sinking', 'mr', 'darcys', 'character', 'though', 'he', 'had', 'assured', 'her', 'that', 'respect', 'for', 'the', 'father', 'would', 'always', 'prevent', 'his', 'exposing', 'the', 'son', 'how', 'differently', 'did', 'everything', 'now', 'appear', 'in', 'which', 'he', 'was', 'concerned', 'his', 'attentions', 'to', 'miss', 'king', 'were', 'now', 'the', 'consequence', 'of', 'views', 'solely', 'and', 'hatefully', 'mercenary', 'and', 'the', 'mediocrity', 'of', 'her', 'fortune', 'proved', 'no', 'longer', 'the', 'moderation', 'of', 'his', 'wishes', 'but', 'his', 'eagerness', 'to', 'grasp', 'at', 'anything', 'his', 'behaviour', 'to', 'herself', 'could', 'now', 'have', 'had', 'no', 'tolerable', 'motive', 'he', 'had', 'either', 'been', 'deceived', 'with', 'regard', 'to', 'her', 'fortune', 'or', 'had', 'been', 'gratifying', 'his', 'vanity', 'by', 'encouraging', 'the', 'preference', 'which', 'she', 'believed', 'she', 'had', 'most', 'incautiously', 'shown', 'every', 'lingering', 'struggle', 'in', 'his', 'favour', 'grew', 'fainter', 'and', 'fainter', 'and', 'in', 'farther', 'justification', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'but', 'allow', 'that', 'mr', 'bingley', 'when', 'questioned', 'by', 'jane', 'had', 'long', 'ago', 'asserted', 'his', 'blamelessness', 'in', 'the', 'affair', 'that', 'proud', 'and', 'repulsive', 'as', 'were', 'his', 'manners', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'in', 'the', 'whole', 'course', 'of', 'their', 'acquaintancean', 'acquaintance', 'which', 'had', 'latterly', 'brought', 'them', 'much', 'together', 'and', 'given', 'her', 'a', 'sort', 'of', 'intimacy', 'with', 'his', 'waysseen', 'anything', 'that', 'betrayed', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'unprincipled', 'or', 'unjustanything', 'that', 'spoke', 'him', 'of', 'irreligious', 'or', 'immoral', 'habits', 'that', 'among', 'his', 'own', 'connections', 'he', 'was', 'esteemed', 'and', 'valuedthat', 'even', 'wickham', 'had', 'allowed', 'him', 'merit', 'as', 'a', 'brother', 'and', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'often', 'heard', 'him', 'speak', 'so', 'affectionately', 'of', 'his', 'sister', 'as', 'to', 'prove', 'him', 'capable', 'of', 'some', 'amiable', 'feeling', 'that', 'had', 'his', 'actions', 'been', 'what', 'mr', 'wickham', 'represented', 'them', 'so', 'gross', 'a', 'violation', 'of', 'everything', 'right', 'could', 'hardly', 'have', 'been', 'concealed', 'from', 'the', 'world', 'and', 'that', 'friendship', 'between', 'a', 'person', 'capable', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'such', 'an', 'amiable', 'man', 'as', 'mr', 'bingley', 'was', 'incomprehensible', 'she', 'grew', 'absolutely', 'ashamed', 'of', 'herself', 'of', 'neither', 'darcy', 'nor', 'wickham', 'could', 'she', 'think', 'without', 'feeling', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'blind', 'partial', 'prejudiced', 'absurd', 'how', 'despicably', 'i', 'have', 'acted', 'she', 'cried', 'i', 'who', 'have', 'prided', 'myself', 'on', 'my', 'discernment', 'i', 'who', 'have', 'valued', 'myself', 'on', 'my', 'abilities', 'who', 'have', 'often', 'disdained', 'the', 'generous', 'candour', 'of', 'my', 'sister', 'and', 'gratified', 'my', 'vanity', 'in', 'useless', 'or', 'blameable', 'mistrust', 'how', 'humiliating', 'is', 'this', 'discovery', 'yet', 'how', 'just', 'a', 'humiliation', 'had', 'i', 'been', 'in', 'love', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'more', 'wretchedly', 'blind', 'but', 'vanity', 'not', 'love', 'has', 'been', 'my', 'folly', 'pleased', 'with', 'the', 'preference', 'of', 'one', 'and', 'offended', 'by', 'the', 'neglect', 'of', 'the', 'other', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'beginning', 'of', 'our', 'acquaintance', 'i', 'have', 'courted', 'prepossession', 'and', 'ignorance', 'and', 'driven', 'reason', 'away', 'where', 'either', 'were', 'concerned', 'till', 'this', 'moment', 'i', 'never', 'knew', 'myself', 'from', 'herself', 'to', 'janefrom', 'jane', 'to', 'bingley', 'her', 'thoughts', 'were', 'in', 'a', 'line', 'which', 'soon', 'brought', 'to', 'her', 'recollection', 'that', 'mr', 'darcys', 'explanation', 'there', 'had', 'appeared', 'very', 'insufficient', 'and', 'she', 'read', 'it', 'again', 'widely', 'different', 'was', 'the', 'effect', 'of', 'a', 'second', 'perusal', 'how', 'could', 'she', 'deny', 'that', 'credit', 'to', 'his', 'assertions', 'in', 'one', 'instance', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'obliged', 'to', 'give', 'in', 'the', 'other', 'he', 'declared', 'himself', 'to', 'be', 'totally', 'unsuspicious', 'of', 'her', 'sisters', 'attachment', 'and', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'remembering', 'what', 'charlottes', 'opinion', 'had', 'always', 'been', 'neither', 'could', 'she', 'deny', 'the', 'justice', 'of', 'his', 'description', 'of', 'jane', 'she', 'felt', 'that', 'janes', 'feelings', 'though', 'fervent', 'were', 'little', 'displayed', 'and', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'constant', 'complacency', 'in', 'her', 'air', 'and', 'manner', 'not', 'often', 'united', 'with', 'great', 'sensibility', 'when', 'she', 'came', 'to', 'that', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'letter', 'in', 'which', 'her', 'family', 'were', 'mentioned', 'in', 'terms', 'of', 'such', 'mortifying', 'yet', 'merited', 'reproach', 'her', 'sense', 'of', 'shame', 'was', 'severe', 'the', 'justice', 'of', 'the', 'charge', 'struck', 'her', 'too', 'forcibly', 'for', 'denial', 'and', 'the', 'circumstances', 'to', 'which', 'he', 'particularly', 'alluded', 'as', 'having', 'passed', 'at', 'the', 'netherfield', 'ball', 'and', 'as', 'confirming', 'all', 'his', 'first', 'disapprobation', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'made', 'a', 'stronger', 'impression', 'on', 'his', 'mind', 'than', 'on', 'hers', 'the', 'compliment', 'to', 'herself', 'and', 'her', 'sister', 'was', 'not', 'unfelt', 'it', 'soothed', 'but', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'console', 'her', 'for', 'the', 'contempt', 'which', 'had', 'thus', 'been', 'selfattracted', 'by', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'her', 'family', 'and', 'as', 'she', 'considered', 'that', 'janes', 'disappointment', 'had', 'in', 'fact', 'been', 'the', 'work', 'of', 'her', 'nearest', 'relations', 'and', 'reflected', 'how', 'materially', 'the', 'credit', 'of', 'both', 'must', 'be', 'hurt', 'by', 'such', 'impropriety', 'of', 'conduct', 'she', 'felt', 'depressed', 'beyond', 'anything', 'she', 'had', 'ever', 'known', 'before', 'after', 'wandering', 'along', 'the', 'lane', 'for', 'two', 'hours', 'giving', 'way', 'to', 'every', 'variety', 'of', 'thoughtreconsidering', 'events', 'determining', 'probabilities', 'and', 'reconciling', 'herself', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'to', 'a', 'change', 'so', 'sudden', 'and', 'so', 'important', 'fatigue', 'and', 'a', 'recollection', 'of', 'her', 'long', 'absence', 'made', 'her', 'at', 'length', 'return', 'home', 'and', 'she', 'entered', 'the', 'house', 'with', 'the', 'wish', 'of', 'appearing', 'cheerful', 'as', 'usual', 'and', 'the', 'resolution', 'of', 'repressing', 'such', 'reflections', 'as', 'must', 'make', 'her', 'unfit', 'for', 'conversation', 'she', 'was', 'immediately', 'told', 'that', 'the', 'two', 'gentlemen', 'from', 'rosings', 'had', 'each', 'called', 'during', 'her', 'absence', 'mr', 'darcy', 'only', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'to', 'take', 'leavebut', 'that', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'had', 'been', 'sitting', 'with', 'them', 'at', 'least', 'an', 'hour', 'hoping', 'for', 'her', 'return', 'and', 'almost', 'resolving', 'to', 'walk', 'after', 'her', 'till', 'she', 'could', 'be', 'found', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'but', 'just', 'affect', 'concern', 'in', 'missing', 'him', 'she', 'really', 'rejoiced', 'at', 'it', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'was', 'no', 'longer', 'an', 'object', 'she', 'could', 'think', 'only', 'of', 'her', 'letter', 'the', 'two', 'gentlemen', 'left', 'rosings', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'and', 'mr', 'collins', 'having', 'been', 'in', 'waiting', 'near', 'the', 'lodges', 'to', 'make', 'them', 'his', 'parting', 'obeisance', 'was', 'able', 'to', 'bring', 'home', 'the', 'pleasing', 'intelligence', 'of', 'their', 'appearing', 'in', 'very', 'good', 'health', 'and', 'in', 'as', 'tolerable', 'spirits', 'as', 'could', 'be', 'expected', 'after', 'the', 'melancholy', 'scene', 'so', 'lately', 'gone', 'through', 'at', 'rosings', 'to', 'rosings', 'he', 'then', 'hastened', 'to', 'console', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'her', 'daughter', 'and', 'on', 'his', 'return', 'brought', 'back', 'with', 'great', 'satisfaction', 'a', 'message', 'from', 'her', 'ladyship', 'importing', 'that', 'she', 'felt', 'herself', 'so', 'dull', 'as', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'very', 'desirous', 'of', 'having', 'them', 'all', 'to', 'dine', 'with', 'her', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'see', 'lady', 'catherine', 'without', 'recollecting', 'that', 'had', 'she', 'chosen', 'it', 'she', 'might', 'by', 'this', 'time', 'have', 'been', 'presented', 'to', 'her', 'as', 'her', 'future', 'niece', 'nor', 'could', 'she', 'think', 'without', 'a', 'smile', 'of', 'what', 'her', 'ladyships', 'indignation', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'what', 'would', 'she', 'have', 'said', 'how', 'would', 'she', 'have', 'behaved', 'were', 'questions', 'with', 'which', 'she', 'amused', 'herself', 'their', 'first', 'subject', 'was', 'the', 'diminution', 'of', 'the', 'rosings', 'party', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'i', 'feel', 'it', 'exceedingly', 'said', 'lady', 'catherine', 'i', 'believe', 'no', 'one', 'feels', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'friends', 'so', 'much', 'as', 'i', 'do', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'particularly', 'attached', 'to', 'these', 'young', 'men', 'and', 'know', 'them', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'much', 'attached', 'to', 'me', 'they', 'were', 'excessively', 'sorry', 'to', 'go', 'but', 'so', 'they', 'always', 'are', 'the', 'dear', 'colonel', 'rallied', 'his', 'spirits', 'tolerably', 'till', 'just', 'at', 'last', 'but', 'darcy', 'seemed', 'to', 'feel', 'it', 'most', 'acutely', 'more', 'i', 'think', 'than', 'last', 'year', 'his', 'attachment', 'to', 'rosings', 'certainly', 'increases', 'mr', 'collins', 'had', 'a', 'compliment', 'and', 'an', 'allusion', 'to', 'throw', 'in', 'here', 'which', 'were', 'kindly', 'smiled', 'on', 'by', 'the', 'mother', 'and', 'daughter', 'lady', 'catherine', 'observed', 'after', 'dinner', 'that', 'miss', 'bennet', 'seemed', 'out', 'of', 'spirits', 'and', 'immediately', 'accounting', 'for', 'it', 'herself', 'by', 'supposing', 'that', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'like', 'to', 'go', 'home', 'again', 'so', 'soon', 'she', 'added', 'but', 'if', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'case', 'you', 'must', 'write', 'to', 'your', 'mother', 'and', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'may', 'stay', 'a', 'little', 'longer', 'mrs', 'collins', 'will', 'be', 'very', 'glad', 'of', 'your', 'company', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'am', 'much', 'obliged', 'to', 'your', 'ladyship', 'for', 'your', 'kind', 'invitation', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'in', 'my', 'power', 'to', 'accept', 'it', 'i', 'must', 'be', 'in', 'town', 'next', 'saturday', 'why', 'at', 'that', 'rate', 'you', 'will', 'have', 'been', 'here', 'only', 'six', 'weeks', 'i', 'expected', 'you', 'to', 'stay', 'two', 'months', 'i', 'told', 'mrs', 'collins', 'so', 'before', 'you', 'came', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'no', 'occasion', 'for', 'your', 'going', 'so', 'soon', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'could', 'certainly', 'spare', 'you', 'for', 'another', 'fortnight', 'but', 'my', 'father', 'can', 'not', 'he', 'wrote', 'last', 'week', 'to', 'hurry', 'my', 'return', 'oh', 'your', 'father', 'of', 'course', 'may', 'spare', 'you', 'if', 'your', 'mother', 'can', 'daughters', 'are', 'never', 'of', 'so', 'much', 'consequence', 'to', 'a', 'father', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'stay', 'another', 'month', 'complete', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'in', 'my', 'power', 'to', 'take', 'one', 'of', 'you', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'london', 'for', 'i', 'am', 'going', 'there', 'early', 'in', 'june', 'for', 'a', 'week', 'and', 'as', 'dawson', 'does', 'not', 'object', 'to', 'the', 'barouchebox', 'there', 'will', 'be', 'very', 'good', 'room', 'for', 'one', 'of', 'youand', 'indeed', 'if', 'the', 'weather', 'should', 'happen', 'to', 'be', 'cool', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'object', 'to', 'taking', 'you', 'both', 'as', 'you', 'are', 'neither', 'of', 'you', 'large', 'you', 'are', 'all', 'kindness', 'madam', 'but', 'i', 'believe', 'we', 'must', 'abide', 'by', 'our', 'original', 'plan', 'lady', 'catherine', 'seemed', 'resigned', 'mrs', 'collins', 'you', 'must', 'send', 'a', 'servant', 'with', 'them', 'you', 'know', 'i', 'always', 'speak', 'my', 'mind', 'and', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'bear', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'two', 'young', 'women', 'travelling', 'post', 'by', 'themselves', 'it', 'is', 'highly', 'improper', 'you', 'must', 'contrive', 'to', 'send', 'somebody', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'greatest', 'dislike', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'to', 'that', 'sort', 'of', 'thing', 'young', 'women', 'should', 'always', 'be', 'properly', 'guarded', 'and', 'attended', 'according', 'to', 'their', 'situation', 'in', 'life', 'when', 'my', 'niece', 'georgiana', 'went', 'to', 'ramsgate', 'last', 'summer', 'i', 'made', 'a', 'point', 'of', 'her', 'having', 'two', 'menservants', 'go', 'with', 'her', 'miss', 'darcy', 'the', 'daughter', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'of', 'pemberley', 'and', 'lady', 'anne', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'appeared', 'with', 'propriety', 'in', 'a', 'different', 'manner', 'i', 'am', 'excessively', 'attentive', 'to', 'all', 'those', 'things', 'you', 'must', 'send', 'john', 'with', 'the', 'young', 'ladies', 'mrs', 'collins', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'it', 'occurred', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'mention', 'it', 'for', 'it', 'would', 'really', 'be', 'discreditable', 'to', 'you', 'to', 'let', 'them', 'go', 'alone', 'my', 'uncle', 'is', 'to', 'send', 'a', 'servant', 'for', 'us', 'oh', 'your', 'uncle', 'he', 'keeps', 'a', 'manservant', 'does', 'he', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'glad', 'you', 'have', 'somebody', 'who', 'thinks', 'of', 'these', 'things', 'where', 'shall', 'you', 'change', 'horses', 'oh', 'bromley', 'of', 'course', 'if', 'you', 'mention', 'my', 'name', 'at', 'the', 'bell', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'attended', 'to', 'lady', 'catherine', 'had', 'many', 'other', 'questions', 'to', 'ask', 'respecting', 'their', 'journey', 'and', 'as', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'answer', 'them', 'all', 'herself', 'attention', 'was', 'necessary', 'which', 'elizabeth', 'believed', 'to', 'be', 'lucky', 'for', 'her', 'or', 'with', 'a', 'mind', 'so', 'occupied', 'she', 'might', 'have', 'forgotten', 'where', 'she', 'was', 'reflection', 'must', 'be', 'reserved', 'for', 'solitary', 'hours', 'whenever', 'she', 'was', 'alone', 'she', 'gave', 'way', 'to', 'it', 'as', 'the', 'greatest', 'relief', 'and', 'not', 'a', 'day', 'went', 'by', 'without', 'a', 'solitary', 'walk', 'in', 'which', 'she', 'might', 'indulge', 'in', 'all', 'the', 'delight', 'of', 'unpleasant', 'recollections', 'mr', 'darcys', 'letter', 'she', 'was', 'in', 'a', 'fair', 'way', 'of', 'soon', 'knowing', 'by', 'heart', 'she', 'studied', 'every', 'sentence', 'and', 'her', 'feelings', 'towards', 'its', 'writer', 'were', 'at', 'times', 'widely', 'different', 'when', 'she', 'remembered', 'the', 'style', 'of', 'his', 'address', 'she', 'was', 'still', 'full', 'of', 'indignation', 'but', 'when', 'she', 'considered', 'how', 'unjustly', 'she', 'had', 'condemned', 'and', 'upbraided', 'him', 'her', 'anger', 'was', 'turned', 'against', 'herself', 'and', 'his', 'disappointed', 'feelings', 'became', 'the', 'object', 'of', 'compassion', 'his', 'attachment', 'excited', 'gratitude', 'his', 'general', 'character', 'respect', 'but', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'approve', 'him', 'nor', 'could', 'she', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'repent', 'her', 'refusal', 'or', 'feel', 'the', 'slightest', 'inclination', 'ever', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'again', 'in', 'her', 'own', 'past', 'behaviour', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'constant', 'source', 'of', 'vexation', 'and', 'regret', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'unhappy', 'defects', 'of', 'her', 'family', 'a', 'subject', 'of', 'yet', 'heavier', 'chagrin', 'they', 'were', 'hopeless', 'of', 'remedy', 'her', 'father', 'contented', 'with', 'laughing', 'at', 'them', 'would', 'never', 'exert', 'himself', 'to', 'restrain', 'the', 'wild', 'giddiness', 'of', 'his', 'youngest', 'daughters', 'and', 'her', 'mother', 'with', 'manners', 'so', 'far', 'from', 'right', 'herself', 'was', 'entirely', 'insensible', 'of', 'the', 'evil', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'frequently', 'united', 'with', 'jane', 'in', 'an', 'endeavour', 'to', 'check', 'the', 'imprudence', 'of', 'catherine', 'and', 'lydia', 'but', 'while', 'they', 'were', 'supported', 'by', 'their', 'mothers', 'indulgence', 'what', 'chance', 'could', 'there', 'be', 'of', 'improvement', 'catherine', 'weakspirited', 'irritable', 'and', 'completely', 'under', 'lydias', 'guidance', 'had', 'been', 'always', 'affronted', 'by', 'their', 'advice', 'and', 'lydia', 'selfwilled', 'and', 'careless', 'would', 'scarcely', 'give', 'them', 'a', 'hearing', 'they', 'were', 'ignorant', 'idle', 'and', 'vain', 'while', 'there', 'was', 'an', 'officer', 'in', 'meryton', 'they', 'would', 'flirt', 'with', 'him', 'and', 'while', 'meryton', 'was', 'within', 'a', 'walk', 'of', 'longbourn', 'they', 'would', 'be', 'going', 'there', 'forever', 'anxiety', 'on', 'janes', 'behalf', 'was', 'another', 'prevailing', 'concern', 'and', 'mr', 'darcys', 'explanation', 'by', 'restoring', 'bingley', 'to', 'all', 'her', 'former', 'good', 'opinion', 'heightened', 'the', 'sense', 'of', 'what', 'jane', 'had', 'lost', 'his', 'affection', 'was', 'proved', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'sincere', 'and', 'his', 'conduct', 'cleared', 'of', 'all', 'blame', 'unless', 'any', 'could', 'attach', 'to', 'the', 'implicitness', 'of', 'his', 'confidence', 'in', 'his', 'friend', 'how', 'grievous', 'then', 'was', 'the', 'thought', 'that', 'of', 'a', 'situation', 'so', 'desirable', 'in', 'every', 'respect', 'so', 'replete', 'with', 'advantage', 'so', 'promising', 'for', 'happiness', 'jane', 'had', 'been', 'deprived', 'by', 'the', 'folly', 'and', 'indecorum', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'family', 'when', 'to', 'these', 'recollections', 'was', 'added', 'the', 'development', 'of', 'wickhams', 'character', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'easily', 'believed', 'that', 'the', 'happy', 'spirits', 'which', 'had', 'seldom', 'been', 'depressed', 'before', 'were', 'now', 'so', 'much', 'affected', 'as', 'to', 'make', 'it', 'almost', 'impossible', 'for', 'her', 'to', 'appear', 'tolerably', 'cheerful', 'their', 'engagements', 'at', 'rosings', 'were', 'as', 'frequent', 'during', 'the', 'last', 'week', 'of', 'her', 'stay', 'as', 'they', 'had', 'been', 'at', 'first', 'the', 'very', 'last', 'evening', 'was', 'spent', 'there', 'and', 'her', 'ladyship', 'again', 'enquired', 'minutely', 'into', 'the', 'particulars', 'of', 'their', 'journey', 'gave', 'them', 'directions', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'best', 'method', 'of', 'packing', 'and', 'was', 'so', 'urgent', 'on', 'the', 'necessity', 'of', 'placing', 'gowns', 'in', 'the', 'only', 'right', 'way', 'that', 'maria', 'thought', 'herself', 'obliged', 'on', 'her', 'return', 'to', 'undo', 'all', 'the', 'work', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'and', 'pack', 'her', 'trunk', 'afresh', 'when', 'they', 'parted', 'lady', 'catherine', 'with', 'great', 'condescension', 'wished', 'them', 'a', 'good', 'journey', 'and', 'invited', 'them', 'to', 'come', 'to', 'hunsford', 'again', 'next', 'year', 'and', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'exerted', 'herself', 'so', 'far', 'as', 'to', 'curtsey', 'and', 'hold', 'out', 'her', 'hand', 'to', 'both', 'on', 'saturday', 'morning', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'mr', 'collins', 'met', 'for', 'breakfast', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'before', 'the', 'others', 'appeared', 'and', 'he', 'took', 'the', 'opportunity', 'of', 'paying', 'the', 'parting', 'civilities', 'which', 'he', 'deemed', 'indispensably', 'necessary', 'i', 'know', 'not', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'said', 'he', 'whether', 'mrs', 'collins', 'has', 'yet', 'expressed', 'her', 'sense', 'of', 'your', 'kindness', 'in', 'coming', 'to', 'us', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'certain', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'leave', 'the', 'house', 'without', 'receiving', 'her', 'thanks', 'for', 'it', 'the', 'favour', 'of', 'your', 'company', 'has', 'been', 'much', 'felt', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'we', 'know', 'how', 'little', 'there', 'is', 'to', 'tempt', 'anyone', 'to', 'our', 'humble', 'abode', 'our', 'plain', 'manner', 'of', 'living', 'our', 'small', 'rooms', 'and', 'few', 'domestics', 'and', 'the', 'little', 'we', 'see', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'must', 'make', 'hunsford', 'extremely', 'dull', 'to', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'like', 'yourself', 'but', 'i', 'hope', 'you', 'will', 'believe', 'us', 'grateful', 'for', 'the', 'condescension', 'and', 'that', 'we', 'have', 'done', 'everything', 'in', 'our', 'power', 'to', 'prevent', 'your', 'spending', 'your', 'time', 'unpleasantly', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'eager', 'with', 'her', 'thanks', 'and', 'assurances', 'of', 'happiness', 'she', 'had', 'spent', 'six', 'weeks', 'with', 'great', 'enjoyment', 'and', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'being', 'with', 'charlotte', 'and', 'the', 'kind', 'attentions', 'she', 'had', 'received', 'must', 'make', 'her', 'feel', 'the', 'obliged', 'mr', 'collins', 'was', 'gratified', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'more', 'smiling', 'solemnity', 'replied', 'it', 'gives', 'me', 'great', 'pleasure', 'to', 'hear', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'passed', 'your', 'time', 'not', 'disagreeably', 'we', 'have', 'certainly', 'done', 'our', 'best', 'and', 'most', 'fortunately', 'having', 'it', 'in', 'our', 'power', 'to', 'introduce', 'you', 'to', 'very', 'superior', 'society', 'and', 'from', 'our', 'connection', 'with', 'rosings', 'the', 'frequent', 'means', 'of', 'varying', 'the', 'humble', 'home', 'scene', 'i', 'think', 'we', 'may', 'flatter', 'ourselves', 'that', 'your', 'hunsford', 'visit', 'can', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'entirely', 'irksome', 'our', 'situation', 'with', 'regard', 'to', 'lady', 'catherines', 'family', 'is', 'indeed', 'the', 'sort', 'of', 'extraordinary', 'advantage', 'and', 'blessing', 'which', 'few', 'can', 'boast', 'you', 'see', 'on', 'what', 'a', 'footing', 'we', 'are', 'you', 'see', 'how', 'continually', 'we', 'are', 'engaged', 'there', 'in', 'truth', 'i', 'must', 'acknowledge', 'that', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'disadvantages', 'of', 'this', 'humble', 'parsonage', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'think', 'anyone', 'abiding', 'in', 'it', 'an', 'object', 'of', 'compassion', 'while', 'they', 'are', 'sharers', 'of', 'our', 'intimacy', 'at', 'rosings', 'words', 'were', 'insufficient', 'for', 'the', 'elevation', 'of', 'his', 'feelings', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'obliged', 'to', 'walk', 'about', 'the', 'room', 'while', 'elizabeth', 'tried', 'to', 'unite', 'civility', 'and', 'truth', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'short', 'sentences', 'you', 'may', 'in', 'fact', 'carry', 'a', 'very', 'favourable', 'report', 'of', 'us', 'into', 'hertfordshire', 'my', 'dear', 'cousin', 'i', 'flatter', 'myself', 'at', 'least', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'do', 'so', 'lady', 'catherines', 'great', 'attentions', 'to', 'mrs', 'collins', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'daily', 'witness', 'of', 'and', 'altogether', 'i', 'trust', 'it', 'does', 'not', 'appear', 'that', 'your', 'friend', 'has', 'drawn', 'an', 'unfortunatebut', 'on', 'this', 'point', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'as', 'well', 'to', 'be', 'silent', 'only', 'let', 'me', 'assure', 'you', 'my', 'dear', 'miss', 'elizabeth', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'from', 'my', 'heart', 'most', 'cordially', 'wish', 'you', 'equal', 'felicity', 'in', 'marriage', 'my', 'dear', 'charlotte', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'but', 'one', 'mind', 'and', 'one', 'way', 'of', 'thinking', 'there', 'is', 'in', 'everything', 'a', 'most', 'remarkable', 'resemblance', 'of', 'character', 'and', 'ideas', 'between', 'us', 'we', 'seem', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'designed', 'for', 'each', 'other', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'safely', 'say', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'great', 'happiness', 'where', 'that', 'was', 'the', 'case', 'and', 'with', 'equal', 'sincerity', 'could', 'add', 'that', 'she', 'firmly', 'believed', 'and', 'rejoiced', 'in', 'his', 'domestic', 'comforts', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'sorry', 'however', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'recital', 'of', 'them', 'interrupted', 'by', 'the', 'lady', 'from', 'whom', 'they', 'sprang', 'poor', 'charlotte', 'it', 'was', 'melancholy', 'to', 'leave', 'her', 'to', 'such', 'society', 'but', 'she', 'had', 'chosen', 'it', 'with', 'her', 'eyes', 'open', 'and', 'though', 'evidently', 'regretting', 'that', 'her', 'visitors', 'were', 'to', 'go', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'seem', 'to', 'ask', 'for', 'compassion', 'her', 'home', 'and', 'her', 'housekeeping', 'her', 'parish', 'and', 'her', 'poultry', 'and', 'all', 'their', 'dependent', 'concerns', 'had', 'not', 'yet', 'lost', 'their', 'charms', 'at', 'length', 'the', 'chaise', 'arrived', 'the', 'trunks', 'were', 'fastened', 'on', 'the', 'parcels', 'placed', 'within', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'pronounced', 'to', 'be', 'ready', 'after', 'an', 'affectionate', 'parting', 'between', 'the', 'friends', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'attended', 'to', 'the', 'carriage', 'by', 'mr', 'collins', 'and', 'as', 'they', 'walked', 'down', 'the', 'garden', 'he', 'was', 'commissioning', 'her', 'with', 'his', 'best', 'respects', 'to', 'all', 'her', 'family', 'not', 'forgetting', 'his', 'thanks', 'for', 'the', 'kindness', 'he', 'had', 'received', 'at', 'longbourn', 'in', 'the', 'winter', 'and', 'his', 'compliments', 'to', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'though', 'unknown', 'he', 'then', 'handed', 'her', 'in', 'maria', 'followed', 'and', 'the', 'door', 'was', 'on', 'the', 'point', 'of', 'being', 'closed', 'when', 'he', 'suddenly', 'reminded', 'them', 'with', 'some', 'consternation', 'that', 'they', 'had', 'hitherto', 'forgotten', 'to', 'leave', 'any', 'message', 'for', 'the', 'ladies', 'at', 'rosings', 'but', 'he', 'added', 'you', 'will', 'of', 'course', 'wish', 'to', 'have', 'your', 'humble', 'respects', 'delivered', 'to', 'them', 'with', 'your', 'grateful', 'thanks', 'for', 'their', 'kindness', 'to', 'you', 'while', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'here', 'elizabeth', 'made', 'no', 'objection', 'the', 'door', 'was', 'then', 'allowed', 'to', 'be', 'shut', 'and', 'the', 'carriage', 'drove', 'off', 'good', 'gracious', 'cried', 'maria', 'after', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'silence', 'it', 'seems', 'but', 'a', 'day', 'or', 'two', 'since', 'we', 'first', 'came', 'and', 'yet', 'how', 'many', 'things', 'have', 'happened', 'a', 'great', 'many', 'indeed', 'said', 'her', 'companion', 'with', 'a', 'sigh', 'we', 'have', 'dined', 'nine', 'times', 'at', 'rosings', 'besides', 'drinking', 'tea', 'there', 'twice', 'how', 'much', 'i', 'shall', 'have', 'to', 'tell', 'elizabeth', 'added', 'privately', 'and', 'how', 'much', 'i', 'shall', 'have', 'to', 'conceal', 'their', 'journey', 'was', 'performed', 'without', 'much', 'conversation', 'or', 'any', 'alarm', 'and', 'within', 'four', 'hours', 'of', 'their', 'leaving', 'hunsford', 'they', 'reached', 'mr', 'gardiners', 'house', 'where', 'they', 'were', 'to', 'remain', 'a', 'few', 'days', 'jane', 'looked', 'well', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'little', 'opportunity', 'of', 'studying', 'her', 'spirits', 'amidst', 'the', 'various', 'engagements', 'which', 'the', 'kindness', 'of', 'her', 'aunt', 'had', 'reserved', 'for', 'them', 'but', 'jane', 'was', 'to', 'go', 'home', 'with', 'her', 'and', 'at', 'longbourn', 'there', 'would', 'be', 'leisure', 'enough', 'for', 'observation', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'without', 'an', 'effort', 'meanwhile', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'wait', 'even', 'for', 'longbourn', 'before', 'she', 'told', 'her', 'sister', 'of', 'mr', 'darcys', 'proposals', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'the', 'power', 'of', 'revealing', 'what', 'would', 'so', 'exceedingly', 'astonish', 'jane', 'and', 'must', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'so', 'highly', 'gratify', 'whatever', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'vanity', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'yet', 'been', 'able', 'to', 'reason', 'away', 'was', 'such', 'a', 'temptation', 'to', 'openness', 'as', 'nothing', 'could', 'have', 'conquered', 'but', 'the', 'state', 'of', 'indecision', 'in', 'which', 'she', 'remained', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'extent', 'of', 'what', 'she', 'should', 'communicate', 'and', 'her', 'fear', 'if', 'she', 'once', 'entered', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'of', 'being', 'hurried', 'into', 'repeating', 'something', 'of', 'bingley', 'which', 'might', 'only', 'grieve', 'her', 'sister', 'further', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'second', 'week', 'in', 'may', 'in', 'which', 'the', 'three', 'young', 'ladies', 'set', 'out', 'together', 'from', 'gracechurch', 'street', 'for', 'the', 'town', 'of', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'and', 'as', 'they', 'drew', 'near', 'the', 'appointed', 'inn', 'where', 'mr', 'bennets', 'carriage', 'was', 'to', 'meet', 'them', 'they', 'quickly', 'perceived', 'in', 'token', 'of', 'the', 'coachmans', 'punctuality', 'both', 'kitty', 'and', 'lydia', 'looking', 'out', 'of', 'a', 'diningroom', 'up', 'stairs', 'these', 'two', 'girls', 'had', 'been', 'above', 'an', 'hour', 'in', 'the', 'place', 'happily', 'employed', 'in', 'visiting', 'an', 'opposite', 'milliner', 'watching', 'the', 'sentinel', 'on', 'guard', 'and', 'dressing', 'a', 'salad', 'and', 'cucumber', 'after', 'welcoming', 'their', 'sisters', 'they', 'triumphantly', 'displayed', 'a', 'table', 'set', 'out', 'with', 'such', 'cold', 'meat', 'as', 'an', 'inn', 'larder', 'usually', 'affords', 'exclaiming', 'is', 'not', 'this', 'nice', 'is', 'not', 'this', 'an', 'agreeable', 'surprise', 'and', 'we', 'mean', 'to', 'treat', 'you', 'all', 'added', 'lydia', 'but', 'you', 'must', 'lend', 'us', 'the', 'money', 'for', 'we', 'have', 'just', 'spent', 'ours', 'at', 'the', 'shop', 'out', 'there', 'then', 'showing', 'her', 'purchaseslook', 'here', 'i', 'have', 'bought', 'this', 'bonnet', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'pretty', 'but', 'i', 'thought', 'i', 'might', 'as', 'well', 'buy', 'it', 'as', 'not', 'i', 'shall', 'pull', 'it', 'to', 'pieces', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'i', 'get', 'home', 'and', 'see', 'if', 'i', 'can', 'make', 'it', 'up', 'any', 'better', 'and', 'when', 'her', 'sisters', 'abused', 'it', 'as', 'ugly', 'she', 'added', 'with', 'perfect', 'unconcern', 'oh', 'but', 'there', 'were', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'much', 'uglier', 'in', 'the', 'shop', 'and', 'when', 'i', 'have', 'bought', 'some', 'prettiercoloured', 'satin', 'to', 'trim', 'it', 'with', 'fresh', 'i', 'think', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'very', 'tolerable', 'besides', 'it', 'will', 'not', 'much', 'signify', 'what', 'one', 'wears', 'this', 'summer', 'after', 'the', 'shire', 'have', 'left', 'meryton', 'and', 'they', 'are', 'going', 'in', 'a', 'fortnight', 'are', 'they', 'indeed', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'with', 'the', 'greatest', 'satisfaction', 'they', 'are', 'going', 'to', 'be', 'encamped', 'near', 'brighton', 'and', 'i', 'do', 'so', 'want', 'papa', 'to', 'take', 'us', 'all', 'there', 'for', 'the', 'summer', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'such', 'a', 'delicious', 'scheme', 'and', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'would', 'hardly', 'cost', 'anything', 'at', 'all', 'mamma', 'would', 'like', 'to', 'go', 'too', 'of', 'all', 'things', 'only', 'think', 'what', 'a', 'miserable', 'summer', 'else', 'we', 'shall', 'have', 'yes', 'thought', 'elizabeth', 'that', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'delightful', 'scheme', 'indeed', 'and', 'completely', 'do', 'for', 'us', 'at', 'once', 'good', 'heaven', 'brighton', 'and', 'a', 'whole', 'campful', 'of', 'soldiers', 'to', 'us', 'who', 'have', 'been', 'overset', 'already', 'by', 'one', 'poor', 'regiment', 'of', 'militia', 'and', 'the', 'monthly', 'balls', 'of', 'meryton', 'now', 'i', 'have', 'got', 'some', 'news', 'for', 'you', 'said', 'lydia', 'as', 'they', 'sat', 'down', 'at', 'table', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'it', 'is', 'excellent', 'newscapital', 'newsand', 'about', 'a', 'certain', 'person', 'we', 'all', 'like', 'jane', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'looked', 'at', 'each', 'other', 'and', 'the', 'waiter', 'was', 'told', 'he', 'need', 'not', 'stay', 'lydia', 'laughed', 'and', 'said', 'aye', 'that', 'is', 'just', 'like', 'your', 'formality', 'and', 'discretion', 'you', 'thought', 'the', 'waiter', 'must', 'not', 'hear', 'as', 'if', 'he', 'cared', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'he', 'often', 'hears', 'worse', 'things', 'said', 'than', 'i', 'am', 'going', 'to', 'say', 'but', 'he', 'is', 'an', 'ugly', 'fellow', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'he', 'is', 'gone', 'i', 'never', 'saw', 'such', 'a', 'long', 'chin', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'well', 'but', 'now', 'for', 'my', 'news', 'it', 'is', 'about', 'dear', 'wickham', 'too', 'good', 'for', 'the', 'waiter', 'is', 'it', 'not', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'danger', 'of', 'wickhams', 'marrying', 'mary', 'king', 'theres', 'for', 'you', 'she', 'is', 'gone', 'down', 'to', 'her', 'uncle', 'at', 'liverpool', 'gone', 'to', 'stay', 'wickham', 'is', 'safe', 'and', 'mary', 'king', 'is', 'safe', 'added', 'elizabeth', 'safe', 'from', 'a', 'connection', 'imprudent', 'as', 'to', 'fortune', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'great', 'fool', 'for', 'going', 'away', 'if', 'she', 'liked', 'him', 'but', 'i', 'hope', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'strong', 'attachment', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'said', 'jane', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'there', 'is', 'not', 'on', 'his', 'i', 'will', 'answer', 'for', 'it', 'he', 'never', 'cared', 'three', 'straws', 'about', 'herwho', 'could', 'about', 'such', 'a', 'nasty', 'little', 'freckled', 'thing', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'shocked', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'however', 'incapable', 'of', 'such', 'coarseness', 'of', 'expression', 'herself', 'the', 'coarseness', 'of', 'the', 'sentiment', 'was', 'little', 'other', 'than', 'her', 'own', 'breast', 'had', 'harboured', 'and', 'fancied', 'liberal', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'all', 'had', 'ate', 'and', 'the', 'elder', 'ones', 'paid', 'the', 'carriage', 'was', 'ordered', 'and', 'after', 'some', 'contrivance', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'with', 'all', 'their', 'boxes', 'workbags', 'and', 'parcels', 'and', 'the', 'unwelcome', 'addition', 'of', 'kittys', 'and', 'lydias', 'purchases', 'were', 'seated', 'in', 'it', 'how', 'nicely', 'we', 'are', 'all', 'crammed', 'in', 'cried', 'lydia', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'i', 'bought', 'my', 'bonnet', 'if', 'it', 'is', 'only', 'for', 'the', 'fun', 'of', 'having', 'another', 'bandbox', 'well', 'now', 'let', 'us', 'be', 'quite', 'comfortable', 'and', 'snug', 'and', 'talk', 'and', 'laugh', 'all', 'the', 'way', 'home', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'first', 'place', 'let', 'us', 'hear', 'what', 'has', 'happened', 'to', 'you', 'all', 'since', 'you', 'went', 'away', 'have', 'you', 'seen', 'any', 'pleasant', 'men', 'have', 'you', 'had', 'any', 'flirting', 'i', 'was', 'in', 'great', 'hopes', 'that', 'one', 'of', 'you', 'would', 'have', 'got', 'a', 'husband', 'before', 'you', 'came', 'back', 'jane', 'will', 'be', 'quite', 'an', 'old', 'maid', 'soon', 'i', 'declare', 'she', 'is', 'almost', 'threeandtwenty', 'lord', 'how', 'ashamed', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'of', 'not', 'being', 'married', 'before', 'threeandtwenty', 'my', 'aunt', 'phillips', 'wants', 'you', 'so', 'to', 'get', 'husbands', 'you', 'cant', 'think', 'she', 'says', 'lizzy', 'had', 'better', 'have', 'taken', 'mr', 'collins', 'but', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'there', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'any', 'fun', 'in', 'it', 'lord', 'how', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'to', 'be', 'married', 'before', 'any', 'of', 'you', 'and', 'then', 'i', 'would', 'chaperon', 'you', 'about', 'to', 'all', 'the', 'balls', 'dear', 'me', 'we', 'had', 'such', 'a', 'good', 'piece', 'of', 'fun', 'the', 'other', 'day', 'at', 'colonel', 'forsters', 'kitty', 'and', 'me', 'were', 'to', 'spend', 'the', 'day', 'there', 'and', 'mrs', 'forster', 'promised', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'little', 'dance', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'by', 'the', 'bye', 'mrs', 'forster', 'and', 'me', 'are', 'such', 'friends', 'and', 'so', 'she', 'asked', 'the', 'two', 'harringtons', 'to', 'come', 'but', 'harriet', 'was', 'ill', 'and', 'so', 'pen', 'was', 'forced', 'to', 'come', 'by', 'herself', 'and', 'then', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'we', 'did', 'we', 'dressed', 'up', 'chamberlayne', 'in', 'womans', 'clothes', 'on', 'purpose', 'to', 'pass', 'for', 'a', 'lady', 'only', 'think', 'what', 'fun', 'not', 'a', 'soul', 'knew', 'of', 'it', 'but', 'colonel', 'and', 'mrs', 'forster', 'and', 'kitty', 'and', 'me', 'except', 'my', 'aunt', 'for', 'we', 'were', 'forced', 'to', 'borrow', 'one', 'of', 'her', 'gowns', 'and', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'imagine', 'how', 'well', 'he', 'looked', 'when', 'denny', 'and', 'wickham', 'and', 'pratt', 'and', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'more', 'of', 'the', 'men', 'came', 'in', 'they', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'lord', 'how', 'i', 'laughed', 'and', 'so', 'did', 'mrs', 'forster', 'i', 'thought', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'died', 'and', 'that', 'made', 'the', 'men', 'suspect', 'something', 'and', 'then', 'they', 'soon', 'found', 'out', 'what', 'was', 'the', 'matter', 'with', 'such', 'kinds', 'of', 'histories', 'of', 'their', 'parties', 'and', 'good', 'jokes', 'did', 'lydia', 'assisted', 'by', 'kittys', 'hints', 'and', 'additions', 'endeavour', 'to', 'amuse', 'her', 'companions', 'all', 'the', 'way', 'to', 'longbourn', 'elizabeth', 'listened', 'as', 'little', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'escaping', 'the', 'frequent', 'mention', 'of', 'wickhams', 'name', 'their', 'reception', 'at', 'home', 'was', 'most', 'kind', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'rejoiced', 'to', 'see', 'jane', 'in', 'undiminished', 'beauty', 'and', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'during', 'dinner', 'did', 'mr', 'bennet', 'say', 'voluntarily', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'you', 'are', 'come', 'back', 'lizzy', 'their', 'party', 'in', 'the', 'diningroom', 'was', 'large', 'for', 'almost', 'all', 'the', 'lucases', 'came', 'to', 'meet', 'maria', 'and', 'hear', 'the', 'news', 'and', 'various', 'were', 'the', 'subjects', 'that', 'occupied', 'them', 'lady', 'lucas', 'was', 'enquiring', 'of', 'maria', 'after', 'the', 'welfare', 'and', 'poultry', 'of', 'her', 'eldest', 'daughter', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'doubly', 'engaged', 'on', 'one', 'hand', 'collecting', 'an', 'account', 'of', 'the', 'present', 'fashions', 'from', 'jane', 'who', 'sat', 'some', 'way', 'below', 'her', 'and', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'retailing', 'them', 'all', 'to', 'the', 'younger', 'lucases', 'and', 'lydia', 'in', 'a', 'voice', 'rather', 'louder', 'than', 'any', 'other', 'persons', 'was', 'enumerating', 'the', 'various', 'pleasures', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'to', 'anybody', 'who', 'would', 'hear', 'her', 'oh', 'mary', 'said', 'she', 'i', 'wish', 'you', 'had', 'gone', 'with', 'us', 'for', 'we', 'had', 'such', 'fun', 'as', 'we', 'went', 'along', 'kitty', 'and', 'i', 'drew', 'up', 'the', 'blinds', 'and', 'pretended', 'there', 'was', 'nobody', 'in', 'the', 'coach', 'and', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'gone', 'so', 'all', 'the', 'way', 'if', 'kitty', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'sick', 'and', 'when', 'we', 'got', 'to', 'the', 'george', 'i', 'do', 'think', 'we', 'behaved', 'very', 'handsomely', 'for', 'we', 'treated', 'the', 'other', 'three', 'with', 'the', 'nicest', 'cold', 'luncheon', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'would', 'have', 'gone', 'we', 'would', 'have', 'treated', 'you', 'too', 'and', 'then', 'when', 'we', 'came', 'away', 'it', 'was', 'such', 'fun', 'i', 'thought', 'we', 'never', 'should', 'have', 'got', 'into', 'the', 'coach', 'i', 'was', 'ready', 'to', 'die', 'of', 'laughter', 'and', 'then', 'we', 'were', 'so', 'merry', 'all', 'the', 'way', 'home', 'we', 'talked', 'and', 'laughed', 'so', 'loud', 'that', 'anybody', 'might', 'have', 'heard', 'us', 'ten', 'miles', 'off', 'to', 'this', 'mary', 'very', 'gravely', 'replied', 'far', 'be', 'it', 'from', 'me', 'my', 'dear', 'sister', 'to', 'depreciate', 'such', 'pleasures', 'they', 'would', 'doubtless', 'be', 'congenial', 'with', 'the', 'generality', 'of', 'female', 'minds', 'but', 'i', 'confess', 'they', 'would', 'have', 'no', 'charms', 'for', 'mei', 'should', 'infinitely', 'prefer', 'a', 'book', 'but', 'of', 'this', 'answer', 'lydia', 'heard', 'not', 'a', 'word', 'she', 'seldom', 'listened', 'to', 'anybody', 'for', 'more', 'than', 'half', 'a', 'minute', 'and', 'never', 'attended', 'to', 'mary', 'at', 'all', 'in', 'the', 'afternoon', 'lydia', 'was', 'urgent', 'with', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'girls', 'to', 'walk', 'to', 'meryton', 'and', 'to', 'see', 'how', 'everybody', 'went', 'on', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'steadily', 'opposed', 'the', 'scheme', 'it', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'said', 'that', 'the', 'miss', 'bennets', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'at', 'home', 'half', 'a', 'day', 'before', 'they', 'were', 'in', 'pursuit', 'of', 'the', 'officers', 'there', 'was', 'another', 'reason', 'too', 'for', 'her', 'opposition', 'she', 'dreaded', 'seeing', 'mr', 'wickham', 'again', 'and', 'was', 'resolved', 'to', 'avoid', 'it', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'possible', 'the', 'comfort', 'to', 'her', 'of', 'the', 'regiments', 'approaching', 'removal', 'was', 'indeed', 'beyond', 'expression', 'in', 'a', 'fortnight', 'they', 'were', 'to', 'goand', 'once', 'gone', 'she', 'hoped', 'there', 'could', 'be', 'nothing', 'more', 'to', 'plague', 'her', 'on', 'his', 'account', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'many', 'hours', 'at', 'home', 'before', 'she', 'found', 'that', 'the', 'brighton', 'scheme', 'of', 'which', 'lydia', 'had', 'given', 'them', 'a', 'hint', 'at', 'the', 'inn', 'was', 'under', 'frequent', 'discussion', 'between', 'her', 'parents', 'elizabeth', 'saw', 'directly', 'that', 'her', 'father', 'had', 'not', 'the', 'smallest', 'intention', 'of', 'yielding', 'but', 'his', 'answers', 'were', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'so', 'vague', 'and', 'equivocal', 'that', 'her', 'mother', 'though', 'often', 'disheartened', 'had', 'never', 'yet', 'despaired', 'of', 'succeeding', 'at', 'last', 'elizabeths', 'impatience', 'to', 'acquaint', 'jane', 'with', 'what', 'had', 'happened', 'could', 'no', 'longer', 'be', 'overcome', 'and', 'at', 'length', 'resolving', 'to', 'suppress', 'every', 'particular', 'in', 'which', 'her', 'sister', 'was', 'concerned', 'and', 'preparing', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'surprised', 'she', 'related', 'to', 'her', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'the', 'scene', 'between', 'mr', 'darcy', 'and', 'herself', 'miss', 'bennets', 'astonishment', 'was', 'soon', 'lessened', 'by', 'the', 'strong', 'sisterly', 'partiality', 'which', 'made', 'any', 'admiration', 'of', 'elizabeth', 'appear', 'perfectly', 'natural', 'and', 'all', 'surprise', 'was', 'shortly', 'lost', 'in', 'other', 'feelings', 'she', 'was', 'sorry', 'that', 'mr', 'darcy', 'should', 'have', 'delivered', 'his', 'sentiments', 'in', 'a', 'manner', 'so', 'little', 'suited', 'to', 'recommend', 'them', 'but', 'still', 'more', 'was', 'she', 'grieved', 'for', 'the', 'unhappiness', 'which', 'her', 'sisters', 'refusal', 'must', 'have', 'given', 'him', 'his', 'being', 'so', 'sure', 'of', 'succeeding', 'was', 'wrong', 'said', 'she', 'and', 'certainly', 'ought', 'not', 'to', 'have', 'appeared', 'but', 'consider', 'how', 'much', 'it', 'must', 'increase', 'his', 'disappointment', 'indeed', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'i', 'am', 'heartily', 'sorry', 'for', 'him', 'but', 'he', 'has', 'other', 'feelings', 'which', 'will', 'probably', 'soon', 'drive', 'away', 'his', 'regard', 'for', 'me', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'blame', 'me', 'however', 'for', 'refusing', 'him', 'blame', 'you', 'oh', 'no', 'but', 'you', 'blame', 'me', 'for', 'having', 'spoken', 'so', 'warmly', 'of', 'wickham', 'noi', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'wrong', 'in', 'saying', 'what', 'you', 'did', 'but', 'you', 'will', 'know', 'it', 'when', 'i', 'tell', 'you', 'what', 'happened', 'the', 'very', 'next', 'day', 'she', 'then', 'spoke', 'of', 'the', 'letter', 'repeating', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'its', 'contents', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'they', 'concerned', 'george', 'wickham', 'what', 'a', 'stroke', 'was', 'this', 'for', 'poor', 'jane', 'who', 'would', 'willingly', 'have', 'gone', 'through', 'the', 'world', 'without', 'believing', 'that', 'so', 'much', 'wickedness', 'existed', 'in', 'the', 'whole', 'race', 'of', 'mankind', 'as', 'was', 'here', 'collected', 'in', 'one', 'individual', 'nor', 'was', 'darcys', 'vindication', 'though', 'grateful', 'to', 'her', 'feelings', 'capable', 'of', 'consoling', 'her', 'for', 'such', 'discovery', 'most', 'earnestly', 'did', 'she', 'labour', 'to', 'prove', 'the', 'probability', 'of', 'error', 'and', 'seek', 'to', 'clear', 'the', 'one', 'without', 'involving', 'the', 'other', 'this', 'will', 'not', 'do', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'you', 'never', 'will', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'make', 'both', 'of', 'them', 'good', 'for', 'anything', 'take', 'your', 'choice', 'but', 'you', 'must', 'be', 'satisfied', 'with', 'only', 'one', 'there', 'is', 'but', 'such', 'a', 'quantity', 'of', 'merit', 'between', 'them', 'just', 'enough', 'to', 'make', 'one', 'good', 'sort', 'of', 'man', 'and', 'of', 'late', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'shifting', 'about', 'pretty', 'much', 'for', 'my', 'part', 'i', 'am', 'inclined', 'to', 'believe', 'it', 'all', 'darcys', 'but', 'you', 'shall', 'do', 'as', 'you', 'choose', 'it', 'was', 'some', 'time', 'however', 'before', 'a', 'smile', 'could', 'be', 'extorted', 'from', 'jane', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'when', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'more', 'shocked', 'said', 'she', 'wickham', 'so', 'very', 'bad', 'it', 'is', 'almost', 'past', 'belief', 'and', 'poor', 'mr', 'darcy', 'dear', 'lizzy', 'only', 'consider', 'what', 'he', 'must', 'have', 'suffered', 'such', 'a', 'disappointment', 'and', 'with', 'the', 'knowledge', 'of', 'your', 'ill', 'opinion', 'too', 'and', 'having', 'to', 'relate', 'such', 'a', 'thing', 'of', 'his', 'sister', 'it', 'is', 'really', 'too', 'distressing', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'you', 'must', 'feel', 'it', 'so', 'oh', 'no', 'my', 'regret', 'and', 'compassion', 'are', 'all', 'done', 'away', 'by', 'seeing', 'you', 'so', 'full', 'of', 'both', 'i', 'know', 'you', 'will', 'do', 'him', 'such', 'ample', 'justice', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'growing', 'every', 'moment', 'more', 'unconcerned', 'and', 'indifferent', 'your', 'profusion', 'makes', 'me', 'saving', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'lament', 'over', 'him', 'much', 'longer', 'my', 'heart', 'will', 'be', 'as', 'light', 'as', 'a', 'feather', 'poor', 'wickham', 'there', 'is', 'such', 'an', 'expression', 'of', 'goodness', 'in', 'his', 'countenance', 'such', 'an', 'openness', 'and', 'gentleness', 'in', 'his', 'manner', 'there', 'certainly', 'was', 'some', 'great', 'mismanagement', 'in', 'the', 'education', 'of', 'those', 'two', 'young', 'men', 'one', 'has', 'got', 'all', 'the', 'goodness', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'all', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'it', 'i', 'never', 'thought', 'mr', 'darcy', 'so', 'deficient', 'in', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'it', 'as', 'you', 'used', 'to', 'do', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'meant', 'to', 'be', 'uncommonly', 'clever', 'in', 'taking', 'so', 'decided', 'a', 'dislike', 'to', 'him', 'without', 'any', 'reason', 'it', 'is', 'such', 'a', 'spur', 'to', 'ones', 'genius', 'such', 'an', 'opening', 'for', 'wit', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'dislike', 'of', 'that', 'kind', 'one', 'may', 'be', 'continually', 'abusive', 'without', 'saying', 'anything', 'just', 'but', 'one', 'can', 'not', 'always', 'be', 'laughing', 'at', 'a', 'man', 'without', 'now', 'and', 'then', 'stumbling', 'on', 'something', 'witty', 'lizzy', 'when', 'you', 'first', 'read', 'that', 'letter', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'you', 'could', 'not', 'treat', 'the', 'matter', 'as', 'you', 'do', 'now', 'indeed', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'i', 'was', 'uncomfortable', 'enough', 'i', 'may', 'say', 'unhappy', 'and', 'with', 'no', 'one', 'to', 'speak', 'to', 'about', 'what', 'i', 'felt', 'no', 'jane', 'to', 'comfort', 'me', 'and', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'so', 'very', 'weak', 'and', 'vain', 'and', 'nonsensical', 'as', 'i', 'knew', 'i', 'had', 'oh', 'how', 'i', 'wanted', 'you', 'how', 'unfortunate', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'have', 'used', 'such', 'very', 'strong', 'expressions', 'in', 'speaking', 'of', 'wickham', 'to', 'mr', 'darcy', 'for', 'now', 'they', 'do', 'appear', 'wholly', 'undeserved', 'certainly', 'but', 'the', 'misfortune', 'of', 'speaking', 'with', 'bitterness', 'is', 'a', 'most', 'natural', 'consequence', 'of', 'the', 'prejudices', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'encouraging', 'there', 'is', 'one', 'point', 'on', 'which', 'i', 'want', 'your', 'advice', 'i', 'want', 'to', 'be', 'told', 'whether', 'i', 'ought', 'or', 'ought', 'not', 'to', 'make', 'our', 'acquaintances', 'in', 'general', 'understand', 'wickhams', 'character', 'miss', 'bennet', 'paused', 'a', 'little', 'and', 'then', 'replied', 'surely', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'no', 'occasion', 'for', 'exposing', 'him', 'so', 'dreadfully', 'what', 'is', 'your', 'opinion', 'that', 'it', 'ought', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'attempted', 'mr', 'darcy', 'has', 'not', 'authorised', 'me', 'to', 'make', 'his', 'communication', 'public', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'every', 'particular', 'relative', 'to', 'his', 'sister', 'was', 'meant', 'to', 'be', 'kept', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'possible', 'to', 'myself', 'and', 'if', 'i', 'endeavour', 'to', 'undeceive', 'people', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'his', 'conduct', 'who', 'will', 'believe', 'me', 'the', 'general', 'prejudice', 'against', 'mr', 'darcy', 'is', 'so', 'violent', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'the', 'death', 'of', 'half', 'the', 'good', 'people', 'in', 'meryton', 'to', 'attempt', 'to', 'place', 'him', 'in', 'an', 'amiable', 'light', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'equal', 'to', 'it', 'wickham', 'will', 'soon', 'be', 'gone', 'and', 'therefore', 'it', 'will', 'not', 'signify', 'to', 'anyone', 'here', 'what', 'he', 'really', 'is', 'some', 'time', 'hence', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'all', 'found', 'out', 'and', 'then', 'we', 'may', 'laugh', 'at', 'their', 'stupidity', 'in', 'not', 'knowing', 'it', 'before', 'at', 'present', 'i', 'will', 'say', 'nothing', 'about', 'it', 'you', 'are', 'quite', 'right', 'to', 'have', 'his', 'errors', 'made', 'public', 'might', 'ruin', 'him', 'for', 'ever', 'he', 'is', 'now', 'perhaps', 'sorry', 'for', 'what', 'he', 'has', 'done', 'and', 'anxious', 'to', 'reestablish', 'a', 'character', 'we', 'must', 'not', 'make', 'him', 'desperate', 'the', 'tumult', 'of', 'elizabeths', 'mind', 'was', 'allayed', 'by', 'this', 'conversation', 'she', 'had', 'got', 'rid', 'of', 'two', 'of', 'the', 'secrets', 'which', 'had', 'weighed', 'on', 'her', 'for', 'a', 'fortnight', 'and', 'was', 'certain', 'of', 'a', 'willing', 'listener', 'in', 'jane', 'whenever', 'she', 'might', 'wish', 'to', 'talk', 'again', 'of', 'either', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'still', 'something', 'lurking', 'behind', 'of', 'which', 'prudence', 'forbade', 'the', 'disclosure', 'she', 'dared', 'not', 'relate', 'the', 'other', 'half', 'of', 'mr', 'darcys', 'letter', 'nor', 'explain', 'to', 'her', 'sister', 'how', 'sincerely', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'valued', 'by', 'her', 'friend', 'here', 'was', 'knowledge', 'in', 'which', 'no', 'one', 'could', 'partake', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'sensible', 'that', 'nothing', 'less', 'than', 'a', 'perfect', 'understanding', 'between', 'the', 'parties', 'could', 'justify', 'her', 'in', 'throwing', 'off', 'this', 'last', 'encumbrance', 'of', 'mystery', 'and', 'then', 'said', 'she', 'if', 'that', 'very', 'improbable', 'event', 'should', 'ever', 'take', 'place', 'i', 'shall', 'merely', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'tell', 'what', 'bingley', 'may', 'tell', 'in', 'a', 'much', 'more', 'agreeable', 'manner', 'himself', 'the', 'liberty', 'of', 'communication', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'mine', 'till', 'it', 'has', 'lost', 'all', 'its', 'value', 'she', 'was', 'now', 'on', 'being', 'settled', 'at', 'home', 'at', 'leisure', 'to', 'observe', 'the', 'real', 'state', 'of', 'her', 'sisters', 'spirits', 'jane', 'was', 'not', 'happy', 'she', 'still', 'cherished', 'a', 'very', 'tender', 'affection', 'for', 'bingley', 'having', 'never', 'even', 'fancied', 'herself', 'in', 'love', 'before', 'her', 'regard', 'had', 'all', 'the', 'warmth', 'of', 'first', 'attachment', 'and', 'from', 'her', 'age', 'and', 'disposition', 'greater', 'steadiness', 'than', 'most', 'first', 'attachments', 'often', 'boast', 'and', 'so', 'fervently', 'did', 'she', 'value', 'his', 'remembrance', 'and', 'prefer', 'him', 'to', 'every', 'other', 'man', 'that', 'all', 'her', 'good', 'sense', 'and', 'all', 'her', 'attention', 'to', 'the', 'feelings', 'of', 'her', 'friends', 'were', 'requisite', 'to', 'check', 'the', 'indulgence', 'of', 'those', 'regrets', 'which', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'injurious', 'to', 'her', 'own', 'health', 'and', 'their', 'tranquillity', 'well', 'lizzy', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'one', 'day', 'what', 'is', 'your', 'opinion', 'now', 'of', 'this', 'sad', 'business', 'of', 'janes', 'for', 'my', 'part', 'i', 'am', 'determined', 'never', 'to', 'speak', 'of', 'it', 'again', 'to', 'anybody', 'i', 'told', 'my', 'sister', 'phillips', 'so', 'the', 'other', 'day', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'find', 'out', 'that', 'jane', 'saw', 'anything', 'of', 'him', 'in', 'london', 'well', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'undeserving', 'young', 'manand', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'suppose', 'theres', 'the', 'least', 'chance', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'of', 'her', 'ever', 'getting', 'him', 'now', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'talk', 'of', 'his', 'coming', 'to', 'netherfield', 'again', 'in', 'the', 'summer', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'enquired', 'of', 'everybody', 'too', 'who', 'is', 'likely', 'to', 'know', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'believe', 'he', 'will', 'ever', 'live', 'at', 'netherfield', 'any', 'more', 'oh', 'well', 'it', 'is', 'just', 'as', 'he', 'chooses', 'nobody', 'wants', 'him', 'to', 'come', 'though', 'i', 'shall', 'always', 'say', 'he', 'used', 'my', 'daughter', 'extremely', 'ill', 'and', 'if', 'i', 'was', 'her', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'put', 'up', 'with', 'it', 'well', 'my', 'comfort', 'is', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'jane', 'will', 'die', 'of', 'a', 'broken', 'heart', 'and', 'then', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'sorry', 'for', 'what', 'he', 'has', 'done', 'but', 'as', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'receive', 'comfort', 'from', 'any', 'such', 'expectation', 'she', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'well', 'lizzy', 'continued', 'her', 'mother', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'and', 'so', 'the', 'collinses', 'live', 'very', 'comfortable', 'do', 'they', 'well', 'well', 'i', 'only', 'hope', 'it', 'will', 'last', 'and', 'what', 'sort', 'of', 'table', 'do', 'they', 'keep', 'charlotte', 'is', 'an', 'excellent', 'manager', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'if', 'she', 'is', 'half', 'as', 'sharp', 'as', 'her', 'mother', 'she', 'is', 'saving', 'enough', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'extravagant', 'in', 'their', 'housekeeping', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'no', 'nothing', 'at', 'all', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'good', 'management', 'depend', 'upon', 'it', 'yes', 'yes', 'they', 'will', 'take', 'care', 'not', 'to', 'outrun', 'their', 'income', 'they', 'will', 'never', 'be', 'distressed', 'for', 'money', 'well', 'much', 'good', 'may', 'it', 'do', 'them', 'and', 'so', 'i', 'suppose', 'they', 'often', 'talk', 'of', 'having', 'longbourn', 'when', 'your', 'father', 'is', 'dead', 'they', 'look', 'upon', 'it', 'as', 'quite', 'their', 'own', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'whenever', 'that', 'happens', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'subject', 'which', 'they', 'could', 'not', 'mention', 'before', 'me', 'no', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'strange', 'if', 'they', 'had', 'but', 'i', 'make', 'no', 'doubt', 'they', 'often', 'talk', 'of', 'it', 'between', 'themselves', 'well', 'if', 'they', 'can', 'be', 'easy', 'with', 'an', 'estate', 'that', 'is', 'not', 'lawfully', 'their', 'own', 'so', 'much', 'the', 'better', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'ashamed', 'of', 'having', 'one', 'that', 'was', 'only', 'entailed', 'on', 'me', 'the', 'first', 'week', 'of', 'their', 'return', 'was', 'soon', 'gone', 'the', 'second', 'began', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'last', 'of', 'the', 'regiments', 'stay', 'in', 'meryton', 'and', 'all', 'the', 'young', 'ladies', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'were', 'drooping', 'apace', 'the', 'dejection', 'was', 'almost', 'universal', 'the', 'elder', 'miss', 'bennets', 'alone', 'were', 'still', 'able', 'to', 'eat', 'drink', 'and', 'sleep', 'and', 'pursue', 'the', 'usual', 'course', 'of', 'their', 'employments', 'very', 'frequently', 'were', 'they', 'reproached', 'for', 'this', 'insensibility', 'by', 'kitty', 'and', 'lydia', 'whose', 'own', 'misery', 'was', 'extreme', 'and', 'who', 'could', 'not', 'comprehend', 'such', 'hardheartedness', 'in', 'any', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'good', 'heaven', 'what', 'is', 'to', 'become', 'of', 'us', 'what', 'are', 'we', 'to', 'do', 'would', 'they', 'often', 'exclaim', 'in', 'the', 'bitterness', 'of', 'woe', 'how', 'can', 'you', 'be', 'smiling', 'so', 'lizzy', 'their', 'affectionate', 'mother', 'shared', 'all', 'their', 'grief', 'she', 'remembered', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'herself', 'endured', 'on', 'a', 'similar', 'occasion', 'fiveandtwenty', 'years', 'ago', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'said', 'she', 'i', 'cried', 'for', 'two', 'days', 'together', 'when', 'colonel', 'millers', 'regiment', 'went', 'away', 'i', 'thought', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'broken', 'my', 'heart', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'shall', 'break', 'mine', 'said', 'lydia', 'if', 'one', 'could', 'but', 'go', 'to', 'brighton', 'observed', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'oh', 'yesif', 'one', 'could', 'but', 'go', 'to', 'brighton', 'but', 'papa', 'is', 'so', 'disagreeable', 'a', 'little', 'seabathing', 'would', 'set', 'me', 'up', 'forever', 'and', 'my', 'aunt', 'phillips', 'is', 'sure', 'it', 'would', 'do', 'me', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'good', 'added', 'kitty', 'such', 'were', 'the', 'kind', 'of', 'lamentations', 'resounding', 'perpetually', 'through', 'longbourn', 'house', 'elizabeth', 'tried', 'to', 'be', 'diverted', 'by', 'them', 'but', 'all', 'sense', 'of', 'pleasure', 'was', 'lost', 'in', 'shame', 'she', 'felt', 'anew', 'the', 'justice', 'of', 'mr', 'darcys', 'objections', 'and', 'never', 'had', 'she', 'been', 'so', 'much', 'disposed', 'to', 'pardon', 'his', 'interference', 'in', 'the', 'views', 'of', 'his', 'friend', 'but', 'the', 'gloom', 'of', 'lydias', 'prospect', 'was', 'shortly', 'cleared', 'away', 'for', 'she', 'received', 'an', 'invitation', 'from', 'mrs', 'forster', 'the', 'wife', 'of', 'the', 'colonel', 'of', 'the', 'regiment', 'to', 'accompany', 'her', 'to', 'brighton', 'this', 'invaluable', 'friend', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'young', 'woman', 'and', 'very', 'lately', 'married', 'a', 'resemblance', 'in', 'good', 'humour', 'and', 'good', 'spirits', 'had', 'recommended', 'her', 'and', 'lydia', 'to', 'each', 'other', 'and', 'out', 'of', 'their', 'three', 'months', 'acquaintance', 'they', 'had', 'been', 'intimate', 'two', 'the', 'rapture', 'of', 'lydia', 'on', 'this', 'occasion', 'her', 'adoration', 'of', 'mrs', 'forster', 'the', 'delight', 'of', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'the', 'mortification', 'of', 'kitty', 'are', 'scarcely', 'to', 'be', 'described', 'wholly', 'inattentive', 'to', 'her', 'sisters', 'feelings', 'lydia', 'flew', 'about', 'the', 'house', 'in', 'restless', 'ecstasy', 'calling', 'for', 'everyones', 'congratulations', 'and', 'laughing', 'and', 'talking', 'with', 'more', 'violence', 'than', 'ever', 'whilst', 'the', 'luckless', 'kitty', 'continued', 'in', 'the', 'parlour', 'repining', 'at', 'her', 'fate', 'in', 'terms', 'as', 'unreasonable', 'as', 'her', 'accent', 'was', 'peevish', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'see', 'why', 'mrs', 'forster', 'should', 'not', 'ask', 'me', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'lydia', 'said', 'she', 'though', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'her', 'particular', 'friend', 'i', 'have', 'just', 'as', 'much', 'right', 'to', 'be', 'asked', 'as', 'she', 'has', 'and', 'more', 'too', 'for', 'i', 'am', 'two', 'years', 'older', 'in', 'vain', 'did', 'elizabeth', 'attempt', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'reasonable', 'and', 'jane', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'resigned', 'as', 'for', 'elizabeth', 'herself', 'this', 'invitation', 'was', 'so', 'far', 'from', 'exciting', 'in', 'her', 'the', 'same', 'feelings', 'as', 'in', 'her', 'mother', 'and', 'lydia', 'that', 'she', 'considered', 'it', 'as', 'the', 'death', 'warrant', 'of', 'all', 'possibility', 'of', 'common', 'sense', 'for', 'the', 'latter', 'and', 'detestable', 'as', 'such', 'a', 'step', 'must', 'make', 'her', 'were', 'it', 'known', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'secretly', 'advising', 'her', 'father', 'not', 'to', 'let', 'her', 'go', 'she', 'represented', 'to', 'him', 'all', 'the', 'improprieties', 'of', 'lydias', 'general', 'behaviour', 'the', 'little', 'advantage', 'she', 'could', 'derive', 'from', 'the', 'friendship', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'woman', 'as', 'mrs', 'forster', 'and', 'the', 'probability', 'of', 'her', 'being', 'yet', 'more', 'imprudent', 'with', 'such', 'a', 'companion', 'at', 'brighton', 'where', 'the', 'temptations', 'must', 'be', 'greater', 'than', 'at', 'home', 'he', 'heard', 'her', 'attentively', 'and', 'then', 'said', 'lydia', 'will', 'never', 'be', 'easy', 'until', 'she', 'has', 'exposed', 'herself', 'in', 'some', 'public', 'place', 'or', 'other', 'and', 'we', 'can', 'never', 'expect', 'her', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'with', 'so', 'little', 'expense', 'or', 'inconvenience', 'to', 'her', 'family', 'as', 'under', 'the', 'present', 'circumstances', 'if', 'you', 'were', 'aware', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'of', 'the', 'very', 'great', 'disadvantage', 'to', 'us', 'all', 'which', 'must', 'arise', 'from', 'the', 'public', 'notice', 'of', 'lydias', 'unguarded', 'and', 'imprudent', 'mannernay', 'which', 'has', 'already', 'arisen', 'from', 'it', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'you', 'would', 'judge', 'differently', 'in', 'the', 'affair', 'already', 'arisen', 'repeated', 'mr', 'bennet', 'what', 'has', 'she', 'frightened', 'away', 'some', 'of', 'your', 'lovers', 'poor', 'little', 'lizzy', 'but', 'do', 'not', 'be', 'cast', 'down', 'such', 'squeamish', 'youths', 'as', 'can', 'not', 'bear', 'to', 'be', 'connected', 'with', 'a', 'little', 'absurdity', 'are', 'not', 'worth', 'a', 'regret', 'come', 'let', 'me', 'see', 'the', 'list', 'of', 'pitiful', 'fellows', 'who', 'have', 'been', 'kept', 'aloof', 'by', 'lydias', 'folly', 'indeed', 'you', 'are', 'mistaken', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'such', 'injuries', 'to', 'resent', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'of', 'particular', 'but', 'of', 'general', 'evils', 'which', 'i', 'am', 'now', 'complaining', 'our', 'importance', 'our', 'respectability', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'must', 'be', 'affected', 'by', 'the', 'wild', 'volatility', 'the', 'assurance', 'and', 'disdain', 'of', 'all', 'restraint', 'which', 'mark', 'lydias', 'character', 'excuse', 'me', 'for', 'i', 'must', 'speak', 'plainly', 'if', 'you', 'my', 'dear', 'father', 'will', 'not', 'take', 'the', 'trouble', 'of', 'checking', 'her', 'exuberant', 'spirits', 'and', 'of', 'teaching', 'her', 'that', 'her', 'present', 'pursuits', 'are', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'business', 'of', 'her', 'life', 'she', 'will', 'soon', 'be', 'beyond', 'the', 'reach', 'of', 'amendment', 'her', 'character', 'will', 'be', 'fixed', 'and', 'she', 'will', 'at', 'sixteen', 'be', 'the', 'most', 'determined', 'flirt', 'that', 'ever', 'made', 'herself', 'or', 'her', 'family', 'ridiculous', 'a', 'flirt', 'too', 'in', 'the', 'worst', 'and', 'meanest', 'degree', 'of', 'flirtation', 'without', 'any', 'attraction', 'beyond', 'youth', 'and', 'a', 'tolerable', 'person', 'and', 'from', 'the', 'ignorance', 'and', 'emptiness', 'of', 'her', 'mind', 'wholly', 'unable', 'to', 'ward', 'off', 'any', 'portion', 'of', 'that', 'universal', 'contempt', 'which', 'her', 'rage', 'for', 'admiration', 'will', 'excite', 'in', 'this', 'danger', 'kitty', 'also', 'is', 'comprehended', 'she', 'will', 'follow', 'wherever', 'lydia', 'leads', 'vain', 'ignorant', 'idle', 'and', 'absolutely', 'uncontrolled', 'oh', 'my', 'dear', 'father', 'can', 'you', 'suppose', 'it', 'possible', 'that', 'they', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'censured', 'and', 'despised', 'wherever', 'they', 'are', 'known', 'and', 'that', 'their', 'sisters', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'often', 'involved', 'in', 'the', 'disgrace', 'mr', 'bennet', 'saw', 'that', 'her', 'whole', 'heart', 'was', 'in', 'the', 'subject', 'and', 'affectionately', 'taking', 'her', 'hand', 'said', 'in', 'reply', 'do', 'not', 'make', 'yourself', 'uneasy', 'my', 'love', 'wherever', 'you', 'and', 'jane', 'are', 'known', 'you', 'must', 'be', 'respected', 'and', 'valued', 'and', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'appear', 'to', 'less', 'advantage', 'for', 'having', 'a', 'couple', 'ofor', 'i', 'may', 'say', 'threevery', 'silly', 'sisters', 'we', 'shall', 'have', 'no', 'peace', 'at', 'longbourn', 'if', 'lydia', 'does', 'not', 'go', 'to', 'brighton', 'let', 'her', 'go', 'then', 'colonel', 'forster', 'is', 'a', 'sensible', 'man', 'and', 'will', 'keep', 'her', 'out', 'of', 'any', 'real', 'mischief', 'and', 'she', 'is', 'luckily', 'too', 'poor', 'to', 'be', 'an', 'object', 'of', 'prey', 'to', 'anybody', 'at', 'brighton', 'she', 'will', 'be', 'of', 'less', 'importance', 'even', 'as', 'a', 'common', 'flirt', 'than', 'she', 'has', 'been', 'here', 'the', 'officers', 'will', 'find', 'women', 'better', 'worth', 'their', 'notice', 'let', 'us', 'hope', 'therefore', 'that', 'her', 'being', 'there', 'may', 'teach', 'her', 'her', 'own', 'insignificance', 'at', 'any', 'rate', 'she', 'can', 'not', 'grow', 'many', 'degrees', 'worse', 'without', 'authorising', 'us', 'to', 'lock', 'her', 'up', 'for', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'her', 'life', 'with', 'this', 'answer', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'forced', 'to', 'be', 'content', 'but', 'her', 'own', 'opinion', 'continued', 'the', 'same', 'and', 'she', 'left', 'him', 'disappointed', 'and', 'sorry', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'in', 'her', 'nature', 'however', 'to', 'increase', 'her', 'vexations', 'by', 'dwelling', 'on', 'them', 'she', 'was', 'confident', 'of', 'having', 'performed', 'her', 'duty', 'and', 'to', 'fret', 'over', 'unavoidable', 'evils', 'or', 'augment', 'them', 'by', 'anxiety', 'was', 'no', 'part', 'of', 'her', 'disposition', 'had', 'lydia', 'and', 'her', 'mother', 'known', 'the', 'substance', 'of', 'her', 'conference', 'with', 'her', 'father', 'their', 'indignation', 'would', 'hardly', 'have', 'found', 'expression', 'in', 'their', 'united', 'volubility', 'in', 'lydias', 'imagination', 'a', 'visit', 'to', 'brighton', 'comprised', 'every', 'possibility', 'of', 'earthly', 'happiness', 'she', 'saw', 'with', 'the', 'creative', 'eye', 'of', 'fancy', 'the', 'streets', 'of', 'that', 'gay', 'bathingplace', 'covered', 'with', 'officers', 'she', 'saw', 'herself', 'the', 'object', 'of', 'attention', 'to', 'tens', 'and', 'to', 'scores', 'of', 'them', 'at', 'present', 'unknown', 'she', 'saw', 'all', 'the', 'glories', 'of', 'the', 'campits', 'tents', 'stretched', 'forth', 'in', 'beauteous', 'uniformity', 'of', 'lines', 'crowded', 'with', 'the', 'young', 'and', 'the', 'gay', 'and', 'dazzling', 'with', 'scarlet', 'and', 'to', 'complete', 'the', 'view', 'she', 'saw', 'herself', 'seated', 'beneath', 'a', 'tent', 'tenderly', 'flirting', 'with', 'at', 'least', 'six', 'officers', 'at', 'once', 'had', 'she', 'known', 'her', 'sister', 'sought', 'to', 'tear', 'her', 'from', 'such', 'prospects', 'and', 'such', 'realities', 'as', 'these', 'what', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'her', 'sensations', 'they', 'could', 'have', 'been', 'understood', 'only', 'by', 'her', 'mother', 'who', 'might', 'have', 'felt', 'nearly', 'the', 'same', 'lydias', 'going', 'to', 'brighton', 'was', 'all', 'that', 'consoled', 'her', 'for', 'her', 'melancholy', 'conviction', 'of', 'her', 'husbands', 'never', 'intending', 'to', 'go', 'there', 'himself', 'but', 'they', 'were', 'entirely', 'ignorant', 'of', 'what', 'had', 'passed', 'and', 'their', 'raptures', 'continued', 'with', 'little', 'intermission', 'to', 'the', 'very', 'day', 'of', 'lydias', 'leaving', 'home', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'now', 'to', 'see', 'mr', 'wickham', 'for', 'the', 'last', 'time', 'having', 'been', 'frequently', 'in', 'company', 'with', 'him', 'since', 'her', 'return', 'agitation', 'was', 'pretty', 'well', 'over', 'the', 'agitations', 'of', 'former', 'partiality', 'entirely', 'so', 'she', 'had', 'even', 'learnt', 'to', 'detect', 'in', 'the', 'very', 'gentleness', 'which', 'had', 'first', 'delighted', 'her', 'an', 'affectation', 'and', 'a', 'sameness', 'to', 'disgust', 'and', 'weary', 'in', 'his', 'present', 'behaviour', 'to', 'herself', 'moreover', 'she', 'had', 'a', 'fresh', 'source', 'of', 'displeasure', 'for', 'the', 'inclination', 'he', 'soon', 'testified', 'of', 'renewing', 'those', 'intentions', 'which', 'had', 'marked', 'the', 'early', 'part', 'of', 'their', 'acquaintance', 'could', 'only', 'serve', 'after', 'what', 'had', 'since', 'passed', 'to', 'provoke', 'her', 'she', 'lost', 'all', 'concern', 'for', 'him', 'in', 'finding', 'herself', 'thus', 'selected', 'as', 'the', 'object', 'of', 'such', 'idle', 'and', 'frivolous', 'gallantry', 'and', 'while', 'she', 'steadily', 'repressed', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'but', 'feel', 'the', 'reproof', 'contained', 'in', 'his', 'believing', 'that', 'however', 'long', 'and', 'for', 'whatever', 'cause', 'his', 'attentions', 'had', 'been', 'withdrawn', 'her', 'vanity', 'would', 'be', 'gratified', 'and', 'her', 'preference', 'secured', 'at', 'any', 'time', 'by', 'their', 'renewal', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'last', 'day', 'of', 'the', 'regiments', 'remaining', 'at', 'meryton', 'he', 'dined', 'with', 'others', 'of', 'the', 'officers', 'at', 'longbourn', 'and', 'so', 'little', 'was', 'elizabeth', 'disposed', 'to', 'part', 'from', 'him', 'in', 'good', 'humour', 'that', 'on', 'his', 'making', 'some', 'enquiry', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'manner', 'in', 'which', 'her', 'time', 'had', 'passed', 'at', 'hunsford', 'she', 'mentioned', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliams', 'and', 'mr', 'darcys', 'having', 'both', 'spent', 'three', 'weeks', 'at', 'rosings', 'and', 'asked', 'him', 'if', 'he', 'was', 'acquainted', 'with', 'the', 'former', 'he', 'looked', 'surprised', 'displeased', 'alarmed', 'but', 'with', 'a', 'moments', 'recollection', 'and', 'a', 'returning', 'smile', 'replied', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'formerly', 'seen', 'him', 'often', 'and', 'after', 'observing', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'gentlemanlike', 'man', 'asked', 'her', 'how', 'she', 'had', 'liked', 'him', 'her', 'answer', 'was', 'warmly', 'in', 'his', 'favour', 'with', 'an', 'air', 'of', 'indifference', 'he', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'added', 'how', 'long', 'did', 'you', 'say', 'he', 'was', 'at', 'rosings', 'nearly', 'three', 'weeks', 'and', 'you', 'saw', 'him', 'frequently', 'yes', 'almost', 'every', 'day', 'his', 'manners', 'are', 'very', 'different', 'from', 'his', 'cousins', 'yes', 'very', 'different', 'but', 'i', 'think', 'mr', 'darcy', 'improves', 'upon', 'acquaintance', 'indeed', 'cried', 'mr', 'wickham', 'with', 'a', 'look', 'which', 'did', 'not', 'escape', 'her', 'and', 'pray', 'may', 'i', 'ask', 'but', 'checking', 'himself', 'he', 'added', 'in', 'a', 'gayer', 'tone', 'is', 'it', 'in', 'address', 'that', 'he', 'improves', 'has', 'he', 'deigned', 'to', 'add', 'aught', 'of', 'civility', 'to', 'his', 'ordinary', 'stylefor', 'i', 'dare', 'not', 'hope', 'he', 'continued', 'in', 'a', 'lower', 'and', 'more', 'serious', 'tone', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'improved', 'in', 'essentials', 'oh', 'no', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'in', 'essentials', 'i', 'believe', 'he', 'is', 'very', 'much', 'what', 'he', 'ever', 'was', 'while', 'she', 'spoke', 'wickham', 'looked', 'as', 'if', 'scarcely', 'knowing', 'whether', 'to', 'rejoice', 'over', 'her', 'words', 'or', 'to', 'distrust', 'their', 'meaning', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'something', 'in', 'her', 'countenance', 'which', 'made', 'him', 'listen', 'with', 'an', 'apprehensive', 'and', 'anxious', 'attention', 'while', 'she', 'added', 'when', 'i', 'said', 'that', 'he', 'improved', 'on', 'acquaintance', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'mean', 'that', 'his', 'mind', 'or', 'his', 'manners', 'were', 'in', 'a', 'state', 'of', 'improvement', 'but', 'that', 'from', 'knowing', 'him', 'better', 'his', 'disposition', 'was', 'better', 'understood', 'wickhams', 'alarm', 'now', 'appeared', 'in', 'a', 'heightened', 'complexion', 'and', 'agitated', 'look', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'he', 'was', 'silent', 'till', 'shaking', 'off', 'his', 'embarrassment', 'he', 'turned', 'to', 'her', 'again', 'and', 'said', 'in', 'the', 'gentlest', 'of', 'accents', 'you', 'who', 'so', 'well', 'know', 'my', 'feeling', 'towards', 'mr', 'darcy', 'will', 'readily', 'comprehend', 'how', 'sincerely', 'i', 'must', 'rejoice', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'wise', 'enough', 'to', 'assume', 'even', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'what', 'is', 'right', 'his', 'pride', 'in', 'that', 'direction', 'may', 'be', 'of', 'service', 'if', 'not', 'to', 'himself', 'to', 'many', 'others', 'for', 'it', 'must', 'only', 'deter', 'him', 'from', 'such', 'foul', 'misconduct', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'suffered', 'by', 'i', 'only', 'fear', 'that', 'the', 'sort', 'of', 'cautiousness', 'to', 'which', 'you', 'i', 'imagine', 'have', 'been', 'alluding', 'is', 'merely', 'adopted', 'on', 'his', 'visits', 'to', 'his', 'aunt', 'of', 'whose', 'good', 'opinion', 'and', 'judgement', 'he', 'stands', 'much', 'in', 'awe', 'his', 'fear', 'of', 'her', 'has', 'always', 'operated', 'i', 'know', 'when', 'they', 'were', 'together', 'and', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'imputed', 'to', 'his', 'wish', 'of', 'forwarding', 'the', 'match', 'with', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'which', 'i', 'am', 'certain', 'he', 'has', 'very', 'much', 'at', 'heart', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'repress', 'a', 'smile', 'at', 'this', 'but', 'she', 'answered', 'only', 'by', 'a', 'slight', 'inclination', 'of', 'the', 'head', 'she', 'saw', 'that', 'he', 'wanted', 'to', 'engage', 'her', 'on', 'the', 'old', 'subject', 'of', 'his', 'grievances', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'in', 'no', 'humour', 'to', 'indulge', 'him', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'evening', 'passed', 'with', 'the', 'appearance', 'on', 'his', 'side', 'of', 'usual', 'cheerfulness', 'but', 'with', 'no', 'further', 'attempt', 'to', 'distinguish', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'they', 'parted', 'at', 'last', 'with', 'mutual', 'civility', 'and', 'possibly', 'a', 'mutual', 'desire', 'of', 'never', 'meeting', 'again', 'when', 'the', 'party', 'broke', 'up', 'lydia', 'returned', 'with', 'mrs', 'forster', 'to', 'meryton', 'from', 'whence', 'they', 'were', 'to', 'set', 'out', 'early', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'the', 'separation', 'between', 'her', 'and', 'her', 'family', 'was', 'rather', 'noisy', 'than', 'pathetic', 'kitty', 'was', 'the', 'only', 'one', 'who', 'shed', 'tears', 'but', 'she', 'did', 'weep', 'from', 'vexation', 'and', 'envy', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'diffuse', 'in', 'her', 'good', 'wishes', 'for', 'the', 'felicity', 'of', 'her', 'daughter', 'and', 'impressive', 'in', 'her', 'injunctions', 'that', 'she', 'should', 'not', 'miss', 'the', 'opportunity', 'of', 'enjoying', 'herself', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'possibleadvice', 'which', 'there', 'was', 'every', 'reason', 'to', 'believe', 'would', 'be', 'well', 'attended', 'to', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'clamorous', 'happiness', 'of', 'lydia', 'herself', 'in', 'bidding', 'farewell', 'the', 'more', 'gentle', 'adieus', 'of', 'her', 'sisters', 'were', 'uttered', 'without', 'being', 'heard', 'had', 'elizabeths', 'opinion', 'been', 'all', 'drawn', 'from', 'her', 'own', 'family', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'formed', 'a', 'very', 'pleasing', 'opinion', 'of', 'conjugal', 'felicity', 'or', 'domestic', 'comfort', 'her', 'father', 'captivated', 'by', 'youth', 'and', 'beauty', 'and', 'that', 'appearance', 'of', 'good', 'humour', 'which', 'youth', 'and', 'beauty', 'generally', 'give', 'had', 'married', 'a', 'woman', 'whose', 'weak', 'understanding', 'and', 'illiberal', 'mind', 'had', 'very', 'early', 'in', 'their', 'marriage', 'put', 'an', 'end', 'to', 'all', 'real', 'affection', 'for', 'her', 'respect', 'esteem', 'and', 'confidence', 'had', 'vanished', 'for', 'ever', 'and', 'all', 'his', 'views', 'of', 'domestic', 'happiness', 'were', 'overthrown', 'but', 'mr', 'bennet', 'was', 'not', 'of', 'a', 'disposition', 'to', 'seek', 'comfort', 'for', 'the', 'disappointment', 'which', 'his', 'own', 'imprudence', 'had', 'brought', 'on', 'in', 'any', 'of', 'those', 'pleasures', 'which', 'too', 'often', 'console', 'the', 'unfortunate', 'for', 'their', 'folly', 'or', 'their', 'vice', 'he', 'was', 'fond', 'of', 'the', 'country', 'and', 'of', 'books', 'and', 'from', 'these', 'tastes', 'had', 'arisen', 'his', 'principal', 'enjoyments', 'to', 'his', 'wife', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'little', 'otherwise', 'indebted', 'than', 'as', 'her', 'ignorance', 'and', 'folly', 'had', 'contributed', 'to', 'his', 'amusement', 'this', 'is', 'not', 'the', 'sort', 'of', 'happiness', 'which', 'a', 'man', 'would', 'in', 'general', 'wish', 'to', 'owe', 'to', 'his', 'wife', 'but', 'where', 'other', 'powers', 'of', 'entertainment', 'are', 'wanting', 'the', 'true', 'philosopher', 'will', 'derive', 'benefit', 'from', 'such', 'as', 'are', 'given', 'elizabeth', 'however', 'had', 'never', 'been', 'blind', 'to', 'the', 'impropriety', 'of', 'her', 'fathers', 'behaviour', 'as', 'a', 'husband', 'she', 'had', 'always', 'seen', 'it', 'with', 'pain', 'but', 'respecting', 'his', 'abilities', 'and', 'grateful', 'for', 'his', 'affectionate', 'treatment', 'of', 'herself', 'she', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'forget', 'what', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'overlook', 'and', 'to', 'banish', 'from', 'her', 'thoughts', 'that', 'continual', 'breach', 'of', 'conjugal', 'obligation', 'and', 'decorum', 'which', 'in', 'exposing', 'his', 'wife', 'to', 'the', 'contempt', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'children', 'was', 'so', 'highly', 'reprehensible', 'but', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'felt', 'so', 'strongly', 'as', 'now', 'the', 'disadvantages', 'which', 'must', 'attend', 'the', 'children', 'of', 'so', 'unsuitable', 'a', 'marriage', 'nor', 'ever', 'been', 'so', 'fully', 'aware', 'of', 'the', 'evils', 'arising', 'from', 'so', 'illjudged', 'a', 'direction', 'of', 'talents', 'talents', 'which', 'rightly', 'used', 'might', 'at', 'least', 'have', 'preserved', 'the', 'respectability', 'of', 'his', 'daughters', 'even', 'if', 'incapable', 'of', 'enlarging', 'the', 'mind', 'of', 'his', 'wife', 'when', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'rejoiced', 'over', 'wickhams', 'departure', 'she', 'found', 'little', 'other', 'cause', 'for', 'satisfaction', 'in', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'the', 'regiment', 'their', 'parties', 'abroad', 'were', 'less', 'varied', 'than', 'before', 'and', 'at', 'home', 'she', 'had', 'a', 'mother', 'and', 'sister', 'whose', 'constant', 'repinings', 'at', 'the', 'dullness', 'of', 'everything', 'around', 'them', 'threw', 'a', 'real', 'gloom', 'over', 'their', 'domestic', 'circle', 'and', 'though', 'kitty', 'might', 'in', 'time', 'regain', 'her', 'natural', 'degree', 'of', 'sense', 'since', 'the', 'disturbers', 'of', 'her', 'brain', 'were', 'removed', 'her', 'other', 'sister', 'from', 'whose', 'disposition', 'greater', 'evil', 'might', 'be', 'apprehended', 'was', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'hardened', 'in', 'all', 'her', 'folly', 'and', 'assurance', 'by', 'a', 'situation', 'of', 'such', 'double', 'danger', 'as', 'a', 'wateringplace', 'and', 'a', 'camp', 'upon', 'the', 'whole', 'therefore', 'she', 'found', 'what', 'has', 'been', 'sometimes', 'found', 'before', 'that', 'an', 'event', 'to', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'looked', 'forward', 'with', 'impatient', 'desire', 'did', 'not', 'in', 'taking', 'place', 'bring', 'all', 'the', 'satisfaction', 'she', 'had', 'promised', 'herself', 'it', 'was', 'consequently', 'necessary', 'to', 'name', 'some', 'other', 'period', 'for', 'the', 'commencement', 'of', 'actual', 'felicityto', 'have', 'some', 'other', 'point', 'on', 'which', 'her', 'wishes', 'and', 'hopes', 'might', 'be', 'fixed', 'and', 'by', 'again', 'enjoying', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'anticipation', 'console', 'herself', 'for', 'the', 'present', 'and', 'prepare', 'for', 'another', 'disappointment', 'her', 'tour', 'to', 'the', 'lakes', 'was', 'now', 'the', 'object', 'of', 'her', 'happiest', 'thoughts', 'it', 'was', 'her', 'best', 'consolation', 'for', 'all', 'the', 'uncomfortable', 'hours', 'which', 'the', 'discontentedness', 'of', 'her', 'mother', 'and', 'kitty', 'made', 'inevitable', 'and', 'could', 'she', 'have', 'included', 'jane', 'in', 'the', 'scheme', 'every', 'part', 'of', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'perfect', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'fortunate', 'thought', 'she', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'something', 'to', 'wish', 'for', 'were', 'the', 'whole', 'arrangement', 'complete', 'my', 'disappointment', 'would', 'be', 'certain', 'but', 'here', 'by', 'carrying', 'with', 'me', 'one', 'ceaseless', 'source', 'of', 'regret', 'in', 'my', 'sisters', 'absence', 'i', 'may', 'reasonably', 'hope', 'to', 'have', 'all', 'my', 'expectations', 'of', 'pleasure', 'realised', 'a', 'scheme', 'of', 'which', 'every', 'part', 'promises', 'delight', 'can', 'never', 'be', 'successful', 'and', 'general', 'disappointment', 'is', 'only', 'warded', 'off', 'by', 'the', 'defence', 'of', 'some', 'little', 'peculiar', 'vexation', 'when', 'lydia', 'went', 'away', 'she', 'promised', 'to', 'write', 'very', 'often', 'and', 'very', 'minutely', 'to', 'her', 'mother', 'and', 'kitty', 'but', 'her', 'letters', 'were', 'always', 'long', 'expected', 'and', 'always', 'very', 'short', 'those', 'to', 'her', 'mother', 'contained', 'little', 'else', 'than', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'just', 'returned', 'from', 'the', 'library', 'where', 'such', 'and', 'such', 'officers', 'had', 'attended', 'them', 'and', 'where', 'she', 'had', 'seen', 'such', 'beautiful', 'ornaments', 'as', 'made', 'her', 'quite', 'wild', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'a', 'new', 'gown', 'or', 'a', 'new', 'parasol', 'which', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'described', 'more', 'fully', 'but', 'was', 'obliged', 'to', 'leave', 'off', 'in', 'a', 'violent', 'hurry', 'as', 'mrs', 'forster', 'called', 'her', 'and', 'they', 'were', 'going', 'off', 'to', 'the', 'camp', 'and', 'from', 'her', 'correspondence', 'with', 'her', 'sister', 'there', 'was', 'still', 'less', 'to', 'be', 'learntfor', 'her', 'letters', 'to', 'kitty', 'though', 'rather', 'longer', 'were', 'much', 'too', 'full', 'of', 'lines', 'under', 'the', 'words', 'to', 'be', 'made', 'public', 'after', 'the', 'first', 'fortnight', 'or', 'three', 'weeks', 'of', 'her', 'absence', 'health', 'good', 'humour', 'and', 'cheerfulness', 'began', 'to', 'reappear', 'at', 'longbourn', 'everything', 'wore', 'a', 'happier', 'aspect', 'the', 'families', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'in', 'town', 'for', 'the', 'winter', 'came', 'back', 'again', 'and', 'summer', 'finery', 'and', 'summer', 'engagements', 'arose', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'restored', 'to', 'her', 'usual', 'querulous', 'serenity', 'and', 'by', 'the', 'middle', 'of', 'june', 'kitty', 'was', 'so', 'much', 'recovered', 'as', 'to', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'enter', 'meryton', 'without', 'tears', 'an', 'event', 'of', 'such', 'happy', 'promise', 'as', 'to', 'make', 'elizabeth', 'hope', 'that', 'by', 'the', 'following', 'christmas', 'she', 'might', 'be', 'so', 'tolerably', 'reasonable', 'as', 'not', 'to', 'mention', 'an', 'officer', 'above', 'once', 'a', 'day', 'unless', 'by', 'some', 'cruel', 'and', 'malicious', 'arrangement', 'at', 'the', 'war', 'office', 'another', 'regiment', 'should', 'be', 'quartered', 'in', 'meryton', 'the', 'time', 'fixed', 'for', 'the', 'beginning', 'of', 'their', 'northern', 'tour', 'was', 'now', 'fast', 'approaching', 'and', 'a', 'fortnight', 'only', 'was', 'wanting', 'of', 'it', 'when', 'a', 'letter', 'arrived', 'from', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'which', 'at', 'once', 'delayed', 'its', 'commencement', 'and', 'curtailed', 'its', 'extent', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'would', 'be', 'prevented', 'by', 'business', 'from', 'setting', 'out', 'till', 'a', 'fortnight', 'later', 'in', 'july', 'and', 'must', 'be', 'in', 'london', 'again', 'within', 'a', 'month', 'and', 'as', 'that', 'left', 'too', 'short', 'a', 'period', 'for', 'them', 'to', 'go', 'so', 'far', 'and', 'see', 'so', 'much', 'as', 'they', 'had', 'proposed', 'or', 'at', 'least', 'to', 'see', 'it', 'with', 'the', 'leisure', 'and', 'comfort', 'they', 'had', 'built', 'on', 'they', 'were', 'obliged', 'to', 'give', 'up', 'the', 'lakes', 'and', 'substitute', 'a', 'more', 'contracted', 'tour', 'and', 'according', 'to', 'the', 'present', 'plan', 'were', 'to', 'go', 'no', 'farther', 'northwards', 'than', 'derbyshire', 'in', 'that', 'county', 'there', 'was', 'enough', 'to', 'be', 'seen', 'to', 'occupy', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'their', 'three', 'weeks', 'and', 'to', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'it', 'had', 'a', 'peculiarly', 'strong', 'attraction', 'the', 'town', 'where', 'she', 'had', 'formerly', 'passed', 'some', 'years', 'of', 'her', 'life', 'and', 'where', 'they', 'were', 'now', 'to', 'spend', 'a', 'few', 'days', 'was', 'probably', 'as', 'great', 'an', 'object', 'of', 'her', 'curiosity', 'as', 'all', 'the', 'celebrated', 'beauties', 'of', 'matlock', 'chatsworth', 'dovedale', 'or', 'the', 'peak', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'excessively', 'disappointed', 'she', 'had', 'set', 'her', 'heart', 'on', 'seeing', 'the', 'lakes', 'and', 'still', 'thought', 'there', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'time', 'enough', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'her', 'business', 'to', 'be', 'satisfiedand', 'certainly', 'her', 'temper', 'to', 'be', 'happy', 'and', 'all', 'was', 'soon', 'right', 'again', 'with', 'the', 'mention', 'of', 'derbyshire', 'there', 'were', 'many', 'ideas', 'connected', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'for', 'her', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'word', 'without', 'thinking', 'of', 'pemberley', 'and', 'its', 'owner', 'but', 'surely', 'said', 'she', 'i', 'may', 'enter', 'his', 'county', 'with', 'impunity', 'and', 'rob', 'it', 'of', 'a', 'few', 'petrified', 'spars', 'without', 'his', 'perceiving', 'me', 'the', 'period', 'of', 'expectation', 'was', 'now', 'doubled', 'four', 'weeks', 'were', 'to', 'pass', 'away', 'before', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunts', 'arrival', 'but', 'they', 'did', 'pass', 'away', 'and', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'with', 'their', 'four', 'children', 'did', 'at', 'length', 'appear', 'at', 'longbourn', 'the', 'children', 'two', 'girls', 'of', 'six', 'and', 'eight', 'years', 'old', 'and', 'two', 'younger', 'boys', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'left', 'under', 'the', 'particular', 'care', 'of', 'their', 'cousin', 'jane', 'who', 'was', 'the', 'general', 'favourite', 'and', 'whose', 'steady', 'sense', 'and', 'sweetness', 'of', 'temper', 'exactly', 'adapted', 'her', 'for', 'attending', 'to', 'them', 'in', 'every', 'wayteaching', 'them', 'playing', 'with', 'them', 'and', 'loving', 'them', 'the', 'gardiners', 'stayed', 'only', 'one', 'night', 'at', 'longbourn', 'and', 'set', 'off', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'with', 'elizabeth', 'in', 'pursuit', 'of', 'novelty', 'and', 'amusement', 'one', 'enjoyment', 'was', 'certainthat', 'of', 'suitableness', 'of', 'companions', 'a', 'suitableness', 'which', 'comprehended', 'health', 'and', 'temper', 'to', 'bear', 'inconveniencescheerfulness', 'to', 'enhance', 'every', 'pleasureand', 'affection', 'and', 'intelligence', 'which', 'might', 'supply', 'it', 'among', 'themselves', 'if', 'there', 'were', 'disappointments', 'abroad', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'the', 'object', 'of', 'this', 'work', 'to', 'give', 'a', 'description', 'of', 'derbyshire', 'nor', 'of', 'any', 'of', 'the', 'remarkable', 'places', 'through', 'which', 'their', 'route', 'thither', 'lay', 'oxford', 'blenheim', 'warwick', 'kenilworth', 'birmingham', 'etc', 'are', 'sufficiently', 'known', 'a', 'small', 'part', 'of', 'derbyshire', 'is', 'all', 'the', 'present', 'concern', 'to', 'the', 'little', 'town', 'of', 'lambton', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'mrs', 'gardiners', 'former', 'residence', 'and', 'where', 'she', 'had', 'lately', 'learned', 'some', 'acquaintance', 'still', 'remained', 'they', 'bent', 'their', 'steps', 'after', 'having', 'seen', 'all', 'the', 'principal', 'wonders', 'of', 'the', 'country', 'and', 'within', 'five', 'miles', 'of', 'lambton', 'elizabeth', 'found', 'from', 'her', 'aunt', 'that', 'pemberley', 'was', 'situated', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'in', 'their', 'direct', 'road', 'nor', 'more', 'than', 'a', 'mile', 'or', 'two', 'out', 'of', 'it', 'in', 'talking', 'over', 'their', 'route', 'the', 'evening', 'before', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'expressed', 'an', 'inclination', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'place', 'again', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'declared', 'his', 'willingness', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'applied', 'to', 'for', 'her', 'approbation', 'my', 'love', 'should', 'not', 'you', 'like', 'to', 'see', 'a', 'place', 'of', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'heard', 'so', 'much', 'said', 'her', 'aunt', 'a', 'place', 'too', 'with', 'which', 'so', 'many', 'of', 'your', 'acquaintances', 'are', 'connected', 'wickham', 'passed', 'all', 'his', 'youth', 'there', 'you', 'know', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'distressed', 'she', 'felt', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'business', 'at', 'pemberley', 'and', 'was', 'obliged', 'to', 'assume', 'a', 'disinclination', 'for', 'seeing', 'it', 'she', 'must', 'own', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'tired', 'of', 'seeing', 'great', 'houses', 'after', 'going', 'over', 'so', 'many', 'she', 'really', 'had', 'no', 'pleasure', 'in', 'fine', 'carpets', 'or', 'satin', 'curtains', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'abused', 'her', 'stupidity', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'merely', 'a', 'fine', 'house', 'richly', 'furnished', 'said', 'she', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'care', 'about', 'it', 'myself', 'but', 'the', 'grounds', 'are', 'delightful', 'they', 'have', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'finest', 'woods', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'elizabeth', 'said', 'no', 'morebut', 'her', 'mind', 'could', 'not', 'acquiesce', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'meeting', 'mr', 'darcy', 'while', 'viewing', 'the', 'place', 'instantly', 'occurred', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'dreadful', 'she', 'blushed', 'at', 'the', 'very', 'idea', 'and', 'thought', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'better', 'to', 'speak', 'openly', 'to', 'her', 'aunt', 'than', 'to', 'run', 'such', 'a', 'risk', 'but', 'against', 'this', 'there', 'were', 'objections', 'and', 'she', 'finally', 'resolved', 'that', 'it', 'could', 'be', 'the', 'last', 'resource', 'if', 'her', 'private', 'enquiries', 'to', 'the', 'absence', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'were', 'unfavourably', 'answered', 'accordingly', 'when', 'she', 'retired', 'at', 'night', 'she', 'asked', 'the', 'chambermaid', 'whether', 'pemberley', 'were', 'not', 'a', 'very', 'fine', 'place', 'what', 'was', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'its', 'proprietor', 'and', 'with', 'no', 'little', 'alarm', 'whether', 'the', 'family', 'were', 'down', 'for', 'the', 'summer', 'a', 'most', 'welcome', 'negative', 'followed', 'the', 'last', 'questionand', 'her', 'alarms', 'now', 'being', 'removed', 'she', 'was', 'at', 'leisure', 'to', 'feel', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'curiosity', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'house', 'herself', 'and', 'when', 'the', 'subject', 'was', 'revived', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'again', 'applied', 'to', 'could', 'readily', 'answer', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'proper', 'air', 'of', 'indifference', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'really', 'any', 'dislike', 'to', 'the', 'scheme', 'to', 'pemberley', 'therefore', 'they', 'were', 'to', 'go', 'elizabeth', 'as', 'they', 'drove', 'along', 'watched', 'for', 'the', 'first', 'appearance', 'of', 'pemberley', 'woods', 'with', 'some', 'perturbation', 'and', 'when', 'at', 'length', 'they', 'turned', 'in', 'at', 'the', 'lodge', 'her', 'spirits', 'were', 'in', 'a', 'high', 'flutter', 'the', 'park', 'was', 'very', 'large', 'and', 'contained', 'great', 'variety', 'of', 'ground', 'they', 'entered', 'it', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'its', 'lowest', 'points', 'and', 'drove', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'through', 'a', 'beautiful', 'wood', 'stretching', 'over', 'a', 'wide', 'extent', 'elizabeths', 'mind', 'was', 'too', 'full', 'for', 'conversation', 'but', 'she', 'saw', 'and', 'admired', 'every', 'remarkable', 'spot', 'and', 'point', 'of', 'view', 'they', 'gradually', 'ascended', 'for', 'halfamile', 'and', 'then', 'found', 'themselves', 'at', 'the', 'top', 'of', 'a', 'considerable', 'eminence', 'where', 'the', 'wood', 'ceased', 'and', 'the', 'eye', 'was', 'instantly', 'caught', 'by', 'pemberley', 'house', 'situated', 'on', 'the', 'opposite', 'side', 'of', 'a', 'valley', 'into', 'which', 'the', 'road', 'with', 'some', 'abruptness', 'wound', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'large', 'handsome', 'stone', 'building', 'standing', 'well', 'on', 'rising', 'ground', 'and', 'backed', 'by', 'a', 'ridge', 'of', 'high', 'woody', 'hills', 'and', 'in', 'front', 'a', 'stream', 'of', 'some', 'natural', 'importance', 'was', 'swelled', 'into', 'greater', 'but', 'without', 'any', 'artificial', 'appearance', 'its', 'banks', 'were', 'neither', 'formal', 'nor', 'falsely', 'adorned', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'delighted', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'seen', 'a', 'place', 'for', 'which', 'nature', 'had', 'done', 'more', 'or', 'where', 'natural', 'beauty', 'had', 'been', 'so', 'little', 'counteracted', 'by', 'an', 'awkward', 'taste', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'of', 'them', 'warm', 'in', 'their', 'admiration', 'and', 'at', 'that', 'moment', 'she', 'felt', 'that', 'to', 'be', 'mistress', 'of', 'pemberley', 'might', 'be', 'something', 'they', 'descended', 'the', 'hill', 'crossed', 'the', 'bridge', 'and', 'drove', 'to', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'while', 'examining', 'the', 'nearer', 'aspect', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'all', 'her', 'apprehension', 'of', 'meeting', 'its', 'owner', 'returned', 'she', 'dreaded', 'lest', 'the', 'chambermaid', 'had', 'been', 'mistaken', 'on', 'applying', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'place', 'they', 'were', 'admitted', 'into', 'the', 'hall', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'as', 'they', 'waited', 'for', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'had', 'leisure', 'to', 'wonder', 'at', 'her', 'being', 'where', 'she', 'was', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'came', 'a', 'respectablelooking', 'elderly', 'woman', 'much', 'less', 'fine', 'and', 'more', 'civil', 'than', 'she', 'had', 'any', 'notion', 'of', 'finding', 'her', 'they', 'followed', 'her', 'into', 'the', 'diningparlour', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'large', 'well', 'proportioned', 'room', 'handsomely', 'fitted', 'up', 'elizabeth', 'after', 'slightly', 'surveying', 'it', 'went', 'to', 'a', 'window', 'to', 'enjoy', 'its', 'prospect', 'the', 'hill', 'crowned', 'with', 'wood', 'which', 'they', 'had', 'descended', 'receiving', 'increased', 'abruptness', 'from', 'the', 'distance', 'was', 'a', 'beautiful', 'object', 'every', 'disposition', 'of', 'the', 'ground', 'was', 'good', 'and', 'she', 'looked', 'on', 'the', 'whole', 'scene', 'the', 'river', 'the', 'trees', 'scattered', 'on', 'its', 'banks', 'and', 'the', 'winding', 'of', 'the', 'valley', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'trace', 'it', 'with', 'delight', 'as', 'they', 'passed', 'into', 'other', 'rooms', 'these', 'objects', 'were', 'taking', 'different', 'positions', 'but', 'from', 'every', 'window', 'there', 'were', 'beauties', 'to', 'be', 'seen', 'the', 'rooms', 'were', 'lofty', 'and', 'handsome', 'and', 'their', 'furniture', 'suitable', 'to', 'the', 'fortune', 'of', 'its', 'proprietor', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'saw', 'with', 'admiration', 'of', 'his', 'taste', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'neither', 'gaudy', 'nor', 'uselessly', 'fine', 'with', 'less', 'of', 'splendour', 'and', 'more', 'real', 'elegance', 'than', 'the', 'furniture', 'of', 'rosings', 'and', 'of', 'this', 'place', 'thought', 'she', 'i', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'mistress', 'with', 'these', 'rooms', 'i', 'might', 'now', 'have', 'been', 'familiarly', 'acquainted', 'instead', 'of', 'viewing', 'them', 'as', 'a', 'stranger', 'i', 'might', 'have', 'rejoiced', 'in', 'them', 'as', 'my', 'own', 'and', 'welcomed', 'to', 'them', 'as', 'visitors', 'my', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'but', 'norecollecting', 'herselfthat', 'could', 'never', 'be', 'my', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'lost', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'allowed', 'to', 'invite', 'them', 'this', 'was', 'a', 'lucky', 'recollectionit', 'saved', 'her', 'from', 'something', 'very', 'like', 'regret', 'she', 'longed', 'to', 'enquire', 'of', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'whether', 'her', 'master', 'was', 'really', 'absent', 'but', 'had', 'not', 'the', 'courage', 'for', 'it', 'at', 'length', 'however', 'the', 'question', 'was', 'asked', 'by', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'she', 'turned', 'away', 'with', 'alarm', 'while', 'mrs', 'reynolds', 'replied', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'adding', 'but', 'we', 'expect', 'him', 'tomorrow', 'with', 'a', 'large', 'party', 'of', 'friends', 'how', 'rejoiced', 'was', 'elizabeth', 'that', 'their', 'own', 'journey', 'had', 'not', 'by', 'any', 'circumstance', 'been', 'delayed', 'a', 'day', 'her', 'aunt', 'now', 'called', 'her', 'to', 'look', 'at', 'a', 'picture', 'she', 'approached', 'and', 'saw', 'the', 'likeness', 'of', 'mr', 'wickham', 'suspended', 'amongst', 'several', 'other', 'miniatures', 'over', 'the', 'mantelpiece', 'her', 'aunt', 'asked', 'her', 'smilingly', 'how', 'she', 'liked', 'it', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'came', 'forward', 'and', 'told', 'them', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'picture', 'of', 'a', 'young', 'gentleman', 'the', 'son', 'of', 'her', 'late', 'masters', 'steward', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'brought', 'up', 'by', 'him', 'at', 'his', 'own', 'expense', 'he', 'is', 'now', 'gone', 'into', 'the', 'army', 'she', 'added', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'he', 'has', 'turned', 'out', 'very', 'wild', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'niece', 'with', 'a', 'smile', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'return', 'it', 'and', 'that', 'said', 'mrs', 'reynolds', 'pointing', 'to', 'another', 'of', 'the', 'miniatures', 'is', 'my', 'masterand', 'very', 'like', 'him', 'it', 'was', 'drawn', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'as', 'the', 'otherabout', 'eight', 'years', 'ago', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'much', 'of', 'your', 'masters', 'fine', 'person', 'said', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'looking', 'at', 'the', 'picture', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'handsome', 'face', 'but', 'lizzy', 'you', 'can', 'tell', 'us', 'whether', 'it', 'is', 'like', 'or', 'not', 'mrs', 'reynolds', 'respect', 'for', 'elizabeth', 'seemed', 'to', 'increase', 'on', 'this', 'intimation', 'of', 'her', 'knowing', 'her', 'master', 'does', 'that', 'young', 'lady', 'know', 'mr', 'darcy', 'elizabeth', 'coloured', 'and', 'said', 'a', 'little', 'and', 'do', 'not', 'you', 'think', 'him', 'a', 'very', 'handsome', 'gentleman', 'maam', 'yes', 'very', 'handsome', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'know', 'none', 'so', 'handsome', 'but', 'in', 'the', 'gallery', 'up', 'stairs', 'you', 'will', 'see', 'a', 'finer', 'larger', 'picture', 'of', 'him', 'than', 'this', 'this', 'room', 'was', 'my', 'late', 'masters', 'favourite', 'room', 'and', 'these', 'miniatures', 'are', 'just', 'as', 'they', 'used', 'to', 'be', 'then', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'fond', 'of', 'them', 'this', 'accounted', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'for', 'mr', 'wickhams', 'being', 'among', 'them', 'mrs', 'reynolds', 'then', 'directed', 'their', 'attention', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'miss', 'darcy', 'drawn', 'when', 'she', 'was', 'only', 'eight', 'years', 'old', 'and', 'is', 'miss', 'darcy', 'as', 'handsome', 'as', 'her', 'brother', 'said', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'oh', 'yesthe', 'handsomest', 'young', 'lady', 'that', 'ever', 'was', 'seen', 'and', 'so', 'accomplishedshe', 'plays', 'and', 'sings', 'all', 'day', 'long', 'in', 'the', 'next', 'room', 'is', 'a', 'new', 'instrument', 'just', 'come', 'down', 'for', 'hera', 'present', 'from', 'my', 'master', 'she', 'comes', 'here', 'tomorrow', 'with', 'him', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'whose', 'manners', 'were', 'very', 'easy', 'and', 'pleasant', 'encouraged', 'her', 'communicativeness', 'by', 'his', 'questions', 'and', 'remarks', 'mrs', 'reynolds', 'either', 'by', 'pride', 'or', 'attachment', 'had', 'evidently', 'great', 'pleasure', 'in', 'talking', 'of', 'her', 'master', 'and', 'his', 'sister', 'is', 'your', 'master', 'much', 'at', 'pemberley', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'the', 'year', 'not', 'so', 'much', 'as', 'i', 'could', 'wish', 'sir', 'but', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'he', 'may', 'spend', 'half', 'his', 'time', 'here', 'and', 'miss', 'darcy', 'is', 'always', 'down', 'for', 'the', 'summer', 'months', 'except', 'thought', 'elizabeth', 'when', 'she', 'goes', 'to', 'ramsgate', 'if', 'your', 'master', 'would', 'marry', 'you', 'might', 'see', 'more', 'of', 'him', 'yes', 'sir', 'but', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'when', 'that', 'will', 'be', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'who', 'is', 'good', 'enough', 'for', 'him', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'smiled', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'saying', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'much', 'to', 'his', 'credit', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'think', 'so', 'i', 'say', 'no', 'more', 'than', 'the', 'truth', 'and', 'everybody', 'will', 'say', 'that', 'knows', 'him', 'replied', 'the', 'other', 'elizabeth', 'thought', 'this', 'was', 'going', 'pretty', 'far', 'and', 'she', 'listened', 'with', 'increasing', 'astonishment', 'as', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'added', 'i', 'have', 'never', 'known', 'a', 'cross', 'word', 'from', 'him', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'known', 'him', 'ever', 'since', 'he', 'was', 'four', 'years', 'old', 'this', 'was', 'praise', 'of', 'all', 'others', 'most', 'extraordinary', 'most', 'opposite', 'to', 'her', 'ideas', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'goodtempered', 'man', 'had', 'been', 'her', 'firmest', 'opinion', 'her', 'keenest', 'attention', 'was', 'awakened', 'she', 'longed', 'to', 'hear', 'more', 'and', 'was', 'grateful', 'to', 'her', 'uncle', 'for', 'saying', 'there', 'are', 'very', 'few', 'people', 'of', 'whom', 'so', 'much', 'can', 'be', 'said', 'you', 'are', 'lucky', 'in', 'having', 'such', 'a', 'master', 'yes', 'sir', 'i', 'know', 'i', 'am', 'if', 'i', 'were', 'to', 'go', 'through', 'the', 'world', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'meet', 'with', 'a', 'better', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'always', 'observed', 'that', 'they', 'who', 'are', 'goodnatured', 'when', 'children', 'are', 'goodnatured', 'when', 'they', 'grow', 'up', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'always', 'the', 'sweetesttempered', 'most', 'generoushearted', 'boy', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'elizabeth', 'almost', 'stared', 'at', 'her', 'can', 'this', 'be', 'mr', 'darcy', 'thought', 'she', 'his', 'father', 'was', 'an', 'excellent', 'man', 'said', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'yes', 'maam', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'indeed', 'and', 'his', 'son', 'will', 'be', 'just', 'like', 'himjust', 'as', 'affable', 'to', 'the', 'poor', 'elizabeth', 'listened', 'wondered', 'doubted', 'and', 'was', 'impatient', 'for', 'more', 'mrs', 'reynolds', 'could', 'interest', 'her', 'on', 'no', 'other', 'point', 'she', 'related', 'the', 'subjects', 'of', 'the', 'pictures', 'the', 'dimensions', 'of', 'the', 'rooms', 'and', 'the', 'price', 'of', 'the', 'furniture', 'in', 'vain', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'highly', 'amused', 'by', 'the', 'kind', 'of', 'family', 'prejudice', 'to', 'which', 'he', 'attributed', 'her', 'excessive', 'commendation', 'of', 'her', 'master', 'soon', 'led', 'again', 'to', 'the', 'subject', 'and', 'she', 'dwelt', 'with', 'energy', 'on', 'his', 'many', 'merits', 'as', 'they', 'proceeded', 'together', 'up', 'the', 'great', 'staircase', 'he', 'is', 'the', 'best', 'landlord', 'and', 'the', 'best', 'master', 'said', 'she', 'that', 'ever', 'lived', 'not', 'like', 'the', 'wild', 'young', 'men', 'nowadays', 'who', 'think', 'of', 'nothing', 'but', 'themselves', 'there', 'is', 'not', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'tenants', 'or', 'servants', 'but', 'will', 'give', 'him', 'a', 'good', 'name', 'some', 'people', 'call', 'him', 'proud', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'never', 'saw', 'anything', 'of', 'it', 'to', 'my', 'fancy', 'it', 'is', 'only', 'because', 'he', 'does', 'not', 'rattle', 'away', 'like', 'other', 'young', 'men', 'in', 'what', 'an', 'amiable', 'light', 'does', 'this', 'place', 'him', 'thought', 'elizabeth', 'this', 'fine', 'account', 'of', 'him', 'whispered', 'her', 'aunt', 'as', 'they', 'walked', 'is', 'not', 'quite', 'consistent', 'with', 'his', 'behaviour', 'to', 'our', 'poor', 'friend', 'perhaps', 'we', 'might', 'be', 'deceived', 'that', 'is', 'not', 'very', 'likely', 'our', 'authority', 'was', 'too', 'good', 'on', 'reaching', 'the', 'spacious', 'lobby', 'above', 'they', 'were', 'shown', 'into', 'a', 'very', 'pretty', 'sittingroom', 'lately', 'fitted', 'up', 'with', 'greater', 'elegance', 'and', 'lightness', 'than', 'the', 'apartments', 'below', 'and', 'were', 'informed', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'but', 'just', 'done', 'to', 'give', 'pleasure', 'to', 'miss', 'darcy', 'who', 'had', 'taken', 'a', 'liking', 'to', 'the', 'room', 'when', 'last', 'at', 'pemberley', 'he', 'is', 'certainly', 'a', 'good', 'brother', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'as', 'she', 'walked', 'towards', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'windows', 'mrs', 'reynolds', 'anticipated', 'miss', 'darcys', 'delight', 'when', 'she', 'should', 'enter', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'this', 'is', 'always', 'the', 'way', 'with', 'him', 'she', 'added', 'whatever', 'can', 'give', 'his', 'sister', 'any', 'pleasure', 'is', 'sure', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'in', 'a', 'moment', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'he', 'would', 'not', 'do', 'for', 'her', 'the', 'picturegallery', 'and', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'of', 'the', 'principal', 'bedrooms', 'were', 'all', 'that', 'remained', 'to', 'be', 'shown', 'in', 'the', 'former', 'were', 'many', 'good', 'paintings', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'knew', 'nothing', 'of', 'the', 'art', 'and', 'from', 'such', 'as', 'had', 'been', 'already', 'visible', 'below', 'she', 'had', 'willingly', 'turned', 'to', 'look', 'at', 'some', 'drawings', 'of', 'miss', 'darcys', 'in', 'crayons', 'whose', 'subjects', 'were', 'usually', 'more', 'interesting', 'and', 'also', 'more', 'intelligible', 'in', 'the', 'gallery', 'there', 'were', 'many', 'family', 'portraits', 'but', 'they', 'could', 'have', 'little', 'to', 'fix', 'the', 'attention', 'of', 'a', 'stranger', 'elizabeth', 'walked', 'in', 'quest', 'of', 'the', 'only', 'face', 'whose', 'features', 'would', 'be', 'known', 'to', 'her', 'at', 'last', 'it', 'arrested', 'herand', 'she', 'beheld', 'a', 'striking', 'resemblance', 'to', 'mr', 'darcy', 'with', 'such', 'a', 'smile', 'over', 'the', 'face', 'as', 'she', 'remembered', 'to', 'have', 'sometimes', 'seen', 'when', 'he', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'she', 'stood', 'several', 'minutes', 'before', 'the', 'picture', 'in', 'earnest', 'contemplation', 'and', 'returned', 'to', 'it', 'again', 'before', 'they', 'quitted', 'the', 'gallery', 'mrs', 'reynolds', 'informed', 'them', 'that', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'taken', 'in', 'his', 'fathers', 'lifetime', 'there', 'was', 'certainly', 'at', 'this', 'moment', 'in', 'elizabeths', 'mind', 'a', 'more', 'gentle', 'sensation', 'towards', 'the', 'original', 'than', 'she', 'had', 'ever', 'felt', 'at', 'the', 'height', 'of', 'their', 'acquaintance', 'the', 'commendation', 'bestowed', 'on', 'him', 'by', 'mrs', 'reynolds', 'was', 'of', 'no', 'trifling', 'nature', 'what', 'praise', 'is', 'more', 'valuable', 'than', 'the', 'praise', 'of', 'an', 'intelligent', 'servant', 'as', 'a', 'brother', 'a', 'landlord', 'a', 'master', 'she', 'considered', 'how', 'many', 'peoples', 'happiness', 'were', 'in', 'his', 'guardianshiphow', 'much', 'of', 'pleasure', 'or', 'pain', 'was', 'it', 'in', 'his', 'power', 'to', 'bestowhow', 'much', 'of', 'good', 'or', 'evil', 'must', 'be', 'done', 'by', 'him', 'every', 'idea', 'that', 'had', 'been', 'brought', 'forward', 'by', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'was', 'favourable', 'to', 'his', 'character', 'and', 'as', 'she', 'stood', 'before', 'the', 'canvas', 'on', 'which', 'he', 'was', 'represented', 'and', 'fixed', 'his', 'eyes', 'upon', 'herself', 'she', 'thought', 'of', 'his', 'regard', 'with', 'a', 'deeper', 'sentiment', 'of', 'gratitude', 'than', 'it', 'had', 'ever', 'raised', 'before', 'she', 'remembered', 'its', 'warmth', 'and', 'softened', 'its', 'impropriety', 'of', 'expression', 'when', 'all', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'that', 'was', 'open', 'to', 'general', 'inspection', 'had', 'been', 'seen', 'they', 'returned', 'downstairs', 'and', 'taking', 'leave', 'of', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'were', 'consigned', 'over', 'to', 'the', 'gardener', 'who', 'met', 'them', 'at', 'the', 'halldoor', 'as', 'they', 'walked', 'across', 'the', 'hall', 'towards', 'the', 'river', 'elizabeth', 'turned', 'back', 'to', 'look', 'again', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'stopped', 'also', 'and', 'while', 'the', 'former', 'was', 'conjecturing', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'date', 'of', 'the', 'building', 'the', 'owner', 'of', 'it', 'himself', 'suddenly', 'came', 'forward', 'from', 'the', 'road', 'which', 'led', 'behind', 'it', 'to', 'the', 'stables', 'they', 'were', 'within', 'twenty', 'yards', 'of', 'each', 'other', 'and', 'so', 'abrupt', 'was', 'his', 'appearance', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'to', 'avoid', 'his', 'sight', 'their', 'eyes', 'instantly', 'met', 'and', 'the', 'cheeks', 'of', 'both', 'were', 'overspread', 'with', 'the', 'deepest', 'blush', 'he', 'absolutely', 'started', 'and', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'seemed', 'immovable', 'from', 'surprise', 'but', 'shortly', 'recovering', 'himself', 'advanced', 'towards', 'the', 'party', 'and', 'spoke', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'if', 'not', 'in', 'terms', 'of', 'perfect', 'composure', 'at', 'least', 'of', 'perfect', 'civility', 'she', 'had', 'instinctively', 'turned', 'away', 'but', 'stopping', 'on', 'his', 'approach', 'received', 'his', 'compliments', 'with', 'an', 'embarrassment', 'impossible', 'to', 'be', 'overcome', 'had', 'his', 'first', 'appearance', 'or', 'his', 'resemblance', 'to', 'the', 'picture', 'they', 'had', 'just', 'been', 'examining', 'been', 'insufficient', 'to', 'assure', 'the', 'other', 'two', 'that', 'they', 'now', 'saw', 'mr', 'darcy', 'the', 'gardeners', 'expression', 'of', 'surprise', 'on', 'beholding', 'his', 'master', 'must', 'immediately', 'have', 'told', 'it', 'they', 'stood', 'a', 'little', 'aloof', 'while', 'he', 'was', 'talking', 'to', 'their', 'niece', 'who', 'astonished', 'and', 'confused', 'scarcely', 'dared', 'lift', 'her', 'eyes', 'to', 'his', 'face', 'and', 'knew', 'not', 'what', 'answer', 'she', 'returned', 'to', 'his', 'civil', 'enquiries', 'after', 'her', 'family', 'amazed', 'at', 'the', 'alteration', 'of', 'his', 'manner', 'since', 'they', 'last', 'parted', 'every', 'sentence', 'that', 'he', 'uttered', 'was', 'increasing', 'her', 'embarrassment', 'and', 'every', 'idea', 'of', 'the', 'impropriety', 'of', 'her', 'being', 'found', 'there', 'recurring', 'to', 'her', 'mind', 'the', 'few', 'minutes', 'in', 'which', 'they', 'continued', 'were', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'uncomfortable', 'in', 'her', 'life', 'nor', 'did', 'he', 'seem', 'much', 'more', 'at', 'ease', 'when', 'he', 'spoke', 'his', 'accent', 'had', 'none', 'of', 'its', 'usual', 'sedateness', 'and', 'he', 'repeated', 'his', 'enquiries', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'her', 'having', 'left', 'longbourn', 'and', 'of', 'her', 'stay', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'so', 'often', 'and', 'in', 'so', 'hurried', 'a', 'way', 'as', 'plainly', 'spoke', 'the', 'distraction', 'of', 'his', 'thoughts', 'at', 'length', 'every', 'idea', 'seemed', 'to', 'fail', 'him', 'and', 'after', 'standing', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'without', 'saying', 'a', 'word', 'he', 'suddenly', 'recollected', 'himself', 'and', 'took', 'leave', 'the', 'others', 'then', 'joined', 'her', 'and', 'expressed', 'admiration', 'of', 'his', 'figure', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'heard', 'not', 'a', 'word', 'and', 'wholly', 'engrossed', 'by', 'her', 'own', 'feelings', 'followed', 'them', 'in', 'silence', 'she', 'was', 'overpowered', 'by', 'shame', 'and', 'vexation', 'her', 'coming', 'there', 'was', 'the', 'most', 'unfortunate', 'the', 'most', 'illjudged', 'thing', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'how', 'strange', 'it', 'must', 'appear', 'to', 'him', 'in', 'what', 'a', 'disgraceful', 'light', 'might', 'it', 'not', 'strike', 'so', 'vain', 'a', 'man', 'it', 'might', 'seem', 'as', 'if', 'she', 'had', 'purposely', 'thrown', 'herself', 'in', 'his', 'way', 'again', 'oh', 'why', 'did', 'she', 'come', 'or', 'why', 'did', 'he', 'thus', 'come', 'a', 'day', 'before', 'he', 'was', 'expected', 'had', 'they', 'been', 'only', 'ten', 'minutes', 'sooner', 'they', 'should', 'have', 'been', 'beyond', 'the', 'reach', 'of', 'his', 'discrimination', 'for', 'it', 'was', 'plain', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'that', 'moment', 'arrivedthat', 'moment', 'alighted', 'from', 'his', 'horse', 'or', 'his', 'carriage', 'she', 'blushed', 'again', 'and', 'again', 'over', 'the', 'perverseness', 'of', 'the', 'meeting', 'and', 'his', 'behaviour', 'so', 'strikingly', 'alteredwhat', 'could', 'it', 'mean', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'even', 'speak', 'to', 'her', 'was', 'amazingbut', 'to', 'speak', 'with', 'such', 'civility', 'to', 'enquire', 'after', 'her', 'family', 'never', 'in', 'her', 'life', 'had', 'she', 'seen', 'his', 'manners', 'so', 'little', 'dignified', 'never', 'had', 'he', 'spoken', 'with', 'such', 'gentleness', 'as', 'on', 'this', 'unexpected', 'meeting', 'what', 'a', 'contrast', 'did', 'it', 'offer', 'to', 'his', 'last', 'address', 'in', 'rosings', 'park', 'when', 'he', 'put', 'his', 'letter', 'into', 'her', 'hand', 'she', 'knew', 'not', 'what', 'to', 'think', 'or', 'how', 'to', 'account', 'for', 'it', 'they', 'had', 'now', 'entered', 'a', 'beautiful', 'walk', 'by', 'the', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'water', 'and', 'every', 'step', 'was', 'bringing', 'forward', 'a', 'nobler', 'fall', 'of', 'ground', 'or', 'a', 'finer', 'reach', 'of', 'the', 'woods', 'to', 'which', 'they', 'were', 'approaching', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'some', 'time', 'before', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'sensible', 'of', 'any', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'though', 'she', 'answered', 'mechanically', 'to', 'the', 'repeated', 'appeals', 'of', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'and', 'seemed', 'to', 'direct', 'her', 'eyes', 'to', 'such', 'objects', 'as', 'they', 'pointed', 'out', 'she', 'distinguished', 'no', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'scene', 'her', 'thoughts', 'were', 'all', 'fixed', 'on', 'that', 'one', 'spot', 'of', 'pemberley', 'house', 'whichever', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'where', 'mr', 'darcy', 'then', 'was', 'she', 'longed', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'at', 'the', 'moment', 'was', 'passing', 'in', 'his', 'mindin', 'what', 'manner', 'he', 'thought', 'of', 'her', 'and', 'whether', 'in', 'defiance', 'of', 'everything', 'she', 'was', 'still', 'dear', 'to', 'him', 'perhaps', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'civil', 'only', 'because', 'he', 'felt', 'himself', 'at', 'ease', 'yet', 'there', 'had', 'been', 'that', 'in', 'his', 'voice', 'which', 'was', 'not', 'like', 'ease', 'whether', 'he', 'had', 'felt', 'more', 'of', 'pain', 'or', 'of', 'pleasure', 'in', 'seeing', 'her', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'tell', 'but', 'he', 'certainly', 'had', 'not', 'seen', 'her', 'with', 'composure', 'at', 'length', 'however', 'the', 'remarks', 'of', 'her', 'companions', 'on', 'her', 'absence', 'of', 'mind', 'aroused', 'her', 'and', 'she', 'felt', 'the', 'necessity', 'of', 'appearing', 'more', 'like', 'herself', 'they', 'entered', 'the', 'woods', 'and', 'bidding', 'adieu', 'to', 'the', 'river', 'for', 'a', 'while', 'ascended', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'higher', 'grounds', 'when', 'in', 'spots', 'where', 'the', 'opening', 'of', 'the', 'trees', 'gave', 'the', 'eye', 'power', 'to', 'wander', 'were', 'many', 'charming', 'views', 'of', 'the', 'valley', 'the', 'opposite', 'hills', 'with', 'the', 'long', 'range', 'of', 'woods', 'overspreading', 'many', 'and', 'occasionally', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'stream', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'expressed', 'a', 'wish', 'of', 'going', 'round', 'the', 'whole', 'park', 'but', 'feared', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'beyond', 'a', 'walk', 'with', 'a', 'triumphant', 'smile', 'they', 'were', 'told', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'ten', 'miles', 'round', 'it', 'settled', 'the', 'matter', 'and', 'they', 'pursued', 'the', 'accustomed', 'circuit', 'which', 'brought', 'them', 'again', 'after', 'some', 'time', 'in', 'a', 'descent', 'among', 'hanging', 'woods', 'to', 'the', 'edge', 'of', 'the', 'water', 'and', 'one', 'of', 'its', 'narrowest', 'parts', 'they', 'crossed', 'it', 'by', 'a', 'simple', 'bridge', 'in', 'character', 'with', 'the', 'general', 'air', 'of', 'the', 'scene', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'spot', 'less', 'adorned', 'than', 'any', 'they', 'had', 'yet', 'visited', 'and', 'the', 'valley', 'here', 'contracted', 'into', 'a', 'glen', 'allowed', 'room', 'only', 'for', 'the', 'stream', 'and', 'a', 'narrow', 'walk', 'amidst', 'the', 'rough', 'coppicewood', 'which', 'bordered', 'it', 'elizabeth', 'longed', 'to', 'explore', 'its', 'windings', 'but', 'when', 'they', 'had', 'crossed', 'the', 'bridge', 'and', 'perceived', 'their', 'distance', 'from', 'the', 'house', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'who', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'great', 'walker', 'could', 'go', 'no', 'farther', 'and', 'thought', 'only', 'of', 'returning', 'to', 'the', 'carriage', 'as', 'quickly', 'as', 'possible', 'her', 'niece', 'was', 'therefore', 'obliged', 'to', 'submit', 'and', 'they', 'took', 'their', 'way', 'towards', 'the', 'house', 'on', 'the', 'opposite', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'river', 'in', 'the', 'nearest', 'direction', 'but', 'their', 'progress', 'was', 'slow', 'for', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'though', 'seldom', 'able', 'to', 'indulge', 'the', 'taste', 'was', 'very', 'fond', 'of', 'fishing', 'and', 'was', 'so', 'much', 'engaged', 'in', 'watching', 'the', 'occasional', 'appearance', 'of', 'some', 'trout', 'in', 'the', 'water', 'and', 'talking', 'to', 'the', 'man', 'about', 'them', 'that', 'he', 'advanced', 'but', 'little', 'whilst', 'wandering', 'on', 'in', 'this', 'slow', 'manner', 'they', 'were', 'again', 'surprised', 'and', 'elizabeths', 'astonishment', 'was', 'quite', 'equal', 'to', 'what', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'at', 'first', 'by', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'approaching', 'them', 'and', 'at', 'no', 'great', 'distance', 'the', 'walk', 'being', 'here', 'less', 'sheltered', 'than', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'allowed', 'them', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'before', 'they', 'met', 'elizabeth', 'however', 'astonished', 'was', 'at', 'least', 'more', 'prepared', 'for', 'an', 'interview', 'than', 'before', 'and', 'resolved', 'to', 'appear', 'and', 'to', 'speak', 'with', 'calmness', 'if', 'he', 'really', 'intended', 'to', 'meet', 'them', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'indeed', 'she', 'felt', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'probably', 'strike', 'into', 'some', 'other', 'path', 'the', 'idea', 'lasted', 'while', 'a', 'turning', 'in', 'the', 'walk', 'concealed', 'him', 'from', 'their', 'view', 'the', 'turning', 'past', 'he', 'was', 'immediately', 'before', 'them', 'with', 'a', 'glance', 'she', 'saw', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'lost', 'none', 'of', 'his', 'recent', 'civility', 'and', 'to', 'imitate', 'his', 'politeness', 'she', 'began', 'as', 'they', 'met', 'to', 'admire', 'the', 'beauty', 'of', 'the', 'place', 'but', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'got', 'beyond', 'the', 'words', 'delightful', 'and', 'charming', 'when', 'some', 'unlucky', 'recollections', 'obtruded', 'and', 'she', 'fancied', 'that', 'praise', 'of', 'pemberley', 'from', 'her', 'might', 'be', 'mischievously', 'construed', 'her', 'colour', 'changed', 'and', 'she', 'said', 'no', 'more', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'was', 'standing', 'a', 'little', 'behind', 'and', 'on', 'her', 'pausing', 'he', 'asked', 'her', 'if', 'she', 'would', 'do', 'him', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'introducing', 'him', 'to', 'her', 'friends', 'this', 'was', 'a', 'stroke', 'of', 'civility', 'for', 'which', 'she', 'was', 'quite', 'unprepared', 'and', 'she', 'could', 'hardly', 'suppress', 'a', 'smile', 'at', 'his', 'being', 'now', 'seeking', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'of', 'some', 'of', 'those', 'very', 'people', 'against', 'whom', 'his', 'pride', 'had', 'revolted', 'in', 'his', 'offer', 'to', 'herself', 'what', 'will', 'be', 'his', 'surprise', 'thought', 'she', 'when', 'he', 'knows', 'who', 'they', 'are', 'he', 'takes', 'them', 'now', 'for', 'people', 'of', 'fashion', 'the', 'introduction', 'however', 'was', 'immediately', 'made', 'and', 'as', 'she', 'named', 'their', 'relationship', 'to', 'herself', 'she', 'stole', 'a', 'sly', 'look', 'at', 'him', 'to', 'see', 'how', 'he', 'bore', 'it', 'and', 'was', 'not', 'without', 'the', 'expectation', 'of', 'his', 'decamping', 'as', 'fast', 'as', 'he', 'could', 'from', 'such', 'disgraceful', 'companions', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'surprised', 'by', 'the', 'connection', 'was', 'evident', 'he', 'sustained', 'it', 'however', 'with', 'fortitude', 'and', 'so', 'far', 'from', 'going', 'away', 'turned', 'back', 'with', 'them', 'and', 'entered', 'into', 'conversation', 'with', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'not', 'but', 'be', 'pleased', 'could', 'not', 'but', 'triumph', 'it', 'was', 'consoling', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'know', 'she', 'had', 'some', 'relations', 'for', 'whom', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'need', 'to', 'blush', 'she', 'listened', 'most', 'attentively', 'to', 'all', 'that', 'passed', 'between', 'them', 'and', 'gloried', 'in', 'every', 'expression', 'every', 'sentence', 'of', 'her', 'uncle', 'which', 'marked', 'his', 'intelligence', 'his', 'taste', 'or', 'his', 'good', 'manners', 'the', 'conversation', 'soon', 'turned', 'upon', 'fishing', 'and', 'she', 'heard', 'mr', 'darcy', 'invite', 'him', 'with', 'the', 'greatest', 'civility', 'to', 'fish', 'there', 'as', 'often', 'as', 'he', 'chose', 'while', 'he', 'continued', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'offering', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'to', 'supply', 'him', 'with', 'fishing', 'tackle', 'and', 'pointing', 'out', 'those', 'parts', 'of', 'the', 'stream', 'where', 'there', 'was', 'usually', 'most', 'sport', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'who', 'was', 'walking', 'arminarm', 'with', 'elizabeth', 'gave', 'her', 'a', 'look', 'expressive', 'of', 'wonder', 'elizabeth', 'said', 'nothing', 'but', 'it', 'gratified', 'her', 'exceedingly', 'the', 'compliment', 'must', 'be', 'all', 'for', 'herself', 'her', 'astonishment', 'however', 'was', 'extreme', 'and', 'continually', 'was', 'she', 'repeating', 'why', 'is', 'he', 'so', 'altered', 'from', 'what', 'can', 'it', 'proceed', 'it', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'for', 'meit', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'for', 'my', 'sake', 'that', 'his', 'manners', 'are', 'thus', 'softened', 'my', 'reproofs', 'at', 'hunsford', 'could', 'not', 'work', 'such', 'a', 'change', 'as', 'this', 'it', 'is', 'impossible', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'still', 'love', 'me', 'after', 'walking', 'some', 'time', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'the', 'two', 'ladies', 'in', 'front', 'the', 'two', 'gentlemen', 'behind', 'on', 'resuming', 'their', 'places', 'after', 'descending', 'to', 'the', 'brink', 'of', 'the', 'river', 'for', 'the', 'better', 'inspection', 'of', 'some', 'curious', 'waterplant', 'there', 'chanced', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'little', 'alteration', 'it', 'originated', 'in', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'who', 'fatigued', 'by', 'the', 'exercise', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'found', 'elizabeths', 'arm', 'inadequate', 'to', 'her', 'support', 'and', 'consequently', 'preferred', 'her', 'husbands', 'mr', 'darcy', 'took', 'her', 'place', 'by', 'her', 'niece', 'and', 'they', 'walked', 'on', 'together', 'after', 'a', 'short', 'silence', 'the', 'lady', 'first', 'spoke', 'she', 'wished', 'him', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'assured', 'of', 'his', 'absence', 'before', 'she', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'place', 'and', 'accordingly', 'began', 'by', 'observing', 'that', 'his', 'arrival', 'had', 'been', 'very', 'unexpectedfor', 'your', 'housekeeper', 'she', 'added', 'informed', 'us', 'that', 'you', 'would', 'certainly', 'not', 'be', 'here', 'till', 'tomorrow', 'and', 'indeed', 'before', 'we', 'left', 'bakewell', 'we', 'understood', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'not', 'immediately', 'expected', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'he', 'acknowledged', 'the', 'truth', 'of', 'it', 'all', 'and', 'said', 'that', 'business', 'with', 'his', 'steward', 'had', 'occasioned', 'his', 'coming', 'forward', 'a', 'few', 'hours', 'before', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'the', 'party', 'with', 'whom', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'travelling', 'they', 'will', 'join', 'me', 'early', 'tomorrow', 'he', 'continued', 'and', 'among', 'them', 'are', 'some', 'who', 'will', 'claim', 'an', 'acquaintance', 'with', 'youmr', 'bingley', 'and', 'his', 'sisters', 'elizabeth', 'answered', 'only', 'by', 'a', 'slight', 'bow', 'her', 'thoughts', 'were', 'instantly', 'driven', 'back', 'to', 'the', 'time', 'when', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'name', 'had', 'been', 'the', 'last', 'mentioned', 'between', 'them', 'and', 'if', 'she', 'might', 'judge', 'by', 'his', 'complexion', 'his', 'mind', 'was', 'not', 'very', 'differently', 'engaged', 'there', 'is', 'also', 'one', 'other', 'person', 'in', 'the', 'party', 'he', 'continued', 'after', 'a', 'pause', 'who', 'more', 'particularly', 'wishes', 'to', 'be', 'known', 'to', 'you', 'will', 'you', 'allow', 'me', 'or', 'do', 'i', 'ask', 'too', 'much', 'to', 'introduce', 'my', 'sister', 'to', 'your', 'acquaintance', 'during', 'your', 'stay', 'at', 'lambton', 'the', 'surprise', 'of', 'such', 'an', 'application', 'was', 'great', 'indeed', 'it', 'was', 'too', 'great', 'for', 'her', 'to', 'know', 'in', 'what', 'manner', 'she', 'acceded', 'to', 'it', 'she', 'immediately', 'felt', 'that', 'whatever', 'desire', 'miss', 'darcy', 'might', 'have', 'of', 'being', 'acquainted', 'with', 'her', 'must', 'be', 'the', 'work', 'of', 'her', 'brother', 'and', 'without', 'looking', 'farther', 'it', 'was', 'satisfactory', 'it', 'was', 'gratifying', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'his', 'resentment', 'had', 'not', 'made', 'him', 'think', 'really', 'ill', 'of', 'her', 'they', 'now', 'walked', 'on', 'in', 'silence', 'each', 'of', 'them', 'deep', 'in', 'thought', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'not', 'comfortable', 'that', 'was', 'impossible', 'but', 'she', 'was', 'flattered', 'and', 'pleased', 'his', 'wish', 'of', 'introducing', 'his', 'sister', 'to', 'her', 'was', 'a', 'compliment', 'of', 'the', 'highest', 'kind', 'they', 'soon', 'outstripped', 'the', 'others', 'and', 'when', 'they', 'had', 'reached', 'the', 'carriage', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'were', 'half', 'a', 'quarter', 'of', 'a', 'mile', 'behind', 'he', 'then', 'asked', 'her', 'to', 'walk', 'into', 'the', 'housebut', 'she', 'declared', 'herself', 'not', 'tired', 'and', 'they', 'stood', 'together', 'on', 'the', 'lawn', 'at', 'such', 'a', 'time', 'much', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'said', 'and', 'silence', 'was', 'very', 'awkward', 'she', 'wanted', 'to', 'talk', 'but', 'there', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'an', 'embargo', 'on', 'every', 'subject', 'at', 'last', 'she', 'recollected', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'travelling', 'and', 'they', 'talked', 'of', 'matlock', 'and', 'dove', 'dale', 'with', 'great', 'perseverance', 'yet', 'time', 'and', 'her', 'aunt', 'moved', 'slowlyand', 'her', 'patience', 'and', 'her', 'ideas', 'were', 'nearly', 'worn', 'out', 'before', 'the', 'têteàtête', 'was', 'over', 'on', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiners', 'coming', 'up', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'pressed', 'to', 'go', 'into', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'take', 'some', 'refreshment', 'but', 'this', 'was', 'declined', 'and', 'they', 'parted', 'on', 'each', 'side', 'with', 'utmost', 'politeness', 'mr', 'darcy', 'handed', 'the', 'ladies', 'into', 'the', 'carriage', 'and', 'when', 'it', 'drove', 'off', 'elizabeth', 'saw', 'him', 'walking', 'slowly', 'towards', 'the', 'house', 'the', 'observations', 'of', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'now', 'began', 'and', 'each', 'of', 'them', 'pronounced', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'infinitely', 'superior', 'to', 'anything', 'they', 'had', 'expected', 'he', 'is', 'perfectly', 'well', 'behaved', 'polite', 'and', 'unassuming', 'said', 'her', 'uncle', 'there', 'is', 'something', 'a', 'little', 'stately', 'in', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'replied', 'her', 'aunt', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'confined', 'to', 'his', 'air', 'and', 'is', 'not', 'unbecoming', 'i', 'can', 'now', 'say', 'with', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'that', 'though', 'some', 'people', 'may', 'call', 'him', 'proud', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'nothing', 'of', 'it', 'i', 'was', 'never', 'more', 'surprised', 'than', 'by', 'his', 'behaviour', 'to', 'us', 'it', 'was', 'more', 'than', 'civil', 'it', 'was', 'really', 'attentive', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'necessity', 'for', 'such', 'attention', 'his', 'acquaintance', 'with', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'very', 'trifling', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'lizzy', 'said', 'her', 'aunt', 'he', 'is', 'not', 'so', 'handsome', 'as', 'wickham', 'or', 'rather', 'he', 'has', 'not', 'wickhams', 'countenance', 'for', 'his', 'features', 'are', 'perfectly', 'good', 'but', 'how', 'came', 'you', 'to', 'tell', 'me', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'so', 'disagreeable', 'elizabeth', 'excused', 'herself', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'said', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'liked', 'him', 'better', 'when', 'they', 'had', 'met', 'in', 'kent', 'than', 'before', 'and', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'seen', 'him', 'so', 'pleasant', 'as', 'this', 'morning', 'but', 'perhaps', 'he', 'may', 'be', 'a', 'little', 'whimsical', 'in', 'his', 'civilities', 'replied', 'her', 'uncle', 'your', 'great', 'men', 'often', 'are', 'and', 'therefore', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'take', 'him', 'at', 'his', 'word', 'as', 'he', 'might', 'change', 'his', 'mind', 'another', 'day', 'and', 'warn', 'me', 'off', 'his', 'grounds', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'that', 'they', 'had', 'entirely', 'misunderstood', 'his', 'character', 'but', 'said', 'nothing', 'from', 'what', 'we', 'have', 'seen', 'of', 'him', 'continued', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'i', 'really', 'should', 'not', 'have', 'thought', 'that', 'he', 'could', 'have', 'behaved', 'in', 'so', 'cruel', 'a', 'way', 'by', 'anybody', 'as', 'he', 'has', 'done', 'by', 'poor', 'wickham', 'he', 'has', 'not', 'an', 'illnatured', 'look', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'there', 'is', 'something', 'pleasing', 'about', 'his', 'mouth', 'when', 'he', 'speaks', 'and', 'there', 'is', 'something', 'of', 'dignity', 'in', 'his', 'countenance', 'that', 'would', 'not', 'give', 'one', 'an', 'unfavourable', 'idea', 'of', 'his', 'heart', 'but', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'the', 'good', 'lady', 'who', 'showed', 'us', 'his', 'house', 'did', 'give', 'him', 'a', 'most', 'flaming', 'character', 'i', 'could', 'hardly', 'help', 'laughing', 'aloud', 'sometimes', 'but', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'liberal', 'master', 'i', 'suppose', 'and', 'that', 'in', 'the', 'eye', 'of', 'a', 'servant', 'comprehends', 'every', 'virtue', 'elizabeth', 'here', 'felt', 'herself', 'called', 'on', 'to', 'say', 'something', 'in', 'vindication', 'of', 'his', 'behaviour', 'to', 'wickham', 'and', 'therefore', 'gave', 'them', 'to', 'understand', 'in', 'as', 'guarded', 'a', 'manner', 'as', 'she', 'could', 'that', 'by', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'heard', 'from', 'his', 'relations', 'in', 'kent', 'his', 'actions', 'were', 'capable', 'of', 'a', 'very', 'different', 'construction', 'and', 'that', 'his', 'character', 'was', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'so', 'faulty', 'nor', 'wickhams', 'so', 'amiable', 'as', 'they', 'had', 'been', 'considered', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'in', 'confirmation', 'of', 'this', 'she', 'related', 'the', 'particulars', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'pecuniary', 'transactions', 'in', 'which', 'they', 'had', 'been', 'connected', 'without', 'actually', 'naming', 'her', 'authority', 'but', 'stating', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'such', 'as', 'might', 'be', 'relied', 'on', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'was', 'surprised', 'and', 'concerned', 'but', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'now', 'approaching', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'her', 'former', 'pleasures', 'every', 'idea', 'gave', 'way', 'to', 'the', 'charm', 'of', 'recollection', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'too', 'much', 'engaged', 'in', 'pointing', 'out', 'to', 'her', 'husband', 'all', 'the', 'interesting', 'spots', 'in', 'its', 'environs', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'anything', 'else', 'fatigued', 'as', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'by', 'the', 'mornings', 'walk', 'they', 'had', 'no', 'sooner', 'dined', 'than', 'she', 'set', 'off', 'again', 'in', 'quest', 'of', 'her', 'former', 'acquaintance', 'and', 'the', 'evening', 'was', 'spent', 'in', 'the', 'satisfactions', 'of', 'an', 'intercourse', 'renewed', 'after', 'many', 'years', 'discontinuance', 'the', 'occurrences', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'were', 'too', 'full', 'of', 'interest', 'to', 'leave', 'elizabeth', 'much', 'attention', 'for', 'any', 'of', 'these', 'new', 'friends', 'and', 'she', 'could', 'do', 'nothing', 'but', 'think', 'and', 'think', 'with', 'wonder', 'of', 'mr', 'darcys', 'civility', 'and', 'above', 'all', 'of', 'his', 'wishing', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'acquainted', 'with', 'his', 'sister', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'settled', 'it', 'that', 'mr', 'darcy', 'would', 'bring', 'his', 'sister', 'to', 'visit', 'her', 'the', 'very', 'day', 'after', 'her', 'reaching', 'pemberley', 'and', 'was', 'consequently', 'resolved', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'out', 'of', 'sight', 'of', 'the', 'inn', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'that', 'morning', 'but', 'her', 'conclusion', 'was', 'false', 'for', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'morning', 'after', 'their', 'arrival', 'at', 'lambton', 'these', 'visitors', 'came', 'they', 'had', 'been', 'walking', 'about', 'the', 'place', 'with', 'some', 'of', 'their', 'new', 'friends', 'and', 'were', 'just', 'returning', 'to', 'the', 'inn', 'to', 'dress', 'themselves', 'for', 'dining', 'with', 'the', 'same', 'family', 'when', 'the', 'sound', 'of', 'a', 'carriage', 'drew', 'them', 'to', 'a', 'window', 'and', 'they', 'saw', 'a', 'gentleman', 'and', 'a', 'lady', 'in', 'a', 'curricle', 'driving', 'up', 'the', 'street', 'elizabeth', 'immediately', 'recognizing', 'the', 'livery', 'guessed', 'what', 'it', 'meant', 'and', 'imparted', 'no', 'small', 'degree', 'of', 'her', 'surprise', 'to', 'her', 'relations', 'by', 'acquainting', 'them', 'with', 'the', 'honour', 'which', 'she', 'expected', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'were', 'all', 'amazement', 'and', 'the', 'embarrassment', 'of', 'her', 'manner', 'as', 'she', 'spoke', 'joined', 'to', 'the', 'circumstance', 'itself', 'and', 'many', 'of', 'the', 'circumstances', 'of', 'the', 'preceding', 'day', 'opened', 'to', 'them', 'a', 'new', 'idea', 'on', 'the', 'business', 'nothing', 'had', 'ever', 'suggested', 'it', 'before', 'but', 'they', 'felt', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'other', 'way', 'of', 'accounting', 'for', 'such', 'attentions', 'from', 'such', 'a', 'quarter', 'than', 'by', 'supposing', 'a', 'partiality', 'for', 'their', 'niece', 'while', 'these', 'newlyborn', 'notions', 'were', 'passing', 'in', 'their', 'heads', 'the', 'perturbation', 'of', 'elizabeths', 'feelings', 'was', 'at', 'every', 'moment', 'increasing', 'she', 'was', 'quite', 'amazed', 'at', 'her', 'own', 'discomposure', 'but', 'amongst', 'other', 'causes', 'of', 'disquiet', 'she', 'dreaded', 'lest', 'the', 'partiality', 'of', 'the', 'brother', 'should', 'have', 'said', 'too', 'much', 'in', 'her', 'favour', 'and', 'more', 'than', 'commonly', 'anxious', 'to', 'please', 'she', 'naturally', 'suspected', 'that', 'every', 'power', 'of', 'pleasing', 'would', 'fail', 'her', 'she', 'retreated', 'from', 'the', 'window', 'fearful', 'of', 'being', 'seen', 'and', 'as', 'she', 'walked', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'room', 'endeavouring', 'to', 'compose', 'herself', 'saw', 'such', 'looks', 'of', 'enquiring', 'surprise', 'in', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'as', 'made', 'everything', 'worse', 'miss', 'darcy', 'and', 'her', 'brother', 'appeared', 'and', 'this', 'formidable', 'introduction', 'took', 'place', 'with', 'astonishment', 'did', 'elizabeth', 'see', 'that', 'her', 'new', 'acquaintance', 'was', 'at', 'least', 'as', 'much', 'embarrassed', 'as', 'herself', 'since', 'her', 'being', 'at', 'lambton', 'she', 'had', 'heard', 'that', 'miss', 'darcy', 'was', 'exceedingly', 'proud', 'but', 'the', 'observation', 'of', 'a', 'very', 'few', 'minutes', 'convinced', 'her', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'only', 'exceedingly', 'shy', 'she', 'found', 'it', 'difficult', 'to', 'obtain', 'even', 'a', 'word', 'from', 'her', 'beyond', 'a', 'monosyllable', 'miss', 'darcy', 'was', 'tall', 'and', 'on', 'a', 'larger', 'scale', 'than', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'though', 'little', 'more', 'than', 'sixteen', 'her', 'figure', 'was', 'formed', 'and', 'her', 'appearance', 'womanly', 'and', 'graceful', 'she', 'was', 'less', 'handsome', 'than', 'her', 'brother', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'sense', 'and', 'good', 'humour', 'in', 'her', 'face', 'and', 'her', 'manners', 'were', 'perfectly', 'unassuming', 'and', 'gentle', 'elizabeth', 'who', 'had', 'expected', 'to', 'find', 'in', 'her', 'as', 'acute', 'and', 'unembarrassed', 'an', 'observer', 'as', 'ever', 'mr', 'darcy', 'had', 'been', 'was', 'much', 'relieved', 'by', 'discerning', 'such', 'different', 'feelings', 'they', 'had', 'not', 'long', 'been', 'together', 'before', 'mr', 'darcy', 'told', 'her', 'that', 'bingley', 'was', 'also', 'coming', 'to', 'wait', 'on', 'her', 'and', 'she', 'had', 'barely', 'time', 'to', 'express', 'her', 'satisfaction', 'and', 'prepare', 'for', 'such', 'a', 'visitor', 'when', 'bingleys', 'quick', 'step', 'was', 'heard', 'on', 'the', 'stairs', 'and', 'in', 'a', 'moment', 'he', 'entered', 'the', 'room', 'all', 'elizabeths', 'anger', 'against', 'him', 'had', 'been', 'long', 'done', 'away', 'but', 'had', 'she', 'still', 'felt', 'any', 'it', 'could', 'hardly', 'have', 'stood', 'its', 'ground', 'against', 'the', 'unaffected', 'cordiality', 'with', 'which', 'he', 'expressed', 'himself', 'on', 'seeing', 'her', 'again', 'he', 'enquired', 'in', 'a', 'friendly', 'though', 'general', 'way', 'after', 'her', 'family', 'and', 'looked', 'and', 'spoke', 'with', 'the', 'same', 'goodhumoured', 'ease', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'ever', 'done', 'to', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'he', 'was', 'scarcely', 'a', 'less', 'interesting', 'personage', 'than', 'to', 'herself', 'they', 'had', 'long', 'wished', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'before', 'them', 'indeed', 'excited', 'a', 'lively', 'attention', 'the', 'suspicions', 'which', 'had', 'just', 'arisen', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'and', 'their', 'niece', 'directed', 'their', 'observation', 'towards', 'each', 'with', 'an', 'earnest', 'though', 'guarded', 'enquiry', 'and', 'they', 'soon', 'drew', 'from', 'those', 'enquiries', 'the', 'full', 'conviction', 'that', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'at', 'least', 'knew', 'what', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'love', 'of', 'the', 'ladys', 'sensations', 'they', 'remained', 'a', 'little', 'in', 'doubt', 'but', 'that', 'the', 'gentleman', 'was', 'overflowing', 'with', 'admiration', 'was', 'evident', 'enough', 'elizabeth', 'on', 'her', 'side', 'had', 'much', 'to', 'do', 'she', 'wanted', 'to', 'ascertain', 'the', 'feelings', 'of', 'each', 'of', 'her', 'visitors', 'she', 'wanted', 'to', 'compose', 'her', 'own', 'and', 'to', 'make', 'herself', 'agreeable', 'to', 'all', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'latter', 'object', 'where', 'she', 'feared', 'most', 'to', 'fail', 'she', 'was', 'most', 'sure', 'of', 'success', 'for', 'those', 'to', 'whom', 'she', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'give', 'pleasure', 'were', 'prepossessed', 'in', 'her', 'favour', 'bingley', 'was', 'ready', 'georgiana', 'was', 'eager', 'and', 'darcy', 'determined', 'to', 'be', 'pleased', 'in', 'seeing', 'bingley', 'her', 'thoughts', 'naturally', 'flew', 'to', 'her', 'sister', 'and', 'oh', 'how', 'ardently', 'did', 'she', 'long', 'to', 'know', 'whether', 'any', 'of', 'his', 'were', 'directed', 'in', 'a', 'like', 'manner', 'sometimes', 'she', 'could', 'fancy', 'that', 'he', 'talked', 'less', 'than', 'on', 'former', 'occasions', 'and', 'once', 'or', 'twice', 'pleased', 'herself', 'with', 'the', 'notion', 'that', 'as', 'he', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'he', 'was', 'trying', 'to', 'trace', 'a', 'resemblance', 'but', 'though', 'this', 'might', 'be', 'imaginary', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'deceived', 'as', 'to', 'his', 'behaviour', 'to', 'miss', 'darcy', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'set', 'up', 'as', 'a', 'rival', 'to', 'jane', 'no', 'look', 'appeared', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'that', 'spoke', 'particular', 'regard', 'nothing', 'occurred', 'between', 'them', 'that', 'could', 'justify', 'the', 'hopes', 'of', 'his', 'sister', 'on', 'this', 'point', 'she', 'was', 'soon', 'satisfied', 'and', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'little', 'circumstances', 'occurred', 'ere', 'they', 'parted', 'which', 'in', 'her', 'anxious', 'interpretation', 'denoted', 'a', 'recollection', 'of', 'jane', 'not', 'untinctured', 'by', 'tenderness', 'and', 'a', 'wish', 'of', 'saying', 'more', 'that', 'might', 'lead', 'to', 'the', 'mention', 'of', 'her', 'had', 'he', 'dared', 'he', 'observed', 'to', 'her', 'at', 'a', 'moment', 'when', 'the', 'others', 'were', 'talking', 'together', 'and', 'in', 'a', 'tone', 'which', 'had', 'something', 'of', 'real', 'regret', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'long', 'time', 'since', 'he', 'had', 'had', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'seeing', 'her', 'and', 'before', 'she', 'could', 'reply', 'he', 'added', 'it', 'is', 'above', 'eight', 'months', 'we', 'have', 'not', 'met', 'since', 'the', '26th', 'of', 'november', 'when', 'we', 'were', 'all', 'dancing', 'together', 'at', 'netherfield', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'pleased', 'to', 'find', 'his', 'memory', 'so', 'exact', 'and', 'he', 'afterwards', 'took', 'occasion', 'to', 'ask', 'her', 'when', 'unattended', 'to', 'by', 'any', 'of', 'the', 'rest', 'whether', 'all', 'her', 'sisters', 'were', 'at', 'longbourn', 'there', 'was', 'not', 'much', 'in', 'the', 'question', 'nor', 'in', 'the', 'preceding', 'remark', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'look', 'and', 'a', 'manner', 'which', 'gave', 'them', 'meaning', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'often', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'turn', 'her', 'eyes', 'on', 'mr', 'darcy', 'himself', 'but', 'whenever', 'she', 'did', 'catch', 'a', 'glimpse', 'she', 'saw', 'an', 'expression', 'of', 'general', 'complaisance', 'and', 'in', 'all', 'that', 'he', 'said', 'she', 'heard', 'an', 'accent', 'so', 'removed', 'from', 'hauteur', 'or', 'disdain', 'of', 'his', 'companions', 'as', 'convinced', 'her', 'that', 'the', 'improvement', 'of', 'manners', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'yesterday', 'witnessed', 'however', 'temporary', 'its', 'existence', 'might', 'prove', 'had', 'at', 'least', 'outlived', 'one', 'day', 'when', 'she', 'saw', 'him', 'thus', 'seeking', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'and', 'courting', 'the', 'good', 'opinion', 'of', 'people', 'with', 'whom', 'any', 'intercourse', 'a', 'few', 'months', 'ago', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'disgracewhen', 'she', 'saw', 'him', 'thus', 'civil', 'not', 'only', 'to', 'herself', 'but', 'to', 'the', 'very', 'relations', 'whom', 'he', 'had', 'openly', 'disdained', 'and', 'recollected', 'their', 'last', 'lively', 'scene', 'in', 'hunsford', 'parsonagethe', 'difference', 'the', 'change', 'was', 'so', 'great', 'and', 'struck', 'so', 'forcibly', 'on', 'her', 'mind', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'hardly', 'restrain', 'her', 'astonishment', 'from', 'being', 'visible', 'never', 'even', 'in', 'the', 'company', 'of', 'his', 'dear', 'friends', 'at', 'netherfield', 'or', 'his', 'dignified', 'relations', 'at', 'rosings', 'had', 'she', 'seen', 'him', 'so', 'desirous', 'to', 'please', 'so', 'free', 'from', 'selfconsequence', 'or', 'unbending', 'reserve', 'as', 'now', 'when', 'no', 'importance', 'could', 'result', 'from', 'the', 'success', 'of', 'his', 'endeavours', 'and', 'when', 'even', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'of', 'those', 'to', 'whom', 'his', 'attentions', 'were', 'addressed', 'would', 'draw', 'down', 'the', 'ridicule', 'and', 'censure', 'of', 'the', 'ladies', 'both', 'of', 'netherfield', 'and', 'rosings', 'their', 'visitors', 'stayed', 'with', 'them', 'above', 'halfanhour', 'and', 'when', 'they', 'arose', 'to', 'depart', 'mr', 'darcy', 'called', 'on', 'his', 'sister', 'to', 'join', 'him', 'in', 'expressing', 'their', 'wish', 'of', 'seeing', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'and', 'miss', 'bennet', 'to', 'dinner', 'at', 'pemberley', 'before', 'they', 'left', 'the', 'country', 'miss', 'darcy', 'though', 'with', 'a', 'diffidence', 'which', 'marked', 'her', 'little', 'in', 'the', 'habit', 'of', 'giving', 'invitations', 'readily', 'obeyed', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'looked', 'at', 'her', 'niece', 'desirous', 'of', 'knowing', 'how', 'she', 'whom', 'the', 'invitation', 'most', 'concerned', 'felt', 'disposed', 'as', 'to', 'its', 'acceptance', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'turned', 'away', 'her', 'head', 'presuming', 'however', 'that', 'this', 'studied', 'avoidance', 'spoke', 'rather', 'a', 'momentary', 'embarrassment', 'than', 'any', 'dislike', 'of', 'the', 'proposal', 'and', 'seeing', 'in', 'her', 'husband', 'who', 'was', 'fond', 'of', 'society', 'a', 'perfect', 'willingness', 'to', 'accept', 'it', 'she', 'ventured', 'to', 'engage', 'for', 'her', 'attendance', 'and', 'the', 'day', 'after', 'the', 'next', 'was', 'fixed', 'on', 'bingley', 'expressed', 'great', 'pleasure', 'in', 'the', 'certainty', 'of', 'seeing', 'elizabeth', 'again', 'having', 'still', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'to', 'say', 'to', 'her', 'and', 'many', 'enquiries', 'to', 'make', 'after', 'all', 'their', 'hertfordshire', 'friends', 'elizabeth', 'construing', 'all', 'this', 'into', 'a', 'wish', 'of', 'hearing', 'her', 'speak', 'of', 'her', 'sister', 'was', 'pleased', 'and', 'on', 'this', 'account', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'some', 'others', 'found', 'herself', 'when', 'their', 'visitors', 'left', 'them', 'capable', 'of', 'considering', 'the', 'last', 'halfhour', 'with', 'some', 'satisfaction', 'though', 'while', 'it', 'was', 'passing', 'the', 'enjoyment', 'of', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'little', 'eager', 'to', 'be', 'alone', 'and', 'fearful', 'of', 'enquiries', 'or', 'hints', 'from', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'she', 'stayed', 'with', 'them', 'only', 'long', 'enough', 'to', 'hear', 'their', 'favourable', 'opinion', 'of', 'bingley', 'and', 'then', 'hurried', 'away', 'to', 'dress', 'but', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'reason', 'to', 'fear', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiners', 'curiosity', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'their', 'wish', 'to', 'force', 'her', 'communication', 'it', 'was', 'evident', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'much', 'better', 'acquainted', 'with', 'mr', 'darcy', 'than', 'they', 'had', 'before', 'any', 'idea', 'of', 'it', 'was', 'evident', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'much', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'her', 'they', 'saw', 'much', 'to', 'interest', 'but', 'nothing', 'to', 'justify', 'enquiry', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'it', 'was', 'now', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'anxiety', 'to', 'think', 'well', 'and', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'their', 'acquaintance', 'reached', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'fault', 'to', 'find', 'they', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'untouched', 'by', 'his', 'politeness', 'and', 'had', 'they', 'drawn', 'his', 'character', 'from', 'their', 'own', 'feelings', 'and', 'his', 'servants', 'report', 'without', 'any', 'reference', 'to', 'any', 'other', 'account', 'the', 'circle', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'to', 'which', 'he', 'was', 'known', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'recognized', 'it', 'for', 'mr', 'darcy', 'there', 'was', 'now', 'an', 'interest', 'however', 'in', 'believing', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'and', 'they', 'soon', 'became', 'sensible', 'that', 'the', 'authority', 'of', 'a', 'servant', 'who', 'had', 'known', 'him', 'since', 'he', 'was', 'four', 'years', 'old', 'and', 'whose', 'own', 'manners', 'indicated', 'respectability', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'hastily', 'rejected', 'neither', 'had', 'anything', 'occurred', 'in', 'the', 'intelligence', 'of', 'their', 'lambton', 'friends', 'that', 'could', 'materially', 'lessen', 'its', 'weight', 'they', 'had', 'nothing', 'to', 'accuse', 'him', 'of', 'but', 'pride', 'pride', 'he', 'probably', 'had', 'and', 'if', 'not', 'it', 'would', 'certainly', 'be', 'imputed', 'by', 'the', 'inhabitants', 'of', 'a', 'small', 'markettown', 'where', 'the', 'family', 'did', 'not', 'visit', 'it', 'was', 'acknowledged', 'however', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'liberal', 'man', 'and', 'did', 'much', 'good', 'among', 'the', 'poor', 'with', 'respect', 'to', 'wickham', 'the', 'travellers', 'soon', 'found', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'held', 'there', 'in', 'much', 'estimation', 'for', 'though', 'the', 'chief', 'of', 'his', 'concerns', 'with', 'the', 'son', 'of', 'his', 'patron', 'were', 'imperfectly', 'understood', 'it', 'was', 'yet', 'a', 'wellknown', 'fact', 'that', 'on', 'his', 'quitting', 'derbyshire', 'he', 'had', 'left', 'many', 'debts', 'behind', 'him', 'which', 'mr', 'darcy', 'afterwards', 'discharged', 'as', 'for', 'elizabeth', 'her', 'thoughts', 'were', 'at', 'pemberley', 'this', 'evening', 'more', 'than', 'the', 'last', 'and', 'the', 'evening', 'though', 'as', 'it', 'passed', 'it', 'seemed', 'long', 'was', 'not', 'long', 'enough', 'to', 'determine', 'her', 'feelings', 'towards', 'one', 'in', 'that', 'mansion', 'and', 'she', 'lay', 'awake', 'two', 'whole', 'hours', 'endeavouring', 'to', 'make', 'them', 'out', 'she', 'certainly', 'did', 'not', 'hate', 'him', 'no', 'hatred', 'had', 'vanished', 'long', 'ago', 'and', 'she', 'had', 'almost', 'as', 'long', 'been', 'ashamed', 'of', 'ever', 'feeling', 'a', 'dislike', 'against', 'him', 'that', 'could', 'be', 'so', 'called', 'the', 'respect', 'created', 'by', 'the', 'conviction', 'of', 'his', 'valuable', 'qualities', 'though', 'at', 'first', 'unwillingly', 'admitted', 'had', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'ceased', 'to', 'be', 'repugnant', 'to', 'her', 'feeling', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'now', 'heightened', 'into', 'somewhat', 'of', 'a', 'friendlier', 'nature', 'by', 'the', 'testimony', 'so', 'highly', 'in', 'his', 'favour', 'and', 'bringing', 'forward', 'his', 'disposition', 'in', 'so', 'amiable', 'a', 'light', 'which', 'yesterday', 'had', 'produced', 'but', 'above', 'all', 'above', 'respect', 'and', 'esteem', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'motive', 'within', 'her', 'of', 'goodwill', 'which', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'overlooked', 'it', 'was', 'gratitude', 'gratitude', 'not', 'merely', 'for', 'having', 'once', 'loved', 'her', 'but', 'for', 'loving', 'her', 'still', 'well', 'enough', 'to', 'forgive', 'all', 'the', 'petulance', 'and', 'acrimony', 'of', 'her', 'manner', 'in', 'rejecting', 'him', 'and', 'all', 'the', 'unjust', 'accusations', 'accompanying', 'her', 'rejection', 'he', 'who', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'persuaded', 'would', 'avoid', 'her', 'as', 'his', 'greatest', 'enemy', 'seemed', 'on', 'this', 'accidental', 'meeting', 'most', 'eager', 'to', 'preserve', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'and', 'without', 'any', 'indelicate', 'display', 'of', 'regard', 'or', 'any', 'peculiarity', 'of', 'manner', 'where', 'their', 'two', 'selves', 'only', 'were', 'concerned', 'was', 'soliciting', 'the', 'good', 'opinion', 'of', 'her', 'friends', 'and', 'bent', 'on', 'making', 'her', 'known', 'to', 'his', 'sister', 'such', 'a', 'change', 'in', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'so', 'much', 'pride', 'exciting', 'not', 'only', 'astonishment', 'but', 'gratitudefor', 'to', 'love', 'ardent', 'love', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'attributed', 'and', 'as', 'such', 'its', 'impression', 'on', 'her', 'was', 'of', 'a', 'sort', 'to', 'be', 'encouraged', 'as', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'unpleasing', 'though', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'exactly', 'defined', 'she', 'respected', 'she', 'esteemed', 'she', 'was', 'grateful', 'to', 'him', 'she', 'felt', 'a', 'real', 'interest', 'in', 'his', 'welfare', 'and', 'she', 'only', 'wanted', 'to', 'know', 'how', 'far', 'she', 'wished', 'that', 'welfare', 'to', 'depend', 'upon', 'herself', 'and', 'how', 'far', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'for', 'the', 'happiness', 'of', 'both', 'that', 'she', 'should', 'employ', 'the', 'power', 'which', 'her', 'fancy', 'told', 'her', 'she', 'still', 'possessed', 'of', 'bringing', 'on', 'her', 'the', 'renewal', 'of', 'his', 'addresses', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'settled', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'between', 'the', 'aunt', 'and', 'the', 'niece', 'that', 'such', 'a', 'striking', 'civility', 'as', 'miss', 'darcys', 'in', 'coming', 'to', 'see', 'them', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'day', 'of', 'her', 'arrival', 'at', 'pemberley', 'for', 'she', 'had', 'reached', 'it', 'only', 'to', 'a', 'late', 'breakfast', 'ought', 'to', 'be', 'imitated', 'though', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'equalled', 'by', 'some', 'exertion', 'of', 'politeness', 'on', 'their', 'side', 'and', 'consequently', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'highly', 'expedient', 'to', 'wait', 'on', 'her', 'at', 'pemberley', 'the', 'following', 'morning', 'they', 'were', 'therefore', 'to', 'go', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'pleased', 'though', 'when', 'she', 'asked', 'herself', 'the', 'reason', 'she', 'had', 'very', 'little', 'to', 'say', 'in', 'reply', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'left', 'them', 'soon', 'after', 'breakfast', 'the', 'fishing', 'scheme', 'had', 'been', 'renewed', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'and', 'a', 'positive', 'engagement', 'made', 'of', 'his', 'meeting', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'at', 'pemberley', 'before', 'noon', 'convinced', 'as', 'elizabeth', 'now', 'was', 'that', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'dislike', 'of', 'her', 'had', 'originated', 'in', 'jealousy', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'feeling', 'how', 'unwelcome', 'her', 'appearance', 'at', 'pemberley', 'must', 'be', 'to', 'her', 'and', 'was', 'curious', 'to', 'know', 'with', 'how', 'much', 'civility', 'on', 'that', 'ladys', 'side', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'would', 'now', 'be', 'renewed', 'on', 'reaching', 'the', 'house', 'they', 'were', 'shown', 'through', 'the', 'hall', 'into', 'the', 'saloon', 'whose', 'northern', 'aspect', 'rendered', 'it', 'delightful', 'for', 'summer', 'its', 'windows', 'opening', 'to', 'the', 'ground', 'admitted', 'a', 'most', 'refreshing', 'view', 'of', 'the', 'high', 'woody', 'hills', 'behind', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'of', 'the', 'beautiful', 'oaks', 'and', 'spanish', 'chestnuts', 'which', 'were', 'scattered', 'over', 'the', 'intermediate', 'lawn', 'in', 'this', 'house', 'they', 'were', 'received', 'by', 'miss', 'darcy', 'who', 'was', 'sitting', 'there', 'with', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'miss', 'bingley', 'and', 'the', 'lady', 'with', 'whom', 'she', 'lived', 'in', 'london', 'georgianas', 'reception', 'of', 'them', 'was', 'very', 'civil', 'but', 'attended', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'embarrassment', 'which', 'though', 'proceeding', 'from', 'shyness', 'and', 'the', 'fear', 'of', 'doing', 'wrong', 'would', 'easily', 'give', 'to', 'those', 'who', 'felt', 'themselves', 'inferior', 'the', 'belief', 'of', 'her', 'being', 'proud', 'and', 'reserved', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'and', 'her', 'niece', 'however', 'did', 'her', 'justice', 'and', 'pitied', 'her', 'by', 'mrs', 'hurst', 'and', 'miss', 'bingley', 'they', 'were', 'noticed', 'only', 'by', 'a', 'curtsey', 'and', 'on', 'their', 'being', 'seated', 'a', 'pause', 'awkward', 'as', 'such', 'pauses', 'must', 'always', 'be', 'succeeded', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'it', 'was', 'first', 'broken', 'by', 'mrs', 'annesley', 'a', 'genteel', 'agreeablelooking', 'woman', 'whose', 'endeavour', 'to', 'introduce', 'some', 'kind', 'of', 'discourse', 'proved', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'more', 'truly', 'wellbred', 'than', 'either', 'of', 'the', 'others', 'and', 'between', 'her', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'with', 'occasional', 'help', 'from', 'elizabeth', 'the', 'conversation', 'was', 'carried', 'on', 'miss', 'darcy', 'looked', 'as', 'if', 'she', 'wished', 'for', 'courage', 'enough', 'to', 'join', 'in', 'it', 'and', 'sometimes', 'did', 'venture', 'a', 'short', 'sentence', 'when', 'there', 'was', 'least', 'danger', 'of', 'its', 'being', 'heard', 'elizabeth', 'soon', 'saw', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'herself', 'closely', 'watched', 'by', 'miss', 'bingley', 'and', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'speak', 'a', 'word', 'especially', 'to', 'miss', 'darcy', 'without', 'calling', 'her', 'attention', 'this', 'observation', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'prevented', 'her', 'from', 'trying', 'to', 'talk', 'to', 'the', 'latter', 'had', 'they', 'not', 'been', 'seated', 'at', 'an', 'inconvenient', 'distance', 'but', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'sorry', 'to', 'be', 'spared', 'the', 'necessity', 'of', 'saying', 'much', 'her', 'own', 'thoughts', 'were', 'employing', 'her', 'she', 'expected', 'every', 'moment', 'that', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'would', 'enter', 'the', 'room', 'she', 'wished', 'she', 'feared', 'that', 'the', 'master', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'might', 'be', 'amongst', 'them', 'and', 'whether', 'she', 'wished', 'or', 'feared', 'it', 'most', 'she', 'could', 'scarcely', 'determine', 'after', 'sitting', 'in', 'this', 'manner', 'a', 'quarter', 'of', 'an', 'hour', 'without', 'hearing', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'voice', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'roused', 'by', 'receiving', 'from', 'her', 'a', 'cold', 'enquiry', 'after', 'the', 'health', 'of', 'her', 'family', 'she', 'answered', 'with', 'equal', 'indifference', 'and', 'brevity', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'said', 'no', 'more', 'the', 'next', 'variation', 'which', 'their', 'visit', 'afforded', 'was', 'produced', 'by', 'the', 'entrance', 'of', 'servants', 'with', 'cold', 'meat', 'cake', 'and', 'a', 'variety', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'finest', 'fruits', 'in', 'season', 'but', 'this', 'did', 'not', 'take', 'place', 'till', 'after', 'many', 'a', 'significant', 'look', 'and', 'smile', 'from', 'mrs', 'annesley', 'to', 'miss', 'darcy', 'had', 'been', 'given', 'to', 'remind', 'her', 'of', 'her', 'post', 'there', 'was', 'now', 'employment', 'for', 'the', 'whole', 'partyfor', 'though', 'they', 'could', 'not', 'all', 'talk', 'they', 'could', 'all', 'eat', 'and', 'the', 'beautiful', 'pyramids', 'of', 'grapes', 'nectarines', 'and', 'peaches', 'soon', 'collected', 'them', 'round', 'the', 'table', 'while', 'thus', 'engaged', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'a', 'fair', 'opportunity', 'of', 'deciding', 'whether', 'she', 'most', 'feared', 'or', 'wished', 'for', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'by', 'the', 'feelings', 'which', 'prevailed', 'on', 'his', 'entering', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'then', 'though', 'but', 'a', 'moment', 'before', 'she', 'had', 'believed', 'her', 'wishes', 'to', 'predominate', 'she', 'began', 'to', 'regret', 'that', 'he', 'came', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'some', 'time', 'with', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'who', 'with', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'other', 'gentlemen', 'from', 'the', 'house', 'was', 'engaged', 'by', 'the', 'river', 'and', 'had', 'left', 'him', 'only', 'on', 'learning', 'that', 'the', 'ladies', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'intended', 'a', 'visit', 'to', 'georgiana', 'that', 'morning', 'no', 'sooner', 'did', 'he', 'appear', 'than', 'elizabeth', 'wisely', 'resolved', 'to', 'be', 'perfectly', 'easy', 'and', 'unembarrassed', 'a', 'resolution', 'the', 'more', 'necessary', 'to', 'be', 'made', 'but', 'perhaps', 'not', 'the', 'more', 'easily', 'kept', 'because', 'she', 'saw', 'that', 'the', 'suspicions', 'of', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'were', 'awakened', 'against', 'them', 'and', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'scarcely', 'an', 'eye', 'which', 'did', 'not', 'watch', 'his', 'behaviour', 'when', 'he', 'first', 'came', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'in', 'no', 'countenance', 'was', 'attentive', 'curiosity', 'so', 'strongly', 'marked', 'as', 'in', 'miss', 'bingleys', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'the', 'smiles', 'which', 'overspread', 'her', 'face', 'whenever', 'she', 'spoke', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'its', 'objects', 'for', 'jealousy', 'had', 'not', 'yet', 'made', 'her', 'desperate', 'and', 'her', 'attentions', 'to', 'mr', 'darcy', 'were', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'over', 'miss', 'darcy', 'on', 'her', 'brothers', 'entrance', 'exerted', 'herself', 'much', 'more', 'to', 'talk', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'saw', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'anxious', 'for', 'his', 'sister', 'and', 'herself', 'to', 'get', 'acquainted', 'and', 'forwarded', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'possible', 'every', 'attempt', 'at', 'conversation', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'miss', 'bingley', 'saw', 'all', 'this', 'likewise', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'imprudence', 'of', 'anger', 'took', 'the', 'first', 'opportunity', 'of', 'saying', 'with', 'sneering', 'civility', 'pray', 'miss', 'eliza', 'are', 'not', 'the', 'shire', 'militia', 'removed', 'from', 'meryton', 'they', 'must', 'be', 'a', 'great', 'loss', 'to', 'your', 'family', 'in', 'darcys', 'presence', 'she', 'dared', 'not', 'mention', 'wickhams', 'name', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'instantly', 'comprehended', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'uppermost', 'in', 'her', 'thoughts', 'and', 'the', 'various', 'recollections', 'connected', 'with', 'him', 'gave', 'her', 'a', 'moments', 'distress', 'but', 'exerting', 'herself', 'vigorously', 'to', 'repel', 'the', 'illnatured', 'attack', 'she', 'presently', 'answered', 'the', 'question', 'in', 'a', 'tolerably', 'detached', 'tone', 'while', 'she', 'spoke', 'an', 'involuntary', 'glance', 'showed', 'her', 'darcy', 'with', 'a', 'heightened', 'complexion', 'earnestly', 'looking', 'at', 'her', 'and', 'his', 'sister', 'overcome', 'with', 'confusion', 'and', 'unable', 'to', 'lift', 'up', 'her', 'eyes', 'had', 'miss', 'bingley', 'known', 'what', 'pain', 'she', 'was', 'then', 'giving', 'her', 'beloved', 'friend', 'she', 'undoubtedly', 'would', 'have', 'refrained', 'from', 'the', 'hint', 'but', 'she', 'had', 'merely', 'intended', 'to', 'discompose', 'elizabeth', 'by', 'bringing', 'forward', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'to', 'whom', 'she', 'believed', 'her', 'partial', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'betray', 'a', 'sensibility', 'which', 'might', 'injure', 'her', 'in', 'darcys', 'opinion', 'and', 'perhaps', 'to', 'remind', 'the', 'latter', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'follies', 'and', 'absurdities', 'by', 'which', 'some', 'part', 'of', 'her', 'family', 'were', 'connected', 'with', 'that', 'corps', 'not', 'a', 'syllable', 'had', 'ever', 'reached', 'her', 'of', 'miss', 'darcys', 'meditated', 'elopement', 'to', 'no', 'creature', 'had', 'it', 'been', 'revealed', 'where', 'secrecy', 'was', 'possible', 'except', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'from', 'all', 'bingleys', 'connections', 'her', 'brother', 'was', 'particularly', 'anxious', 'to', 'conceal', 'it', 'from', 'the', 'very', 'wish', 'which', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'long', 'ago', 'attributed', 'to', 'him', 'of', 'their', 'becoming', 'hereafter', 'her', 'own', 'he', 'had', 'certainly', 'formed', 'such', 'a', 'plan', 'and', 'without', 'meaning', 'that', 'it', 'should', 'affect', 'his', 'endeavour', 'to', 'separate', 'him', 'from', 'miss', 'bennet', 'it', 'is', 'probable', 'that', 'it', 'might', 'add', 'something', 'to', 'his', 'lively', 'concern', 'for', 'the', 'welfare', 'of', 'his', 'friend', 'elizabeths', 'collected', 'behaviour', 'however', 'soon', 'quieted', 'his', 'emotion', 'and', 'as', 'miss', 'bingley', 'vexed', 'and', 'disappointed', 'dared', 'not', 'approach', 'nearer', 'to', 'wickham', 'georgiana', 'also', 'recovered', 'in', 'time', 'though', 'not', 'enough', 'to', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'speak', 'any', 'more', 'her', 'brother', 'whose', 'eye', 'she', 'feared', 'to', 'meet', 'scarcely', 'recollected', 'her', 'interest', 'in', 'the', 'affair', 'and', 'the', 'very', 'circumstance', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'designed', 'to', 'turn', 'his', 'thoughts', 'from', 'elizabeth', 'seemed', 'to', 'have', 'fixed', 'them', 'on', 'her', 'more', 'and', 'more', 'cheerfully', 'their', 'visit', 'did', 'not', 'continue', 'long', 'after', 'the', 'question', 'and', 'answer', 'above', 'mentioned', 'and', 'while', 'mr', 'darcy', 'was', 'attending', 'them', 'to', 'their', 'carriage', 'miss', 'bingley', 'was', 'venting', 'her', 'feelings', 'in', 'criticisms', 'on', 'elizabeths', 'person', 'behaviour', 'and', 'dress', 'but', 'georgiana', 'would', 'not', 'join', 'her', 'her', 'brothers', 'recommendation', 'was', 'enough', 'to', 'ensure', 'her', 'favour', 'his', 'judgement', 'could', 'not', 'err', 'and', 'he', 'had', 'spoken', 'in', 'such', 'terms', 'of', 'elizabeth', 'as', 'to', 'leave', 'georgiana', 'without', 'the', 'power', 'of', 'finding', 'her', 'otherwise', 'than', 'lovely', 'and', 'amiable', 'when', 'darcy', 'returned', 'to', 'the', 'saloon', 'miss', 'bingley', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'repeating', 'to', 'him', 'some', 'part', 'of', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'saying', 'to', 'his', 'sister', 'how', 'very', 'ill', 'miss', 'eliza', 'bennet', 'looks', 'this', 'morning', 'mr', 'darcy', 'she', 'cried', 'i', 'never', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'saw', 'anyone', 'so', 'much', 'altered', 'as', 'she', 'is', 'since', 'the', 'winter', 'she', 'is', 'grown', 'so', 'brown', 'and', 'coarse', 'louisa', 'and', 'i', 'were', 'agreeing', 'that', 'we', 'should', 'not', 'have', 'known', 'her', 'again', 'however', 'little', 'mr', 'darcy', 'might', 'have', 'liked', 'such', 'an', 'address', 'he', 'contented', 'himself', 'with', 'coolly', 'replying', 'that', 'he', 'perceived', 'no', 'other', 'alteration', 'than', 'her', 'being', 'rather', 'tanned', 'no', 'miraculous', 'consequence', 'of', 'travelling', 'in', 'the', 'summer', 'for', 'my', 'own', 'part', 'she', 'rejoined', 'i', 'must', 'confess', 'that', 'i', 'never', 'could', 'see', 'any', 'beauty', 'in', 'her', 'her', 'face', 'is', 'too', 'thin', 'her', 'complexion', 'has', 'no', 'brilliancy', 'and', 'her', 'features', 'are', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'handsome', 'her', 'nose', 'wants', 'characterthere', 'is', 'nothing', 'marked', 'in', 'its', 'lines', 'her', 'teeth', 'are', 'tolerable', 'but', 'not', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'common', 'way', 'and', 'as', 'for', 'her', 'eyes', 'which', 'have', 'sometimes', 'been', 'called', 'so', 'fine', 'i', 'could', 'never', 'see', 'anything', 'extraordinary', 'in', 'them', 'they', 'have', 'a', 'sharp', 'shrewish', 'look', 'which', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'like', 'at', 'all', 'and', 'in', 'her', 'air', 'altogether', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'selfsufficiency', 'without', 'fashion', 'which', 'is', 'intolerable', 'persuaded', 'as', 'miss', 'bingley', 'was', 'that', 'darcy', 'admired', 'elizabeth', 'this', 'was', 'not', 'the', 'best', 'method', 'of', 'recommending', 'herself', 'but', 'angry', 'people', 'are', 'not', 'always', 'wise', 'and', 'in', 'seeing', 'him', 'at', 'last', 'look', 'somewhat', 'nettled', 'she', 'had', 'all', 'the', 'success', 'she', 'expected', 'he', 'was', 'resolutely', 'silent', 'however', 'and', 'from', 'a', 'determination', 'of', 'making', 'him', 'speak', 'she', 'continued', 'i', 'remember', 'when', 'we', 'first', 'knew', 'her', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'how', 'amazed', 'we', 'all', 'were', 'to', 'find', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'a', 'reputed', 'beauty', 'and', 'i', 'particularly', 'recollect', 'your', 'saying', 'one', 'night', 'after', 'they', 'had', 'been', 'dining', 'at', 'netherfield', 'she', 'a', 'beautyi', 'should', 'as', 'soon', 'call', 'her', 'mother', 'a', 'wit', 'but', 'afterwards', 'she', 'seemed', 'to', 'improve', 'on', 'you', 'and', 'i', 'believe', 'you', 'thought', 'her', 'rather', 'pretty', 'at', 'one', 'time', 'yes', 'replied', 'darcy', 'who', 'could', 'contain', 'himself', 'no', 'longer', 'but', 'that', 'was', 'only', 'when', 'i', 'first', 'saw', 'her', 'for', 'it', 'is', 'many', 'months', 'since', 'i', 'have', 'considered', 'her', 'as', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'handsomest', 'women', 'of', 'my', 'acquaintance', 'he', 'then', 'went', 'away', 'and', 'miss', 'bingley', 'was', 'left', 'to', 'all', 'the', 'satisfaction', 'of', 'having', 'forced', 'him', 'to', 'say', 'what', 'gave', 'no', 'one', 'any', 'pain', 'but', 'herself', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'talked', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'had', 'occurred', 'during', 'their', 'visit', 'as', 'they', 'returned', 'except', 'what', 'had', 'particularly', 'interested', 'them', 'both', 'the', 'look', 'and', 'behaviour', 'of', 'everybody', 'they', 'had', 'seen', 'were', 'discussed', 'except', 'of', 'the', 'person', 'who', 'had', 'mostly', 'engaged', 'their', 'attention', 'they', 'talked', 'of', 'his', 'sister', 'his', 'friends', 'his', 'house', 'his', 'fruitof', 'everything', 'but', 'himself', 'yet', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'longing', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'thought', 'of', 'him', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'highly', 'gratified', 'by', 'her', 'nieces', 'beginning', 'the', 'subject', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'been', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'disappointed', 'in', 'not', 'finding', 'a', 'letter', 'from', 'jane', 'on', 'their', 'first', 'arrival', 'at', 'lambton', 'and', 'this', 'disappointment', 'had', 'been', 'renewed', 'on', 'each', 'of', 'the', 'mornings', 'that', 'had', 'now', 'been', 'spent', 'there', 'but', 'on', 'the', 'third', 'her', 'repining', 'was', 'over', 'and', 'her', 'sister', 'justified', 'by', 'the', 'receipt', 'of', 'two', 'letters', 'from', 'her', 'at', 'once', 'on', 'one', 'of', 'which', 'was', 'marked', 'that', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'missent', 'elsewhere', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'not', 'surprised', 'at', 'it', 'as', 'jane', 'had', 'written', 'the', 'direction', 'remarkably', 'ill', 'they', 'had', 'just', 'been', 'preparing', 'to', 'walk', 'as', 'the', 'letters', 'came', 'in', 'and', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'leaving', 'her', 'to', 'enjoy', 'them', 'in', 'quiet', 'set', 'off', 'by', 'themselves', 'the', 'one', 'missent', 'must', 'first', 'be', 'attended', 'to', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'written', 'five', 'days', 'ago', 'the', 'beginning', 'contained', 'an', 'account', 'of', 'all', 'their', 'little', 'parties', 'and', 'engagements', 'with', 'such', 'news', 'as', 'the', 'country', 'afforded', 'but', 'the', 'latter', 'half', 'which', 'was', 'dated', 'a', 'day', 'later', 'and', 'written', 'in', 'evident', 'agitation', 'gave', 'more', 'important', 'intelligence', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'this', 'effect', 'since', 'writing', 'the', 'above', 'dearest', 'lizzy', 'something', 'has', 'occurred', 'of', 'a', 'most', 'unexpected', 'and', 'serious', 'nature', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'of', 'alarming', 'yoube', 'assured', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'all', 'well', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'to', 'say', 'relates', 'to', 'poor', 'lydia', 'an', 'express', 'came', 'at', 'twelve', 'last', 'night', 'just', 'as', 'we', 'were', 'all', 'gone', 'to', 'bed', 'from', 'colonel', 'forster', 'to', 'inform', 'us', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'gone', 'off', 'to', 'scotland', 'with', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'officers', 'to', 'own', 'the', 'truth', 'with', 'wickham', 'imagine', 'our', 'surprise', 'to', 'kitty', 'however', 'it', 'does', 'not', 'seem', 'so', 'wholly', 'unexpected', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'very', 'sorry', 'so', 'imprudent', 'a', 'match', 'on', 'both', 'sides', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'willing', 'to', 'hope', 'the', 'best', 'and', 'that', 'his', 'character', 'has', 'been', 'misunderstood', 'thoughtless', 'and', 'indiscreet', 'i', 'can', 'easily', 'believe', 'him', 'but', 'this', 'step', 'and', 'let', 'us', 'rejoice', 'over', 'it', 'marks', 'nothing', 'bad', 'at', 'heart', 'his', 'choice', 'is', 'disinterested', 'at', 'least', 'for', 'he', 'must', 'know', 'my', 'father', 'can', 'give', 'her', 'nothing', 'our', 'poor', 'mother', 'is', 'sadly', 'grieved', 'my', 'father', 'bears', 'it', 'better', 'how', 'thankful', 'am', 'i', 'that', 'we', 'never', 'let', 'them', 'know', 'what', 'has', 'been', 'said', 'against', 'him', 'we', 'must', 'forget', 'it', 'ourselves', 'they', 'were', 'off', 'saturday', 'night', 'about', 'twelve', 'as', 'is', 'conjectured', 'but', 'were', 'not', 'missed', 'till', 'yesterday', 'morning', 'at', 'eight', 'the', 'express', 'was', 'sent', 'off', 'directly', 'my', 'dear', 'lizzy', 'they', 'must', 'have', 'passed', 'within', 'ten', 'miles', 'of', 'us', 'colonel', 'forster', 'gives', 'us', 'reason', 'to', 'expect', 'him', 'here', 'soon', 'lydia', 'left', 'a', 'few', 'lines', 'for', 'his', 'wife', 'informing', 'her', 'of', 'their', 'intention', 'i', 'must', 'conclude', 'for', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'long', 'from', 'my', 'poor', 'mother', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'make', 'it', 'out', 'but', 'i', 'hardly', 'know', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'written', 'without', 'allowing', 'herself', 'time', 'for', 'consideration', 'and', 'scarcely', 'knowing', 'what', 'she', 'felt', 'elizabeth', 'on', 'finishing', 'this', 'letter', 'instantly', 'seized', 'the', 'other', 'and', 'opening', 'it', 'with', 'the', 'utmost', 'impatience', 'read', 'as', 'follows', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'written', 'a', 'day', 'later', 'than', 'the', 'conclusion', 'of', 'the', 'first', 'by', 'this', 'time', 'my', 'dearest', 'sister', 'you', 'have', 'received', 'my', 'hurried', 'letter', 'i', 'wish', 'this', 'may', 'be', 'more', 'intelligible', 'but', 'though', 'not', 'confined', 'for', 'time', 'my', 'head', 'is', 'so', 'bewildered', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'answer', 'for', 'being', 'coherent', 'dearest', 'lizzy', 'i', 'hardly', 'know', 'what', 'i', 'would', 'write', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'bad', 'news', 'for', 'you', 'and', 'it', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'delayed', 'imprudent', 'as', 'the', 'marriage', 'between', 'mr', 'wickham', 'and', 'our', 'poor', 'lydia', 'would', 'be', 'we', 'are', 'now', 'anxious', 'to', 'be', 'assured', 'it', 'has', 'taken', 'place', 'for', 'there', 'is', 'but', 'too', 'much', 'reason', 'to', 'fear', 'they', 'are', 'not', 'gone', 'to', 'scotland', 'colonel', 'forster', 'came', 'yesterday', 'having', 'left', 'brighton', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'not', 'many', 'hours', 'after', 'the', 'express', 'though', 'lydias', 'short', 'letter', 'to', 'mrs', 'f', 'gave', 'them', 'to', 'understand', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'going', 'to', 'gretna', 'green', 'something', 'was', 'dropped', 'by', 'denny', 'expressing', 'his', 'belief', 'that', 'w', 'never', 'intended', 'to', 'go', 'there', 'or', 'to', 'marry', 'lydia', 'at', 'all', 'which', 'was', 'repeated', 'to', 'colonel', 'f', 'who', 'instantly', 'taking', 'the', 'alarm', 'set', 'off', 'from', 'b', 'intending', 'to', 'trace', 'their', 'route', 'he', 'did', 'trace', 'them', 'easily', 'to', 'clapham', 'but', 'no', 'further', 'for', 'on', 'entering', 'that', 'place', 'they', 'removed', 'into', 'a', 'hackney', 'coach', 'and', 'dismissed', 'the', 'chaise', 'that', 'brought', 'them', 'from', 'epsom', 'all', 'that', 'is', 'known', 'after', 'this', 'is', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'seen', 'to', 'continue', 'the', 'london', 'road', 'i', 'know', 'not', 'what', 'to', 'think', 'after', 'making', 'every', 'possible', 'enquiry', 'on', 'that', 'side', 'london', 'colonel', 'f', 'came', 'on', 'into', 'hertfordshire', 'anxiously', 'renewing', 'them', 'at', 'all', 'the', 'turnpikes', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'inns', 'in', 'barnet', 'and', 'hatfield', 'but', 'without', 'any', 'successno', 'such', 'people', 'had', 'been', 'seen', 'to', 'pass', 'through', 'with', 'the', 'kindest', 'concern', 'he', 'came', 'on', 'to', 'longbourn', 'and', 'broke', 'his', 'apprehensions', 'to', 'us', 'in', 'a', 'manner', 'most', 'creditable', 'to', 'his', 'heart', 'i', 'am', 'sincerely', 'grieved', 'for', 'him', 'and', 'mrs', 'f', 'but', 'no', 'one', 'can', 'throw', 'any', 'blame', 'on', 'them', 'our', 'distress', 'my', 'dear', 'lizzy', 'is', 'very', 'great', 'my', 'father', 'and', 'mother', 'believe', 'the', 'worst', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'think', 'so', 'ill', 'of', 'him', 'many', 'circumstances', 'might', 'make', 'it', 'more', 'eligible', 'for', 'them', 'to', 'be', 'married', 'privately', 'in', 'town', 'than', 'to', 'pursue', 'their', 'first', 'plan', 'and', 'even', 'if', 'he', 'could', 'form', 'such', 'a', 'design', 'against', 'a', 'young', 'woman', 'of', 'lydias', 'connections', 'which', 'is', 'not', 'likely', 'can', 'i', 'suppose', 'her', 'so', 'lost', 'to', 'everything', 'impossible', 'i', 'grieve', 'to', 'find', 'however', 'that', 'colonel', 'f', 'is', 'not', 'disposed', 'to', 'depend', 'upon', 'their', 'marriage', 'he', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'when', 'i', 'expressed', 'my', 'hopes', 'and', 'said', 'he', 'feared', 'w', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'man', 'to', 'be', 'trusted', 'my', 'poor', 'mother', 'is', 'really', 'ill', 'and', 'keeps', 'her', 'room', 'could', 'she', 'exert', 'herself', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'better', 'but', 'this', 'is', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'expected', 'and', 'as', 'to', 'my', 'father', 'i', 'never', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'saw', 'him', 'so', 'affected', 'poor', 'kitty', 'has', 'anger', 'for', 'having', 'concealed', 'their', 'attachment', 'but', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'confidence', 'one', 'can', 'not', 'wonder', 'i', 'am', 'truly', 'glad', 'dearest', 'lizzy', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'spared', 'something', 'of', 'these', 'distressing', 'scenes', 'but', 'now', 'as', 'the', 'first', 'shock', 'is', 'over', 'shall', 'i', 'own', 'that', 'i', 'long', 'for', 'your', 'return', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'so', 'selfish', 'however', 'as', 'to', 'press', 'for', 'it', 'if', 'inconvenient', 'adieu', 'i', 'take', 'up', 'my', 'pen', 'again', 'to', 'do', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'just', 'told', 'you', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'but', 'circumstances', 'are', 'such', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'help', 'earnestly', 'begging', 'you', 'all', 'to', 'come', 'here', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'possible', 'i', 'know', 'my', 'dear', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'so', 'well', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'afraid', 'of', 'requesting', 'it', 'though', 'i', 'have', 'still', 'something', 'more', 'to', 'ask', 'of', 'the', 'former', 'my', 'father', 'is', 'going', 'to', 'london', 'with', 'colonel', 'forster', 'instantly', 'to', 'try', 'to', 'discover', 'her', 'what', 'he', 'means', 'to', 'do', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'know', 'not', 'but', 'his', 'excessive', 'distress', 'will', 'not', 'allow', 'him', 'to', 'pursue', 'any', 'measure', 'in', 'the', 'best', 'and', 'safest', 'way', 'and', 'colonel', 'forster', 'is', 'obliged', 'to', 'be', 'at', 'brighton', 'again', 'tomorrow', 'evening', 'in', 'such', 'an', 'exigence', 'my', 'uncles', 'advice', 'and', 'assistance', 'would', 'be', 'everything', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'he', 'will', 'immediately', 'comprehend', 'what', 'i', 'must', 'feel', 'and', 'i', 'rely', 'upon', 'his', 'goodness', 'oh', 'where', 'where', 'is', 'my', 'uncle', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'darting', 'from', 'her', 'seat', 'as', 'she', 'finished', 'the', 'letter', 'in', 'eagerness', 'to', 'follow', 'him', 'without', 'losing', 'a', 'moment', 'of', 'the', 'time', 'so', 'precious', 'but', 'as', 'she', 'reached', 'the', 'door', 'it', 'was', 'opened', 'by', 'a', 'servant', 'and', 'mr', 'darcy', 'appeared', 'her', 'pale', 'face', 'and', 'impetuous', 'manner', 'made', 'him', 'start', 'and', 'before', 'he', 'could', 'recover', 'himself', 'to', 'speak', 'she', 'in', 'whose', 'mind', 'every', 'idea', 'was', 'superseded', 'by', 'lydias', 'situation', 'hastily', 'exclaimed', 'i', 'beg', 'your', 'pardon', 'but', 'i', 'must', 'leave', 'you', 'i', 'must', 'find', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'this', 'moment', 'on', 'business', 'that', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'delayed', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'an', 'instant', 'to', 'lose', 'good', 'god', 'what', 'is', 'the', 'matter', 'cried', 'he', 'with', 'more', 'feeling', 'than', 'politeness', 'then', 'recollecting', 'himself', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'detain', 'you', 'a', 'minute', 'but', 'let', 'me', 'or', 'let', 'the', 'servant', 'go', 'after', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'well', 'enough', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'go', 'yourself', 'elizabeth', 'hesitated', 'but', 'her', 'knees', 'trembled', 'under', 'her', 'and', 'she', 'felt', 'how', 'little', 'would', 'be', 'gained', 'by', 'her', 'attempting', 'to', 'pursue', 'them', 'calling', 'back', 'the', 'servant', 'therefore', 'she', 'commissioned', 'him', 'though', 'in', 'so', 'breathless', 'an', 'accent', 'as', 'made', 'her', 'almost', 'unintelligible', 'to', 'fetch', 'his', 'master', 'and', 'mistress', 'home', 'instantly', 'on', 'his', 'quitting', 'the', 'room', 'she', 'sat', 'down', 'unable', 'to', 'support', 'herself', 'and', 'looking', 'so', 'miserably', 'ill', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'for', 'darcy', 'to', 'leave', 'her', 'or', 'to', 'refrain', 'from', 'saying', 'in', 'a', 'tone', 'of', 'gentleness', 'and', 'commiseration', 'let', 'me', 'call', 'your', 'maid', 'is', 'there', 'nothing', 'you', 'could', 'take', 'to', 'give', 'you', 'present', 'relief', 'a', 'glass', 'of', 'wine', 'shall', 'i', 'get', 'you', 'one', 'you', 'are', 'very', 'ill', 'no', 'i', 'thank', 'you', 'she', 'replied', 'endeavouring', 'to', 'recover', 'herself', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'the', 'matter', 'with', 'me', 'i', 'am', 'quite', 'well', 'i', 'am', 'only', 'distressed', 'by', 'some', 'dreadful', 'news', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'just', 'received', 'from', 'longbourn', 'she', 'burst', 'into', 'tears', 'as', 'she', 'alluded', 'to', 'it', 'and', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'could', 'not', 'speak', 'another', 'word', 'darcy', 'in', 'wretched', 'suspense', 'could', 'only', 'say', 'something', 'indistinctly', 'of', 'his', 'concern', 'and', 'observe', 'her', 'in', 'compassionate', 'silence', 'at', 'length', 'she', 'spoke', 'again', 'i', 'have', 'just', 'had', 'a', 'letter', 'from', 'jane', 'with', 'such', 'dreadful', 'news', 'it', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'concealed', 'from', 'anyone', 'my', 'younger', 'sister', 'has', 'left', 'all', 'her', 'friendshas', 'eloped', 'has', 'thrown', 'herself', 'into', 'the', 'power', 'ofof', 'mr', 'wickham', 'they', 'are', 'gone', 'off', 'together', 'from', 'brighton', 'you', 'know', 'him', 'too', 'well', 'to', 'doubt', 'the', 'rest', 'she', 'has', 'no', 'money', 'no', 'connections', 'nothing', 'that', 'can', 'tempt', 'him', 'toshe', 'is', 'lost', 'for', 'ever', 'darcy', 'was', 'fixed', 'in', 'astonishment', 'when', 'i', 'consider', 'she', 'added', 'in', 'a', 'yet', 'more', 'agitated', 'voice', 'that', 'i', 'might', 'have', 'prevented', 'it', 'i', 'who', 'knew', 'what', 'he', 'was', 'had', 'i', 'but', 'explained', 'some', 'part', 'of', 'it', 'onlysome', 'part', 'of', 'what', 'i', 'learnt', 'to', 'my', 'own', 'family', 'had', 'his', 'character', 'been', 'known', 'this', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'happened', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'allall', 'too', 'late', 'now', 'i', 'am', 'grieved', 'indeed', 'cried', 'darcy', 'grievedshocked', 'but', 'is', 'it', 'certainabsolutely', 'certain', 'oh', 'yes', 'they', 'left', 'brighton', 'together', 'on', 'sunday', 'night', 'and', 'were', 'traced', 'almost', 'to', 'london', 'but', 'not', 'beyond', 'they', 'are', 'certainly', 'not', 'gone', 'to', 'scotland', 'and', 'what', 'has', 'been', 'done', 'what', 'has', 'been', 'attempted', 'to', 'recover', 'her', 'my', 'father', 'is', 'gone', 'to', 'london', 'and', 'jane', 'has', 'written', 'to', 'beg', 'my', 'uncles', 'immediate', 'assistance', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'off', 'i', 'hope', 'in', 'halfanhour', 'but', 'nothing', 'can', 'be', 'donei', 'know', 'very', 'well', 'that', 'nothing', 'can', 'be', 'done', 'how', 'is', 'such', 'a', 'man', 'to', 'be', 'worked', 'on', 'how', 'are', 'they', 'even', 'to', 'be', 'discovered', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'the', 'smallest', 'hope', 'it', 'is', 'every', 'way', 'horrible', 'darcy', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'in', 'silent', 'acquiescence', 'when', 'my', 'eyes', 'were', 'opened', 'to', 'his', 'real', 'characteroh', 'had', 'i', 'known', 'what', 'i', 'ought', 'what', 'i', 'dared', 'to', 'do', 'but', 'i', 'knew', 'noti', 'was', 'afraid', 'of', 'doing', 'too', 'much', 'wretched', 'wretched', 'mistake', 'darcy', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'he', 'seemed', 'scarcely', 'to', 'hear', 'her', 'and', 'was', 'walking', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'room', 'in', 'earnest', 'meditation', 'his', 'brow', 'contracted', 'his', 'air', 'gloomy', 'elizabeth', 'soon', 'observed', 'and', 'instantly', 'understood', 'it', 'her', 'power', 'was', 'sinking', 'everything', 'must', 'sink', 'under', 'such', 'a', 'proof', 'of', 'family', 'weakness', 'such', 'an', 'assurance', 'of', 'the', 'deepest', 'disgrace', 'she', 'could', 'neither', 'wonder', 'nor', 'condemn', 'but', 'the', 'belief', 'of', 'his', 'selfconquest', 'brought', 'nothing', 'consolatory', 'to', 'her', 'bosom', 'afforded', 'no', 'palliation', 'of', 'her', 'distress', 'it', 'was', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'exactly', 'calculated', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'understand', 'her', 'own', 'wishes', 'and', 'never', 'had', 'she', 'so', 'honestly', 'felt', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'have', 'loved', 'him', 'as', 'now', 'when', 'all', 'love', 'must', 'be', 'vain', 'but', 'self', 'though', 'it', 'would', 'intrude', 'could', 'not', 'engross', 'her', 'lydiathe', 'humiliation', 'the', 'misery', 'she', 'was', 'bringing', 'on', 'them', 'all', 'soon', 'swallowed', 'up', 'every', 'private', 'care', 'and', 'covering', 'her', 'face', 'with', 'her', 'handkerchief', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'soon', 'lost', 'to', 'everything', 'else', 'and', 'after', 'a', 'pause', 'of', 'several', 'minutes', 'was', 'only', 'recalled', 'to', 'a', 'sense', 'of', 'her', 'situation', 'by', 'the', 'voice', 'of', 'her', 'companion', 'who', 'in', 'a', 'manner', 'which', 'though', 'it', 'spoke', 'compassion', 'spoke', 'likewise', 'restraint', 'said', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'long', 'desiring', 'my', 'absence', 'nor', 'have', 'i', 'anything', 'to', 'plead', 'in', 'excuse', 'of', 'my', 'stay', 'but', 'real', 'though', 'unavailing', 'concern', 'would', 'to', 'heaven', 'that', 'anything', 'could', 'be', 'either', 'said', 'or', 'done', 'on', 'my', 'part', 'that', 'might', 'offer', 'consolation', 'to', 'such', 'distress', 'but', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'torment', 'you', 'with', 'vain', 'wishes', 'which', 'may', 'seem', 'purposely', 'to', 'ask', 'for', 'your', 'thanks', 'this', 'unfortunate', 'affair', 'will', 'i', 'fear', 'prevent', 'my', 'sisters', 'having', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'seeing', 'you', 'at', 'pemberley', 'today', 'oh', 'yes', 'be', 'so', 'kind', 'as', 'to', 'apologise', 'for', 'us', 'to', 'miss', 'darcy', 'say', 'that', 'urgent', 'business', 'calls', 'us', 'home', 'immediately', 'conceal', 'the', 'unhappy', 'truth', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'it', 'is', 'possible', 'i', 'know', 'it', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'long', 'he', 'readily', 'assured', 'her', 'of', 'his', 'secrecy', 'again', 'expressed', 'his', 'sorrow', 'for', 'her', 'distress', 'wished', 'it', 'a', 'happier', 'conclusion', 'than', 'there', 'was', 'at', 'present', 'reason', 'to', 'hope', 'and', 'leaving', 'his', 'compliments', 'for', 'her', 'relations', 'with', 'only', 'one', 'serious', 'parting', 'look', 'went', 'away', 'as', 'he', 'quitted', 'the', 'room', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'how', 'improbable', 'it', 'was', 'that', 'they', 'should', 'ever', 'see', 'each', 'other', 'again', 'on', 'such', 'terms', 'of', 'cordiality', 'as', 'had', 'marked', 'their', 'several', 'meetings', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'and', 'as', 'she', 'threw', 'a', 'retrospective', 'glance', 'over', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'their', 'acquaintance', 'so', 'full', 'of', 'contradictions', 'and', 'varieties', 'sighed', 'at', 'the', 'perverseness', 'of', 'those', 'feelings', 'which', 'would', 'now', 'have', 'promoted', 'its', 'continuance', 'and', 'would', 'formerly', 'have', 'rejoiced', 'in', 'its', 'termination', 'if', 'gratitude', 'and', 'esteem', 'are', 'good', 'foundations', 'of', 'affection', 'elizabeths', 'change', 'of', 'sentiment', 'will', 'be', 'neither', 'improbable', 'nor', 'faulty', 'but', 'if', 'otherwiseif', 'regard', 'springing', 'from', 'such', 'sources', 'is', 'unreasonable', 'or', 'unnatural', 'in', 'comparison', 'of', 'what', 'is', 'so', 'often', 'described', 'as', 'arising', 'on', 'a', 'first', 'interview', 'with', 'its', 'object', 'and', 'even', 'before', 'two', 'words', 'have', 'been', 'exchanged', 'nothing', 'can', 'be', 'said', 'in', 'her', 'defence', 'except', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'given', 'somewhat', 'of', 'a', 'trial', 'to', 'the', 'latter', 'method', 'in', 'her', 'partiality', 'for', 'wickham', 'and', 'that', 'its', 'ill', 'success', 'might', 'perhaps', 'authorise', 'her', 'to', 'seek', 'the', 'other', 'less', 'interesting', 'mode', 'of', 'attachment', 'be', 'that', 'as', 'it', 'may', 'she', 'saw', 'him', 'go', 'with', 'regret', 'and', 'in', 'this', 'early', 'example', 'of', 'what', 'lydias', 'infamy', 'must', 'produce', 'found', 'additional', 'anguish', 'as', 'she', 'reflected', 'on', 'that', 'wretched', 'business', 'never', 'since', 'reading', 'janes', 'second', 'letter', 'had', 'she', 'entertained', 'a', 'hope', 'of', 'wickhams', 'meaning', 'to', 'marry', 'her', 'no', 'one', 'but', 'jane', 'she', 'thought', 'could', 'flatter', 'herself', 'with', 'such', 'an', 'expectation', 'surprise', 'was', 'the', 'least', 'of', 'her', 'feelings', 'on', 'this', 'development', 'while', 'the', 'contents', 'of', 'the', 'first', 'letter', 'remained', 'in', 'her', 'mind', 'she', 'was', 'all', 'surpriseall', 'astonishment', 'that', 'wickham', 'should', 'marry', 'a', 'girl', 'whom', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'he', 'could', 'marry', 'for', 'money', 'and', 'how', 'lydia', 'could', 'ever', 'have', 'attached', 'him', 'had', 'appeared', 'incomprehensible', 'but', 'now', 'it', 'was', 'all', 'too', 'natural', 'for', 'such', 'an', 'attachment', 'as', 'this', 'she', 'might', 'have', 'sufficient', 'charms', 'and', 'though', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'suppose', 'lydia', 'to', 'be', 'deliberately', 'engaging', 'in', 'an', 'elopement', 'without', 'the', 'intention', 'of', 'marriage', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'difficulty', 'in', 'believing', 'that', 'neither', 'her', 'virtue', 'nor', 'her', 'understanding', 'would', 'preserve', 'her', 'from', 'falling', 'an', 'easy', 'prey', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'perceived', 'while', 'the', 'regiment', 'was', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'that', 'lydia', 'had', 'any', 'partiality', 'for', 'him', 'but', 'she', 'was', 'convinced', 'that', 'lydia', 'wanted', 'only', 'encouragement', 'to', 'attach', 'herself', 'to', 'anybody', 'sometimes', 'one', 'officer', 'sometimes', 'another', 'had', 'been', 'her', 'favourite', 'as', 'their', 'attentions', 'raised', 'them', 'in', 'her', 'opinion', 'her', 'affections', 'had', 'continually', 'been', 'fluctuating', 'but', 'never', 'without', 'an', 'object', 'the', 'mischief', 'of', 'neglect', 'and', 'mistaken', 'indulgence', 'towards', 'such', 'a', 'girloh', 'how', 'acutely', 'did', 'she', 'now', 'feel', 'it', 'she', 'was', 'wild', 'to', 'be', 'at', 'hometo', 'hear', 'to', 'see', 'to', 'be', 'upon', 'the', 'spot', 'to', 'share', 'with', 'jane', 'in', 'the', 'cares', 'that', 'must', 'now', 'fall', 'wholly', 'upon', 'her', 'in', 'a', 'family', 'so', 'deranged', 'a', 'father', 'absent', 'a', 'mother', 'incapable', 'of', 'exertion', 'and', 'requiring', 'constant', 'attendance', 'and', 'though', 'almost', 'persuaded', 'that', 'nothing', 'could', 'be', 'done', 'for', 'lydia', 'her', 'uncles', 'interference', 'seemed', 'of', 'the', 'utmost', 'importance', 'and', 'till', 'he', 'entered', 'the', 'room', 'her', 'impatience', 'was', 'severe', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'had', 'hurried', 'back', 'in', 'alarm', 'supposing', 'by', 'the', 'servants', 'account', 'that', 'their', 'niece', 'was', 'taken', 'suddenly', 'ill', 'but', 'satisfying', 'them', 'instantly', 'on', 'that', 'head', 'she', 'eagerly', 'communicated', 'the', 'cause', 'of', 'their', 'summons', 'reading', 'the', 'two', 'letters', 'aloud', 'and', 'dwelling', 'on', 'the', 'postscript', 'of', 'the', 'last', 'with', 'trembling', 'energy', 'though', 'lydia', 'had', 'never', 'been', 'a', 'favourite', 'with', 'them', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'could', 'not', 'but', 'be', 'deeply', 'afflicted', 'not', 'lydia', 'only', 'but', 'all', 'were', 'concerned', 'in', 'it', 'and', 'after', 'the', 'first', 'exclamations', 'of', 'surprise', 'and', 'horror', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'promised', 'every', 'assistance', 'in', 'his', 'power', 'elizabeth', 'though', 'expecting', 'no', 'less', 'thanked', 'him', 'with', 'tears', 'of', 'gratitude', 'and', 'all', 'three', 'being', 'actuated', 'by', 'one', 'spirit', 'everything', 'relating', 'to', 'their', 'journey', 'was', 'speedily', 'settled', 'they', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'off', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'possible', 'but', 'what', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'about', 'pemberley', 'cried', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'john', 'told', 'us', 'mr', 'darcy', 'was', 'here', 'when', 'you', 'sent', 'for', 'us', 'was', 'it', 'so', 'yes', 'and', 'i', 'told', 'him', 'we', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'keep', 'our', 'engagement', 'that', 'is', 'all', 'settled', 'that', 'is', 'all', 'settled', 'repeated', 'the', 'other', 'as', 'she', 'ran', 'into', 'her', 'room', 'to', 'prepare', 'and', 'are', 'they', 'upon', 'such', 'terms', 'as', 'for', 'her', 'to', 'disclose', 'the', 'real', 'truth', 'oh', 'that', 'i', 'knew', 'how', 'it', 'was', 'but', 'wishes', 'were', 'vain', 'or', 'at', 'least', 'could', 'only', 'serve', 'to', 'amuse', 'her', 'in', 'the', 'hurry', 'and', 'confusion', 'of', 'the', 'following', 'hour', 'had', 'elizabeth', 'been', 'at', 'leisure', 'to', 'be', 'idle', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'remained', 'certain', 'that', 'all', 'employment', 'was', 'impossible', 'to', 'one', 'so', 'wretched', 'as', 'herself', 'but', 'she', 'had', 'her', 'share', 'of', 'business', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'her', 'aunt', 'and', 'amongst', 'the', 'rest', 'there', 'were', 'notes', 'to', 'be', 'written', 'to', 'all', 'their', 'friends', 'at', 'lambton', 'with', 'false', 'excuses', 'for', 'their', 'sudden', 'departure', 'an', 'hour', 'however', 'saw', 'the', 'whole', 'completed', 'and', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'meanwhile', 'having', 'settled', 'his', 'account', 'at', 'the', 'inn', 'nothing', 'remained', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'but', 'to', 'go', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'after', 'all', 'the', 'misery', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'found', 'herself', 'in', 'a', 'shorter', 'space', 'of', 'time', 'than', 'she', 'could', 'have', 'supposed', 'seated', 'in', 'the', 'carriage', 'and', 'on', 'the', 'road', 'to', 'longbourn', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'thinking', 'it', 'over', 'again', 'elizabeth', 'said', 'her', 'uncle', 'as', 'they', 'drove', 'from', 'the', 'town', 'and', 'really', 'upon', 'serious', 'consideration', 'i', 'am', 'much', 'more', 'inclined', 'than', 'i', 'was', 'to', 'judge', 'as', 'your', 'eldest', 'sister', 'does', 'on', 'the', 'matter', 'it', 'appears', 'to', 'me', 'so', 'very', 'unlikely', 'that', 'any', 'young', 'man', 'should', 'form', 'such', 'a', 'design', 'against', 'a', 'girl', 'who', 'is', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'unprotected', 'or', 'friendless', 'and', 'who', 'was', 'actually', 'staying', 'in', 'his', 'colonels', 'family', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'strongly', 'inclined', 'to', 'hope', 'the', 'best', 'could', 'he', 'expect', 'that', 'her', 'friends', 'would', 'not', 'step', 'forward', 'could', 'he', 'expect', 'to', 'be', 'noticed', 'again', 'by', 'the', 'regiment', 'after', 'such', 'an', 'affront', 'to', 'colonel', 'forster', 'his', 'temptation', 'is', 'not', 'adequate', 'to', 'the', 'risk', 'do', 'you', 'really', 'think', 'so', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'brightening', 'up', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'upon', 'my', 'word', 'said', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'i', 'begin', 'to', 'be', 'of', 'your', 'uncles', 'opinion', 'it', 'is', 'really', 'too', 'great', 'a', 'violation', 'of', 'decency', 'honour', 'and', 'interest', 'for', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'guilty', 'of', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'think', 'so', 'very', 'ill', 'of', 'wickham', 'can', 'you', 'yourself', 'lizzy', 'so', 'wholly', 'give', 'him', 'up', 'as', 'to', 'believe', 'him', 'capable', 'of', 'it', 'not', 'perhaps', 'of', 'neglecting', 'his', 'own', 'interest', 'but', 'of', 'every', 'other', 'neglect', 'i', 'can', 'believe', 'him', 'capable', 'if', 'indeed', 'it', 'should', 'be', 'so', 'but', 'i', 'dare', 'not', 'hope', 'it', 'why', 'should', 'they', 'not', 'go', 'on', 'to', 'scotland', 'if', 'that', 'had', 'been', 'the', 'case', 'in', 'the', 'first', 'place', 'replied', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'absolute', 'proof', 'that', 'they', 'are', 'not', 'gone', 'to', 'scotland', 'oh', 'but', 'their', 'removing', 'from', 'the', 'chaise', 'into', 'a', 'hackney', 'coach', 'is', 'such', 'a', 'presumption', 'and', 'besides', 'no', 'traces', 'of', 'them', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'found', 'on', 'the', 'barnet', 'road', 'well', 'thensupposing', 'them', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'london', 'they', 'may', 'be', 'there', 'though', 'for', 'the', 'purpose', 'of', 'concealment', 'for', 'no', 'more', 'exceptional', 'purpose', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'likely', 'that', 'money', 'should', 'be', 'very', 'abundant', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'and', 'it', 'might', 'strike', 'them', 'that', 'they', 'could', 'be', 'more', 'economically', 'though', 'less', 'expeditiously', 'married', 'in', 'london', 'than', 'in', 'scotland', 'but', 'why', 'all', 'this', 'secrecy', 'why', 'any', 'fear', 'of', 'detection', 'why', 'must', 'their', 'marriage', 'be', 'private', 'oh', 'no', 'nothis', 'is', 'not', 'likely', 'his', 'most', 'particular', 'friend', 'you', 'see', 'by', 'janes', 'account', 'was', 'persuaded', 'of', 'his', 'never', 'intending', 'to', 'marry', 'her', 'wickham', 'will', 'never', 'marry', 'a', 'woman', 'without', 'some', 'money', 'he', 'can', 'not', 'afford', 'it', 'and', 'what', 'claims', 'has', 'lydiawhat', 'attraction', 'has', 'she', 'beyond', 'youth', 'health', 'and', 'good', 'humour', 'that', 'could', 'make', 'him', 'for', 'her', 'sake', 'forego', 'every', 'chance', 'of', 'benefiting', 'himself', 'by', 'marrying', 'well', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'restraint', 'the', 'apprehensions', 'of', 'disgrace', 'in', 'the', 'corps', 'might', 'throw', 'on', 'a', 'dishonourable', 'elopement', 'with', 'her', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'able', 'to', 'judge', 'for', 'i', 'know', 'nothing', 'of', 'the', 'effects', 'that', 'such', 'a', 'step', 'might', 'produce', 'but', 'as', 'to', 'your', 'other', 'objection', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'it', 'will', 'hardly', 'hold', 'good', 'lydia', 'has', 'no', 'brothers', 'to', 'step', 'forward', 'and', 'he', 'might', 'imagine', 'from', 'my', 'fathers', 'behaviour', 'from', 'his', 'indolence', 'and', 'the', 'little', 'attention', 'he', 'has', 'ever', 'seemed', 'to', 'give', 'to', 'what', 'was', 'going', 'forward', 'in', 'his', 'family', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'do', 'as', 'little', 'and', 'think', 'as', 'little', 'about', 'it', 'as', 'any', 'father', 'could', 'do', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'matter', 'but', 'can', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'lydia', 'is', 'so', 'lost', 'to', 'everything', 'but', 'love', 'of', 'him', 'as', 'to', 'consent', 'to', 'live', 'with', 'him', 'on', 'any', 'terms', 'other', 'than', 'marriage', 'it', 'does', 'seem', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'most', 'shocking', 'indeed', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'with', 'tears', 'in', 'her', 'eyes', 'that', 'a', 'sisters', 'sense', 'of', 'decency', 'and', 'virtue', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'point', 'should', 'admit', 'of', 'doubt', 'but', 'really', 'i', 'know', 'not', 'what', 'to', 'say', 'perhaps', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'doing', 'her', 'justice', 'but', 'she', 'is', 'very', 'young', 'she', 'has', 'never', 'been', 'taught', 'to', 'think', 'on', 'serious', 'subjects', 'and', 'for', 'the', 'last', 'halfyear', 'nay', 'for', 'a', 'twelvemonthshe', 'has', 'been', 'given', 'up', 'to', 'nothing', 'but', 'amusement', 'and', 'vanity', 'she', 'has', 'been', 'allowed', 'to', 'dispose', 'of', 'her', 'time', 'in', 'the', 'most', 'idle', 'and', 'frivolous', 'manner', 'and', 'to', 'adopt', 'any', 'opinions', 'that', 'came', 'in', 'her', 'way', 'since', 'the', 'shire', 'were', 'first', 'quartered', 'in', 'meryton', 'nothing', 'but', 'love', 'flirtation', 'and', 'officers', 'have', 'been', 'in', 'her', 'head', 'she', 'has', 'been', 'doing', 'everything', 'in', 'her', 'power', 'by', 'thinking', 'and', 'talking', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'to', 'give', 'greaterwhat', 'shall', 'i', 'call', 'it', 'susceptibility', 'to', 'her', 'feelings', 'which', 'are', 'naturally', 'lively', 'enough', 'and', 'we', 'all', 'know', 'that', 'wickham', 'has', 'every', 'charm', 'of', 'person', 'and', 'address', 'that', 'can', 'captivate', 'a', 'woman', 'but', 'you', 'see', 'that', 'jane', 'said', 'her', 'aunt', 'does', 'not', 'think', 'so', 'very', 'ill', 'of', 'wickham', 'as', 'to', 'believe', 'him', 'capable', 'of', 'the', 'attempt', 'of', 'whom', 'does', 'jane', 'ever', 'think', 'ill', 'and', 'who', 'is', 'there', 'whatever', 'might', 'be', 'their', 'former', 'conduct', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'think', 'capable', 'of', 'such', 'an', 'attempt', 'till', 'it', 'were', 'proved', 'against', 'them', 'but', 'jane', 'knows', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'i', 'do', 'what', 'wickham', 'really', 'is', 'we', 'both', 'know', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'profligate', 'in', 'every', 'sense', 'of', 'the', 'word', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'neither', 'integrity', 'nor', 'honour', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'as', 'false', 'and', 'deceitful', 'as', 'he', 'is', 'insinuating', 'and', 'do', 'you', 'really', 'know', 'all', 'this', 'cried', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'whose', 'curiosity', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'mode', 'of', 'her', 'intelligence', 'was', 'all', 'alive', 'i', 'do', 'indeed', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'colouring', 'i', 'told', 'you', 'the', 'other', 'day', 'of', 'his', 'infamous', 'behaviour', 'to', 'mr', 'darcy', 'and', 'you', 'yourself', 'when', 'last', 'at', 'longbourn', 'heard', 'in', 'what', 'manner', 'he', 'spoke', 'of', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'had', 'behaved', 'with', 'such', 'forbearance', 'and', 'liberality', 'towards', 'him', 'and', 'there', 'are', 'other', 'circumstances', 'which', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'at', 'libertywhich', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'worth', 'while', 'to', 'relate', 'but', 'his', 'lies', 'about', 'the', 'whole', 'pemberley', 'family', 'are', 'endless', 'from', 'what', 'he', 'said', 'of', 'miss', 'darcy', 'i', 'was', 'thoroughly', 'prepared', 'to', 'see', 'a', 'proud', 'reserved', 'disagreeable', 'girl', 'yet', 'he', 'knew', 'to', 'the', 'contrary', 'himself', 'he', 'must', 'know', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'as', 'amiable', 'and', 'unpretending', 'as', 'we', 'have', 'found', 'her', 'but', 'does', 'lydia', 'know', 'nothing', 'of', 'this', 'can', 'she', 'be', 'ignorant', 'of', 'what', 'you', 'and', 'jane', 'seem', 'so', 'well', 'to', 'understand', 'oh', 'yesthat', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'worst', 'of', 'all', 'till', 'i', 'was', 'in', 'kent', 'and', 'saw', 'so', 'much', 'both', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'and', 'his', 'relation', 'colonel', 'fitzwilliam', 'i', 'was', 'ignorant', 'of', 'the', 'truth', 'myself', 'and', 'when', 'i', 'returned', 'home', 'the', 'shire', 'was', 'to', 'leave', 'meryton', 'in', 'a', 'week', 'or', 'fortnights', 'time', 'as', 'that', 'was', 'the', 'case', 'neither', 'jane', 'to', 'whom', 'i', 'related', 'the', 'whole', 'nor', 'i', 'thought', 'it', 'necessary', 'to', 'make', 'our', 'knowledge', 'public', 'for', 'of', 'what', 'use', 'could', 'it', 'apparently', 'be', 'to', 'any', 'one', 'that', 'the', 'good', 'opinion', 'which', 'all', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'had', 'of', 'him', 'should', 'then', 'be', 'overthrown', 'and', 'even', 'when', 'it', 'was', 'settled', 'that', 'lydia', 'should', 'go', 'with', 'mrs', 'forster', 'the', 'necessity', 'of', 'opening', 'her', 'eyes', 'to', 'his', 'character', 'never', 'occurred', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'be', 'in', 'any', 'danger', 'from', 'the', 'deception', 'never', 'entered', 'my', 'head', 'that', 'such', 'a', 'consequence', 'as', 'this', 'could', 'ensue', 'you', 'may', 'easily', 'believe', 'was', 'far', 'enough', 'from', 'my', 'thoughts', 'when', 'they', 'all', 'removed', 'to', 'brighton', 'therefore', 'you', 'had', 'no', 'reason', 'i', 'suppose', 'to', 'believe', 'them', 'fond', 'of', 'each', 'other', 'not', 'the', 'slightest', 'i', 'can', 'remember', 'no', 'symptom', 'of', 'affection', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'and', 'had', 'anything', 'of', 'the', 'kind', 'been', 'perceptible', 'you', 'must', 'be', 'aware', 'that', 'ours', 'is', 'not', 'a', 'family', 'on', 'which', 'it', 'could', 'be', 'thrown', 'away', 'when', 'first', 'he', 'entered', 'the', 'corps', 'she', 'was', 'ready', 'enough', 'to', 'admire', 'him', 'but', 'so', 'we', 'all', 'were', 'every', 'girl', 'in', 'or', 'near', 'meryton', 'was', 'out', 'of', 'her', 'senses', 'about', 'him', 'for', 'the', 'first', 'two', 'months', 'but', 'he', 'never', 'distinguished', 'her', 'by', 'any', 'particular', 'attention', 'and', 'consequently', 'after', 'a', 'moderate', 'period', 'of', 'extravagant', 'and', 'wild', 'admiration', 'her', 'fancy', 'for', 'him', 'gave', 'way', 'and', 'others', 'of', 'the', 'regiment', 'who', 'treated', 'her', 'with', 'more', 'distinction', 'again', 'became', 'her', 'favourites', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'easily', 'believed', 'that', 'however', 'little', 'of', 'novelty', 'could', 'be', 'added', 'to', 'their', 'fears', 'hopes', 'and', 'conjectures', 'on', 'this', 'interesting', 'subject', 'by', 'its', 'repeated', 'discussion', 'no', 'other', 'could', 'detain', 'them', 'from', 'it', 'long', 'during', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'the', 'journey', 'from', 'elizabeths', 'thoughts', 'it', 'was', 'never', 'absent', 'fixed', 'there', 'by', 'the', 'keenest', 'of', 'all', 'anguish', 'selfreproach', 'she', 'could', 'find', 'no', 'interval', 'of', 'ease', 'or', 'forgetfulness', 'they', 'travelled', 'as', 'expeditiously', 'as', 'possible', 'and', 'sleeping', 'one', 'night', 'on', 'the', 'road', 'reached', 'longbourn', 'by', 'dinner', 'time', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'comfort', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'to', 'consider', 'that', 'jane', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'wearied', 'by', 'long', 'expectations', 'the', 'little', 'gardiners', 'attracted', 'by', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'a', 'chaise', 'were', 'standing', 'on', 'the', 'steps', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'as', 'they', 'entered', 'the', 'paddock', 'and', 'when', 'the', 'carriage', 'drove', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'door', 'the', 'joyful', 'surprise', 'that', 'lighted', 'up', 'their', 'faces', 'and', 'displayed', 'itself', 'over', 'their', 'whole', 'bodies', 'in', 'a', 'variety', 'of', 'capers', 'and', 'frisks', 'was', 'the', 'first', 'pleasing', 'earnest', 'of', 'their', 'welcome', 'elizabeth', 'jumped', 'out', 'and', 'after', 'giving', 'each', 'of', 'them', 'a', 'hasty', 'kiss', 'hurried', 'into', 'the', 'vestibule', 'where', 'jane', 'who', 'came', 'running', 'down', 'from', 'her', 'mothers', 'apartment', 'immediately', 'met', 'her', 'elizabeth', 'as', 'she', 'affectionately', 'embraced', 'her', 'whilst', 'tears', 'filled', 'the', 'eyes', 'of', 'both', 'lost', 'not', 'a', 'moment', 'in', 'asking', 'whether', 'anything', 'had', 'been', 'heard', 'of', 'the', 'fugitives', 'not', 'yet', 'replied', 'jane', 'but', 'now', 'that', 'my', 'dear', 'uncle', 'is', 'come', 'i', 'hope', 'everything', 'will', 'be', 'well', 'is', 'my', 'father', 'in', 'town', 'yes', 'he', 'went', 'on', 'tuesday', 'as', 'i', 'wrote', 'you', 'word', 'and', 'have', 'you', 'heard', 'from', 'him', 'often', 'we', 'have', 'heard', 'only', 'twice', 'he', 'wrote', 'me', 'a', 'few', 'lines', 'on', 'wednesday', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'arrived', 'in', 'safety', 'and', 'to', 'give', 'me', 'his', 'directions', 'which', 'i', 'particularly', 'begged', 'him', 'to', 'do', 'he', 'merely', 'added', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'not', 'write', 'again', 'till', 'he', 'had', 'something', 'of', 'importance', 'to', 'mention', 'and', 'my', 'motherhow', 'is', 'she', 'how', 'are', 'you', 'all', 'my', 'mother', 'is', 'tolerably', 'well', 'i', 'trust', 'though', 'her', 'spirits', 'are', 'greatly', 'shaken', 'she', 'is', 'up', 'stairs', 'and', 'will', 'have', 'great', 'satisfaction', 'in', 'seeing', 'you', 'all', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'yet', 'leave', 'her', 'dressingroom', 'mary', 'and', 'kitty', 'thank', 'heaven', 'are', 'quite', 'well', 'but', 'youhow', 'are', 'you', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'you', 'look', 'pale', 'how', 'much', 'you', 'must', 'have', 'gone', 'through', 'her', 'sister', 'however', 'assured', 'her', 'of', 'her', 'being', 'perfectly', 'well', 'and', 'their', 'conversation', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'passing', 'while', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'were', 'engaged', 'with', 'their', 'children', 'was', 'now', 'put', 'an', 'end', 'to', 'by', 'the', 'approach', 'of', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'jane', 'ran', 'to', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'and', 'welcomed', 'and', 'thanked', 'them', 'both', 'with', 'alternate', 'smiles', 'and', 'tears', 'when', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'in', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'the', 'questions', 'which', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'already', 'asked', 'were', 'of', 'course', 'repeated', 'by', 'the', 'others', 'and', 'they', 'soon', 'found', 'that', 'jane', 'had', 'no', 'intelligence', 'to', 'give', 'the', 'sanguine', 'hope', 'of', 'good', 'however', 'which', 'the', 'benevolence', 'of', 'her', 'heart', 'suggested', 'had', 'not', 'yet', 'deserted', 'her', 'she', 'still', 'expected', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'all', 'end', 'well', 'and', 'that', 'every', 'morning', 'would', 'bring', 'some', 'letter', 'either', 'from', 'lydia', 'or', 'her', 'father', 'to', 'explain', 'their', 'proceedings', 'and', 'perhaps', 'announce', 'their', 'marriage', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'to', 'whose', 'apartment', 'they', 'all', 'repaired', 'after', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'conversation', 'together', 'received', 'them', 'exactly', 'as', 'might', 'be', 'expected', 'with', 'tears', 'and', 'lamentations', 'of', 'regret', 'invectives', 'against', 'the', 'villainous', 'conduct', 'of', 'wickham', 'and', 'complaints', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'sufferings', 'and', 'illusage', 'blaming', 'everybody', 'but', 'the', 'person', 'to', 'whose', 'illjudging', 'indulgence', 'the', 'errors', 'of', 'her', 'daughter', 'must', 'principally', 'be', 'owing', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'able', 'said', 'she', 'to', 'carry', 'my', 'point', 'in', 'going', 'to', 'brighton', 'with', 'all', 'my', 'family', 'this', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'happened', 'but', 'poor', 'dear', 'lydia', 'had', 'nobody', 'to', 'take', 'care', 'of', 'her', 'why', 'did', 'the', 'forsters', 'ever', 'let', 'her', 'go', 'out', 'of', 'their', 'sight', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'there', 'was', 'some', 'great', 'neglect', 'or', 'other', 'on', 'their', 'side', 'for', 'she', 'is', 'not', 'the', 'kind', 'of', 'girl', 'to', 'do', 'such', 'a', 'thing', 'if', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'well', 'looked', 'after', 'i', 'always', 'thought', 'they', 'were', 'very', 'unfit', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'charge', 'of', 'her', 'but', 'i', 'was', 'overruled', 'as', 'i', 'always', 'am', 'poor', 'dear', 'child', 'and', 'now', 'heres', 'mr', 'bennet', 'gone', 'away', 'and', 'i', 'know', 'he', 'will', 'fight', 'wickham', 'wherever', 'he', 'meets', 'him', 'and', 'then', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'killed', 'and', 'what', 'is', 'to', 'become', 'of', 'us', 'all', 'the', 'collinses', 'will', 'turn', 'us', 'out', 'before', 'he', 'is', 'cold', 'in', 'his', 'grave', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'kind', 'to', 'us', 'brother', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'we', 'shall', 'do', 'they', 'all', 'exclaimed', 'against', 'such', 'terrific', 'ideas', 'and', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'after', 'general', 'assurances', 'of', 'his', 'affection', 'for', 'her', 'and', 'all', 'her', 'family', 'told', 'her', 'that', 'he', 'meant', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'london', 'the', 'very', 'next', 'day', 'and', 'would', 'assist', 'mr', 'bennet', 'in', 'every', 'endeavour', 'for', 'recovering', 'lydia', 'do', 'not', 'give', 'way', 'to', 'useless', 'alarm', 'added', 'he', 'though', 'it', 'is', 'right', 'to', 'be', 'prepared', 'for', 'the', 'worst', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'occasion', 'to', 'look', 'on', 'it', 'as', 'certain', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'quite', 'a', 'week', 'since', 'they', 'left', 'brighton', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'days', 'more', 'we', 'may', 'gain', 'some', 'news', 'of', 'them', 'and', 'till', 'we', 'know', 'that', 'they', 'are', 'not', 'married', 'and', 'have', 'no', 'design', 'of', 'marrying', 'do', 'not', 'let', 'us', 'give', 'the', 'matter', 'over', 'as', 'lost', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'i', 'get', 'to', 'town', 'i', 'shall', 'go', 'to', 'my', 'brother', 'and', 'make', 'him', 'come', 'home', 'with', 'me', 'to', 'gracechurch', 'street', 'and', 'then', 'we', 'may', 'consult', 'together', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'oh', 'my', 'dear', 'brother', 'replied', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'that', 'is', 'exactly', 'what', 'i', 'could', 'most', 'wish', 'for', 'and', 'now', 'do', 'when', 'you', 'get', 'to', 'town', 'find', 'them', 'out', 'wherever', 'they', 'may', 'be', 'and', 'if', 'they', 'are', 'not', 'married', 'already', 'make', 'them', 'marry', 'and', 'as', 'for', 'wedding', 'clothes', 'do', 'not', 'let', 'them', 'wait', 'for', 'that', 'but', 'tell', 'lydia', 'she', 'shall', 'have', 'as', 'much', 'money', 'as', 'she', 'chooses', 'to', 'buy', 'them', 'after', 'they', 'are', 'married', 'and', 'above', 'all', 'keep', 'mr', 'bennet', 'from', 'fighting', 'tell', 'him', 'what', 'a', 'dreadful', 'state', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'frighted', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'witsand', 'have', 'such', 'tremblings', 'such', 'flutterings', 'all', 'over', 'mesuch', 'spasms', 'in', 'my', 'side', 'and', 'pains', 'in', 'my', 'head', 'and', 'such', 'beatings', 'at', 'heart', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'get', 'no', 'rest', 'by', 'night', 'nor', 'by', 'day', 'and', 'tell', 'my', 'dear', 'lydia', 'not', 'to', 'give', 'any', 'directions', 'about', 'her', 'clothes', 'till', 'she', 'has', 'seen', 'me', 'for', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'know', 'which', 'are', 'the', 'best', 'warehouses', 'oh', 'brother', 'how', 'kind', 'you', 'are', 'i', 'know', 'you', 'will', 'contrive', 'it', 'all', 'but', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'though', 'he', 'assured', 'her', 'again', 'of', 'his', 'earnest', 'endeavours', 'in', 'the', 'cause', 'could', 'not', 'avoid', 'recommending', 'moderation', 'to', 'her', 'as', 'well', 'in', 'her', 'hopes', 'as', 'her', 'fear', 'and', 'after', 'talking', 'with', 'her', 'in', 'this', 'manner', 'till', 'dinner', 'was', 'on', 'the', 'table', 'they', 'all', 'left', 'her', 'to', 'vent', 'all', 'her', 'feelings', 'on', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'who', 'attended', 'in', 'the', 'absence', 'of', 'her', 'daughters', 'though', 'her', 'brother', 'and', 'sister', 'were', 'persuaded', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'real', 'occasion', 'for', 'such', 'a', 'seclusion', 'from', 'the', 'family', 'they', 'did', 'not', 'attempt', 'to', 'oppose', 'it', 'for', 'they', 'knew', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'prudence', 'enough', 'to', 'hold', 'her', 'tongue', 'before', 'the', 'servants', 'while', 'they', 'waited', 'at', 'table', 'and', 'judged', 'it', 'better', 'that', 'one', 'only', 'of', 'the', 'household', 'and', 'the', 'one', 'whom', 'they', 'could', 'most', 'trust', 'should', 'comprehend', 'all', 'her', 'fears', 'and', 'solicitude', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'in', 'the', 'diningroom', 'they', 'were', 'soon', 'joined', 'by', 'mary', 'and', 'kitty', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'too', 'busily', 'engaged', 'in', 'their', 'separate', 'apartments', 'to', 'make', 'their', 'appearance', 'before', 'one', 'came', 'from', 'her', 'books', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'from', 'her', 'toilette', 'the', 'faces', 'of', 'both', 'however', 'were', 'tolerably', 'calm', 'and', 'no', 'change', 'was', 'visible', 'in', 'either', 'except', 'that', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'her', 'favourite', 'sister', 'or', 'the', 'anger', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'herself', 'incurred', 'in', 'this', 'business', 'had', 'given', 'more', 'of', 'fretfulness', 'than', 'usual', 'to', 'the', 'accents', 'of', 'kitty', 'as', 'for', 'mary', 'she', 'was', 'mistress', 'enough', 'of', 'herself', 'to', 'whisper', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'with', 'a', 'countenance', 'of', 'grave', 'reflection', 'soon', 'after', 'they', 'were', 'seated', 'at', 'table', 'this', 'is', 'a', 'most', 'unfortunate', 'affair', 'and', 'will', 'probably', 'be', 'much', 'talked', 'of', 'but', 'we', 'must', 'stem', 'the', 'tide', 'of', 'malice', 'and', 'pour', 'into', 'the', 'wounded', 'bosoms', 'of', 'each', 'other', 'the', 'balm', 'of', 'sisterly', 'consolation', 'then', 'perceiving', 'in', 'elizabeth', 'no', 'inclination', 'of', 'replying', 'she', 'added', 'unhappy', 'as', 'the', 'event', 'must', 'be', 'for', 'lydia', 'we', 'may', 'draw', 'from', 'it', 'this', 'useful', 'lesson', 'that', 'loss', 'of', 'virtue', 'in', 'a', 'female', 'is', 'irretrievable', 'that', 'one', 'false', 'step', 'involves', 'her', 'in', 'endless', 'ruin', 'that', 'her', 'reputation', 'is', 'no', 'less', 'brittle', 'than', 'it', 'is', 'beautiful', 'and', 'that', 'she', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'too', 'much', 'guarded', 'in', 'her', 'behaviour', 'towards', 'the', 'undeserving', 'of', 'the', 'other', 'sex', 'elizabeth', 'lifted', 'up', 'her', 'eyes', 'in', 'amazement', 'but', 'was', 'too', 'much', 'oppressed', 'to', 'make', 'any', 'reply', 'mary', 'however', 'continued', 'to', 'console', 'herself', 'with', 'such', 'kind', 'of', 'moral', 'extractions', 'from', 'the', 'evil', 'before', 'them', 'in', 'the', 'afternoon', 'the', 'two', 'elder', 'miss', 'bennets', 'were', 'able', 'to', 'be', 'for', 'halfanhour', 'by', 'themselves', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'instantly', 'availed', 'herself', 'of', 'the', 'opportunity', 'of', 'making', 'many', 'enquiries', 'which', 'jane', 'was', 'equally', 'eager', 'to', 'satisfy', 'after', 'joining', 'in', 'general', 'lamentations', 'over', 'the', 'dreadful', 'sequel', 'of', 'this', 'event', 'which', 'elizabeth', 'considered', 'as', 'all', 'but', 'certain', 'and', 'miss', 'bennet', 'could', 'not', 'assert', 'to', 'be', 'wholly', 'impossible', 'the', 'former', 'continued', 'the', 'subject', 'by', 'saying', 'but', 'tell', 'me', 'all', 'and', 'everything', 'about', 'it', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'already', 'heard', 'give', 'me', 'further', 'particulars', 'what', 'did', 'colonel', 'forster', 'say', 'had', 'they', 'no', 'apprehension', 'of', 'anything', 'before', 'the', 'elopement', 'took', 'place', 'they', 'must', 'have', 'seen', 'them', 'together', 'for', 'ever', 'colonel', 'forster', 'did', 'own', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'often', 'suspected', 'some', 'partiality', 'especially', 'on', 'lydias', 'side', 'but', 'nothing', 'to', 'give', 'him', 'any', 'alarm', 'i', 'am', 'so', 'grieved', 'for', 'him', 'his', 'behaviour', 'was', 'attentive', 'and', 'kind', 'to', 'the', 'utmost', 'he', 'was', 'coming', 'to', 'us', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'assure', 'us', 'of', 'his', 'concern', 'before', 'he', 'had', 'any', 'idea', 'of', 'their', 'not', 'being', 'gone', 'to', 'scotland', 'when', 'that', 'apprehension', 'first', 'got', 'abroad', 'it', 'hastened', 'his', 'journey', 'and', 'was', 'denny', 'convinced', 'that', 'wickham', 'would', 'not', 'marry', 'did', 'he', 'know', 'of', 'their', 'intending', 'to', 'go', 'off', 'had', 'colonel', 'forster', 'seen', 'denny', 'himself', 'yes', 'but', 'when', 'questioned', 'by', 'him', 'denny', 'denied', 'knowing', 'anything', 'of', 'their', 'plans', 'and', 'would', 'not', 'give', 'his', 'real', 'opinion', 'about', 'it', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'repeat', 'his', 'persuasion', 'of', 'their', 'not', 'marryingand', 'from', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'inclined', 'to', 'hope', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'misunderstood', 'before', 'and', 'till', 'colonel', 'forster', 'came', 'himself', 'not', 'one', 'of', 'you', 'entertained', 'a', 'doubt', 'i', 'suppose', 'of', 'their', 'being', 'really', 'married', 'how', 'was', 'it', 'possible', 'that', 'such', 'an', 'idea', 'should', 'enter', 'our', 'brains', 'i', 'felt', 'a', 'little', 'uneasya', 'little', 'fearful', 'of', 'my', 'sisters', 'happiness', 'with', 'him', 'in', 'marriage', 'because', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'his', 'conduct', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'always', 'quite', 'right', 'my', 'father', 'and', 'mother', 'knew', 'nothing', 'of', 'that', 'they', 'only', 'felt', 'how', 'imprudent', 'a', 'match', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'kitty', 'then', 'owned', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'natural', 'triumph', 'on', 'knowing', 'more', 'than', 'the', 'rest', 'of', 'us', 'that', 'in', 'lydias', 'last', 'letter', 'she', 'had', 'prepared', 'her', 'for', 'such', 'a', 'step', 'she', 'had', 'known', 'it', 'seems', 'of', 'their', 'being', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'each', 'other', 'many', 'weeks', 'but', 'not', 'before', 'they', 'went', 'to', 'brighton', 'no', 'i', 'believe', 'not', 'and', 'did', 'colonel', 'forster', 'appear', 'to', 'think', 'well', 'of', 'wickham', 'himself', 'does', 'he', 'know', 'his', 'real', 'character', 'i', 'must', 'confess', 'that', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'speak', 'so', 'well', 'of', 'wickham', 'as', 'he', 'formerly', 'did', 'he', 'believed', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'imprudent', 'and', 'extravagant', 'and', 'since', 'this', 'sad', 'affair', 'has', 'taken', 'place', 'it', 'is', 'said', 'that', 'he', 'left', 'meryton', 'greatly', 'in', 'debt', 'but', 'i', 'hope', 'this', 'may', 'be', 'false', 'oh', 'jane', 'had', 'we', 'been', 'less', 'secret', 'had', 'we', 'told', 'what', 'we', 'knew', 'of', 'him', 'this', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'happened', 'perhaps', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'better', 'replied', 'her', 'sister', 'but', 'to', 'expose', 'the', 'former', 'faults', 'of', 'any', 'person', 'without', 'knowing', 'what', 'their', 'present', 'feelings', 'were', 'seemed', 'unjustifiable', 'we', 'acted', 'with', 'the', 'best', 'intentions', 'could', 'colonel', 'forster', 'repeat', 'the', 'particulars', 'of', 'lydias', 'note', 'to', 'his', 'wife', 'he', 'brought', 'it', 'with', 'him', 'for', 'us', 'to', 'see', 'jane', 'then', 'took', 'it', 'from', 'her', 'pocketbook', 'and', 'gave', 'it', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'these', 'were', 'the', 'contents', 'my', 'dear', 'harriet', 'you', 'will', 'laugh', 'when', 'you', 'know', 'where', 'i', 'am', 'gone', 'and', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'help', 'laughing', 'myself', 'at', 'your', 'surprise', 'tomorrow', 'morning', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'i', 'am', 'missed', 'i', 'am', 'going', 'to', 'gretna', 'green', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'guess', 'with', 'who', 'i', 'shall', 'think', 'you', 'a', 'simpleton', 'for', 'there', 'is', 'but', 'one', 'man', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'i', 'love', 'and', 'he', 'is', 'an', 'angel', 'i', 'should', 'never', 'be', 'happy', 'without', 'him', 'so', 'think', 'it', 'no', 'harm', 'to', 'be', 'off', 'you', 'need', 'not', 'send', 'them', 'word', 'at', 'longbourn', 'of', 'my', 'going', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'like', 'it', 'for', 'it', 'will', 'make', 'the', 'surprise', 'the', 'greater', 'when', 'i', 'write', 'to', 'them', 'and', 'sign', 'my', 'name', 'lydia', 'wickham', 'what', 'a', 'good', 'joke', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'i', 'can', 'hardly', 'write', 'for', 'laughing', 'pray', 'make', 'my', 'excuses', 'to', 'pratt', 'for', 'not', 'keeping', 'my', 'engagement', 'and', 'dancing', 'with', 'him', 'tonight', 'tell', 'him', 'i', 'hope', 'he', 'will', 'excuse', 'me', 'when', 'he', 'knows', 'all', 'and', 'tell', 'him', 'i', 'will', 'dance', 'with', 'him', 'at', 'the', 'next', 'ball', 'we', 'meet', 'with', 'great', 'pleasure', 'i', 'shall', 'send', 'for', 'my', 'clothes', 'when', 'i', 'get', 'to', 'longbourn', 'but', 'i', 'wish', 'you', 'would', 'tell', 'sally', 'to', 'mend', 'a', 'great', 'slit', 'in', 'my', 'worked', 'muslin', 'gown', 'before', 'they', 'are', 'packed', 'up', 'goodbye', 'give', 'my', 'love', 'to', 'colonel', 'forster', 'i', 'hope', 'you', 'will', 'drink', 'to', 'our', 'good', 'journey', 'your', 'affectionate', 'friend', 'lydia', 'bennet', 'oh', 'thoughtless', 'thoughtless', 'lydia', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'when', 'she', 'had', 'finished', 'it', 'what', 'a', 'letter', 'is', 'this', 'to', 'be', 'written', 'at', 'such', 'a', 'moment', 'but', 'at', 'least', 'it', 'shows', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'serious', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'of', 'their', 'journey', 'whatever', 'he', 'might', 'afterwards', 'persuade', 'her', 'to', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'on', 'her', 'side', 'a', 'scheme', 'of', 'infamy', 'my', 'poor', 'father', 'how', 'he', 'must', 'have', 'felt', 'it', 'i', 'never', 'saw', 'anyone', 'so', 'shocked', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'speak', 'a', 'word', 'for', 'full', 'ten', 'minutes', 'my', 'mother', 'was', 'taken', 'ill', 'immediately', 'and', 'the', 'whole', 'house', 'in', 'such', 'confusion', 'oh', 'jane', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'there', 'a', 'servant', 'belonging', 'to', 'it', 'who', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'the', 'whole', 'story', 'before', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'i', 'hope', 'there', 'was', 'but', 'to', 'be', 'guarded', 'at', 'such', 'a', 'time', 'is', 'very', 'difficult', 'my', 'mother', 'was', 'in', 'hysterics', 'and', 'though', 'i', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'give', 'her', 'every', 'assistance', 'in', 'my', 'power', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'do', 'so', 'much', 'as', 'i', 'might', 'have', 'done', 'but', 'the', 'horror', 'of', 'what', 'might', 'possibly', 'happen', 'almost', 'took', 'from', 'me', 'my', 'faculties', 'your', 'attendance', 'upon', 'her', 'has', 'been', 'too', 'much', 'for', 'you', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'look', 'well', 'oh', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'with', 'you', 'you', 'have', 'had', 'every', 'care', 'and', 'anxiety', 'upon', 'yourself', 'alone', 'mary', 'and', 'kitty', 'have', 'been', 'very', 'kind', 'and', 'would', 'have', 'shared', 'in', 'every', 'fatigue', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'but', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'think', 'it', 'right', 'for', 'either', 'of', 'them', 'kitty', 'is', 'slight', 'and', 'delicate', 'and', 'mary', 'studies', 'so', 'much', 'that', 'her', 'hours', 'of', 'repose', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'broken', 'in', 'on', 'my', 'aunt', 'phillips', 'came', 'to', 'longbourn', 'on', 'tuesday', 'after', 'my', 'father', 'went', 'away', 'and', 'was', 'so', 'good', 'as', 'to', 'stay', 'till', 'thursday', 'with', 'me', 'she', 'was', 'of', 'great', 'use', 'and', 'comfort', 'to', 'us', 'all', 'and', 'lady', 'lucas', 'has', 'been', 'very', 'kind', 'she', 'walked', 'here', 'on', 'wednesday', 'morning', 'to', 'condole', 'with', 'us', 'and', 'offered', 'her', 'services', 'or', 'any', 'of', 'her', 'daughters', 'if', 'they', 'should', 'be', 'of', 'use', 'to', 'us', 'she', 'had', 'better', 'have', 'stayed', 'at', 'home', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'perhaps', 'she', 'meant', 'well', 'but', 'under', 'such', 'a', 'misfortune', 'as', 'this', 'one', 'can', 'not', 'see', 'too', 'little', 'of', 'ones', 'neighbours', 'assistance', 'is', 'impossible', 'condolence', 'insufferable', 'let', 'them', 'triumph', 'over', 'us', 'at', 'a', 'distance', 'and', 'be', 'satisfied', 'she', 'then', 'proceeded', 'to', 'enquire', 'into', 'the', 'measures', 'which', 'her', 'father', 'had', 'intended', 'to', 'pursue', 'while', 'in', 'town', 'for', 'the', 'recovery', 'of', 'his', 'daughter', 'he', 'meant', 'i', 'believe', 'replied', 'jane', 'to', 'go', 'to', 'epsom', 'the', 'place', 'where', 'they', 'last', 'changed', 'horses', 'see', 'the', 'postilions', 'and', 'try', 'if', 'anything', 'could', 'be', 'made', 'out', 'from', 'them', 'his', 'principal', 'object', 'must', 'be', 'to', 'discover', 'the', 'number', 'of', 'the', 'hackney', 'coach', 'which', 'took', 'them', 'from', 'clapham', 'it', 'had', 'come', 'with', 'a', 'fare', 'from', 'london', 'and', 'as', 'he', 'thought', 'that', 'the', 'circumstance', 'of', 'a', 'gentleman', 'and', 'ladys', 'removing', 'from', 'one', 'carriage', 'into', 'another', 'might', 'be', 'remarked', 'he', 'meant', 'to', 'make', 'enquiries', 'at', 'clapham', 'if', 'he', 'could', 'anyhow', 'discover', 'at', 'what', 'house', 'the', 'coachman', 'had', 'before', 'set', 'down', 'his', 'fare', 'he', 'determined', 'to', 'make', 'enquiries', 'there', 'and', 'hoped', 'it', 'might', 'not', 'be', 'impossible', 'to', 'find', 'out', 'the', 'stand', 'and', 'number', 'of', 'the', 'coach', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'of', 'any', 'other', 'designs', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'formed', 'but', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'hurry', 'to', 'be', 'gone', 'and', 'his', 'spirits', 'so', 'greatly', 'discomposed', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'difficulty', 'in', 'finding', 'out', 'even', 'so', 'much', 'as', 'this', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'were', 'in', 'hopes', 'of', 'a', 'letter', 'from', 'mr', 'bennet', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'but', 'the', 'post', 'came', 'in', 'without', 'bringing', 'a', 'single', 'line', 'from', 'him', 'his', 'family', 'knew', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'on', 'all', 'common', 'occasions', 'a', 'most', 'negligent', 'and', 'dilatory', 'correspondent', 'but', 'at', 'such', 'a', 'time', 'they', 'had', 'hoped', 'for', 'exertion', 'they', 'were', 'forced', 'to', 'conclude', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'no', 'pleasing', 'intelligence', 'to', 'send', 'but', 'even', 'of', 'that', 'they', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'glad', 'to', 'be', 'certain', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'had', 'waited', 'only', 'for', 'the', 'letters', 'before', 'he', 'set', 'off', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'gone', 'they', 'were', 'certain', 'at', 'least', 'of', 'receiving', 'constant', 'information', 'of', 'what', 'was', 'going', 'on', 'and', 'their', 'uncle', 'promised', 'at', 'parting', 'to', 'prevail', 'on', 'mr', 'bennet', 'to', 'return', 'to', 'longbourn', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'he', 'could', 'to', 'the', 'great', 'consolation', 'of', 'his', 'sister', 'who', 'considered', 'it', 'as', 'the', 'only', 'security', 'for', 'her', 'husbands', 'not', 'being', 'killed', 'in', 'a', 'duel', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'and', 'the', 'children', 'were', 'to', 'remain', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'a', 'few', 'days', 'longer', 'as', 'the', 'former', 'thought', 'her', 'presence', 'might', 'be', 'serviceable', 'to', 'her', 'nieces', 'she', 'shared', 'in', 'their', 'attendance', 'on', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'was', 'a', 'great', 'comfort', 'to', 'them', 'in', 'their', 'hours', 'of', 'freedom', 'their', 'other', 'aunt', 'also', 'visited', 'them', 'frequently', 'and', 'always', 'as', 'she', 'said', 'with', 'the', 'design', 'of', 'cheering', 'and', 'heartening', 'them', 'upthough', 'as', 'she', 'never', 'came', 'without', 'reporting', 'some', 'fresh', 'instance', 'of', 'wickhams', 'extravagance', 'or', 'irregularity', 'she', 'seldom', 'went', 'away', 'without', 'leaving', 'them', 'more', 'dispirited', 'than', 'she', 'found', 'them', 'all', 'meryton', 'seemed', 'striving', 'to', 'blacken', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'but', 'three', 'months', 'before', 'had', 'been', 'almost', 'an', 'angel', 'of', 'light', 'he', 'was', 'declared', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'debt', 'to', 'every', 'tradesman', 'in', 'the', 'place', 'and', 'his', 'intrigues', 'all', 'honoured', 'with', 'the', 'title', 'of', 'seduction', 'had', 'been', 'extended', 'into', 'every', 'tradesmans', 'family', 'everybody', 'declared', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'the', 'wickedest', 'young', 'man', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'and', 'everybody', 'began', 'to', 'find', 'out', 'that', 'they', 'had', 'always', 'distrusted', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'his', 'goodness', 'elizabeth', 'though', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'credit', 'above', 'half', 'of', 'what', 'was', 'said', 'believed', 'enough', 'to', 'make', 'her', 'former', 'assurance', 'of', 'her', 'sisters', 'ruin', 'more', 'certain', 'and', 'even', 'jane', 'who', 'believed', 'still', 'less', 'of', 'it', 'became', 'almost', 'hopeless', 'more', 'especially', 'as', 'the', 'time', 'was', 'now', 'come', 'when', 'if', 'they', 'had', 'gone', 'to', 'scotland', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'before', 'entirely', 'despaired', 'of', 'they', 'must', 'in', 'all', 'probability', 'have', 'gained', 'some', 'news', 'of', 'them', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'left', 'longbourn', 'on', 'sunday', 'on', 'tuesday', 'his', 'wife', 'received', 'a', 'letter', 'from', 'him', 'it', 'told', 'them', 'that', 'on', 'his', 'arrival', 'he', 'had', 'immediately', 'found', 'out', 'his', 'brother', 'and', 'persuaded', 'him', 'to', 'come', 'to', 'gracechurch', 'street', 'that', 'mr', 'bennet', 'had', 'been', 'to', 'epsom', 'and', 'clapham', 'before', 'his', 'arrival', 'but', 'without', 'gaining', 'any', 'satisfactory', 'information', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'now', 'determined', 'to', 'enquire', 'at', 'all', 'the', 'principal', 'hotels', 'in', 'town', 'as', 'mr', 'bennet', 'thought', 'it', 'possible', 'they', 'might', 'have', 'gone', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'on', 'their', 'first', 'coming', 'to', 'london', 'before', 'they', 'procured', 'lodgings', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'himself', 'did', 'not', 'expect', 'any', 'success', 'from', 'this', 'measure', 'but', 'as', 'his', 'brother', 'was', 'eager', 'in', 'it', 'he', 'meant', 'to', 'assist', 'him', 'in', 'pursuing', 'it', 'he', 'added', 'that', 'mr', 'bennet', 'seemed', 'wholly', 'disinclined', 'at', 'present', 'to', 'leave', 'london', 'and', 'promised', 'to', 'write', 'again', 'very', 'soon', 'there', 'was', 'also', 'a', 'postscript', 'to', 'this', 'effect', 'i', 'have', 'written', 'to', 'colonel', 'forster', 'to', 'desire', 'him', 'to', 'find', 'out', 'if', 'possible', 'from', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'young', 'mans', 'intimates', 'in', 'the', 'regiment', 'whether', 'wickham', 'has', 'any', 'relations', 'or', 'connections', 'who', 'would', 'be', 'likely', 'to', 'know', 'in', 'what', 'part', 'of', 'town', 'he', 'has', 'now', 'concealed', 'himself', 'if', 'there', 'were', 'anyone', 'that', 'one', 'could', 'apply', 'to', 'with', 'a', 'probability', 'of', 'gaining', 'such', 'a', 'clue', 'as', 'that', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'of', 'essential', 'consequence', 'at', 'present', 'we', 'have', 'nothing', 'to', 'guide', 'us', 'colonel', 'forster', 'will', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'do', 'everything', 'in', 'his', 'power', 'to', 'satisfy', 'us', 'on', 'this', 'head', 'but', 'on', 'second', 'thoughts', 'perhaps', 'lizzy', 'could', 'tell', 'us', 'what', 'relations', 'he', 'has', 'now', 'living', 'better', 'than', 'any', 'other', 'person', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'at', 'no', 'loss', 'to', 'understand', 'from', 'whence', 'this', 'deference', 'to', 'her', 'authority', 'proceeded', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'in', 'her', 'power', 'to', 'give', 'any', 'information', 'of', 'so', 'satisfactory', 'a', 'nature', 'as', 'the', 'compliment', 'deserved', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'heard', 'of', 'his', 'having', 'had', 'any', 'relations', 'except', 'a', 'father', 'and', 'mother', 'both', 'of', 'whom', 'had', 'been', 'dead', 'many', 'years', 'it', 'was', 'possible', 'however', 'that', 'some', 'of', 'his', 'companions', 'in', 'the', 'shire', 'might', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'give', 'more', 'information', 'and', 'though', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'very', 'sanguine', 'in', 'expecting', 'it', 'the', 'application', 'was', 'a', 'something', 'to', 'look', 'forward', 'to', 'every', 'day', 'at', 'longbourn', 'was', 'now', 'a', 'day', 'of', 'anxiety', 'but', 'the', 'most', 'anxious', 'part', 'of', 'each', 'was', 'when', 'the', 'post', 'was', 'expected', 'the', 'arrival', 'of', 'letters', 'was', 'the', 'grand', 'object', 'of', 'every', 'mornings', 'impatience', 'through', 'letters', 'whatever', 'of', 'good', 'or', 'bad', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'told', 'would', 'be', 'communicated', 'and', 'every', 'succeeding', 'day', 'was', 'expected', 'to', 'bring', 'some', 'news', 'of', 'importance', 'but', 'before', 'they', 'heard', 'again', 'from', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'a', 'letter', 'arrived', 'for', 'their', 'father', 'from', 'a', 'different', 'quarter', 'from', 'mr', 'collins', 'which', 'as', 'jane', 'had', 'received', 'directions', 'to', 'open', 'all', 'that', 'came', 'for', 'him', 'in', 'his', 'absence', 'she', 'accordingly', 'read', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'who', 'knew', 'what', 'curiosities', 'his', 'letters', 'always', 'were', 'looked', 'over', 'her', 'and', 'read', 'it', 'likewise', 'it', 'was', 'as', 'follows', 'my', 'dear', 'sir', 'i', 'feel', 'myself', 'called', 'upon', 'by', 'our', 'relationship', 'and', 'my', 'situation', 'in', 'life', 'to', 'condole', 'with', 'you', 'on', 'the', 'grievous', 'affliction', 'you', 'are', 'now', 'suffering', 'under', 'of', 'which', 'we', 'were', 'yesterday', 'informed', 'by', 'a', 'letter', 'from', 'hertfordshire', 'be', 'assured', 'my', 'dear', 'sir', 'that', 'mrs', 'collins', 'and', 'myself', 'sincerely', 'sympathise', 'with', 'you', 'and', 'all', 'your', 'respectable', 'family', 'in', 'your', 'present', 'distress', 'which', 'must', 'be', 'of', 'the', 'bitterest', 'kind', 'because', 'proceeding', 'from', 'a', 'cause', 'which', 'no', 'time', 'can', 'remove', 'no', 'arguments', 'shall', 'be', 'wanting', 'on', 'my', 'part', 'that', 'can', 'alleviate', 'so', 'severe', 'a', 'misfortuneor', 'that', 'may', 'comfort', 'you', 'under', 'a', 'circumstance', 'that', 'must', 'be', 'of', 'all', 'others', 'the', 'most', 'afflicting', 'to', 'a', 'parents', 'mind', 'the', 'death', 'of', 'your', 'daughter', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'blessing', 'in', 'comparison', 'of', 'this', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'more', 'to', 'be', 'lamented', 'because', 'there', 'is', 'reason', 'to', 'suppose', 'as', 'my', 'dear', 'charlotte', 'informs', 'me', 'that', 'this', 'licentiousness', 'of', 'behaviour', 'in', 'your', 'daughter', 'has', 'proceeded', 'from', 'a', 'faulty', 'degree', 'of', 'indulgence', 'though', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'for', 'the', 'consolation', 'of', 'yourself', 'and', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'i', 'am', 'inclined', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'her', 'own', 'disposition', 'must', 'be', 'naturally', 'bad', 'or', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'guilty', 'of', 'such', 'an', 'enormity', 'at', 'so', 'early', 'an', 'age', 'howsoever', 'that', 'may', 'be', 'you', 'are', 'grievously', 'to', 'be', 'pitied', 'in', 'which', 'opinion', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'only', 'joined', 'by', 'mrs', 'collins', 'but', 'likewise', 'by', 'lady', 'catherine', 'and', 'her', 'daughter', 'to', 'whom', 'i', 'have', 'related', 'the', 'affair', 'they', 'agree', 'with', 'me', 'in', 'apprehending', 'that', 'this', 'false', 'step', 'in', 'one', 'daughter', 'will', 'be', 'injurious', 'to', 'the', 'fortunes', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'others', 'for', 'who', 'as', 'lady', 'catherine', 'herself', 'condescendingly', 'says', 'will', 'connect', 'themselves', 'with', 'such', 'a', 'family', 'and', 'this', 'consideration', 'leads', 'me', 'moreover', 'to', 'reflect', 'with', 'augmented', 'satisfaction', 'on', 'a', 'certain', 'event', 'of', 'last', 'november', 'for', 'had', 'it', 'been', 'otherwise', 'i', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'involved', 'in', 'all', 'your', 'sorrow', 'and', 'disgrace', 'let', 'me', 'then', 'advise', 'you', 'dear', 'sir', 'to', 'console', 'yourself', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'possible', 'to', 'throw', 'off', 'your', 'unworthy', 'child', 'from', 'your', 'affection', 'for', 'ever', 'and', 'leave', 'her', 'to', 'reap', 'the', 'fruits', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'heinous', 'offense', 'i', 'am', 'dear', 'sir', 'etc', 'etc', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'did', 'not', 'write', 'again', 'till', 'he', 'had', 'received', 'an', 'answer', 'from', 'colonel', 'forster', 'and', 'then', 'he', 'had', 'nothing', 'of', 'a', 'pleasant', 'nature', 'to', 'send', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'known', 'that', 'wickham', 'had', 'a', 'single', 'relationship', 'with', 'whom', 'he', 'kept', 'up', 'any', 'connection', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'certain', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'no', 'near', 'one', 'living', 'his', 'former', 'acquaintances', 'had', 'been', 'numerous', 'but', 'since', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'in', 'the', 'militia', 'it', 'did', 'not', 'appear', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'on', 'terms', 'of', 'particular', 'friendship', 'with', 'any', 'of', 'them', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'one', 'therefore', 'who', 'could', 'be', 'pointed', 'out', 'as', 'likely', 'to', 'give', 'any', 'news', 'of', 'him', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'wretched', 'state', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'finances', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'powerful', 'motive', 'for', 'secrecy', 'in', 'addition', 'to', 'his', 'fear', 'of', 'discovery', 'by', 'lydias', 'relations', 'for', 'it', 'had', 'just', 'transpired', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'left', 'gaming', 'debts', 'behind', 'him', 'to', 'a', 'very', 'considerable', 'amount', 'colonel', 'forster', 'believed', 'that', 'more', 'than', 'a', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'would', 'be', 'necessary', 'to', 'clear', 'his', 'expenses', 'at', 'brighton', 'he', 'owed', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'in', 'town', 'but', 'his', 'debts', 'of', 'honour', 'were', 'still', 'more', 'formidable', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'did', 'not', 'attempt', 'to', 'conceal', 'these', 'particulars', 'from', 'the', 'longbourn', 'family', 'jane', 'heard', 'them', 'with', 'horror', 'a', 'gamester', 'she', 'cried', 'this', 'is', 'wholly', 'unexpected', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'an', 'idea', 'of', 'it', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'added', 'in', 'his', 'letter', 'that', 'they', 'might', 'expect', 'to', 'see', 'their', 'father', 'at', 'home', 'on', 'the', 'following', 'day', 'which', 'was', 'saturday', 'rendered', 'spiritless', 'by', 'the', 'illsuccess', 'of', 'all', 'their', 'endeavours', 'he', 'had', 'yielded', 'to', 'his', 'brotherinlaws', 'entreaty', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'return', 'to', 'his', 'family', 'and', 'leave', 'it', 'to', 'him', 'to', 'do', 'whatever', 'occasion', 'might', 'suggest', 'to', 'be', 'advisable', 'for', 'continuing', 'their', 'pursuit', 'when', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'told', 'of', 'this', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'express', 'so', 'much', 'satisfaction', 'as', 'her', 'children', 'expected', 'considering', 'what', 'her', 'anxiety', 'for', 'his', 'life', 'had', 'been', 'before', 'what', 'is', 'he', 'coming', 'home', 'and', 'without', 'poor', 'lydia', 'she', 'cried', 'sure', 'he', 'will', 'not', 'leave', 'london', 'before', 'he', 'has', 'found', 'them', 'who', 'is', 'to', 'fight', 'wickham', 'and', 'make', 'him', 'marry', 'her', 'if', 'he', 'comes', 'away', 'as', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'began', 'to', 'wish', 'to', 'be', 'at', 'home', 'it', 'was', 'settled', 'that', 'she', 'and', 'the', 'children', 'should', 'go', 'to', 'london', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'that', 'mr', 'bennet', 'came', 'from', 'it', 'the', 'coach', 'therefore', 'took', 'them', 'the', 'first', 'stage', 'of', 'their', 'journey', 'and', 'brought', 'its', 'master', 'back', 'to', 'longbourn', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'went', 'away', 'in', 'all', 'the', 'perplexity', 'about', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'her', 'derbyshire', 'friend', 'that', 'had', 'attended', 'her', 'from', 'that', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'his', 'name', 'had', 'never', 'been', 'voluntarily', 'mentioned', 'before', 'them', 'by', 'her', 'niece', 'and', 'the', 'kind', 'of', 'halfexpectation', 'which', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'had', 'formed', 'of', 'their', 'being', 'followed', 'by', 'a', 'letter', 'from', 'him', 'had', 'ended', 'in', 'nothing', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'received', 'none', 'since', 'her', 'return', 'that', 'could', 'come', 'from', 'pemberley', 'the', 'present', 'unhappy', 'state', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'rendered', 'any', 'other', 'excuse', 'for', 'the', 'lowness', 'of', 'her', 'spirits', 'unnecessary', 'nothing', 'therefore', 'could', 'be', 'fairly', 'conjectured', 'from', 'that', 'though', 'elizabeth', 'who', 'was', 'by', 'this', 'time', 'tolerably', 'well', 'acquainted', 'with', 'her', 'own', 'feelings', 'was', 'perfectly', 'aware', 'that', 'had', 'she', 'known', 'nothing', 'of', 'darcy', 'she', 'could', 'have', 'borne', 'the', 'dread', 'of', 'lydias', 'infamy', 'somewhat', 'better', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'spared', 'her', 'she', 'thought', 'one', 'sleepless', 'night', 'out', 'of', 'two', 'when', 'mr', 'bennet', 'arrived', 'he', 'had', 'all', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'his', 'usual', 'philosophic', 'composure', 'he', 'said', 'as', 'little', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'ever', 'been', 'in', 'the', 'habit', 'of', 'saying', 'made', 'no', 'mention', 'of', 'the', 'business', 'that', 'had', 'taken', 'him', 'away', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'some', 'time', 'before', 'his', 'daughters', 'had', 'courage', 'to', 'speak', 'of', 'it', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'till', 'the', 'afternoon', 'when', 'he', 'had', 'joined', 'them', 'at', 'tea', 'that', 'elizabeth', 'ventured', 'to', 'introduce', 'the', 'subject', 'and', 'then', 'on', 'her', 'briefly', 'expressing', 'her', 'sorrow', 'for', 'what', 'he', 'must', 'have', 'endured', 'he', 'replied', 'say', 'nothing', 'of', 'that', 'who', 'should', 'suffer', 'but', 'myself', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'my', 'own', 'doing', 'and', 'i', 'ought', 'to', 'feel', 'it', 'you', 'must', 'not', 'be', 'too', 'severe', 'upon', 'yourself', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'you', 'may', 'well', 'warn', 'me', 'against', 'such', 'an', 'evil', 'human', 'nature', 'is', 'so', 'prone', 'to', 'fall', 'into', 'it', 'no', 'lizzy', 'let', 'me', 'once', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'feel', 'how', 'much', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'to', 'blame', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'afraid', 'of', 'being', 'overpowered', 'by', 'the', 'impression', 'it', 'will', 'pass', 'away', 'soon', 'enough', 'do', 'you', 'suppose', 'them', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'london', 'yes', 'where', 'else', 'can', 'they', 'be', 'so', 'well', 'concealed', 'and', 'lydia', 'used', 'to', 'want', 'to', 'go', 'to', 'london', 'added', 'kitty', 'she', 'is', 'happy', 'then', 'said', 'her', 'father', 'drily', 'and', 'her', 'residence', 'there', 'will', 'probably', 'be', 'of', 'some', 'duration', 'then', 'after', 'a', 'short', 'silence', 'he', 'continued', 'lizzy', 'i', 'bear', 'you', 'no', 'illwill', 'for', 'being', 'justified', 'in', 'your', 'advice', 'to', 'me', 'last', 'may', 'which', 'considering', 'the', 'event', 'shows', 'some', 'greatness', 'of', 'mind', 'they', 'were', 'interrupted', 'by', 'miss', 'bennet', 'who', 'came', 'to', 'fetch', 'her', 'mothers', 'tea', 'this', 'is', 'a', 'parade', 'he', 'cried', 'which', 'does', 'one', 'good', 'it', 'gives', 'such', 'an', 'elegance', 'to', 'misfortune', 'another', 'day', 'i', 'will', 'do', 'the', 'same', 'i', 'will', 'sit', 'in', 'my', 'library', 'in', 'my', 'nightcap', 'and', 'powdering', 'gown', 'and', 'give', 'as', 'much', 'trouble', 'as', 'i', 'can', 'or', 'perhaps', 'i', 'may', 'defer', 'it', 'till', 'kitty', 'runs', 'away', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'going', 'to', 'run', 'away', 'papa', 'said', 'kitty', 'fretfully', 'if', 'i', 'should', 'ever', 'go', 'to', 'brighton', 'i', 'would', 'behave', 'better', 'than', 'lydia', 'you', 'go', 'to', 'brighton', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'trust', 'you', 'so', 'near', 'it', 'as', 'eastbourne', 'for', 'fifty', 'pounds', 'no', 'kitty', 'i', 'have', 'at', 'last', 'learnt', 'to', 'be', 'cautious', 'and', 'you', 'will', 'feel', 'the', 'effects', 'of', 'it', 'no', 'officer', 'is', 'ever', 'to', 'enter', 'into', 'my', 'house', 'again', 'nor', 'even', 'to', 'pass', 'through', 'the', 'village', 'balls', 'will', 'be', 'absolutely', 'prohibited', 'unless', 'you', 'stand', 'up', 'with', 'one', 'of', 'your', 'sisters', 'and', 'you', 'are', 'never', 'to', 'stir', 'out', 'of', 'doors', 'till', 'you', 'can', 'prove', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'spent', 'ten', 'minutes', 'of', 'every', 'day', 'in', 'a', 'rational', 'manner', 'kitty', 'who', 'took', 'all', 'these', 'threats', 'in', 'a', 'serious', 'light', 'began', 'to', 'cry', 'well', 'well', 'said', 'he', 'do', 'not', 'make', 'yourself', 'unhappy', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'a', 'good', 'girl', 'for', 'the', 'next', 'ten', 'years', 'i', 'will', 'take', 'you', 'to', 'a', 'review', 'at', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'them', 'two', 'days', 'after', 'mr', 'bennets', 'return', 'as', 'jane', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'were', 'walking', 'together', 'in', 'the', 'shrubbery', 'behind', 'the', 'house', 'they', 'saw', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'coming', 'towards', 'them', 'and', 'concluding', 'that', 'she', 'came', 'to', 'call', 'them', 'to', 'their', 'mother', 'went', 'forward', 'to', 'meet', 'her', 'but', 'instead', 'of', 'the', 'expected', 'summons', 'when', 'they', 'approached', 'her', 'she', 'said', 'to', 'miss', 'bennet', 'i', 'beg', 'your', 'pardon', 'madam', 'for', 'interrupting', 'you', 'but', 'i', 'was', 'in', 'hopes', 'you', 'might', 'have', 'got', 'some', 'good', 'news', 'from', 'town', 'so', 'i', 'took', 'the', 'liberty', 'of', 'coming', 'to', 'ask', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'hill', 'we', 'have', 'heard', 'nothing', 'from', 'town', 'dear', 'madam', 'cried', 'mrs', 'hill', 'in', 'great', 'astonishment', 'dont', 'you', 'know', 'there', 'is', 'an', 'express', 'come', 'for', 'master', 'from', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'here', 'this', 'halfhour', 'and', 'master', 'has', 'had', 'a', 'letter', 'away', 'ran', 'the', 'girls', 'too', 'eager', 'to', 'get', 'in', 'to', 'have', 'time', 'for', 'speech', 'they', 'ran', 'through', 'the', 'vestibule', 'into', 'the', 'breakfastroom', 'from', 'thence', 'to', 'the', 'library', 'their', 'father', 'was', 'in', 'neither', 'and', 'they', 'were', 'on', 'the', 'point', 'of', 'seeking', 'him', 'up', 'stairs', 'with', 'their', 'mother', 'when', 'they', 'were', 'met', 'by', 'the', 'butler', 'who', 'said', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'looking', 'for', 'my', 'master', 'maam', 'he', 'is', 'walking', 'towards', 'the', 'little', 'copse', 'upon', 'this', 'information', 'they', 'instantly', 'passed', 'through', 'the', 'hall', 'once', 'more', 'and', 'ran', 'across', 'the', 'lawn', 'after', 'their', 'father', 'who', 'was', 'deliberately', 'pursuing', 'his', 'way', 'towards', 'a', 'small', 'wood', 'on', 'one', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'paddock', 'jane', 'who', 'was', 'not', 'so', 'light', 'nor', 'so', 'much', 'in', 'the', 'habit', 'of', 'running', 'as', 'elizabeth', 'soon', 'lagged', 'behind', 'while', 'her', 'sister', 'panting', 'for', 'breath', 'came', 'up', 'with', 'him', 'and', 'eagerly', 'cried', 'out', 'oh', 'papa', 'what', 'newswhat', 'news', 'have', 'you', 'heard', 'from', 'my', 'uncle', 'yes', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'a', 'letter', 'from', 'him', 'by', 'express', 'well', 'and', 'what', 'news', 'does', 'it', 'bringgood', 'or', 'bad', 'what', 'is', 'there', 'of', 'good', 'to', 'be', 'expected', 'said', 'he', 'taking', 'the', 'letter', 'from', 'his', 'pocket', 'but', 'perhaps', 'you', 'would', 'like', 'to', 'read', 'it', 'elizabeth', 'impatiently', 'caught', 'it', 'from', 'his', 'hand', 'jane', 'now', 'came', 'up', 'read', 'it', 'aloud', 'said', 'their', 'father', 'for', 'i', 'hardly', 'know', 'myself', 'what', 'it', 'is', 'about', 'gracechurch', 'street', 'monday', 'august', '2', 'my', 'dear', 'brother', 'at', 'last', 'i', 'am', 'able', 'to', 'send', 'you', 'some', 'tidings', 'of', 'my', 'niece', 'and', 'such', 'as', 'upon', 'the', 'whole', 'i', 'hope', 'it', 'will', 'give', 'you', 'satisfaction', 'soon', 'after', 'you', 'left', 'me', 'on', 'saturday', 'i', 'was', 'fortunate', 'enough', 'to', 'find', 'out', 'in', 'what', 'part', 'of', 'london', 'they', 'were', 'the', 'particulars', 'i', 'reserve', 'till', 'we', 'meet', 'it', 'is', 'enough', 'to', 'know', 'they', 'are', 'discovered', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'them', 'both', 'then', 'it', 'is', 'as', 'i', 'always', 'hoped', 'cried', 'jane', 'they', 'are', 'married', 'elizabeth', 'read', 'on', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'them', 'both', 'they', 'are', 'not', 'married', 'nor', 'can', 'i', 'find', 'there', 'was', 'any', 'intention', 'of', 'being', 'so', 'but', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'willing', 'to', 'perform', 'the', 'engagements', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'ventured', 'to', 'make', 'on', 'your', 'side', 'i', 'hope', 'it', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'long', 'before', 'they', 'are', 'all', 'that', 'is', 'required', 'of', 'you', 'is', 'to', 'assure', 'to', 'your', 'daughter', 'by', 'settlement', 'her', 'equal', 'share', 'of', 'the', 'five', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'secured', 'among', 'your', 'children', 'after', 'the', 'decease', 'of', 'yourself', 'and', 'my', 'sister', 'and', 'moreover', 'to', 'enter', 'into', 'an', 'engagement', 'of', 'allowing', 'her', 'during', 'your', 'life', 'one', 'hundred', 'pounds', 'per', 'annum', 'these', 'are', 'conditions', 'which', 'considering', 'everything', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'hesitation', 'in', 'complying', 'with', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'i', 'thought', 'myself', 'privileged', 'for', 'you', 'i', 'shall', 'send', 'this', 'by', 'express', 'that', 'no', 'time', 'may', 'be', 'lost', 'in', 'bringing', 'me', 'your', 'answer', 'you', 'will', 'easily', 'comprehend', 'from', 'these', 'particulars', 'that', 'mr', 'wickhams', 'circumstances', 'are', 'not', 'so', 'hopeless', 'as', 'they', 'are', 'generally', 'believed', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'world', 'has', 'been', 'deceived', 'in', 'that', 'respect', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'happy', 'to', 'say', 'there', 'will', 'be', 'some', 'little', 'money', 'even', 'when', 'all', 'his', 'debts', 'are', 'discharged', 'to', 'settle', 'on', 'my', 'niece', 'in', 'addition', 'to', 'her', 'own', 'fortune', 'if', 'as', 'i', 'conclude', 'will', 'be', 'the', 'case', 'you', 'send', 'me', 'full', 'powers', 'to', 'act', 'in', 'your', 'name', 'throughout', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'this', 'business', 'i', 'will', 'immediately', 'give', 'directions', 'to', 'haggerston', 'for', 'preparing', 'a', 'proper', 'settlement', 'there', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'the', 'smallest', 'occasion', 'for', 'your', 'coming', 'to', 'town', 'again', 'therefore', 'stay', 'quiet', 'at', 'longbourn', 'and', 'depend', 'on', 'my', 'diligence', 'and', 'care', 'send', 'back', 'your', 'answer', 'as', 'fast', 'as', 'you', 'can', 'and', 'be', 'careful', 'to', 'write', 'explicitly', 'we', 'have', 'judged', 'it', 'best', 'that', 'my', 'niece', 'should', 'be', 'married', 'from', 'this', 'house', 'of', 'which', 'i', 'hope', 'you', 'will', 'approve', 'she', 'comes', 'to', 'us', 'today', 'i', 'shall', 'write', 'again', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'anything', 'more', 'is', 'determined', 'on', 'yours', 'etc', 'edw', 'gardiner', 'is', 'it', 'possible', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'when', 'she', 'had', 'finished', 'can', 'it', 'be', 'possible', 'that', 'he', 'will', 'marry', 'her', 'wickham', 'is', 'not', 'so', 'undeserving', 'then', 'as', 'we', 'thought', 'him', 'said', 'her', 'sister', 'my', 'dear', 'father', 'i', 'congratulate', 'you', 'and', 'have', 'you', 'answered', 'the', 'letter', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'no', 'but', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'done', 'soon', 'most', 'earnestly', 'did', 'she', 'then', 'entreat', 'him', 'to', 'lose', 'no', 'more', 'time', 'before', 'he', 'wrote', 'oh', 'my', 'dear', 'father', 'she', 'cried', 'come', 'back', 'and', 'write', 'immediately', 'consider', 'how', 'important', 'every', 'moment', 'is', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'case', 'let', 'me', 'write', 'for', 'you', 'said', 'jane', 'if', 'you', 'dislike', 'the', 'trouble', 'yourself', 'i', 'dislike', 'it', 'very', 'much', 'he', 'replied', 'but', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'done', 'and', 'so', 'saying', 'he', 'turned', 'back', 'with', 'them', 'and', 'walked', 'towards', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'may', 'i', 'ask', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'but', 'the', 'terms', 'i', 'suppose', 'must', 'be', 'complied', 'with', 'complied', 'with', 'i', 'am', 'only', 'ashamed', 'of', 'his', 'asking', 'so', 'little', 'and', 'they', 'must', 'marry', 'yet', 'he', 'is', 'such', 'a', 'man', 'yes', 'yes', 'they', 'must', 'marry', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'else', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'but', 'there', 'are', 'two', 'things', 'that', 'i', 'want', 'very', 'much', 'to', 'know', 'one', 'is', 'how', 'much', 'money', 'your', 'uncle', 'has', 'laid', 'down', 'to', 'bring', 'it', 'about', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'how', 'am', 'i', 'ever', 'to', 'pay', 'him', 'money', 'my', 'uncle', 'cried', 'jane', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'sir', 'i', 'mean', 'that', 'no', 'man', 'in', 'his', 'senses', 'would', 'marry', 'lydia', 'on', 'so', 'slight', 'a', 'temptation', 'as', 'one', 'hundred', 'a', 'year', 'during', 'my', 'life', 'and', 'fifty', 'after', 'i', 'am', 'gone', 'that', 'is', 'very', 'true', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'though', 'it', 'had', 'not', 'occurred', 'to', 'me', 'before', 'his', 'debts', 'to', 'be', 'discharged', 'and', 'something', 'still', 'to', 'remain', 'oh', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'my', 'uncles', 'doings', 'generous', 'good', 'man', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'he', 'has', 'distressed', 'himself', 'a', 'small', 'sum', 'could', 'not', 'do', 'all', 'this', 'no', 'said', 'her', 'father', 'wickhams', 'a', 'fool', 'if', 'he', 'takes', 'her', 'with', 'a', 'farthing', 'less', 'than', 'ten', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'sorry', 'to', 'think', 'so', 'ill', 'of', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'very', 'beginning', 'of', 'our', 'relationship', 'ten', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'heaven', 'forbid', 'how', 'is', 'half', 'such', 'a', 'sum', 'to', 'be', 'repaid', 'mr', 'bennet', 'made', 'no', 'answer', 'and', 'each', 'of', 'them', 'deep', 'in', 'thought', 'continued', 'silent', 'till', 'they', 'reached', 'the', 'house', 'their', 'father', 'then', 'went', 'on', 'to', 'the', 'library', 'to', 'write', 'and', 'the', 'girls', 'walked', 'into', 'the', 'breakfastroom', 'and', 'they', 'are', 'really', 'to', 'be', 'married', 'cried', 'elizabeth', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'by', 'themselves', 'how', 'strange', 'this', 'is', 'and', 'for', 'this', 'we', 'are', 'to', 'be', 'thankful', 'that', 'they', 'should', 'marry', 'small', 'as', 'is', 'their', 'chance', 'of', 'happiness', 'and', 'wretched', 'as', 'is', 'his', 'character', 'we', 'are', 'forced', 'to', 'rejoice', 'oh', 'lydia', 'i', 'comfort', 'myself', 'with', 'thinking', 'replied', 'jane', 'that', 'he', 'certainly', 'would', 'not', 'marry', 'lydia', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'a', 'real', 'regard', 'for', 'her', 'though', 'our', 'kind', 'uncle', 'has', 'done', 'something', 'towards', 'clearing', 'him', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'believe', 'that', 'ten', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'or', 'anything', 'like', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'advanced', 'he', 'has', 'children', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'and', 'may', 'have', 'more', 'how', 'could', 'he', 'spare', 'half', 'ten', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'if', 'he', 'were', 'ever', 'able', 'to', 'learn', 'what', 'wickhams', 'debts', 'have', 'been', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'how', 'much', 'is', 'settled', 'on', 'his', 'side', 'on', 'our', 'sister', 'we', 'shall', 'exactly', 'know', 'what', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'has', 'done', 'for', 'them', 'because', 'wickham', 'has', 'not', 'sixpence', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'the', 'kindness', 'of', 'my', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'can', 'never', 'be', 'requited', 'their', 'taking', 'her', 'home', 'and', 'affording', 'her', 'their', 'personal', 'protection', 'and', 'countenance', 'is', 'such', 'a', 'sacrifice', 'to', 'her', 'advantage', 'as', 'years', 'of', 'gratitude', 'can', 'not', 'enough', 'acknowledge', 'by', 'this', 'time', 'she', 'is', 'actually', 'with', 'them', 'if', 'such', 'goodness', 'does', 'not', 'make', 'her', 'miserable', 'now', 'she', 'will', 'never', 'deserve', 'to', 'be', 'happy', 'what', 'a', 'meeting', 'for', 'her', 'when', 'she', 'first', 'sees', 'my', 'aunt', 'we', 'must', 'endeavour', 'to', 'forget', 'all', 'that', 'has', 'passed', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'said', 'jane', 'i', 'hope', 'and', 'trust', 'they', 'will', 'yet', 'be', 'happy', 'his', 'consenting', 'to', 'marry', 'her', 'is', 'a', 'proof', 'i', 'will', 'believe', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'come', 'to', 'a', 'right', 'way', 'of', 'thinking', 'their', 'mutual', 'affection', 'will', 'steady', 'them', 'and', 'i', 'flatter', 'myself', 'they', 'will', 'settle', 'so', 'quietly', 'and', 'live', 'in', 'so', 'rational', 'a', 'manner', 'as', 'may', 'in', 'time', 'make', 'their', 'past', 'imprudence', 'forgotten', 'their', 'conduct', 'has', 'been', 'such', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'as', 'neither', 'you', 'nor', 'i', 'nor', 'anybody', 'can', 'ever', 'forget', 'it', 'is', 'useless', 'to', 'talk', 'of', 'it', 'it', 'now', 'occurred', 'to', 'the', 'girls', 'that', 'their', 'mother', 'was', 'in', 'all', 'likelihood', 'perfectly', 'ignorant', 'of', 'what', 'had', 'happened', 'they', 'went', 'to', 'the', 'library', 'therefore', 'and', 'asked', 'their', 'father', 'whether', 'he', 'would', 'not', 'wish', 'them', 'to', 'make', 'it', 'known', 'to', 'her', 'he', 'was', 'writing', 'and', 'without', 'raising', 'his', 'head', 'coolly', 'replied', 'just', 'as', 'you', 'please', 'may', 'we', 'take', 'my', 'uncles', 'letter', 'to', 'read', 'to', 'her', 'take', 'whatever', 'you', 'like', 'and', 'get', 'away', 'elizabeth', 'took', 'the', 'letter', 'from', 'his', 'writingtable', 'and', 'they', 'went', 'up', 'stairs', 'together', 'mary', 'and', 'kitty', 'were', 'both', 'with', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'one', 'communication', 'would', 'therefore', 'do', 'for', 'all', 'after', 'a', 'slight', 'preparation', 'for', 'good', 'news', 'the', 'letter', 'was', 'read', 'aloud', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'could', 'hardly', 'contain', 'herself', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'jane', 'had', 'read', 'mr', 'gardiners', 'hope', 'of', 'lydias', 'being', 'soon', 'married', 'her', 'joy', 'burst', 'forth', 'and', 'every', 'following', 'sentence', 'added', 'to', 'its', 'exuberance', 'she', 'was', 'now', 'in', 'an', 'irritation', 'as', 'violent', 'from', 'delight', 'as', 'she', 'had', 'ever', 'been', 'fidgety', 'from', 'alarm', 'and', 'vexation', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'her', 'daughter', 'would', 'be', 'married', 'was', 'enough', 'she', 'was', 'disturbed', 'by', 'no', 'fear', 'for', 'her', 'felicity', 'nor', 'humbled', 'by', 'any', 'remembrance', 'of', 'her', 'misconduct', 'my', 'dear', 'dear', 'lydia', 'she', 'cried', 'this', 'is', 'delightful', 'indeed', 'she', 'will', 'be', 'married', 'i', 'shall', 'see', 'her', 'again', 'she', 'will', 'be', 'married', 'at', 'sixteen', 'my', 'good', 'kind', 'brother', 'i', 'knew', 'how', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'i', 'knew', 'he', 'would', 'manage', 'everything', 'how', 'i', 'long', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'and', 'to', 'see', 'dear', 'wickham', 'too', 'but', 'the', 'clothes', 'the', 'wedding', 'clothes', 'i', 'will', 'write', 'to', 'my', 'sister', 'gardiner', 'about', 'them', 'directly', 'lizzy', 'my', 'dear', 'run', 'down', 'to', 'your', 'father', 'and', 'ask', 'him', 'how', 'much', 'he', 'will', 'give', 'her', 'stay', 'stay', 'i', 'will', 'go', 'myself', 'ring', 'the', 'bell', 'kitty', 'for', 'hill', 'i', 'will', 'put', 'on', 'my', 'things', 'in', 'a', 'moment', 'my', 'dear', 'dear', 'lydia', 'how', 'merry', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'together', 'when', 'we', 'meet', 'her', 'eldest', 'daughter', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'give', 'some', 'relief', 'to', 'the', 'violence', 'of', 'these', 'transports', 'by', 'leading', 'her', 'thoughts', 'to', 'the', 'obligations', 'which', 'mr', 'gardiners', 'behaviour', 'laid', 'them', 'all', 'under', 'for', 'we', 'must', 'attribute', 'this', 'happy', 'conclusion', 'she', 'added', 'in', 'a', 'great', 'measure', 'to', 'his', 'kindness', 'we', 'are', 'persuaded', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'pledged', 'himself', 'to', 'assist', 'mr', 'wickham', 'with', 'money', 'well', 'cried', 'her', 'mother', 'it', 'is', 'all', 'very', 'right', 'who', 'should', 'do', 'it', 'but', 'her', 'own', 'uncle', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'had', 'a', 'family', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'i', 'and', 'my', 'children', 'must', 'have', 'had', 'all', 'his', 'money', 'you', 'know', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'first', 'time', 'we', 'have', 'ever', 'had', 'anything', 'from', 'him', 'except', 'a', 'few', 'presents', 'well', 'i', 'am', 'so', 'happy', 'in', 'a', 'short', 'time', 'i', 'shall', 'have', 'a', 'daughter', 'married', 'mrs', 'wickham', 'how', 'well', 'it', 'sounds', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'only', 'sixteen', 'last', 'june', 'my', 'dear', 'jane', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'flutter', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'cant', 'write', 'so', 'i', 'will', 'dictate', 'and', 'you', 'write', 'for', 'me', 'we', 'will', 'settle', 'with', 'your', 'father', 'about', 'the', 'money', 'afterwards', 'but', 'the', 'things', 'should', 'be', 'ordered', 'immediately', 'she', 'was', 'then', 'proceeding', 'to', 'all', 'the', 'particulars', 'of', 'calico', 'muslin', 'and', 'cambric', 'and', 'would', 'shortly', 'have', 'dictated', 'some', 'very', 'plentiful', 'orders', 'had', 'not', 'jane', 'though', 'with', 'some', 'difficulty', 'persuaded', 'her', 'to', 'wait', 'till', 'her', 'father', 'was', 'at', 'leisure', 'to', 'be', 'consulted', 'one', 'days', 'delay', 'she', 'observed', 'would', 'be', 'of', 'small', 'importance', 'and', 'her', 'mother', 'was', 'too', 'happy', 'to', 'be', 'quite', 'so', 'obstinate', 'as', 'usual', 'other', 'schemes', 'too', 'came', 'into', 'her', 'head', 'i', 'will', 'go', 'to', 'meryton', 'said', 'she', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'i', 'am', 'dressed', 'and', 'tell', 'the', 'good', 'good', 'news', 'to', 'my', 'sister', 'philips', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'come', 'back', 'i', 'can', 'call', 'on', 'lady', 'lucas', 'and', 'mrs', 'long', 'kitty', 'run', 'down', 'and', 'order', 'the', 'carriage', 'an', 'airing', 'would', 'do', 'me', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'good', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'girls', 'can', 'i', 'do', 'anything', 'for', 'you', 'in', 'meryton', 'oh', 'here', 'comes', 'hill', 'my', 'dear', 'hill', 'have', 'you', 'heard', 'the', 'good', 'news', 'miss', 'lydia', 'is', 'going', 'to', 'be', 'married', 'and', 'you', 'shall', 'all', 'have', 'a', 'bowl', 'of', 'punch', 'to', 'make', 'merry', 'at', 'her', 'wedding', 'mrs', 'hill', 'began', 'instantly', 'to', 'express', 'her', 'joy', 'elizabeth', 'received', 'her', 'congratulations', 'amongst', 'the', 'rest', 'and', 'then', 'sick', 'of', 'this', 'folly', 'took', 'refuge', 'in', 'her', 'own', 'room', 'that', 'she', 'might', 'think', 'with', 'freedom', 'poor', 'lydias', 'situation', 'must', 'at', 'best', 'be', 'bad', 'enough', 'but', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'no', 'worse', 'she', 'had', 'need', 'to', 'be', 'thankful', 'she', 'felt', 'it', 'so', 'and', 'though', 'in', 'looking', 'forward', 'neither', 'rational', 'happiness', 'nor', 'worldly', 'prosperity', 'could', 'be', 'justly', 'expected', 'for', 'her', 'sister', 'in', 'looking', 'back', 'to', 'what', 'they', 'had', 'feared', 'only', 'two', 'hours', 'ago', 'she', 'felt', 'all', 'the', 'advantages', 'of', 'what', 'they', 'had', 'gained', 'mr', 'bennet', 'had', 'very', 'often', 'wished', 'before', 'this', 'period', 'of', 'his', 'life', 'that', 'instead', 'of', 'spending', 'his', 'whole', 'income', 'he', 'had', 'laid', 'by', 'an', 'annual', 'sum', 'for', 'the', 'better', 'provision', 'of', 'his', 'children', 'and', 'of', 'his', 'wife', 'if', 'she', 'survived', 'him', 'he', 'now', 'wished', 'it', 'more', 'than', 'ever', 'had', 'he', 'done', 'his', 'duty', 'in', 'that', 'respect', 'lydia', 'need', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'indebted', 'to', 'her', 'uncle', 'for', 'whatever', 'of', 'honour', 'or', 'credit', 'could', 'now', 'be', 'purchased', 'for', 'her', 'the', 'satisfaction', 'of', 'prevailing', 'on', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'worthless', 'young', 'men', 'in', 'great', 'britain', 'to', 'be', 'her', 'husband', 'might', 'then', 'have', 'rested', 'in', 'its', 'proper', 'place', 'he', 'was', 'seriously', 'concerned', 'that', 'a', 'cause', 'of', 'so', 'little', 'advantage', 'to', 'anyone', 'should', 'be', 'forwarded', 'at', 'the', 'sole', 'expense', 'of', 'his', 'brotherinlaw', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'determined', 'if', 'possible', 'to', 'find', 'out', 'the', 'extent', 'of', 'his', 'assistance', 'and', 'to', 'discharge', 'the', 'obligation', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'he', 'could', 'when', 'first', 'mr', 'bennet', 'had', 'married', 'economy', 'was', 'held', 'to', 'be', 'perfectly', 'useless', 'for', 'of', 'course', 'they', 'were', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'son', 'the', 'son', 'was', 'to', 'join', 'in', 'cutting', 'off', 'the', 'entail', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'he', 'should', 'be', 'of', 'age', 'and', 'the', 'widow', 'and', 'younger', 'children', 'would', 'by', 'that', 'means', 'be', 'provided', 'for', 'five', 'daughters', 'successively', 'entered', 'the', 'world', 'but', 'yet', 'the', 'son', 'was', 'to', 'come', 'and', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'for', 'many', 'years', 'after', 'lydias', 'birth', 'had', 'been', 'certain', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'this', 'event', 'had', 'at', 'last', 'been', 'despaired', 'of', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'then', 'too', 'late', 'to', 'be', 'saving', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'had', 'no', 'turn', 'for', 'economy', 'and', 'her', 'husbands', 'love', 'of', 'independence', 'had', 'alone', 'prevented', 'their', 'exceeding', 'their', 'income', 'five', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'was', 'settled', 'by', 'marriage', 'articles', 'on', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'the', 'children', 'but', 'in', 'what', 'proportions', 'it', 'should', 'be', 'divided', 'amongst', 'the', 'latter', 'depended', 'on', 'the', 'will', 'of', 'the', 'parents', 'this', 'was', 'one', 'point', 'with', 'regard', 'to', 'lydia', 'at', 'least', 'which', 'was', 'now', 'to', 'be', 'settled', 'and', 'mr', 'bennet', 'could', 'have', 'no', 'hesitation', 'in', 'acceding', 'to', 'the', 'proposal', 'before', 'him', 'in', 'terms', 'of', 'grateful', 'acknowledgment', 'for', 'the', 'kindness', 'of', 'his', 'brother', 'though', 'expressed', 'most', 'concisely', 'he', 'then', 'delivered', 'on', 'paper', 'his', 'perfect', 'approbation', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'was', 'done', 'and', 'his', 'willingness', 'to', 'fulfil', 'the', 'engagements', 'that', 'had', 'been', 'made', 'for', 'him', 'he', 'had', 'never', 'before', 'supposed', 'that', 'could', 'wickham', 'be', 'prevailed', 'on', 'to', 'marry', 'his', 'daughter', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'done', 'with', 'so', 'little', 'inconvenience', 'to', 'himself', 'as', 'by', 'the', 'present', 'arrangement', 'he', 'would', 'scarcely', 'be', 'ten', 'pounds', 'a', 'year', 'the', 'loser', 'by', 'the', 'hundred', 'that', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'paid', 'them', 'for', 'what', 'with', 'her', 'board', 'and', 'pocket', 'allowance', 'and', 'the', 'continual', 'presents', 'in', 'money', 'which', 'passed', 'to', 'her', 'through', 'her', 'mothers', 'hands', 'lydias', 'expenses', 'had', 'been', 'very', 'little', 'within', 'that', 'sum', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'done', 'with', 'such', 'trifling', 'exertion', 'on', 'his', 'side', 'too', 'was', 'another', 'very', 'welcome', 'surprise', 'for', 'his', 'wish', 'at', 'present', 'was', 'to', 'have', 'as', 'little', 'trouble', 'in', 'the', 'business', 'as', 'possible', 'when', 'the', 'first', 'transports', 'of', 'rage', 'which', 'had', 'produced', 'his', 'activity', 'in', 'seeking', 'her', 'were', 'over', 'he', 'naturally', 'returned', 'to', 'all', 'his', 'former', 'indolence', 'his', 'letter', 'was', 'soon', 'dispatched', 'for', 'though', 'dilatory', 'in', 'undertaking', 'business', 'he', 'was', 'quick', 'in', 'its', 'execution', 'he', 'begged', 'to', 'know', 'further', 'particulars', 'of', 'what', 'he', 'was', 'indebted', 'to', 'his', 'brother', 'but', 'was', 'too', 'angry', 'with', 'lydia', 'to', 'send', 'any', 'message', 'to', 'her', 'the', 'good', 'news', 'spread', 'quickly', 'through', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'with', 'proportionate', 'speed', 'through', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'it', 'was', 'borne', 'in', 'the', 'latter', 'with', 'decent', 'philosophy', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'more', 'for', 'the', 'advantage', 'of', 'conversation', 'had', 'miss', 'lydia', 'bennet', 'come', 'upon', 'the', 'town', 'or', 'as', 'the', 'happiest', 'alternative', 'been', 'secluded', 'from', 'the', 'world', 'in', 'some', 'distant', 'farmhouse', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'much', 'to', 'be', 'talked', 'of', 'in', 'marrying', 'her', 'and', 'the', 'goodnatured', 'wishes', 'for', 'her', 'welldoing', 'which', 'had', 'proceeded', 'before', 'from', 'all', 'the', 'spiteful', 'old', 'ladies', 'in', 'meryton', 'lost', 'but', 'a', 'little', 'of', 'their', 'spirit', 'in', 'this', 'change', 'of', 'circumstances', 'because', 'with', 'such', 'an', 'husband', 'her', 'misery', 'was', 'considered', 'certain', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'fortnight', 'since', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'had', 'been', 'downstairs', 'but', 'on', 'this', 'happy', 'day', 'she', 'again', 'took', 'her', 'seat', 'at', 'the', 'head', 'of', 'her', 'table', 'and', 'in', 'spirits', 'oppressively', 'high', 'no', 'sentiment', 'of', 'shame', 'gave', 'a', 'damp', 'to', 'her', 'triumph', 'the', 'marriage', 'of', 'a', 'daughter', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'the', 'first', 'object', 'of', 'her', 'wishes', 'since', 'jane', 'was', 'sixteen', 'was', 'now', 'on', 'the', 'point', 'of', 'accomplishment', 'and', 'her', 'thoughts', 'and', 'her', 'words', 'ran', 'wholly', 'on', 'those', 'attendants', 'of', 'elegant', 'nuptials', 'fine', 'muslins', 'new', 'carriages', 'and', 'servants', 'she', 'was', 'busily', 'searching', 'through', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'for', 'a', 'proper', 'situation', 'for', 'her', 'daughter', 'and', 'without', 'knowing', 'or', 'considering', 'what', 'their', 'income', 'might', 'be', 'rejected', 'many', 'as', 'deficient', 'in', 'size', 'and', 'importance', 'haye', 'park', 'might', 'do', 'said', 'she', 'if', 'the', 'gouldings', 'could', 'quit', 'itor', 'the', 'great', 'house', 'at', 'stoke', 'if', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'were', 'larger', 'but', 'ashworth', 'is', 'too', 'far', 'off', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'bear', 'to', 'have', 'her', 'ten', 'miles', 'from', 'me', 'and', 'as', 'for', 'pulvis', 'lodge', 'the', 'attics', 'are', 'dreadful', 'her', 'husband', 'allowed', 'her', 'to', 'talk', 'on', 'without', 'interruption', 'while', 'the', 'servants', 'remained', 'but', 'when', 'they', 'had', 'withdrawn', 'he', 'said', 'to', 'her', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'before', 'you', 'take', 'any', 'or', 'all', 'of', 'these', 'houses', 'for', 'your', 'son', 'and', 'daughter', 'let', 'us', 'come', 'to', 'a', 'right', 'understanding', 'into', 'one', 'house', 'in', 'this', 'neighbourhood', 'they', 'shall', 'never', 'have', 'admittance', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'encourage', 'the', 'impudence', 'of', 'either', 'by', 'receiving', 'them', 'at', 'longbourn', 'a', 'long', 'dispute', 'followed', 'this', 'declaration', 'but', 'mr', 'bennet', 'was', 'firm', 'it', 'soon', 'led', 'to', 'another', 'and', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'found', 'with', 'amazement', 'and', 'horror', 'that', 'her', 'husband', 'would', 'not', 'advance', 'a', 'guinea', 'to', 'buy', 'clothes', 'for', 'his', 'daughter', 'he', 'protested', 'that', 'she', 'should', 'receive', 'from', 'him', 'no', 'mark', 'of', 'affection', 'whatever', 'on', 'the', 'occasion', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'could', 'hardly', 'comprehend', 'it', 'that', 'his', 'anger', 'could', 'be', 'carried', 'to', 'such', 'a', 'point', 'of', 'inconceivable', 'resentment', 'as', 'to', 'refuse', 'his', 'daughter', 'a', 'privilege', 'without', 'which', 'her', 'marriage', 'would', 'scarcely', 'seem', 'valid', 'exceeded', 'all', 'she', 'could', 'believe', 'possible', 'she', 'was', 'more', 'alive', 'to', 'the', 'disgrace', 'which', 'her', 'want', 'of', 'new', 'clothes', 'must', 'reflect', 'on', 'her', 'daughters', 'nuptials', 'than', 'to', 'any', 'sense', 'of', 'shame', 'at', 'her', 'eloping', 'and', 'living', 'with', 'wickham', 'a', 'fortnight', 'before', 'they', 'took', 'place', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'now', 'most', 'heartily', 'sorry', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'from', 'the', 'distress', 'of', 'the', 'moment', 'been', 'led', 'to', 'make', 'mr', 'darcy', 'acquainted', 'with', 'their', 'fears', 'for', 'her', 'sister', 'for', 'since', 'her', 'marriage', 'would', 'so', 'shortly', 'give', 'the', 'proper', 'termination', 'to', 'the', 'elopement', 'they', 'might', 'hope', 'to', 'conceal', 'its', 'unfavourable', 'beginning', 'from', 'all', 'those', 'who', 'were', 'not', 'immediately', 'on', 'the', 'spot', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'fear', 'of', 'its', 'spreading', 'farther', 'through', 'his', 'means', 'there', 'were', 'few', 'people', 'on', 'whose', 'secrecy', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'more', 'confidently', 'depended', 'but', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'one', 'whose', 'knowledge', 'of', 'a', 'sisters', 'frailty', 'would', 'have', 'mortified', 'her', 'so', 'muchnot', 'however', 'from', 'any', 'fear', 'of', 'disadvantage', 'from', 'it', 'individually', 'to', 'herself', 'for', 'at', 'any', 'rate', 'there', 'seemed', 'a', 'gulf', 'impassable', 'between', 'them', 'had', 'lydias', 'marriage', 'been', 'concluded', 'on', 'the', 'most', 'honourable', 'terms', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'supposed', 'that', 'mr', 'darcy', 'would', 'connect', 'himself', 'with', 'a', 'family', 'where', 'to', 'every', 'other', 'objection', 'would', 'now', 'be', 'added', 'an', 'alliance', 'and', 'relationship', 'of', 'the', 'nearest', 'kind', 'with', 'a', 'man', 'whom', 'he', 'so', 'justly', 'scorned', 'from', 'such', 'a', 'connection', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'wonder', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'shrink', 'the', 'wish', 'of', 'procuring', 'her', 'regard', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'assured', 'herself', 'of', 'his', 'feeling', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'could', 'not', 'in', 'rational', 'expectation', 'survive', 'such', 'a', 'blow', 'as', 'this', 'she', 'was', 'humbled', 'she', 'was', 'grieved', 'she', 'repented', 'though', 'she', 'hardly', 'knew', 'of', 'what', 'she', 'became', 'jealous', 'of', 'his', 'esteem', 'when', 'she', 'could', 'no', 'longer', 'hope', 'to', 'be', 'benefited', 'by', 'it', 'she', 'wanted', 'to', 'hear', 'of', 'him', 'when', 'there', 'seemed', 'the', 'least', 'chance', 'of', 'gaining', 'intelligence', 'she', 'was', 'convinced', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'have', 'been', 'happy', 'with', 'him', 'when', 'it', 'was', 'no', 'longer', 'likely', 'they', 'should', 'meet', 'what', 'a', 'triumph', 'for', 'him', 'as', 'she', 'often', 'thought', 'could', 'he', 'know', 'that', 'the', 'proposals', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'proudly', 'spurned', 'only', 'four', 'months', 'ago', 'would', 'now', 'have', 'been', 'most', 'gladly', 'and', 'gratefully', 'received', 'he', 'was', 'as', 'generous', 'she', 'doubted', 'not', 'as', 'the', 'most', 'generous', 'of', 'his', 'sex', 'but', 'while', 'he', 'was', 'mortal', 'there', 'must', 'be', 'a', 'triumph', 'she', 'began', 'now', 'to', 'comprehend', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'exactly', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'in', 'disposition', 'and', 'talents', 'would', 'most', 'suit', 'her', 'his', 'understanding', 'and', 'temper', 'though', 'unlike', 'her', 'own', 'would', 'have', 'answered', 'all', 'her', 'wishes', 'it', 'was', 'an', 'union', 'that', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'to', 'the', 'advantage', 'of', 'both', 'by', 'her', 'ease', 'and', 'liveliness', 'his', 'mind', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'softened', 'his', 'manners', 'improved', 'and', 'from', 'his', 'judgement', 'information', 'and', 'knowledge', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'she', 'must', 'have', 'received', 'benefit', 'of', 'greater', 'importance', 'but', 'no', 'such', 'happy', 'marriage', 'could', 'now', 'teach', 'the', 'admiring', 'multitude', 'what', 'connubial', 'felicity', 'really', 'was', 'an', 'union', 'of', 'a', 'different', 'tendency', 'and', 'precluding', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'the', 'other', 'was', 'soon', 'to', 'be', 'formed', 'in', 'their', 'family', 'how', 'wickham', 'and', 'lydia', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'supported', 'in', 'tolerable', 'independence', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'imagine', 'but', 'how', 'little', 'of', 'permanent', 'happiness', 'could', 'belong', 'to', 'a', 'couple', 'who', 'were', 'only', 'brought', 'together', 'because', 'their', 'passions', 'were', 'stronger', 'than', 'their', 'virtue', 'she', 'could', 'easily', 'conjecture', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'soon', 'wrote', 'again', 'to', 'his', 'brother', 'to', 'mr', 'bennets', 'acknowledgments', 'he', 'briefly', 'replied', 'with', 'assurance', 'of', 'his', 'eagerness', 'to', 'promote', 'the', 'welfare', 'of', 'any', 'of', 'his', 'family', 'and', 'concluded', 'with', 'entreaties', 'that', 'the', 'subject', 'might', 'never', 'be', 'mentioned', 'to', 'him', 'again', 'the', 'principal', 'purport', 'of', 'his', 'letter', 'was', 'to', 'inform', 'them', 'that', 'mr', 'wickham', 'had', 'resolved', 'on', 'quitting', 'the', 'militia', 'it', 'was', 'greatly', 'my', 'wish', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'do', 'so', 'he', 'added', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'his', 'marriage', 'was', 'fixed', 'on', 'and', 'i', 'think', 'you', 'will', 'agree', 'with', 'me', 'in', 'considering', 'the', 'removal', 'from', 'that', 'corps', 'as', 'highly', 'advisable', 'both', 'on', 'his', 'account', 'and', 'my', 'nieces', 'it', 'is', 'mr', 'wickhams', 'intention', 'to', 'go', 'into', 'the', 'regulars', 'and', 'among', 'his', 'former', 'friends', 'there', 'are', 'still', 'some', 'who', 'are', 'able', 'and', 'willing', 'to', 'assist', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'army', 'he', 'has', 'the', 'promise', 'of', 'an', 'ensigncy', 'in', 'general', 's', 'regiment', 'now', 'quartered', 'in', 'the', 'north', 'it', 'is', 'an', 'advantage', 'to', 'have', 'it', 'so', 'far', 'from', 'this', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'kingdom', 'he', 'promises', 'fairly', 'and', 'i', 'hope', 'among', 'different', 'people', 'where', 'they', 'may', 'each', 'have', 'a', 'character', 'to', 'preserve', 'they', 'will', 'both', 'be', 'more', 'prudent', 'i', 'have', 'written', 'to', 'colonel', 'forster', 'to', 'inform', 'him', 'of', 'our', 'present', 'arrangements', 'and', 'to', 'request', 'that', 'he', 'will', 'satisfy', 'the', 'various', 'creditors', 'of', 'mr', 'wickham', 'in', 'and', 'near', 'brighton', 'with', 'assurances', 'of', 'speedy', 'payment', 'for', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'pledged', 'myself', 'and', 'will', 'you', 'give', 'yourself', 'the', 'trouble', 'of', 'carrying', 'similar', 'assurances', 'to', 'his', 'creditors', 'in', 'meryton', 'of', 'whom', 'i', 'shall', 'subjoin', 'a', 'list', 'according', 'to', 'his', 'information', 'he', 'has', 'given', 'in', 'all', 'his', 'debts', 'i', 'hope', 'at', 'least', 'he', 'has', 'not', 'deceived', 'us', 'haggerston', 'has', 'our', 'directions', 'and', 'all', 'will', 'be', 'completed', 'in', 'a', 'week', 'they', 'will', 'then', 'join', 'his', 'regiment', 'unless', 'they', 'are', 'first', 'invited', 'to', 'longbourn', 'and', 'i', 'understand', 'from', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'that', 'my', 'niece', 'is', 'very', 'desirous', 'of', 'seeing', 'you', 'all', 'before', 'she', 'leaves', 'the', 'south', 'she', 'is', 'well', 'and', 'begs', 'to', 'be', 'dutifully', 'remembered', 'to', 'you', 'and', 'her', 'motheryours', 'etc', 'e', 'gardiner', 'mr', 'bennet', 'and', 'his', 'daughters', 'saw', 'all', 'the', 'advantages', 'of', 'wickhams', 'removal', 'from', 'the', 'shire', 'as', 'clearly', 'as', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'could', 'do', 'but', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'not', 'so', 'well', 'pleased', 'with', 'it', 'lydias', 'being', 'settled', 'in', 'the', 'north', 'just', 'when', 'she', 'had', 'expected', 'most', 'pleasure', 'and', 'pride', 'in', 'her', 'company', 'for', 'she', 'had', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'given', 'up', 'her', 'plan', 'of', 'their', 'residing', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'was', 'a', 'severe', 'disappointment', 'and', 'besides', 'it', 'was', 'such', 'a', 'pity', 'that', 'lydia', 'should', 'be', 'taken', 'from', 'a', 'regiment', 'where', 'she', 'was', 'acquainted', 'with', 'everybody', 'and', 'had', 'so', 'many', 'favourites', 'she', 'is', 'so', 'fond', 'of', 'mrs', 'forster', 'said', 'she', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'quite', 'shocking', 'to', 'send', 'her', 'away', 'and', 'there', 'are', 'several', 'of', 'the', 'young', 'men', 'too', 'that', 'she', 'likes', 'very', 'much', 'the', 'officers', 'may', 'not', 'be', 'so', 'pleasant', 'in', 'general', 's', 'regiment', 'his', 'daughters', 'request', 'for', 'such', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'considered', 'of', 'being', 'admitted', 'into', 'her', 'family', 'again', 'before', 'she', 'set', 'off', 'for', 'the', 'north', 'received', 'at', 'first', 'an', 'absolute', 'negative', 'but', 'jane', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'who', 'agreed', 'in', 'wishing', 'for', 'the', 'sake', 'of', 'their', 'sisters', 'feelings', 'and', 'consequence', 'that', 'she', 'should', 'be', 'noticed', 'on', 'her', 'marriage', 'by', 'her', 'parents', 'urged', 'him', 'so', 'earnestly', 'yet', 'so', 'rationally', 'and', 'so', 'mildly', 'to', 'receive', 'her', 'and', 'her', 'husband', 'at', 'longbourn', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'married', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'prevailed', 'on', 'to', 'think', 'as', 'they', 'thought', 'and', 'act', 'as', 'they', 'wished', 'and', 'their', 'mother', 'had', 'the', 'satisfaction', 'of', 'knowing', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'show', 'her', 'married', 'daughter', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'before', 'she', 'was', 'banished', 'to', 'the', 'north', 'when', 'mr', 'bennet', 'wrote', 'again', 'to', 'his', 'brother', 'therefore', 'he', 'sent', 'his', 'permission', 'for', 'them', 'to', 'come', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'settled', 'that', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'the', 'ceremony', 'was', 'over', 'they', 'should', 'proceed', 'to', 'longbourn', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'surprised', 'however', 'that', 'wickham', 'should', 'consent', 'to', 'such', 'a', 'scheme', 'and', 'had', 'she', 'consulted', 'only', 'her', 'own', 'inclination', 'any', 'meeting', 'with', 'him', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'the', 'last', 'object', 'of', 'her', 'wishes', 'their', 'sisters', 'wedding', 'day', 'arrived', 'and', 'jane', 'and', 'elizabeth', 'felt', 'for', 'her', 'probably', 'more', 'than', 'she', 'felt', 'for', 'herself', 'the', 'carriage', 'was', 'sent', 'to', 'meet', 'them', 'at', 'and', 'they', 'were', 'to', 'return', 'in', 'it', 'by', 'dinnertime', 'their', 'arrival', 'was', 'dreaded', 'by', 'the', 'elder', 'miss', 'bennets', 'and', 'jane', 'more', 'especially', 'who', 'gave', 'lydia', 'the', 'feelings', 'which', 'would', 'have', 'attended', 'herself', 'had', 'she', 'been', 'the', 'culprit', 'and', 'was', 'wretched', 'in', 'the', 'thought', 'of', 'what', 'her', 'sister', 'must', 'endure', 'they', 'came', 'the', 'family', 'were', 'assembled', 'in', 'the', 'breakfast', 'room', 'to', 'receive', 'them', 'smiles', 'decked', 'the', 'face', 'of', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'as', 'the', 'carriage', 'drove', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'door', 'her', 'husband', 'looked', 'impenetrably', 'grave', 'her', 'daughters', 'alarmed', 'anxious', 'uneasy', 'lydias', 'voice', 'was', 'heard', 'in', 'the', 'vestibule', 'the', 'door', 'was', 'thrown', 'open', 'and', 'she', 'ran', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'her', 'mother', 'stepped', 'forwards', 'embraced', 'her', 'and', 'welcomed', 'her', 'with', 'rapture', 'gave', 'her', 'hand', 'with', 'an', 'affectionate', 'smile', 'to', 'wickham', 'who', 'followed', 'his', 'lady', 'and', 'wished', 'them', 'both', 'joy', 'with', 'an', 'alacrity', 'which', 'shewed', 'no', 'doubt', 'of', 'their', 'happiness', 'their', 'reception', 'from', 'mr', 'bennet', 'to', 'whom', 'they', 'then', 'turned', 'was', 'not', 'quite', 'so', 'cordial', 'his', 'countenance', 'rather', 'gained', 'in', 'austerity', 'and', 'he', 'scarcely', 'opened', 'his', 'lips', 'the', 'easy', 'assurance', 'of', 'the', 'young', 'couple', 'indeed', 'was', 'enough', 'to', 'provoke', 'him', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'disgusted', 'and', 'even', 'miss', 'bennet', 'was', 'shocked', 'lydia', 'was', 'lydia', 'still', 'untamed', 'unabashed', 'wild', 'noisy', 'and', 'fearless', 'she', 'turned', 'from', 'sister', 'to', 'sister', 'demanding', 'their', 'congratulations', 'and', 'when', 'at', 'length', 'they', 'all', 'sat', 'down', 'looked', 'eagerly', 'round', 'the', 'room', 'took', 'notice', 'of', 'some', 'little', 'alteration', 'in', 'it', 'and', 'observed', 'with', 'a', 'laugh', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'great', 'while', 'since', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'there', 'wickham', 'was', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'more', 'distressed', 'than', 'herself', 'but', 'his', 'manners', 'were', 'always', 'so', 'pleasing', 'that', 'had', 'his', 'character', 'and', 'his', 'marriage', 'been', 'exactly', 'what', 'they', 'ought', 'his', 'smiles', 'and', 'his', 'easy', 'address', 'while', 'he', 'claimed', 'their', 'relationship', 'would', 'have', 'delighted', 'them', 'all', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'not', 'before', 'believed', 'him', 'quite', 'equal', 'to', 'such', 'assurance', 'but', 'she', 'sat', 'down', 'resolving', 'within', 'herself', 'to', 'draw', 'no', 'limits', 'in', 'future', 'to', 'the', 'impudence', 'of', 'an', 'impudent', 'man', 'she', 'blushed', 'and', 'jane', 'blushed', 'but', 'the', 'cheeks', 'of', 'the', 'two', 'who', 'caused', 'their', 'confusion', 'suffered', 'no', 'variation', 'of', 'colour', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'want', 'of', 'discourse', 'the', 'bride', 'and', 'her', 'mother', 'could', 'neither', 'of', 'them', 'talk', 'fast', 'enough', 'and', 'wickham', 'who', 'happened', 'to', 'sit', 'near', 'elizabeth', 'began', 'enquiring', 'after', 'his', 'acquaintance', 'in', 'that', 'neighbourhood', 'with', 'a', 'good', 'humoured', 'ease', 'which', 'she', 'felt', 'very', 'unable', 'to', 'equal', 'in', 'her', 'replies', 'they', 'seemed', 'each', 'of', 'them', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'happiest', 'memories', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'nothing', 'of', 'the', 'past', 'was', 'recollected', 'with', 'pain', 'and', 'lydia', 'led', 'voluntarily', 'to', 'subjects', 'which', 'her', 'sisters', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'alluded', 'to', 'for', 'the', 'world', 'only', 'think', 'of', 'its', 'being', 'three', 'months', 'she', 'cried', 'since', 'i', 'went', 'away', 'it', 'seems', 'but', 'a', 'fortnight', 'i', 'declare', 'and', 'yet', 'there', 'have', 'been', 'things', 'enough', 'happened', 'in', 'the', 'time', 'good', 'gracious', 'when', 'i', 'went', 'away', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'more', 'idea', 'of', 'being', 'married', 'till', 'i', 'came', 'back', 'again', 'though', 'i', 'thought', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'very', 'good', 'fun', 'if', 'i', 'was', 'her', 'father', 'lifted', 'up', 'his', 'eyes', 'jane', 'was', 'distressed', 'elizabeth', 'looked', 'expressively', 'at', 'lydia', 'but', 'she', 'who', 'never', 'heard', 'nor', 'saw', 'anything', 'of', 'which', 'she', 'chose', 'to', 'be', 'insensible', 'gaily', 'continued', 'oh', 'mamma', 'do', 'the', 'people', 'hereabouts', 'know', 'i', 'am', 'married', 'today', 'i', 'was', 'afraid', 'they', 'might', 'not', 'and', 'we', 'overtook', 'william', 'goulding', 'in', 'his', 'curricle', 'so', 'i', 'was', 'determined', 'he', 'should', 'know', 'it', 'and', 'so', 'i', 'let', 'down', 'the', 'sideglass', 'next', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'took', 'off', 'my', 'glove', 'and', 'let', 'my', 'hand', 'just', 'rest', 'upon', 'the', 'window', 'frame', 'so', 'that', 'he', 'might', 'see', 'the', 'ring', 'and', 'then', 'i', 'bowed', 'and', 'smiled', 'like', 'anything', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'bear', 'it', 'no', 'longer', 'she', 'got', 'up', 'and', 'ran', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'returned', 'no', 'more', 'till', 'she', 'heard', 'them', 'passing', 'through', 'the', 'hall', 'to', 'the', 'dining', 'parlour', 'she', 'then', 'joined', 'them', 'soon', 'enough', 'to', 'see', 'lydia', 'with', 'anxious', 'parade', 'walk', 'up', 'to', 'her', 'mothers', 'right', 'hand', 'and', 'hear', 'her', 'say', 'to', 'her', 'eldest', 'sister', 'ah', 'jane', 'i', 'take', 'your', 'place', 'now', 'and', 'you', 'must', 'go', 'lower', 'because', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'married', 'woman', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'supposed', 'that', 'time', 'would', 'give', 'lydia', 'that', 'embarrassment', 'from', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'so', 'wholly', 'free', 'at', 'first', 'her', 'ease', 'and', 'good', 'spirits', 'increased', 'she', 'longed', 'to', 'see', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'the', 'lucases', 'and', 'all', 'their', 'other', 'neighbours', 'and', 'to', 'hear', 'herself', 'called', 'mrs', 'wickham', 'by', 'each', 'of', 'them', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'mean', 'time', 'she', 'went', 'after', 'dinner', 'to', 'show', 'her', 'ring', 'and', 'boast', 'of', 'being', 'married', 'to', 'mrs', 'hill', 'and', 'the', 'two', 'housemaids', 'well', 'mamma', 'said', 'she', 'when', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'returned', 'to', 'the', 'breakfast', 'room', 'and', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'of', 'my', 'husband', 'is', 'not', 'he', 'a', 'charming', 'man', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'my', 'sisters', 'must', 'all', 'envy', 'me', 'i', 'only', 'hope', 'they', 'may', 'have', 'half', 'my', 'good', 'luck', 'they', 'must', 'all', 'go', 'to', 'brighton', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'place', 'to', 'get', 'husbands', 'what', 'a', 'pity', 'it', 'is', 'mamma', 'we', 'did', 'not', 'all', 'go', 'very', 'true', 'and', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'my', 'will', 'we', 'should', 'but', 'my', 'dear', 'lydia', 'i', 'dont', 'at', 'all', 'like', 'your', 'going', 'such', 'a', 'way', 'off', 'must', 'it', 'be', 'so', 'oh', 'lord', 'yesthere', 'is', 'nothing', 'in', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'like', 'it', 'of', 'all', 'things', 'you', 'and', 'papa', 'and', 'my', 'sisters', 'must', 'come', 'down', 'and', 'see', 'us', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'at', 'newcastle', 'all', 'the', 'winter', 'and', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'there', 'will', 'be', 'some', 'balls', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'take', 'care', 'to', 'get', 'good', 'partners', 'for', 'them', 'all', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'it', 'beyond', 'anything', 'said', 'her', 'mother', 'and', 'then', 'when', 'you', 'go', 'away', 'you', 'may', 'leave', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'of', 'my', 'sisters', 'behind', 'you', 'and', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'i', 'shall', 'get', 'husbands', 'for', 'them', 'before', 'the', 'winter', 'is', 'over', 'i', 'thank', 'you', 'for', 'my', 'share', 'of', 'the', 'favour', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'but', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'particularly', 'like', 'your', 'way', 'of', 'getting', 'husbands', 'their', 'visitors', 'were', 'not', 'to', 'remain', 'above', 'ten', 'days', 'with', 'them', 'mr', 'wickham', 'had', 'received', 'his', 'commission', 'before', 'he', 'left', 'london', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'to', 'join', 'his', 'regiment', 'at', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'a', 'fortnight', 'no', 'one', 'but', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'regretted', 'that', 'their', 'stay', 'would', 'be', 'so', 'short', 'and', 'she', 'made', 'the', 'most', 'of', 'the', 'time', 'by', 'visiting', 'about', 'with', 'her', 'daughter', 'and', 'having', 'very', 'frequent', 'parties', 'at', 'home', 'these', 'parties', 'were', 'acceptable', 'to', 'all', 'to', 'avoid', 'a', 'family', 'circle', 'was', 'even', 'more', 'desirable', 'to', 'such', 'as', 'did', 'think', 'than', 'such', 'as', 'did', 'not', 'wickhams', 'affection', 'for', 'lydia', 'was', 'just', 'what', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'expected', 'to', 'find', 'it', 'not', 'equal', 'to', 'lydias', 'for', 'him', 'she', 'had', 'scarcely', 'needed', 'her', 'present', 'observation', 'to', 'be', 'satisfied', 'from', 'the', 'reason', 'of', 'things', 'that', 'their', 'elopement', 'had', 'been', 'brought', 'on', 'by', 'the', 'strength', 'of', 'her', 'love', 'rather', 'than', 'by', 'his', 'and', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'wondered', 'why', 'without', 'violently', 'caring', 'for', 'her', 'he', 'chose', 'to', 'elope', 'with', 'her', 'at', 'all', 'had', 'she', 'not', 'felt', 'certain', 'that', 'his', 'flight', 'was', 'rendered', 'necessary', 'by', 'distress', 'of', 'circumstances', 'and', 'if', 'that', 'were', 'the', 'case', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'the', 'young', 'man', 'to', 'resist', 'an', 'opportunity', 'of', 'having', 'a', 'companion', 'lydia', 'was', 'exceedingly', 'fond', 'of', 'him', 'he', 'was', 'her', 'dear', 'wickham', 'on', 'every', 'occasion', 'no', 'one', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'put', 'in', 'competition', 'with', 'him', 'he', 'did', 'every', 'thing', 'best', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'sure', 'he', 'would', 'kill', 'more', 'birds', 'on', 'the', 'first', 'of', 'september', 'than', 'any', 'body', 'else', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'one', 'morning', 'soon', 'after', 'their', 'arrival', 'as', 'she', 'was', 'sitting', 'with', 'her', 'two', 'elder', 'sisters', 'she', 'said', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'lizzy', 'i', 'never', 'gave', 'you', 'an', 'account', 'of', 'my', 'wedding', 'i', 'believe', 'you', 'were', 'not', 'by', 'when', 'i', 'told', 'mamma', 'and', 'the', 'others', 'all', 'about', 'it', 'are', 'not', 'you', 'curious', 'to', 'hear', 'how', 'it', 'was', 'managed', 'no', 'really', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'i', 'think', 'there', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'too', 'little', 'said', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'la', 'you', 'are', 'so', 'strange', 'but', 'i', 'must', 'tell', 'you', 'how', 'it', 'went', 'off', 'we', 'were', 'married', 'you', 'know', 'at', 'st', 'clements', 'because', 'wickhams', 'lodgings', 'were', 'in', 'that', 'parish', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'settled', 'that', 'we', 'should', 'all', 'be', 'there', 'by', 'eleven', 'oclock', 'my', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'and', 'i', 'were', 'to', 'go', 'together', 'and', 'the', 'others', 'were', 'to', 'meet', 'us', 'at', 'the', 'church', 'well', 'monday', 'morning', 'came', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'fuss', 'i', 'was', 'so', 'afraid', 'you', 'know', 'that', 'something', 'would', 'happen', 'to', 'put', 'it', 'off', 'and', 'then', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'gone', 'quite', 'distracted', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'my', 'aunt', 'all', 'the', 'time', 'i', 'was', 'dressing', 'preaching', 'and', 'talking', 'away', 'just', 'as', 'if', 'she', 'was', 'reading', 'a', 'sermon', 'however', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'hear', 'above', 'one', 'word', 'in', 'ten', 'for', 'i', 'was', 'thinking', 'you', 'may', 'suppose', 'of', 'my', 'dear', 'wickham', 'i', 'longed', 'to', 'know', 'whether', 'he', 'would', 'be', 'married', 'in', 'his', 'blue', 'coat', 'well', 'and', 'so', 'we', 'breakfasted', 'at', 'ten', 'as', 'usual', 'i', 'thought', 'it', 'would', 'never', 'be', 'over', 'for', 'by', 'the', 'bye', 'you', 'are', 'to', 'understand', 'that', 'my', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'were', 'horrid', 'unpleasant', 'all', 'the', 'time', 'i', 'was', 'with', 'them', 'if', 'youll', 'believe', 'me', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'once', 'put', 'my', 'foot', 'out', 'of', 'doors', 'though', 'i', 'was', 'there', 'a', 'fortnight', 'not', 'one', 'party', 'or', 'scheme', 'or', 'anything', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'london', 'was', 'rather', 'thin', 'but', 'however', 'the', 'little', 'theatre', 'was', 'open', 'well', 'and', 'so', 'just', 'as', 'the', 'carriage', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'door', 'my', 'uncle', 'was', 'called', 'away', 'upon', 'business', 'to', 'that', 'horrid', 'man', 'mr', 'stone', 'and', 'then', 'you', 'know', 'when', 'once', 'they', 'get', 'together', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'end', 'of', 'it', 'well', 'i', 'was', 'so', 'frightened', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'to', 'do', 'for', 'my', 'uncle', 'was', 'to', 'give', 'me', 'away', 'and', 'if', 'we', 'were', 'beyond', 'the', 'hour', 'we', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'married', 'all', 'day', 'but', 'luckily', 'he', 'came', 'back', 'again', 'in', 'ten', 'minutes', 'time', 'and', 'then', 'we', 'all', 'set', 'out', 'however', 'i', 'recollected', 'afterwards', 'that', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'prevented', 'going', 'the', 'wedding', 'need', 'not', 'be', 'put', 'off', 'for', 'mr', 'darcy', 'might', 'have', 'done', 'as', 'well', 'mr', 'darcy', 'repeated', 'elizabeth', 'in', 'utter', 'amazement', 'oh', 'yeshe', 'was', 'to', 'come', 'there', 'with', 'wickham', 'you', 'know', 'but', 'gracious', 'me', 'i', 'quite', 'forgot', 'i', 'ought', 'not', 'to', 'have', 'said', 'a', 'word', 'about', 'it', 'i', 'promised', 'them', 'so', 'faithfully', 'what', 'will', 'wickham', 'say', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'such', 'a', 'secret', 'if', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'secret', 'said', 'jane', 'say', 'not', 'another', 'word', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'you', 'may', 'depend', 'upon', 'my', 'seeking', 'no', 'further', 'oh', 'certainly', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'though', 'burning', 'with', 'curiosity', 'we', 'will', 'ask', 'you', 'no', 'questions', 'thank', 'you', 'said', 'lydia', 'for', 'if', 'you', 'did', 'i', 'should', 'certainly', 'tell', 'you', 'all', 'and', 'then', 'wickham', 'would', 'be', 'angry', 'on', 'such', 'encouragement', 'to', 'ask', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'forced', 'to', 'put', 'it', 'out', 'of', 'her', 'power', 'by', 'running', 'away', 'but', 'to', 'live', 'in', 'ignorance', 'on', 'such', 'a', 'point', 'was', 'impossible', 'or', 'at', 'least', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'not', 'to', 'try', 'for', 'information', 'mr', 'darcy', 'had', 'been', 'at', 'her', 'sisters', 'wedding', 'it', 'was', 'exactly', 'a', 'scene', 'and', 'exactly', 'among', 'people', 'where', 'he', 'had', 'apparently', 'least', 'to', 'do', 'and', 'least', 'temptation', 'to', 'go', 'conjectures', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'meaning', 'of', 'it', 'rapid', 'and', 'wild', 'hurried', 'into', 'her', 'brain', 'but', 'she', 'was', 'satisfied', 'with', 'none', 'those', 'that', 'best', 'pleased', 'her', 'as', 'placing', 'his', 'conduct', 'in', 'the', 'noblest', 'light', 'seemed', 'most', 'improbable', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'bear', 'such', 'suspense', 'and', 'hastily', 'seizing', 'a', 'sheet', 'of', 'paper', 'wrote', 'a', 'short', 'letter', 'to', 'her', 'aunt', 'to', 'request', 'an', 'explanation', 'of', 'what', 'lydia', 'had', 'dropt', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'compatible', 'with', 'the', 'secrecy', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'intended', 'you', 'may', 'readily', 'comprehend', 'she', 'added', 'what', 'my', 'curiosity', 'must', 'be', 'to', 'know', 'how', 'a', 'person', 'unconnected', 'with', 'any', 'of', 'us', 'and', 'comparatively', 'speaking', 'a', 'stranger', 'to', 'our', 'family', 'should', 'have', 'been', 'amongst', 'you', 'at', 'such', 'a', 'time', 'pray', 'write', 'instantly', 'and', 'let', 'me', 'understand', 'itunless', 'it', 'is', 'for', 'very', 'cogent', 'reasons', 'to', 'remain', 'in', 'the', 'secrecy', 'which', 'lydia', 'seems', 'to', 'think', 'necessary', 'and', 'then', 'i', 'must', 'endeavour', 'to', 'be', 'satisfied', 'with', 'ignorance', 'not', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'though', 'she', 'added', 'to', 'herself', 'as', 'she', 'finished', 'the', 'letter', 'and', 'my', 'dear', 'aunt', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'tell', 'me', 'in', 'an', 'honourable', 'manner', 'i', 'shall', 'certainly', 'be', 'reduced', 'to', 'tricks', 'and', 'stratagems', 'to', 'find', 'it', 'out', 'janes', 'delicate', 'sense', 'of', 'honour', 'would', 'not', 'allow', 'her', 'to', 'speak', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'privately', 'of', 'what', 'lydia', 'had', 'let', 'fall', 'elizabeth', 'was', 'glad', 'of', 'ittill', 'it', 'appeared', 'whether', 'her', 'enquiries', 'would', 'receive', 'any', 'satisfaction', 'she', 'had', 'rather', 'be', 'without', 'a', 'confidante', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'the', 'satisfaction', 'of', 'receiving', 'an', 'answer', 'to', 'her', 'letter', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'she', 'possibly', 'could', 'she', 'was', 'no', 'sooner', 'in', 'possession', 'of', 'it', 'than', 'hurrying', 'into', 'the', 'little', 'copse', 'where', 'she', 'was', 'least', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'interrupted', 'she', 'sat', 'down', 'on', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'benches', 'and', 'prepared', 'to', 'be', 'happy', 'for', 'the', 'length', 'of', 'the', 'letter', 'convinced', 'her', 'that', 'it', 'did', 'not', 'contain', 'a', 'denial', 'gracechurch', 'street', 'sept', '6', 'my', 'dear', 'niece', 'i', 'have', 'just', 'received', 'your', 'letter', 'and', 'shall', 'devote', 'this', 'whole', 'morning', 'to', 'answering', 'it', 'as', 'i', 'foresee', 'that', 'a', 'little', 'writing', 'will', 'not', 'comprise', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'i', 'must', 'confess', 'myself', 'surprised', 'by', 'your', 'application', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'expect', 'it', 'from', 'you', 'dont', 'think', 'me', 'angry', 'however', 'for', 'i', 'only', 'mean', 'to', 'let', 'you', 'know', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'imagined', 'such', 'enquiries', 'to', 'be', 'necessary', 'on', 'your', 'side', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'choose', 'to', 'understand', 'me', 'forgive', 'my', 'impertinence', 'your', 'uncle', 'is', 'as', 'much', 'surprised', 'as', 'i', 'amand', 'nothing', 'but', 'the', 'belief', 'of', 'your', 'being', 'a', 'party', 'concerned', 'would', 'have', 'allowed', 'him', 'to', 'act', 'as', 'he', 'has', 'done', 'but', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'really', 'innocent', 'and', 'ignorant', 'i', 'must', 'be', 'more', 'explicit', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'day', 'of', 'my', 'coming', 'home', 'from', 'longbourn', 'your', 'uncle', 'had', 'a', 'most', 'unexpected', 'visitor', 'mr', 'darcy', 'called', 'and', 'was', 'shut', 'up', 'with', 'him', 'several', 'hours', 'it', 'was', 'all', 'over', 'before', 'i', 'arrived', 'so', 'my', 'curiosity', 'was', 'not', 'so', 'dreadfully', 'racked', 'as', 'yours', 'seems', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'he', 'came', 'to', 'tell', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'found', 'out', 'where', 'your', 'sister', 'and', 'mr', 'wickham', 'were', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'seen', 'and', 'talked', 'with', 'them', 'both', 'wickham', 'repeatedly', 'lydia', 'once', 'from', 'what', 'i', 'can', 'collect', 'he', 'left', 'derbyshire', 'only', 'one', 'day', 'after', 'ourselves', 'and', 'came', 'to', 'town', 'with', 'the', 'resolution', 'of', 'hunting', 'for', 'them', 'the', 'motive', 'professed', 'was', 'his', 'conviction', 'of', 'its', 'being', 'owing', 'to', 'himself', 'that', 'wickhams', 'worthlessness', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'so', 'well', 'known', 'as', 'to', 'make', 'it', 'impossible', 'for', 'any', 'young', 'woman', 'of', 'character', 'to', 'love', 'or', 'confide', 'in', 'him', 'he', 'generously', 'imputed', 'the', 'whole', 'to', 'his', 'mistaken', 'pride', 'and', 'confessed', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'before', 'thought', 'it', 'beneath', 'him', 'to', 'lay', 'his', 'private', 'actions', 'open', 'to', 'the', 'world', 'his', 'character', 'was', 'to', 'speak', 'for', 'itself', 'he', 'called', 'it', 'therefore', 'his', 'duty', 'to', 'step', 'forward', 'and', 'endeavour', 'to', 'remedy', 'an', 'evil', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'brought', 'on', 'by', 'himself', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'another', 'motive', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'it', 'would', 'never', 'disgrace', 'him', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'some', 'days', 'in', 'town', 'before', 'he', 'was', 'able', 'to', 'discover', 'them', 'but', 'he', 'had', 'something', 'to', 'direct', 'his', 'search', 'which', 'was', 'more', 'than', 'we', 'had', 'and', 'the', 'consciousness', 'of', 'this', 'was', 'another', 'reason', 'for', 'his', 'resolving', 'to', 'follow', 'us', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'lady', 'it', 'seems', 'a', 'mrs', 'younge', 'who', 'was', 'some', 'time', 'ago', 'governess', 'to', 'miss', 'darcy', 'and', 'was', 'dismissed', 'from', 'her', 'charge', 'on', 'some', 'cause', 'of', 'disapprobation', 'though', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'say', 'what', 'she', 'then', 'took', 'a', 'large', 'house', 'in', 'edwardstreet', 'and', 'has', 'since', 'maintained', 'herself', 'by', 'letting', 'lodgings', 'this', 'mrs', 'younge', 'was', 'he', 'knew', 'intimately', 'acquainted', 'with', 'wickham', 'and', 'he', 'went', 'to', 'her', 'for', 'intelligence', 'of', 'him', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'he', 'got', 'to', 'town', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'days', 'before', 'he', 'could', 'get', 'from', 'her', 'what', 'he', 'wanted', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'betray', 'her', 'trust', 'i', 'suppose', 'without', 'bribery', 'and', 'corruption', 'for', 'she', 'really', 'did', 'know', 'where', 'her', 'friend', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'found', 'wickham', 'indeed', 'had', 'gone', 'to', 'her', 'on', 'their', 'first', 'arrival', 'in', 'london', 'and', 'had', 'she', 'been', 'able', 'to', 'receive', 'them', 'into', 'her', 'house', 'they', 'would', 'have', 'taken', 'up', 'their', 'abode', 'with', 'her', 'at', 'length', 'however', 'our', 'kind', 'friend', 'procured', 'the', 'wishedfor', 'direction', 'they', 'were', 'in', 'street', 'he', 'saw', 'wickham', 'and', 'afterwards', 'insisted', 'on', 'seeing', 'lydia', 'his', 'first', 'object', 'with', 'her', 'he', 'acknowledged', 'had', 'been', 'to', 'persuade', 'her', 'to', 'quit', 'her', 'present', 'disgraceful', 'situation', 'and', 'return', 'to', 'her', 'friends', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'they', 'could', 'be', 'prevailed', 'on', 'to', 'receive', 'her', 'offering', 'his', 'assistance', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'it', 'would', 'go', 'but', 'he', 'found', 'lydia', 'absolutely', 'resolved', 'on', 'remaining', 'where', 'she', 'was', 'she', 'cared', 'for', 'none', 'of', 'her', 'friends', 'she', 'wanted', 'no', 'help', 'of', 'his', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'hear', 'of', 'leaving', 'wickham', 'she', 'was', 'sure', 'they', 'should', 'be', 'married', 'some', 'time', 'or', 'other', 'and', 'it', 'did', 'not', 'much', 'signify', 'when', 'since', 'such', 'were', 'her', 'feelings', 'it', 'only', 'remained', 'he', 'thought', 'to', 'secure', 'and', 'expedite', 'a', 'marriage', 'which', 'in', 'his', 'very', 'first', 'conversation', 'with', 'wickham', 'he', 'easily', 'learnt', 'had', 'never', 'been', 'his', 'design', 'he', 'confessed', 'himself', 'obliged', 'to', 'leave', 'the', 'regiment', 'on', 'account', 'of', 'some', 'debts', 'of', 'honour', 'which', 'were', 'very', 'pressing', 'and', 'scrupled', 'not', 'to', 'lay', 'all', 'the', 'illconsequences', 'of', 'lydias', 'flight', 'on', 'her', 'own', 'folly', 'alone', 'he', 'meant', 'to', 'resign', 'his', 'commission', 'immediately', 'and', 'as', 'to', 'his', 'future', 'situation', 'he', 'could', 'conjecture', 'very', 'little', 'about', 'it', 'he', 'must', 'go', 'somewhere', 'but', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'where', 'and', 'he', 'knew', 'he', 'should', 'have', 'nothing', 'to', 'live', 'on', 'mr', 'darcy', 'asked', 'him', 'why', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'married', 'your', 'sister', 'at', 'once', 'though', 'mr', 'bennet', 'was', 'not', 'imagined', 'to', 'be', 'very', 'rich', 'he', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'able', 'to', 'do', 'something', 'for', 'him', 'and', 'his', 'situation', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'benefited', 'by', 'marriage', 'but', 'he', 'found', 'in', 'reply', 'to', 'this', 'question', 'that', 'wickham', 'still', 'cherished', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'more', 'effectually', 'making', 'his', 'fortune', 'by', 'marriage', 'in', 'some', 'other', 'country', 'under', 'such', 'circumstances', 'however', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'proof', 'against', 'the', 'temptation', 'of', 'immediate', 'relief', 'they', 'met', 'several', 'times', 'for', 'there', 'was', 'much', 'to', 'be', 'discussed', 'wickham', 'of', 'course', 'wanted', 'more', 'than', 'he', 'could', 'get', 'but', 'at', 'length', 'was', 'reduced', 'to', 'be', 'reasonable', 'everything', 'being', 'settled', 'between', 'them', 'mr', 'darcys', 'next', 'step', 'was', 'to', 'make', 'your', 'uncle', 'acquainted', 'with', 'it', 'and', 'he', 'first', 'called', 'in', 'gracechurch', 'street', 'the', 'evening', 'before', 'i', 'came', 'home', 'but', 'mr', 'gardiner', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'seen', 'and', 'mr', 'darcy', 'found', 'on', 'further', 'enquiry', 'that', 'your', 'father', 'was', 'still', 'with', 'him', 'but', 'would', 'quit', 'town', 'the', 'next', 'morning', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'judge', 'your', 'father', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'person', 'whom', 'he', 'could', 'so', 'properly', 'consult', 'as', 'your', 'uncle', 'and', 'therefore', 'readily', 'postponed', 'seeing', 'him', 'till', 'after', 'the', 'departure', 'of', 'the', 'former', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'leave', 'his', 'name', 'and', 'till', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'known', 'that', 'a', 'gentleman', 'had', 'called', 'on', 'business', 'on', 'saturday', 'he', 'came', 'again', 'your', 'father', 'was', 'gone', 'your', 'uncle', 'at', 'home', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'said', 'before', 'they', 'had', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'talk', 'together', 'they', 'met', 'again', 'on', 'sunday', 'and', 'then', 'i', 'saw', 'him', 'too', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'all', 'settled', 'before', 'monday', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'express', 'was', 'sent', 'off', 'to', 'longbourn', 'but', 'our', 'visitor', 'was', 'very', 'obstinate', 'i', 'fancy', 'lizzy', 'that', 'obstinacy', 'is', 'the', 'real', 'defect', 'of', 'his', 'character', 'after', 'all', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'accused', 'of', 'many', 'faults', 'at', 'different', 'times', 'but', 'this', 'is', 'the', 'true', 'one', 'nothing', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'that', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'do', 'himself', 'though', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'and', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'speak', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'thanked', 'therefore', 'say', 'nothing', 'about', 'it', 'your', 'uncle', 'would', 'most', 'readily', 'have', 'settled', 'the', 'whole', 'they', 'battled', 'it', 'together', 'for', 'a', 'long', 'time', 'which', 'was', 'more', 'than', 'either', 'the', 'gentleman', 'or', 'lady', 'concerned', 'in', 'it', 'deserved', 'but', 'at', 'last', 'your', 'uncle', 'was', 'forced', 'to', 'yield', 'and', 'instead', 'of', 'being', 'allowed', 'to', 'be', 'of', 'use', 'to', 'his', 'niece', 'was', 'forced', 'to', 'put', 'up', 'with', 'only', 'having', 'the', 'probable', 'credit', 'of', 'it', 'which', 'went', 'sorely', 'against', 'the', 'grain', 'and', 'i', 'really', 'believe', 'your', 'letter', 'this', 'morning', 'gave', 'him', 'great', 'pleasure', 'because', 'it', 'required', 'an', 'explanation', 'that', 'would', 'rob', 'him', 'of', 'his', 'borrowed', 'feathers', 'and', 'give', 'the', 'praise', 'where', 'it', 'was', 'due', 'but', 'lizzy', 'this', 'must', 'go', 'no', 'farther', 'than', 'yourself', 'or', 'jane', 'at', 'most', 'you', 'know', 'pretty', 'well', 'i', 'suppose', 'what', 'has', 'been', 'done', 'for', 'the', 'young', 'people', 'his', 'debts', 'are', 'to', 'be', 'paid', 'amounting', 'i', 'believe', 'to', 'considerably', 'more', 'than', 'a', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'another', 'thousand', 'in', 'addition', 'to', 'her', 'own', 'settled', 'upon', 'her', 'and', 'his', 'commission', 'purchased', 'the', 'reason', 'why', 'all', 'this', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'by', 'him', 'alone', 'was', 'such', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'given', 'above', 'it', 'was', 'owing', 'to', 'him', 'to', 'his', 'reserve', 'and', 'want', 'of', 'proper', 'consideration', 'that', 'wickhams', 'character', 'had', 'been', 'so', 'misunderstood', 'and', 'consequently', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'received', 'and', 'noticed', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'perhaps', 'there', 'was', 'some', 'truth', 'in', 'this', 'though', 'i', 'doubt', 'whether', 'his', 'reserve', 'or', 'anybodys', 'reserve', 'can', 'be', 'answerable', 'for', 'the', 'event', 'but', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'all', 'this', 'fine', 'talking', 'my', 'dear', 'lizzy', 'you', 'may', 'rest', 'perfectly', 'assured', 'that', 'your', 'uncle', 'would', 'never', 'have', 'yielded', 'if', 'we', 'had', 'not', 'given', 'him', 'credit', 'for', 'another', 'interest', 'in', 'the', 'affair', 'when', 'all', 'this', 'was', 'resolved', 'on', 'he', 'returned', 'again', 'to', 'his', 'friends', 'who', 'were', 'still', 'staying', 'at', 'pemberley', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'agreed', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'be', 'in', 'london', 'once', 'more', 'when', 'the', 'wedding', 'took', 'place', 'and', 'all', 'money', 'matters', 'were', 'then', 'to', 'receive', 'the', 'last', 'finish', 'i', 'believe', 'i', 'have', 'now', 'told', 'you', 'every', 'thing', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'relation', 'which', 'you', 'tell', 'me', 'is', 'to', 'give', 'you', 'great', 'surprise', 'i', 'hope', 'at', 'least', 'it', 'will', 'not', 'afford', 'you', 'any', 'displeasure', 'lydia', 'came', 'to', 'us', 'and', 'wickham', 'had', 'constant', 'admission', 'to', 'the', 'house', 'he', 'was', 'exactly', 'what', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'when', 'i', 'knew', 'him', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'but', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'tell', 'you', 'how', 'little', 'i', 'was', 'satisfied', 'with', 'her', 'behaviour', 'while', 'she', 'staid', 'with', 'us', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'perceived', 'by', 'janes', 'letter', 'last', 'wednesday', 'that', 'her', 'conduct', 'on', 'coming', 'home', 'was', 'exactly', 'of', 'a', 'piece', 'with', 'it', 'and', 'therefore', 'what', 'i', 'now', 'tell', 'you', 'can', 'give', 'you', 'no', 'fresh', 'pain', 'i', 'talked', 'to', 'her', 'repeatedly', 'in', 'the', 'most', 'serious', 'manner', 'representing', 'to', 'her', 'all', 'the', 'wickedness', 'of', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'done', 'and', 'all', 'the', 'unhappiness', 'she', 'had', 'brought', 'on', 'her', 'family', 'if', 'she', 'heard', 'me', 'it', 'was', 'by', 'good', 'luck', 'for', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'listen', 'i', 'was', 'sometimes', 'quite', 'provoked', 'but', 'then', 'i', 'recollected', 'my', 'dear', 'elizabeth', 'and', 'jane', 'and', 'for', 'their', 'sakes', 'had', 'patience', 'with', 'her', 'mr', 'darcy', 'was', 'punctual', 'in', 'his', 'return', 'and', 'as', 'lydia', 'informed', 'you', 'attended', 'the', 'wedding', 'he', 'dined', 'with', 'us', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'and', 'was', 'to', 'leave', 'town', 'again', 'on', 'wednesday', 'or', 'thursday', 'will', 'you', 'be', 'very', 'angry', 'with', 'me', 'my', 'dear', 'lizzy', 'if', 'i', 'take', 'this', 'opportunity', 'of', 'saying', 'what', 'i', 'was', 'never', 'bold', 'enough', 'to', 'say', 'before', 'how', 'much', 'i', 'like', 'him', 'his', 'behaviour', 'to', 'us', 'has', 'in', 'every', 'respect', 'been', 'as', 'pleasing', 'as', 'when', 'we', 'were', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'his', 'understanding', 'and', 'opinions', 'all', 'please', 'me', 'he', 'wants', 'nothing', 'but', 'a', 'little', 'more', 'liveliness', 'and', 'that', 'if', 'he', 'marry', 'prudently', 'his', 'wife', 'may', 'teach', 'him', 'i', 'thought', 'him', 'very', 'slyhe', 'hardly', 'ever', 'mentioned', 'your', 'name', 'but', 'slyness', 'seems', 'the', 'fashion', 'pray', 'forgive', 'me', 'if', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'very', 'presuming', 'or', 'at', 'least', 'do', 'not', 'punish', 'me', 'so', 'far', 'as', 'to', 'exclude', 'me', 'from', 'p', 'i', 'shall', 'never', 'be', 'quite', 'happy', 'till', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'all', 'round', 'the', 'park', 'a', 'low', 'phaeton', 'with', 'a', 'nice', 'little', 'pair', 'of', 'ponies', 'would', 'be', 'the', 'very', 'thing', 'but', 'i', 'must', 'write', 'no', 'more', 'the', 'children', 'have', 'been', 'wanting', 'me', 'this', 'half', 'hour', 'yours', 'very', 'sincerely', 'm', 'gardiner', 'the', 'contents', 'of', 'this', 'letter', 'threw', 'elizabeth', 'into', 'a', 'flutter', 'of', 'spirits', 'in', 'which', 'it', 'was', 'difficult', 'to', 'determine', 'whether', 'pleasure', 'or', 'pain', 'bore', 'the', 'greatest', 'share', 'the', 'vague', 'and', 'unsettled', 'suspicions', 'which', 'uncertainty', 'had', 'produced', 'of', 'what', 'mr', 'darcy', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'doing', 'to', 'forward', 'her', 'sisters', 'match', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'feared', 'to', 'encourage', 'as', 'an', 'exertion', 'of', 'goodness', 'too', 'great', 'to', 'be', 'probable', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'dreaded', 'to', 'be', 'just', 'from', 'the', 'pain', 'of', 'obligation', 'were', 'proved', 'beyond', 'their', 'greatest', 'extent', 'to', 'be', 'true', 'he', 'had', 'followed', 'them', 'purposely', 'to', 'town', 'he', 'had', 'taken', 'on', 'himself', 'all', 'the', 'trouble', 'and', 'mortification', 'attendant', 'on', 'such', 'a', 'research', 'in', 'which', 'supplication', 'had', 'been', 'necessary', 'to', 'a', 'woman', 'whom', 'he', 'must', 'abominate', 'and', 'despise', 'and', 'where', 'he', 'was', 'reduced', 'to', 'meet', 'frequently', 'meet', 'reason', 'with', 'persuade', 'and', 'finally', 'bribe', 'the', 'man', 'whom', 'he', 'always', 'most', 'wished', 'to', 'avoid', 'and', 'whose', 'very', 'name', 'it', 'was', 'punishment', 'to', 'him', 'to', 'pronounce', 'he', 'had', 'done', 'all', 'this', 'for', 'a', 'girl', 'whom', 'he', 'could', 'neither', 'regard', 'nor', 'esteem', 'her', 'heart', 'did', 'whisper', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'done', 'it', 'for', 'her', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'hope', 'shortly', 'checked', 'by', 'other', 'considerations', 'and', 'she', 'soon', 'felt', 'that', 'even', 'her', 'vanity', 'was', 'insufficient', 'when', 'required', 'to', 'depend', 'on', 'his', 'affection', 'for', 'herfor', 'a', 'woman', 'who', 'had', 'already', 'refused', 'himas', 'able', 'to', 'overcome', 'a', 'sentiment', 'so', 'natural', 'as', 'abhorrence', 'against', 'relationship', 'with', 'wickham', 'brotherinlaw', 'of', 'wickham', 'every', 'kind', 'of', 'pride', 'must', 'revolt', 'from', 'the', 'connection', 'he', 'had', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'done', 'much', 'she', 'was', 'ashamed', 'to', 'think', 'how', 'much', 'but', 'he', 'had', 'given', 'a', 'reason', 'for', 'his', 'interference', 'which', 'asked', 'no', 'extraordinary', 'stretch', 'of', 'belief', 'it', 'was', 'reasonable', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'feel', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'wrong', 'he', 'had', 'liberality', 'and', 'he', 'had', 'the', 'means', 'of', 'exercising', 'it', 'and', 'though', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'place', 'herself', 'as', 'his', 'principal', 'inducement', 'she', 'could', 'perhaps', 'believe', 'that', 'remaining', 'partiality', 'for', 'her', 'might', 'assist', 'his', 'endeavours', 'in', 'a', 'cause', 'where', 'her', 'peace', 'of', 'mind', 'must', 'be', 'materially', 'concerned', 'it', 'was', 'painful', 'exceedingly', 'painful', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'under', 'obligations', 'to', 'a', 'person', 'who', 'could', 'never', 'receive', 'a', 'return', 'they', 'owed', 'the', 'restoration', 'of', 'lydia', 'her', 'character', 'every', 'thing', 'to', 'him', 'oh', 'how', 'heartily', 'did', 'she', 'grieve', 'over', 'every', 'ungracious', 'sensation', 'she', 'had', 'ever', 'encouraged', 'every', 'saucy', 'speech', 'she', 'had', 'ever', 'directed', 'towards', 'him', 'for', 'herself', 'she', 'was', 'humbled', 'but', 'she', 'was', 'proud', 'of', 'him', 'proud', 'that', 'in', 'a', 'cause', 'of', 'compassion', 'and', 'honour', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'able', 'to', 'get', 'the', 'better', 'of', 'himself', 'she', 'read', 'over', 'her', 'aunts', 'commendation', 'of', 'him', 'again', 'and', 'again', 'it', 'was', 'hardly', 'enough', 'but', 'it', 'pleased', 'her', 'she', 'was', 'even', 'sensible', 'of', 'some', 'pleasure', 'though', 'mixed', 'with', 'regret', 'on', 'finding', 'how', 'steadfastly', 'both', 'she', 'and', 'her', 'uncle', 'had', 'been', 'persuaded', 'that', 'affection', 'and', 'confidence', 'subsisted', 'between', 'mr', 'darcy', 'and', 'herself', 'she', 'was', 'roused', 'from', 'her', 'seat', 'and', 'her', 'reflections', 'by', 'some', 'ones', 'approach', 'and', 'before', 'she', 'could', 'strike', 'into', 'another', 'path', 'she', 'was', 'overtaken', 'by', 'wickham', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'i', 'interrupt', 'your', 'solitary', 'ramble', 'my', 'dear', 'sister', 'said', 'he', 'as', 'he', 'joined', 'her', 'you', 'certainly', 'do', 'she', 'replied', 'with', 'a', 'smile', 'but', 'it', 'does', 'not', 'follow', 'that', 'the', 'interruption', 'must', 'be', 'unwelcome', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'sorry', 'indeed', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'we', 'were', 'always', 'good', 'friends', 'and', 'now', 'we', 'are', 'better', 'true', 'are', 'the', 'others', 'coming', 'out', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'and', 'lydia', 'are', 'going', 'in', 'the', 'carriage', 'to', 'meryton', 'and', 'so', 'my', 'dear', 'sister', 'i', 'find', 'from', 'our', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'actually', 'seen', 'pemberley', 'she', 'replied', 'in', 'the', 'affirmative', 'i', 'almost', 'envy', 'you', 'the', 'pleasure', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'believe', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'too', 'much', 'for', 'me', 'or', 'else', 'i', 'could', 'take', 'it', 'in', 'my', 'way', 'to', 'newcastle', 'and', 'you', 'saw', 'the', 'old', 'housekeeper', 'i', 'suppose', 'poor', 'reynolds', 'she', 'was', 'always', 'very', 'fond', 'of', 'me', 'but', 'of', 'course', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'mention', 'my', 'name', 'to', 'you', 'yes', 'she', 'did', 'and', 'what', 'did', 'she', 'say', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'gone', 'into', 'the', 'army', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'afraid', 'hadnot', 'turned', 'out', 'well', 'at', 'such', 'a', 'distance', 'as', 'that', 'you', 'know', 'things', 'are', 'strangely', 'misrepresented', 'certainly', 'he', 'replied', 'biting', 'his', 'lips', 'elizabeth', 'hoped', 'she', 'had', 'silenced', 'him', 'but', 'he', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'said', 'i', 'was', 'surprised', 'to', 'see', 'darcy', 'in', 'town', 'last', 'month', 'we', 'passed', 'each', 'other', 'several', 'times', 'i', 'wonder', 'what', 'he', 'can', 'be', 'doing', 'there', 'perhaps', 'preparing', 'for', 'his', 'marriage', 'with', 'miss', 'de', 'bourgh', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'something', 'particular', 'to', 'take', 'him', 'there', 'at', 'this', 'time', 'of', 'year', 'undoubtedly', 'did', 'you', 'see', 'him', 'while', 'you', 'were', 'at', 'lambton', 'i', 'thought', 'i', 'understood', 'from', 'the', 'gardiners', 'that', 'you', 'had', 'yes', 'he', 'introduced', 'us', 'to', 'his', 'sister', 'and', 'do', 'you', 'like', 'her', 'very', 'much', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'indeed', 'that', 'she', 'is', 'uncommonly', 'improved', 'within', 'this', 'year', 'or', 'two', 'when', 'i', 'last', 'saw', 'her', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'very', 'promising', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'glad', 'you', 'liked', 'her', 'i', 'hope', 'she', 'will', 'turn', 'out', 'well', 'i', 'dare', 'say', 'she', 'will', 'she', 'has', 'got', 'over', 'the', 'most', 'trying', 'age', 'did', 'you', 'go', 'by', 'the', 'village', 'of', 'kympton', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'recollect', 'that', 'we', 'did', 'i', 'mention', 'it', 'because', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'living', 'which', 'i', 'ought', 'to', 'have', 'had', 'a', 'most', 'delightful', 'placeexcellent', 'parsonage', 'house', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'suited', 'me', 'in', 'every', 'respect', 'how', 'should', 'you', 'have', 'liked', 'making', 'sermons', 'exceedingly', 'well', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'considered', 'it', 'as', 'part', 'of', 'my', 'duty', 'and', 'the', 'exertion', 'would', 'soon', 'have', 'been', 'nothing', 'one', 'ought', 'not', 'to', 'repinebut', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'such', 'a', 'thing', 'for', 'me', 'the', 'quiet', 'the', 'retirement', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'life', 'would', 'have', 'answered', 'all', 'my', 'ideas', 'of', 'happiness', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'did', 'you', 'ever', 'hear', 'darcy', 'mention', 'the', 'circumstance', 'when', 'you', 'were', 'in', 'kent', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'from', 'authority', 'which', 'i', 'thought', 'as', 'good', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'left', 'you', 'conditionally', 'only', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'will', 'of', 'the', 'present', 'patron', 'you', 'have', 'yes', 'there', 'was', 'something', 'in', 'that', 'i', 'told', 'you', 'so', 'from', 'the', 'first', 'you', 'may', 'remember', 'i', 'did', 'hear', 'too', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'time', 'when', 'sermonmaking', 'was', 'not', 'so', 'palatable', 'to', 'you', 'as', 'it', 'seems', 'to', 'be', 'at', 'present', 'that', 'you', 'actually', 'declared', 'your', 'resolution', 'of', 'never', 'taking', 'orders', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'business', 'had', 'been', 'compromised', 'accordingly', 'you', 'did', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'wholly', 'without', 'foundation', 'you', 'may', 'remember', 'what', 'i', 'told', 'you', 'on', 'that', 'point', 'when', 'first', 'we', 'talked', 'of', 'it', 'they', 'were', 'now', 'almost', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'for', 'she', 'had', 'walked', 'fast', 'to', 'get', 'rid', 'of', 'him', 'and', 'unwilling', 'for', 'her', 'sisters', 'sake', 'to', 'provoke', 'him', 'she', 'only', 'said', 'in', 'reply', 'with', 'a', 'goodhumoured', 'smile', 'come', 'mr', 'wickham', 'we', 'are', 'brother', 'and', 'sister', 'you', 'know', 'do', 'not', 'let', 'us', 'quarrel', 'about', 'the', 'past', 'in', 'future', 'i', 'hope', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'always', 'of', 'one', 'mind', 'she', 'held', 'out', 'her', 'hand', 'he', 'kissed', 'it', 'with', 'affectionate', 'gallantry', 'though', 'he', 'hardly', 'knew', 'how', 'to', 'look', 'and', 'they', 'entered', 'the', 'house', 'mr', 'wickham', 'was', 'so', 'perfectly', 'satisfied', 'with', 'this', 'conversation', 'that', 'he', 'never', 'again', 'distressed', 'himself', 'or', 'provoked', 'his', 'dear', 'sister', 'elizabeth', 'by', 'introducing', 'the', 'subject', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'pleased', 'to', 'find', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'said', 'enough', 'to', 'keep', 'him', 'quiet', 'the', 'day', 'of', 'his', 'and', 'lydias', 'departure', 'soon', 'came', 'and', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'forced', 'to', 'submit', 'to', 'a', 'separation', 'which', 'as', 'her', 'husband', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'entered', 'into', 'her', 'scheme', 'of', 'their', 'all', 'going', 'to', 'newcastle', 'was', 'likely', 'to', 'continue', 'at', 'least', 'a', 'twelvemonth', 'oh', 'my', 'dear', 'lydia', 'she', 'cried', 'when', 'shall', 'we', 'meet', 'again', 'oh', 'lord', 'i', 'dont', 'know', 'not', 'these', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'years', 'perhaps', 'write', 'to', 'me', 'very', 'often', 'my', 'dear', 'as', 'often', 'as', 'i', 'can', 'but', 'you', 'know', 'married', 'women', 'have', 'never', 'much', 'time', 'for', 'writing', 'my', 'sisters', 'may', 'write', 'to', 'me', 'they', 'will', 'have', 'nothing', 'else', 'to', 'do', 'mr', 'wickhams', 'adieus', 'were', 'much', 'more', 'affectionate', 'than', 'his', 'wifes', 'he', 'smiled', 'looked', 'handsome', 'and', 'said', 'many', 'pretty', 'things', 'he', 'is', 'as', 'fine', 'a', 'fellow', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'as', 'ever', 'i', 'saw', 'he', 'simpers', 'and', 'smirks', 'and', 'makes', 'love', 'to', 'us', 'all', 'i', 'am', 'prodigiously', 'proud', 'of', 'him', 'i', 'defy', 'even', 'sir', 'william', 'lucas', 'himself', 'to', 'produce', 'a', 'more', 'valuable', 'soninlaw', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'her', 'daughter', 'made', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'very', 'dull', 'for', 'several', 'days', 'i', 'often', 'think', 'said', 'she', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'so', 'bad', 'as', 'parting', 'with', 'ones', 'friends', 'one', 'seems', 'so', 'forlorn', 'without', 'them', 'this', 'is', 'the', 'consequence', 'you', 'see', 'madam', 'of', 'marrying', 'a', 'daughter', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'it', 'must', 'make', 'you', 'better', 'satisfied', 'that', 'your', 'other', 'four', 'are', 'single', 'it', 'is', 'no', 'such', 'thing', 'lydia', 'does', 'not', 'leave', 'me', 'because', 'she', 'is', 'married', 'but', 'only', 'because', 'her', 'husbands', 'regiment', 'happens', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'far', 'off', 'if', 'that', 'had', 'been', 'nearer', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'gone', 'so', 'soon', 'but', 'the', 'spiritless', 'condition', 'which', 'this', 'event', 'threw', 'her', 'into', 'was', 'shortly', 'relieved', 'and', 'her', 'mind', 'opened', 'again', 'to', 'the', 'agitation', 'of', 'hope', 'by', 'an', 'article', 'of', 'news', 'which', 'then', 'began', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'circulation', 'the', 'housekeeper', 'at', 'netherfield', 'had', 'received', 'orders', 'to', 'prepare', 'for', 'the', 'arrival', 'of', 'her', 'master', 'who', 'was', 'coming', 'down', 'in', 'a', 'day', 'or', 'two', 'to', 'shoot', 'there', 'for', 'several', 'weeks', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'quite', 'in', 'the', 'fidgets', 'she', 'looked', 'at', 'jane', 'and', 'smiled', 'and', 'shook', 'her', 'head', 'by', 'turns', 'well', 'well', 'and', 'so', 'mr', 'bingley', 'is', 'coming', 'down', 'sister', 'for', 'mrs', 'phillips', 'first', 'brought', 'her', 'the', 'news', 'well', 'so', 'much', 'the', 'better', 'not', 'that', 'i', 'care', 'about', 'it', 'though', 'he', 'is', 'nothing', 'to', 'us', 'you', 'know', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'never', 'want', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'again', 'but', 'however', 'he', 'is', 'very', 'welcome', 'to', 'come', 'to', 'netherfield', 'if', 'he', 'likes', 'it', 'and', 'who', 'knows', 'what', 'may', 'happen', 'but', 'that', 'is', 'nothing', 'to', 'us', 'you', 'know', 'sister', 'we', 'agreed', 'long', 'ago', 'never', 'to', 'mention', 'a', 'word', 'about', 'it', 'and', 'so', 'is', 'it', 'quite', 'certain', 'he', 'is', 'coming', 'you', 'may', 'depend', 'on', 'it', 'replied', 'the', 'other', 'for', 'mrs', 'nicholls', 'was', 'in', 'meryton', 'last', 'night', 'i', 'saw', 'her', 'passing', 'by', 'and', 'went', 'out', 'myself', 'on', 'purpose', 'to', 'know', 'the', 'truth', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'she', 'told', 'me', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'certain', 'true', 'he', 'comes', 'down', 'on', 'thursday', 'at', 'the', 'latest', 'very', 'likely', 'on', 'wednesday', 'she', 'was', 'going', 'to', 'the', 'butchers', 'she', 'told', 'me', 'on', 'purpose', 'to', 'order', 'in', 'some', 'meat', 'on', 'wednesday', 'and', 'she', 'has', 'got', 'three', 'couple', 'of', 'ducks', 'just', 'fit', 'to', 'be', 'killed', 'miss', 'bennet', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'able', 'to', 'hear', 'of', 'his', 'coming', 'without', 'changing', 'colour', 'it', 'was', 'many', 'months', 'since', 'she', 'had', 'mentioned', 'his', 'name', 'to', 'elizabeth', 'but', 'now', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'alone', 'together', 'she', 'said', 'i', 'saw', 'you', 'look', 'at', 'me', 'today', 'lizzy', 'when', 'my', 'aunt', 'told', 'us', 'of', 'the', 'present', 'report', 'and', 'i', 'know', 'i', 'appeared', 'distressed', 'but', 'dont', 'imagine', 'it', 'was', 'from', 'any', 'silly', 'cause', 'i', 'was', 'only', 'confused', 'for', 'the', 'moment', 'because', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'looked', 'at', 'i', 'do', 'assure', 'you', 'that', 'the', 'news', 'does', 'not', 'affect', 'me', 'either', 'with', 'pleasure', 'or', 'pain', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'of', 'one', 'thing', 'that', 'he', 'comes', 'alone', 'because', 'we', 'shall', 'see', 'the', 'less', 'of', 'him', 'not', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'of', 'myself', 'but', 'i', 'dread', 'other', 'peoples', 'remarks', 'elizabeth', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'to', 'make', 'of', 'it', 'had', 'she', 'not', 'seen', 'him', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'she', 'might', 'have', 'supposed', 'him', 'capable', 'of', 'coming', 'there', 'with', 'no', 'other', 'view', 'than', 'what', 'was', 'acknowledged', 'but', 'she', 'still', 'thought', 'him', 'partial', 'to', 'jane', 'and', 'she', 'wavered', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'greater', 'probability', 'of', 'his', 'coming', 'there', 'with', 'his', 'friends', 'permission', 'or', 'being', 'bold', 'enough', 'to', 'come', 'without', 'it', 'yet', 'it', 'is', 'hard', 'she', 'sometimes', 'thought', 'that', 'this', 'poor', 'man', 'can', 'not', 'come', 'to', 'a', 'house', 'which', 'he', 'has', 'legally', 'hired', 'without', 'raising', 'all', 'this', 'speculation', 'i', 'will', 'leave', 'him', 'to', 'himself', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'what', 'her', 'sister', 'declared', 'and', 'really', 'believed', 'to', 'be', 'her', 'feelings', 'in', 'the', 'expectation', 'of', 'his', 'arrival', 'elizabeth', 'could', 'easily', 'perceive', 'that', 'her', 'spirits', 'were', 'affected', 'by', 'it', 'they', 'were', 'more', 'disturbed', 'more', 'unequal', 'than', 'she', 'had', 'often', 'seen', 'them', 'the', 'subject', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'so', 'warmly', 'canvassed', 'between', 'their', 'parents', 'about', 'a', 'twelvemonth', 'ago', 'was', 'now', 'brought', 'forward', 'again', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'ever', 'mr', 'bingley', 'comes', 'my', 'dear', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'you', 'will', 'wait', 'on', 'him', 'of', 'course', 'no', 'no', 'you', 'forced', 'me', 'into', 'visiting', 'him', 'last', 'year', 'and', 'promised', 'if', 'i', 'went', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'he', 'should', 'marry', 'one', 'of', 'my', 'daughters', 'but', 'it', 'ended', 'in', 'nothing', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'sent', 'on', 'a', 'fools', 'errand', 'again', 'his', 'wife', 'represented', 'to', 'him', 'how', 'absolutely', 'necessary', 'such', 'an', 'attention', 'would', 'be', 'from', 'all', 'the', 'neighbouring', 'gentlemen', 'on', 'his', 'returning', 'to', 'netherfield', 'tis', 'an', 'etiquette', 'i', 'despise', 'said', 'he', 'if', 'he', 'wants', 'our', 'society', 'let', 'him', 'seek', 'it', 'he', 'knows', 'where', 'we', 'live', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'spend', 'my', 'hours', 'in', 'running', 'after', 'my', 'neighbours', 'every', 'time', 'they', 'go', 'away', 'and', 'come', 'back', 'again', 'well', 'all', 'i', 'know', 'is', 'that', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'abominably', 'rude', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'wait', 'on', 'him', 'but', 'however', 'that', 'shant', 'prevent', 'my', 'asking', 'him', 'to', 'dine', 'here', 'i', 'am', 'determined', 'we', 'must', 'have', 'mrs', 'long', 'and', 'the', 'gouldings', 'soon', 'that', 'will', 'make', 'thirteen', 'with', 'ourselves', 'so', 'there', 'will', 'be', 'just', 'room', 'at', 'table', 'for', 'him', 'consoled', 'by', 'this', 'resolution', 'she', 'was', 'the', 'better', 'able', 'to', 'bear', 'her', 'husbands', 'incivility', 'though', 'it', 'was', 'very', 'mortifying', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'her', 'neighbours', 'might', 'all', 'see', 'mr', 'bingley', 'in', 'consequence', 'of', 'it', 'before', 'they', 'did', 'as', 'the', 'day', 'of', 'his', 'arrival', 'drew', 'near', 'i', 'begin', 'to', 'be', 'sorry', 'that', 'he', 'comes', 'at', 'all', 'said', 'jane', 'to', 'her', 'sister', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'nothing', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'him', 'with', 'perfect', 'indifference', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'hardly', 'bear', 'to', 'hear', 'it', 'thus', 'perpetually', 'talked', 'of', 'my', 'mother', 'means', 'well', 'but', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'know', 'no', 'one', 'can', 'know', 'how', 'much', 'i', 'suffer', 'from', 'what', 'she', 'says', 'happy', 'shall', 'i', 'be', 'when', 'his', 'stay', 'at', 'netherfield', 'is', 'over', 'i', 'wish', 'i', 'could', 'say', 'anything', 'to', 'comfort', 'you', 'replied', 'elizabeth', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'wholly', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'power', 'you', 'must', 'feel', 'it', 'and', 'the', 'usual', 'satisfaction', 'of', 'preaching', 'patience', 'to', 'a', 'sufferer', 'is', 'denied', 'me', 'because', 'you', 'have', 'always', 'so', 'much', 'mr', 'bingley', 'arrived', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'through', 'the', 'assistance', 'of', 'servants', 'contrived', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'earliest', 'tidings', 'of', 'it', 'that', 'the', 'period', 'of', 'anxiety', 'and', 'fretfulness', 'on', 'her', 'side', 'might', 'be', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'it', 'could', 'she', 'counted', 'the', 'days', 'that', 'must', 'intervene', 'before', 'their', 'invitation', 'could', 'be', 'sent', 'hopeless', 'of', 'seeing', 'him', 'before', 'but', 'on', 'the', 'third', 'morning', 'after', 'his', 'arrival', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'she', 'saw', 'him', 'from', 'her', 'dressingroom', 'window', 'enter', 'the', 'paddock', 'and', 'ride', 'towards', 'the', 'house', 'her', 'daughters', 'were', 'eagerly', 'called', 'to', 'partake', 'of', 'her', 'joy', 'jane', 'resolutely', 'kept', 'her', 'place', 'at', 'the', 'table', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'to', 'satisfy', 'her', 'mother', 'went', 'to', 'the', 'windowshe', 'lookedshe', 'saw', 'mr', 'darcy', 'with', 'him', 'and', 'sat', 'down', 'again', 'by', 'her', 'sister', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'gentleman', 'with', 'him', 'mamma', 'said', 'kitty', 'who', 'can', 'it', 'be', 'some', 'acquaintance', 'or', 'other', 'my', 'dear', 'i', 'suppose', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'la', 'replied', 'kitty', 'it', 'looks', 'just', 'like', 'that', 'man', 'that', 'used', 'to', 'be', 'with', 'him', 'before', 'mr', 'whatshisname', 'that', 'tall', 'proud', 'man', 'good', 'gracious', 'mr', 'darcyand', 'so', 'it', 'does', 'i', 'vow', 'well', 'any', 'friend', 'of', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'will', 'always', 'be', 'welcome', 'here', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'but', 'else', 'i', 'must', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'hate', 'the', 'very', 'sight', 'of', 'him', 'jane', 'looked', 'at', 'elizabeth', 'with', 'surprise', 'and', 'concern', 'she', 'knew', 'but', 'little', 'of', 'their', 'meeting', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'and', 'therefore', 'felt', 'for', 'the', 'awkwardness', 'which', 'must', 'attend', 'her', 'sister', 'in', 'seeing', 'him', 'almost', 'for', 'the', 'first', 'time', 'after', 'receiving', 'his', 'explanatory', 'letter', 'both', 'sisters', 'were', 'uncomfortable', 'enough', 'each', 'felt', 'for', 'the', 'other', 'and', 'of', 'course', 'for', 'themselves', 'and', 'their', 'mother', 'talked', 'on', 'of', 'her', 'dislike', 'of', 'mr', 'darcy', 'and', 'her', 'resolution', 'to', 'be', 'civil', 'to', 'him', 'only', 'as', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'friend', 'without', 'being', 'heard', 'by', 'either', 'of', 'them', 'but', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'sources', 'of', 'uneasiness', 'which', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'suspected', 'by', 'jane', 'to', 'whom', 'she', 'had', 'never', 'yet', 'had', 'courage', 'to', 'shew', 'mrs', 'gardiners', 'letter', 'or', 'to', 'relate', 'her', 'own', 'change', 'of', 'sentiment', 'towards', 'him', 'to', 'jane', 'he', 'could', 'be', 'only', 'a', 'man', 'whose', 'proposals', 'she', 'had', 'refused', 'and', 'whose', 'merit', 'she', 'had', 'undervalued', 'but', 'to', 'her', 'own', 'more', 'extensive', 'information', 'he', 'was', 'the', 'person', 'to', 'whom', 'the', 'whole', 'family', 'were', 'indebted', 'for', 'the', 'first', 'of', 'benefits', 'and', 'whom', 'she', 'regarded', 'herself', 'with', 'an', 'interest', 'if', 'not', 'quite', 'so', 'tender', 'at', 'least', 'as', 'reasonable', 'and', 'just', 'as', 'what', 'jane', 'felt', 'for', 'bingley', 'her', 'astonishment', 'at', 'his', 'comingat', 'his', 'coming', 'to', 'netherfield', 'to', 'longbourn', 'and', 'voluntarily', 'seeking', 'her', 'again', 'was', 'almost', 'equal', 'to', 'what', 'she', 'had', 'known', 'on', 'first', 'witnessing', 'his', 'altered', 'behaviour', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'the', 'colour', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'driven', 'from', 'her', 'face', 'returned', 'for', 'half', 'a', 'minute', 'with', 'an', 'additional', 'glow', 'and', 'a', 'smile', 'of', 'delight', 'added', 'lustre', 'to', 'her', 'eyes', 'as', 'she', 'thought', 'for', 'that', 'space', 'of', 'time', 'that', 'his', 'affection', 'and', 'wishes', 'must', 'still', 'be', 'unshaken', 'but', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'secure', 'let', 'me', 'first', 'see', 'how', 'he', 'behaves', 'said', 'she', 'it', 'will', 'then', 'be', 'early', 'enough', 'for', 'expectation', 'she', 'sat', 'intently', 'at', 'work', 'striving', 'to', 'be', 'composed', 'and', 'without', 'daring', 'to', 'lift', 'up', 'her', 'eyes', 'till', 'anxious', 'curiosity', 'carried', 'them', 'to', 'the', 'face', 'of', 'her', 'sister', 'as', 'the', 'servant', 'was', 'approaching', 'the', 'door', 'jane', 'looked', 'a', 'little', 'paler', 'than', 'usual', 'but', 'more', 'sedate', 'than', 'elizabeth', 'had', 'expected', 'on', 'the', 'gentlemens', 'appearing', 'her', 'colour', 'increased', 'yet', 'she', 'received', 'them', 'with', 'tolerable', 'ease', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'propriety', 'of', 'behaviour', 'equally', 'free', 'from', 'any', 'symptom', 'of', 'resentment', 'or', 'any', 'unnecessary', 'complaisance', 'elizabeth', 'said', 'as', 'little', 'to', 'either', 'as', 'civility', 'would', 'allow', 'and', 'sat', 'down', 'again', 'to', 'her', 'work', 'with', 'an', 'eagerness', 'which', 'it', 'did', 'not', 'often', 'command', 'she', 'had', 'ventured', 'only', 'one', 'glance', 'at', 'darcy', 'he', 'looked', 'serious', 'as', 'usual', 'and', 'she', 'thought', 'more', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'used', 'to', 'look', 'in', 'hertfordshire', 'than', 'as', 'she', 'had', 'seen', 'him', 'at', 'pemberley', 'but', 'perhaps', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'in', 'her', 'mothers', 'presence', 'be', 'what', 'he', 'was', 'before', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'aunt', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'painful', 'but', 'not', 'an', 'improbable', 'conjecture', 'bingley', 'she', 'had', 'likewise', 'seen', 'for', 'an', 'instant', 'and', 'in', 'that', 'short', 'period', 'saw', 'him', 'looking', 'both', 'pleased', 'and', 'embarrassed', 'he', 'was', 'received', 'by', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'with', 'a', 'degree', 'of', 'civility', 'which', 'made', 'her', 'two', 'daughters', 'ashamed', 'especially', 'when', 'contrasted', 'with', 'the', 'cold', 'and', 'ceremonious', 'politeness', 'of', 'her', 'curtsey', 'and', 'address', 'to', 'his', 'friend', 'elizabeth', 'particularly', 'who', 'knew', 'that', 'her', 'mother', 'owed', 'to', 'the', 'latter', 'the', 'preservation', 'of', 'her', 'favourite', 'daughter', 'from', 'irremediable', 'infamy', 'was', 'hurt', 'and', 'distressed', 'to', 'a', 'most', 'painful', 'degree', 'by', 'a', 'distinction', 'so', 'ill', 'applied', 'darcy', 'after', 'enquiring', 'of', 'her', 'how', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'gardiner', 'did', 'a', 'question', 'which', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'answer', 'without', 'confusion', 'said', 'scarcely', 'anything', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'seated', 'by', 'her', 'perhaps', 'that', 'was', 'the', 'reason', 'of', 'his', 'silence', 'but', 'it', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'so', 'in', 'derbyshire', 'there', 'he', 'had', 'talked', 'to', 'her', 'friends', 'when', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'to', 'herself', 'but', 'now', 'several', 'minutes', 'elapsed', 'without', 'bringing', 'the', 'sound', 'of', 'his', 'voice', 'and', 'when', 'occasionally', 'unable', 'to', 'resist', 'the', 'impulse', 'of', 'curiosity', 'she', 'raised', 'her', 'eyes', 'to', 'his', 'face', 'she', 'as', 'often', 'found', 'him', 'looking', 'at', 'jane', 'as', 'at', 'herself', 'and', 'frequently', 'on', 'no', 'object', 'but', 'the', 'ground', 'more', 'thoughtfulness', 'and', 'less', 'anxiety', 'to', 'please', 'than', 'when', 'they', 'last', 'met', 'were', 'plainly', 'expressed', 'she', 'was', 'disappointed', 'and', 'angry', 'with', 'herself', 'for', 'being', 'so', 'could', 'i', 'expect', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'otherwise', 'said', 'she', 'yet', 'why', 'did', 'he', 'come', 'she', 'was', 'in', 'no', 'humour', 'for', 'conversation', 'with', 'anyone', 'but', 'himself', 'and', 'to', 'him', 'she', 'had', 'hardly', 'courage', 'to', 'speak', 'she', 'enquired', 'after', 'his', 'sister', 'but', 'could', 'do', 'no', 'more', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'long', 'time', 'mr', 'bingley', 'since', 'you', 'went', 'away', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'he', 'readily', 'agreed', 'to', 'it', 'i', 'began', 'to', 'be', 'afraid', 'you', 'would', 'never', 'come', 'back', 'again', 'people', 'did', 'say', 'you', 'meant', 'to', 'quit', 'the', 'place', 'entirely', 'at', 'michaelmas', 'but', 'however', 'i', 'hope', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'true', 'a', 'great', 'many', 'changes', 'have', 'happened', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'since', 'you', 'went', 'away', 'miss', 'lucas', 'is', 'married', 'and', 'settled', 'and', 'one', 'of', 'my', 'own', 'daughters', 'i', 'suppose', 'you', 'have', 'heard', 'of', 'it', 'indeed', 'you', 'must', 'have', 'seen', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'papers', 'it', 'was', 'in', 'the', 'times', 'and', 'the', 'courier', 'i', 'know', 'though', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'put', 'in', 'as', 'it', 'ought', 'to', 'be', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'said', 'lately', 'george', 'wickham', 'esq', 'to', 'miss', 'lydia', 'bennet', 'without', 'there', 'being', 'a', 'syllable', 'said', 'of', 'her', 'father', 'or', 'the', 'place', 'where', 'she', 'lived', 'or', 'anything', 'it', 'was', 'my', 'brother', 'gardiners', 'drawing', 'up', 'too', 'and', 'i', 'wonder', 'how', 'he', 'came', 'to', 'make', 'such', 'an', 'awkward', 'business', 'of', 'it', 'did', 'you', 'see', 'it', 'bingley', 'replied', 'that', 'he', 'did', 'and', 'made', 'his', 'congratulations', 'elizabeth', 'dared', 'not', 'lift', 'up', 'her', 'eyes', 'how', 'mr', 'darcy', 'looked', 'therefore', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'tell', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'delightful', 'thing', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'daughter', 'well', 'married', 'continued', 'her', 'mother', 'but', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'mr', 'bingley', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'hard', 'to', 'have', 'her', 'taken', 'such', 'a', 'way', 'from', 'me', 'they', 'are', 'gone', 'down', 'to', 'newcastle', 'a', 'place', 'quite', 'northward', 'it', 'seems', 'and', 'there', 'they', 'are', 'to', 'stay', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'how', 'long', 'his', 'regiment', 'is', 'there', 'for', 'i', 'suppose', 'you', 'have', 'heard', 'of', 'his', 'leaving', 'the', 'shire', 'and', 'of', 'his', 'being', 'gone', 'into', 'the', 'regulars', 'thank', 'heaven', 'he', 'has', 'some', 'friends', 'though', 'perhaps', 'not', 'so', 'many', 'as', 'he', 'deserves', 'elizabeth', 'who', 'knew', 'this', 'to', 'be', 'levelled', 'at', 'mr', 'darcy', 'was', 'in', 'such', 'misery', 'of', 'shame', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'hardly', 'keep', 'her', 'seat', 'it', 'drew', 'from', 'her', 'however', 'the', 'exertion', 'of', 'speaking', 'which', 'nothing', 'else', 'had', 'so', 'effectually', 'done', 'before', 'and', 'she', 'asked', 'bingley', 'whether', 'he', 'meant', 'to', 'make', 'any', 'stay', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'at', 'present', 'a', 'few', 'weeks', 'he', 'believed', 'when', 'you', 'have', 'killed', 'all', 'your', 'own', 'birds', 'mr', 'bingley', 'said', 'her', 'mother', 'i', 'beg', 'you', 'will', 'come', 'here', 'and', 'shoot', 'as', 'many', 'as', 'you', 'please', 'on', 'mr', 'bennets', 'manor', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'vastly', 'happy', 'to', 'oblige', 'you', 'and', 'will', 'save', 'all', 'the', 'best', 'of', 'the', 'covies', 'for', 'you', 'elizabeths', 'misery', 'increased', 'at', 'such', 'unnecessary', 'such', 'officious', 'attention', 'were', 'the', 'same', 'fair', 'prospect', 'to', 'arise', 'at', 'present', 'as', 'had', 'flattered', 'them', 'a', 'year', 'ago', 'every', 'thing', 'she', 'was', 'persuaded', 'would', 'be', 'hastening', 'to', 'the', 'same', 'vexatious', 'conclusion', 'at', 'that', 'instant', 'she', 'felt', 'that', 'years', 'of', 'happiness', 'could', 'not', 'make', 'jane', 'or', 'herself', 'amends', 'for', 'moments', 'of', 'such', 'painful', 'confusion', 'the', 'first', 'wish', 'of', 'my', 'heart', 'said', 'she', 'to', 'herself', 'is', 'never', 'more', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'company', 'with', 'either', 'of', 'them', 'their', 'society', 'can', 'afford', 'no', 'pleasure', 'that', 'will', 'atone', 'for', 'such', 'wretchedness', 'as', 'this', 'let', 'me', 'never', 'see', 'either', 'one', 'or', 'the', 'other', 'again', 'yet', 'the', 'misery', 'for', 'which', 'years', 'of', 'happiness', 'were', 'to', 'offer', 'no', 'compensation', 'received', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'material', 'relief', 'from', 'observing', 'how', 'much', 'the', 'beauty', 'of', 'her', 'sister', 'rekindled', 'the', 'admiration', 'of', 'her', 'former', 'lover', 'when', 'first', 'he', 'came', 'in', 'he', 'had', 'spoken', 'to', 'her', 'but', 'little', 'but', 'every', 'five', 'minutes', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'giving', 'her', 'more', 'of', 'his', 'attention', 'he', 'found', 'her', 'as', 'handsome', 'as', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'last', 'year', 'as', 'good', 'natured', 'and', 'as', 'unaffected', 'though', 'not', 'quite', 'so', 'chatty', 'jane', 'was', 'anxious', 'that', 'no', 'difference', 'should', 'be', 'perceived', 'in', 'her', 'at', 'all', 'and', 'was', 'really', 'persuaded', 'that', 'she', 'talked', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'ever', 'but', 'her', 'mind', 'was', 'so', 'busily', 'engaged', 'that', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'always', 'know', 'when', 'she', 'was', 'silent', 'when', 'the', 'gentlemen', 'rose', 'to', 'go', 'away', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'was', 'mindful', 'of', 'her', 'intended', 'civility', 'and', 'they', 'were', 'invited', 'and', 'engaged', 'to', 'dine', 'at', 'longbourn', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'days', 'time', 'you', 'are', 'quite', 'a', 'visit', 'in', 'my', 'debt', 'mr', 'bingley', 'she', 'added', 'for', 'when', 'you', 'went', 'to', 'town', 'last', 'winter', 'you', 'promised', 'to', 'take', 'a', 'family', 'dinner', 'with', 'us', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'you', 'returned', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'forgot', 'you', 'see', 'and', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'i', 'was', 'very', 'much', 'disappointed', 'that', 'you', 'did', 'not', 'come', 'back', 'and', 'keep', 'your', 'engagement', 'bingley', 'looked', 'a', 'little', 'silly', 'at', 'this', 'reflection', 'and', 'said', 'something', 'of', 'his', 'concern', 'at', 'having', 'been', 'prevented', 'by', 'business', 'they', 'then', 'went', 'away', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'had', 'been', 'strongly', 'inclined', 'to', 'ask', 'them', 'to', 'stay', 'and', 'dine', 'there', 'that', 'day', 'but', 'though', 'she', 'alway']
In [8]:
# Pre-processing T2
T2 = pre_process(T2)
T2
Out[8]:
'the project gutenberg ebook of the adventures of sherlock holmes by arthur conan doyle this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the united states and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever you may copy it give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at wwwgutenbergorg if you are not located in the united states you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook title the adventures of sherlock holmes author arthur conan doyle release date november 29 2002 ebook 1661 most recently updated may 20 2019 language english character set encoding utf8 produced by an anonymous project gutenberg volunteer and jose menendez start of the project gutenberg ebook the adventures of sherlock holmes cover the adventures of sherlock holmes by arthur conan doyle contents i a scandal in bohemia ii the redheaded league iii a case of identity iv the boscombe valley mystery v the five orange pips vi the man with the twisted lip vii the adventure of the blue carbuncle viii the adventure of the speckled band ix the adventure of the engineers thumb x the adventure of the noble bachelor xi the adventure of the beryl coronet xii the adventure of the copper beeches i a scandal in bohemia i to sherlock holmes she is always the woman i have seldom heard him mention her under any other name in his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex it was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for irene adler all emotions and that one particularly were abhorrent to his cold precise but admirably balanced mind he was i take it the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position he never spoke of the softer passions save with a gibe and a sneer they were admirable things for the observerexcellent for drawing the veil from mens motives and actions but for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which might throw a doubt upon all his mental results grit in a sensitive instrument or a crack in one of his own highpower lenses would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his and yet there was but one woman to him and that woman was the late irene adler of dubious and questionable memory i had seen little of holmes lately my marriage had drifted us away from each other my own complete happiness and the homecentred interests which rise up around the man who first finds himself master of his own establishment were sufficient to absorb all my attention while holmes who loathed every form of society with his whole bohemian soul remained in our lodgings in baker street buried among his old books and alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition the drowsiness of the drug and the fierce energy of his own keen nature he was still as ever deeply attracted by the study of crime and occupied his immense faculties and extraordinary powers of observation in following out those clues and clearing up those mysteries which had been abandoned as hopeless by the official police from time to time i heard some vague account of his doings of his summons to odessa in the case of the trepoff murder of his clearing up of the singular tragedy of the atkinson brothers at trincomalee and finally of the mission which he had accomplished so delicately and successfully for the reigning family of holland beyond these signs of his activity however which i merely shared with all the readers of the daily press i knew little of my former friend and companion one nightit was on the twentieth of march 1888i was returning from a journey to a patient for i had now returned to civil practice when my way led me through baker street as i passed the wellremembered door which must always be associated in my mind with my wooing and with the dark incidents of the study in scarlet i was seized with a keen desire to see holmes again and to know how he was employing his extraordinary powers his rooms were brilliantly lit and even as i looked up i saw his tall spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind he was pacing the room swiftly eagerly with his head sunk upon his chest and his hands clasped behind him to me who knew his every mood and habit his attitude and manner told their own story he was at work again he had risen out of his drugcreated dreams and was hot upon the scent of some new problem i rang the bell and was shown up to the chamber which had formerly been in part my own his manner was not effusive it seldom was but he was glad i think to see me with hardly a word spoken but with a kindly eye he waved me to an armchair threw across his case of cigars and indicated a spirit case and a gasogene in the corner then he stood before the fire and looked me over in his singular introspective fashion wedlock suits you he remarked i think watson that you have put on seven and a half pounds since i saw you seven i answered indeed i should have thought a little more just a trifle more i fancy watson and in practice again i observe you did not tell me that you intended to go into harness then how do you know i see it i deduce it how do i know that you have been getting yourself very wet lately and that you have a most clumsy and careless servant girl my dear holmes said i this is too much you would certainly have been burned had you lived a few centuries ago it is true that i had a country walk on thursday and came home in a dreadful mess but as i have changed my clothes i cant imagine how you deduce it as to mary jane she is incorrigible and my wife has given her notice but there again i fail to see how you work it out he chuckled to himself and rubbed his long nervous hands together it is simplicity itself said he my eyes tell me that on the inside of your left shoe just where the firelight strikes it the leather is scored by six almost parallel cuts obviously they have been caused by someone who has very carelessly scraped round the edges of the sole in order to remove crusted mud from it hence you see my double deduction that you had been out in vile weather and that you had a particularly malignant bootslitting specimen of the london slavey as to your practice if a gentleman walks into my rooms smelling of iodoform with a black mark of nitrate of silver upon his right forefinger and a bulge on the right side of his tophat to show where he has secreted his stethoscope i must be dull indeed if i do not pronounce him to be an active member of the medical profession i could not help laughing at the ease with which he explained his process of deduction when i hear you give your reasons i remarked the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously simple that i could easily do it myself though at each successive instance of your reasoning i am baffled until you explain your process and yet i believe that my eyes are as good as yours quite so he answered lighting a cigarette and throwing himself down into an armchair you see but you do not observe the distinction is clear for example you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room frequently how often well some hundreds of times then how many are there how many i dont know quite so you have not observed and yet you have seen that is just my point now i know that there are seventeen steps because i have both seen and observed by the way since you are interested in these little problems and since you are good enough to chronicle one or two of my trifling experiences you may be interested in this he threw over a sheet of thick pinktinted notepaper which had been lying open upon the table it came by the last post said he read it aloud the note was undated and without either signature or address there will call upon you tonight at a quarter to eight oclock it said a gentleman who desires to consult you upon a matter of the very deepest moment your recent services to one of the royal houses of europe have shown that you are one who may safely be trusted with matters which are of an importance which can hardly be exaggerated this account of you we have from all quarters received be in your chamber then at that hour and do not take it amiss if your visitor wear a mask this is indeed a mystery i remarked what do you imagine that it means i have no data yet it is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories instead of theories to suit facts but the note itself what do you deduce from it i carefully examined the writing and the paper upon which it was written the man who wrote it was presumably well to do i remarked endeavouring to imitate my companions processes such paper could not be bought under half a crown a packet it is peculiarly strong and stiff peculiarthat is the very word said holmes it is not an english paper at all hold it up to the light i did so and saw a large e with a small g a p and a large g with a small t woven into the texture of the paper what do you make of that asked holmes the name of the maker no doubt or his monogram rather not at all the g with the small t stands for gesellschaft which is the german for company it is a customary contraction like our co p of course stands for papier now for the eg let us glance at our continental gazetteer he took down a heavy brown volume from his shelves eglow eglonitzhere we are egria it is in a germanspeaking countryin bohemia not far from carlsbad remarkable as being the scene of the death of wallenstein and for its numerous glassfactories and papermills ha ha my boy what do you make of that his eyes sparkled and he sent up a great blue triumphant cloud from his cigarette the paper was made in bohemia i said precisely and the man who wrote the note is a german do you note the peculiar construction of the sentencethis account of you we have from all quarters received a frenchman or russian could not have written that it is the german who is so uncourteous to his verbs it only remains therefore to discover what is wanted by this german who writes upon bohemian paper and prefers wearing a mask to showing his face and here he comes if i am not mistaken to resolve all our doubts as he spoke there was the sharp sound of horses hoofs and grating wheels against the curb followed by a sharp pull at the bell holmes whistled a pair by the sound said he yes he continued glancing out of the window a nice little brougham and a pair of beauties a hundred and fifty guineas apiece theres money in this case watson if there is nothing else i think that i had better go holmes not a bit doctor stay where you are i am lost without my boswell and this promises to be interesting it would be a pity to miss it but your client never mind him i may want your help and so may he here he comes sit down in that armchair doctor and give us your best attention a slow and heavy step which had been heard upon the stairs and in the passage paused immediately outside the door then there was a loud and authoritative tap come in said holmes a man entered who could hardly have been less than six feet six inches in height with the chest and limbs of a hercules his dress was rich with a richness which would in england be looked upon as akin to bad taste heavy bands of astrakhan were slashed across the sleeves and fronts of his doublebreasted coat while the deep blue cloak which was thrown over his shoulders was lined with flamecoloured silk and secured at the neck with a brooch which consisted of a single flaming beryl boots which extended halfway up his calves and which were trimmed at the tops with rich brown fur completed the impression of barbaric opulence which was suggested by his whole appearance he carried a broadbrimmed hat in his hand while he wore across the upper part of his face extending down past the cheekbones a black vizard mask which he had apparently adjusted that very moment for his hand was still raised to it as he entered from the lower part of the face he appeared to be a man of strong character with a thick hanging lip and a long straight chin suggestive of resolution pushed to the length of obstinacy you had my note he asked with a deep harsh voice and a strongly marked german accent i told you that i would call he looked from one to the other of us as if uncertain which to address pray take a seat said holmes this is my friend and colleague dr watson who is occasionally good enough to help me in my cases whom have i the honour to address you may address me as the count von kramm a bohemian nobleman i understand that this gentleman your friend is a man of honour and discretion whom i may trust with a matter of the most extreme importance if not i should much prefer to communicate with you alone i rose to go but holmes caught me by the wrist and pushed me back into my chair it is both or none said he you may say before this gentleman anything which you may say to me the count shrugged his broad shoulders then i must begin said he by binding you both to absolute secrecy for two years at the end of that time the matter will be of no importance at present it is not too much to say that it is of such weight it may have an influence upon european history i promise said holmes and i you will excuse this mask continued our strange visitor the august person who employs me wishes his agent to be unknown to you and i may confess at once that the title by which i have just called myself is not exactly my own i was aware of it said holmes dryly the circumstances are of great delicacy and every precaution has to be taken to quench what might grow to be an immense scandal and seriously compromise one of the reigning families of europe to speak plainly the matter implicates the great house of ormstein hereditary kings of bohemia i was also aware of that murmured holmes settling himself down in his armchair and closing his eyes our visitor glanced with some apparent surprise at the languid lounging figure of the man who had been no doubt depicted to him as the most incisive reasoner and most energetic agent in europe holmes slowly reopened his eyes and looked impatiently at his gigantic client if your majesty would condescend to state your case he remarked i should be better able to advise you the man sprang from his chair and paced up and down the room in uncontrollable agitation then with a gesture of desperation he tore the mask from his face and hurled it upon the ground you are right he cried i am the king why should i attempt to conceal it why indeed murmured holmes your majesty had not spoken before i was aware that i was addressing wilhelm gottsreich sigismond von ormstein grand duke of casselfelstein and hereditary king of bohemia but you can understand said our strange visitor sitting down once more and passing his hand over his high white forehead you can understand that i am not accustomed to doing such business in my own person yet the matter was so delicate that i could not confide it to an agent without putting myself in his power i have come incognito from prague for the purpose of consulting you then pray consult said holmes shutting his eyes once more the facts are briefly these some five years ago during a lengthy visit to warsaw i made the acquaintance of the wellknown adventuress irene adler the name is no doubt familiar to you kindly look her up in my index doctor murmured holmes without opening his eyes for many years he had adopted a system of docketing all paragraphs concerning men and things so that it was difficult to name a subject or a person on which he could not at once furnish information in this case i found her biography sandwiched in between that of a hebrew rabbi and that of a staffcommander who had written a monograph upon the deepsea fishes let me see said holmes hum born in new jersey in the year 1858 contraltohum la scala hum prima donna imperial opera of warsawyes retired from operatic stageha living in londonquite so your majesty as i understand became entangled with this young person wrote her some compromising letters and is now desirous of getting those letters back precisely so but how was there a secret marriage none no legal papers or certificates none then i fail to follow your majesty if this young person should produce her letters for blackmailing or other purposes how is she to prove their authenticity there is the writing pooh pooh forgery my private notepaper stolen my own seal imitated my photograph bought we were both in the photograph oh dear that is very bad your majesty has indeed committed an indiscretion i was madinsane you have compromised yourself seriously i was only crown prince then i was young i am but thirty now it must be recovered we have tried and failed your majesty must pay it must be bought she will not sell stolen then five attempts have been made twice burglars in my pay ransacked her house once we diverted her luggage when she travelled twice she has been waylaid there has been no result no sign of it absolutely none holmes laughed it is quite a pretty little problem said he but a very serious one to me returned the king reproachfully very indeed and what does she propose to do with the photograph to ruin me but how i am about to be married so i have heard to clotilde lothman von saxemeningen second daughter of the king of scandinavia you may know the strict principles of her family she is herself the very soul of delicacy a shadow of a doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end and irene adler threatens to send them the photograph and she will do it i know that she will do it you do not know her but she has a soul of steel she has the face of the most beautiful of women and the mind of the most resolute of men rather than i should marry another woman there are no lengths to which she would not gonone you are sure that she has not sent it yet i am sure and why because she has said that she would send it on the day when the betrothal was publicly proclaimed that will be next monday oh then we have three days yet said holmes with a yawn that is very fortunate as i have one or two matters of importance to look into just at present your majesty will of course stay in london for the present certainly you will find me at the langham under the name of the count von kramm then i shall drop you a line to let you know how we progress pray do so i shall be all anxiety then as to money you have carte blanche absolutely i tell you that i would give one of the provinces of my kingdom to have that photograph and for present expenses the king took a heavy chamois leather bag from under his cloak and laid it on the table there are three hundred pounds in gold and seven hundred in notes he said holmes scribbled a receipt upon a sheet of his notebook and handed it to him and mademoiselles address he asked is briony lodge serpentine avenue st johns wood holmes took a note of it one other question said he was the photograph a cabinet it was then goodnight your majesty and i trust that we shall soon have some good news for you and goodnight watson he added as the wheels of the royal brougham rolled down the street if you will be good enough to call tomorrow afternoon at three oclock i should like to chat this little matter over with you ii at three oclock precisely i was at baker street but holmes had not yet returned the landlady informed me that he had left the house shortly after eight oclock in the morning i sat down beside the fire however with the intention of awaiting him however long he might be i was already deeply interested in his inquiry for though it was surrounded by none of the grim and strange features which were associated with the two crimes which i have already recorded still the nature of the case and the exalted station of his client gave it a character of its own indeed apart from the nature of the investigation which my friend had on hand there was something in his masterly grasp of a situation and his keen incisive reasoning which made it a pleasure to me to study his system of work and to follow the quick subtle methods by which he disentangled the most inextricable mysteries so accustomed was i to his invariable success that the very possibility of his failing had ceased to enter into my head it was close upon four before the door opened and a drunkenlooking groom illkempt and sidewhiskered with an inflamed face and disreputable clothes walked into the room accustomed as i was to my friends amazing powers in the use of disguises i had to look three times before i was certain that it was indeed he with a nod he vanished into the bedroom whence he emerged in five minutes tweedsuited and respectable as of old putting his hands into his pockets he stretched out his legs in front of the fire and laughed heartily for some minutes well really he cried and then he choked and laughed again until he was obliged to lie back limp and helpless in the chair what is it its quite too funny i am sure you could never guess how i employed my morning or what i ended by doing i cant imagine i suppose that you have been watching the habits and perhaps the house of miss irene adler quite so but the sequel was rather unusual i will tell you however i left the house a little after eight oclock this morning in the character of a groom out of work there is a wonderful sympathy and freemasonry among horsey men be one of them and you will know all that there is to know i soon found briony lodge it is a bijou villa with a garden at the back but built out in front right up to the road two stories chubb lock to the door large sittingroom on the right side well furnished with long windows almost to the floor and those preposterous english window fasteners which a child could open behind there was nothing remarkable save that the passage window could be reached from the top of the coachhouse i walked round it and examined it closely from every point of view but without noting anything else of interest i then lounged down the street and found as i expected that there was a mews in a lane which runs down by one wall of the garden i lent the ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses and received in exchange twopence a glass of halfandhalf two fills of shag tobacco and as much information as i could desire about miss adler to say nothing of half a dozen other people in the neighbourhood in whom i was not in the least interested but whose biographies i was compelled to listen to and what of irene adler i asked oh she has turned all the mens heads down in that part she is the daintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet so say the serpentinemews to a man she lives quietly sings at concerts drives out at five every day and returns at seven sharp for dinner seldom goes out at other times except when she sings has only one male visitor but a good deal of him he is dark handsome and dashing never calls less than once a day and often twice he is a mr godfrey norton of the inner temple see the advantages of a cabman as a confidant they had driven him home a dozen times from serpentinemews and knew all about him when i had listened to all they had to tell i began to walk up and down near briony lodge once more and to think over my plan of campaign this godfrey norton was evidently an important factor in the matter he was a lawyer that sounded ominous what was the relation between them and what the object of his repeated visits was she his client his friend or his mistress if the former she had probably transferred the photograph to his keeping if the latter it was less likely on the issue of this question depended whether i should continue my work at briony lodge or turn my attention to the gentlemans chambers in the temple it was a delicate point and it widened the field of my inquiry i fear that i bore you with these details but i have to let you see my little difficulties if you are to understand the situation i am following you closely i answered i was still balancing the matter in my mind when a hansom cab drove up to briony lodge and a gentleman sprang out he was a remarkably handsome man dark aquiline and moustachedevidently the man of whom i had heard he appeared to be in a great hurry shouted to the cabman to wait and brushed past the maid who opened the door with the air of a man who was thoroughly at home he was in the house about half an hour and i could catch glimpses of him in the windows of the sittingroom pacing up and down talking excitedly and waving his arms of her i could see nothing presently he emerged looking even more flurried than before as he stepped up to the cab he pulled a gold watch from his pocket and looked at it earnestly drive like the devil he shouted first to gross hankeys in regent street and then to the church of st monica in the edgeware road half a guinea if you do it in twenty minutes away they went and i was just wondering whether i should not do well to follow them when up the lane came a neat little landau the coachman with his coat only halfbuttoned and his tie under his ear while all the tags of his harness were sticking out of the buckles it hadnt pulled up before she shot out of the hall door and into it i only caught a glimpse of her at the moment but she was a lovely woman with a face that a man might die for the church of st monica john she cried and half a sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes this was quite too good to lose watson i was just balancing whether i should run for it or whether i should perch behind her landau when a cab came through the street the driver looked twice at such a shabby fare but i jumped in before he could object the church of st monica said i and half a sovereign if you reach it in twenty minutes it was twentyfive minutes to twelve and of course it was clear enough what was in the wind my cabby drove fast i dont think i ever drove faster but the others were there before us the cab and the landau with their steaming horses were in front of the door when i arrived i paid the man and hurried into the church there was not a soul there save the two whom i had followed and a surpliced clergyman who seemed to be expostulating with them they were all three standing in a knot in front of the altar i lounged up the side aisle like any other idler who has dropped into a church suddenly to my surprise the three at the altar faced round to me and godfrey norton came running as hard as he could towards me thank god he cried youll do come come what then i asked come man come only three minutes or it wont be legal i was halfdragged up to the altar and before i knew where i was i found myself mumbling responses which were whispered in my ear and vouching for things of which i knew nothing and generally assisting in the secure tying up of irene adler spinster to godfrey norton bachelor it was all done in an instant and there was the gentleman thanking me on the one side and the lady on the other while the clergyman beamed on me in front it was the most preposterous position in which i ever found myself in my life and it was the thought of it that started me laughing just now it seems that there had been some informality about their license that the clergyman absolutely refused to marry them without a witness of some sort and that my lucky appearance saved the bridegroom from having to sally out into the streets in search of a best man the bride gave me a sovereign and i mean to wear it on my watch chain in memory of the occasion this is a very unexpected turn of affairs said i and what then well i found my plans very seriously menaced it looked as if the pair might take an immediate departure and so necessitate very prompt and energetic measures on my part at the church door however they separated he driving back to the temple and she to her own house i shall drive out in the park at five as usual she said as she left him i heard no more they drove away in different directions and i went off to make my own arrangements which are some cold beef and a glass of beer he answered ringing the bell i have been too busy to think of food and i am likely to be busier still this evening by the way doctor i shall want your cooperation i shall be delighted you dont mind breaking the law not in the least nor running a chance of arrest not in a good cause oh the cause is excellent then i am your man i was sure that i might rely on you but what is it you wish when mrs turner has brought in the tray i will make it clear to you now he said as he turned hungrily on the simple fare that our landlady had provided i must discuss it while i eat for i have not much time it is nearly five now in two hours we must be on the scene of action miss irene or madame rather returns from her drive at seven we must be at briony lodge to meet her and what then you must leave that to me i have already arranged what is to occur there is only one point on which i must insist you must not interfere come what may you understand i am to be neutral to do nothing whatever there will probably be some small unpleasantness do not join in it it will end in my being conveyed into the house four or five minutes afterwards the sittingroom window will open you are to station yourself close to that open window yes you are to watch me for i will be visible to you yes and when i raise my handsoyou will throw into the room what i give you to throw and will at the same time raise the cry of fire you quite follow me entirely it is nothing very formidable he said taking a long cigarshaped roll from his pocket it is an ordinary plumbers smokerocket fitted with a cap at either end to make it selflighting your task is confined to that when you raise your cry of fire it will be taken up by quite a number of people you may then walk to the end of the street and i will rejoin you in ten minutes i hope that i have made myself clear i am to remain neutral to get near the window to watch you and at the signal to throw in this object then to raise the cry of fire and to wait you at the corner of the street precisely then you may entirely rely on me that is excellent i think perhaps it is almost time that i prepare for the new role i have to play he disappeared into his bedroom and returned in a few minutes in the character of an amiable and simpleminded nonconformist clergyman his broad black hat his baggy trousers his white tie his sympathetic smile and general look of peering and benevolent curiosity were such as mr john hare alone could have equalled it was not merely that holmes changed his costume his expression his manner his very soul seemed to vary with every fresh part that he assumed the stage lost a fine actor even as science lost an acute reasoner when he became a specialist in crime it was a quarter past six when we left baker street and it still wanted ten minutes to the hour when we found ourselves in serpentine avenue it was already dusk and the lamps were just being lighted as we paced up and down in front of briony lodge waiting for the coming of its occupant the house was just such as i had pictured it from sherlock holmes succinct description but the locality appeared to be less private than i expected on the contrary for a small street in a quiet neighbourhood it was remarkably animated there was a group of shabbily dressed men smoking and laughing in a corner a scissorsgrinder with his wheel two guardsmen who were flirting with a nursegirl and several welldressed young men who were lounging up and down with cigars in their mouths you see remarked holmes as we paced to and fro in front of the house this marriage rather simplifies matters the photograph becomes a doubleedged weapon now the chances are that she would be as averse to its being seen by mr godfrey norton as our client is to its coming to the eyes of his princess now the question is where are we to find the photograph where indeed it is most unlikely that she carries it about with her it is cabinet size too large for easy concealment about a womans dress she knows that the king is capable of having her waylaid and searched two attempts of the sort have already been made we may take it then that she does not carry it about with her where then her banker or her lawyer there is that double possibility but i am inclined to think neither women are naturally secretive and they like to do their own secreting why should she hand it over to anyone else she could trust her own guardianship but she could not tell what indirect or political influence might be brought to bear upon a business man besides remember that she had resolved to use it within a few days it must be where she can lay her hands upon it it must be in her own house but it has twice been burgled pshaw they did not know how to look but how will you look i will not look what then i will get her to show me but she will refuse she will not be able to but i hear the rumble of wheels it is her carriage now carry out my orders to the letter as he spoke the gleam of the sidelights of a carriage came round the curve of the avenue it was a smart little landau which rattled up to the door of briony lodge as it pulled up one of the loafing men at the corner dashed forward to open the door in the hope of earning a copper but was elbowed away by another loafer who had rushed up with the same intention a fierce quarrel broke out which was increased by the two guardsmen who took sides with one of the loungers and by the scissorsgrinder who was equally hot upon the other side a blow was struck and in an instant the lady who had stepped from her carriage was the centre of a little knot of flushed and struggling men who struck savagely at each other with their fists and sticks holmes dashed into the crowd to protect the lady but just as he reached her he gave a cry and dropped to the ground with the blood running freely down his face at his fall the guardsmen took to their heels in one direction and the loungers in the other while a number of better dressed people who had watched the scuffle without taking part in it crowded in to help the lady and to attend to the injured man irene adler as i will still call her had hurried up the steps but she stood at the top with her superb figure outlined against the lights of the hall looking back into the street is the poor gentleman much hurt she asked he is dead cried several voices no no theres life in him shouted another but hell be gone before you can get him to hospital hes a brave fellow said a woman they would have had the ladys purse and watch if it hadnt been for him they were a gang and a rough one too ah hes breathing now he cant lie in the street may we bring him in marm surely bring him into the sittingroom there is a comfortable sofa this way please slowly and solemnly he was borne into briony lodge and laid out in the principal room while i still observed the proceedings from my post by the window the lamps had been lit but the blinds had not been drawn so that i could see holmes as he lay upon the couch i do not know whether he was seized with compunction at that moment for the part he was playing but i know that i never felt more heartily ashamed of myself in my life than when i saw the beautiful creature against whom i was conspiring or the grace and kindliness with which she waited upon the injured man and yet it would be the blackest treachery to holmes to draw back now from the part which he had intrusted to me i hardened my heart and took the smokerocket from under my ulster after all i thought we are not injuring her we are but preventing her from injuring another holmes had sat up upon the couch and i saw him motion like a man who is in need of air a maid rushed across and threw open the window at the same instant i saw him raise his hand and at the signal i tossed my rocket into the room with a cry of fire the word was no sooner out of my mouth than the whole crowd of spectators well dressed and illgentlemen ostlers and servant maidsjoined in a general shriek of fire thick clouds of smoke curled through the room and out at the open window i caught a glimpse of rushing figures and a moment later the voice of holmes from within assuring them that it was a false alarm slipping through the shouting crowd i made my way to the corner of the street and in ten minutes was rejoiced to find my friends arm in mine and to get away from the scene of uproar he walked swiftly and in silence for some few minutes until we had turned down one of the quiet streets which lead towards the edgeware road you did it very nicely doctor he remarked nothing could have been better it is all right you have the photograph i know where it is and how did you find out she showed me as i told you she would i am still in the dark i do not wish to make a mystery said he laughing the matter was perfectly simple you of course saw that everyone in the street was an accomplice they were all engaged for the evening i guessed as much then when the row broke out i had a little moist red paint in the palm of my hand i rushed forward fell down clapped my hand to my face and became a piteous spectacle it is an old trick that also i could fathom then they carried me in she was bound to have me in what else could she do and into her sittingroom which was the very room which i suspected it lay between that and her bedroom and i was determined to see which they laid me on a couch i motioned for air they were compelled to open the window and you had your chance how did that help you it was allimportant when a woman thinks that her house is on fire her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she values most it is a perfectly overpowering impulse and i have more than once taken advantage of it in the case of the darlington substitution scandal it was of use to me and also in the arnsworth castle business a married woman grabs at her baby an unmarried one reaches for her jewelbox now it was clear to me that our lady of today had nothing in the house more precious to her than what we are in quest of she would rush to secure it the alarm of fire was admirably done the smoke and shouting were enough to shake nerves of steel she responded beautifully the photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the right bellpull she was there in an instant and i caught a glimpse of it as she half drew it out when i cried out that it was a false alarm she replaced it glanced at the rocket rushed from the room and i have not seen her since i rose and making my excuses escaped from the house i hesitated whether to attempt to secure the photograph at once but the coachman had come in and as he was watching me narrowly it seemed safer to wait a little overprecipitance may ruin all and now i asked our quest is practically finished i shall call with the king tomorrow and with you if you care to come with us we will be shown into the sittingroom to wait for the lady but it is probable that when she comes she may find neither us nor the photograph it might be a satisfaction to his majesty to regain it with his own hands and when will you call at eight in the morning she will not be up so that we shall have a clear field besides we must be prompt for this marriage may mean a complete change in her life and habits i must wire to the king without delay we had reached baker street and had stopped at the door he was searching his pockets for the key when someone passing said goodnight mister sherlock holmes there were several people on the pavement at the time but the greeting appeared to come from a slim youth in an ulster who had hurried by ive heard that voice before said holmes staring down the dimly lit street now i wonder who the deuce that could have been iii i slept at baker street that night and we were engaged upon our toast and coffee in the morning when the king of bohemia rushed into the room you have really got it he cried grasping sherlock holmes by either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face not yet but you have hopes i have hopes then come i am all impatience to be gone we must have a cab no my brougham is waiting then that will simplify matters we descended and started off once more for briony lodge irene adler is married remarked holmes married when yesterday but to whom to an english lawyer named norton but she could not love him i am in hopes that she does and why in hopes because it would spare your majesty all fear of future annoyance if the lady loves her husband she does not love your majesty if she does not love your majesty there is no reason why she should interfere with your majestys plan it is true and yet well i wish she had been of my own station what a queen she would have made he relapsed into a moody silence which was not broken until we drew up in serpentine avenue the door of briony lodge was open and an elderly woman stood upon the steps she watched us with a sardonic eye as we stepped from the brougham mr sherlock holmes i believe said she i am mr holmes answered my companion looking at her with a questioning and rather startled gaze indeed my mistress told me that you were likely to call she left this morning with her husband by the 515 train from charing cross for the continent what sherlock holmes staggered back white with chagrin and surprise do you mean that she has left england never to return and the papers asked the king hoarsely all is lost we shall see he pushed past the servant and rushed into the drawingroom followed by the king and myself the furniture was scattered about in every direction with dismantled shelves and open drawers as if the lady had hurriedly ransacked them before her flight holmes rushed at the bellpull tore back a small sliding shutter and plunging in his hand pulled out a photograph and a letter the photograph was of irene adler herself in evening dress the letter was superscribed to sherlock holmes esq to be left till called for my friend tore it open and we all three read it together it was dated at midnight of the preceding night and ran in this way my dear mr sherlock holmesyou really did it very well you took me in completely until after the alarm of fire i had not a suspicion but then when i found how i had betrayed myself i began to think i had been warned against you months ago i had been told that if the king employed an agent it would certainly be you and your address had been given me yet with all this you made me reveal what you wanted to know even after i became suspicious i found it hard to think evil of such a dear kind old clergyman but you know i have been trained as an actress myself male costume is nothing new to me i often take advantage of the freedom which it gives i sent john the coachman to watch you ran upstairs got into my walking clothes as i call them and came down just as you departed well i followed you to your door and so made sure that i was really an object of interest to the celebrated mr sherlock holmes then i rather imprudently wished you goodnight and started for the temple to see my husband we both thought the best resource was flight when pursued by so formidable an antagonist so you will find the nest empty when you call tomorrow as to the photograph your client may rest in peace i love and am loved by a better man than he the king may do what he will without hindrance from one whom he has cruelly wronged i keep it only to safeguard myself and to preserve a weapon which will always secure me from any steps which he might take in the future i leave a photograph which he might care to possess and i remain dear mr sherlock holmes very truly yours irene norton née adler what a womanoh what a woman cried the king of bohemia when we had all three read this epistle did i not tell you how quick and resolute she was would she not have made an admirable queen is it not a pity that she was not on my level from what i have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a very different level to your majesty said holmes coldly i am sorry that i have not been able to bring your majestys business to a more successful conclusion on the contrary my dear sir cried the king nothing could be more successful i know that her word is inviolate the photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire i am glad to hear your majesty say so i am immensely indebted to you pray tell me in what way i can reward you this ring he slipped an emerald snake ring from his finger and held it out upon the palm of his hand your majesty has something which i should value even more highly said holmes you have but to name it this photograph the king stared at him in amazement irenes photograph he cried certainly if you wish it i thank your majesty then there is no more to be done in the matter i have the honour to wish you a very good morning he bowed and turning away without observing the hand which the king had stretched out to him he set off in my company for his chambers and that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom of bohemia and how the best plans of mr sherlock holmes were beaten by a womans wit he used to make merry over the cleverness of women but i have not heard him do it of late and when he speaks of irene adler or when he refers to her photograph it is always under the honourable title of the woman ii the redheaded league i had called upon my friend mr sherlock holmes one day in the autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a very stout floridfaced elderly gentleman with fiery red hair with an apology for my intrusion i was about to withdraw when holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door behind me you could not possibly have come at a better time my dear watson he said cordially i was afraid that you were engaged so i am very much so then i can wait in the next room not at all this gentleman mr wilson has been my partner and helper in many of my most successful cases and i have no doubt that he will be of the utmost use to me in yours also the stout gentleman half rose from his chair and gave a bob of greeting with a quick little questioning glance from his small fatencircled eyes try the settee said holmes relapsing into his armchair and putting his fingertips together as was his custom when in judicial moods i know my dear watson that you share my love of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of everyday life you have shown your relish for it by the enthusiasm which has prompted you to chronicle and if you will excuse my saying so somewhat to embellish so many of my own little adventures your cases have indeed been of the greatest interest to me i observed you will remember that i remarked the other day just before we went into the very simple problem presented by miss mary sutherland that for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself which is always far more daring than any effort of the imagination a proposition which i took the liberty of doubting you did doctor but none the less you must come round to my view for otherwise i shall keep on piling fact upon fact on you until your reason breaks down under them and acknowledges me to be right now mr jabez wilson here has been good enough to call upon me this morning and to begin a narrative which promises to be one of the most singular which i have listened to for some time you have heard me remark that the strangest and most unique things are very often connected not with the larger but with the smaller crimes and occasionally indeed where there is room for doubt whether any positive crime has been committed as far as i have heard it is impossible for me to say whether the present case is an instance of crime or not but the course of events is certainly among the most singular that i have ever listened to perhaps mr wilson you would have the great kindness to recommence your narrative i ask you not merely because my friend dr watson has not heard the opening part but also because the peculiar nature of the story makes me anxious to have every possible detail from your lips as a rule when i have heard some slight indication of the course of events i am able to guide myself by the thousands of other similar cases which occur to my memory in the present instance i am forced to admit that the facts are to the best of my belief unique the portly client puffed out his chest with an appearance of some little pride and pulled a dirty and wrinkled newspaper from the inside pocket of his greatcoat as he glanced down the advertisement column with his head thrust forward and the paper flattened out upon his knee i took a good look at the man and endeavoured after the fashion of my companion to read the indications which might be presented by his dress or appearance i did not gain very much however by my inspection our visitor bore every mark of being an average commonplace british tradesman obese pompous and slow he wore rather baggy grey shepherds check trousers a not overclean black frockcoat unbuttoned in the front and a drab waistcoat with a heavy brassy albert chain and a square pierced bit of metal dangling down as an ornament a frayed tophat and a faded brown overcoat with a wrinkled velvet collar lay upon a chair beside him altogether look as i would there was nothing remarkable about the man save his blazing red head and the expression of extreme chagrin and discontent upon his features sherlock holmes quick eye took in my occupation and he shook his head with a smile as he noticed my questioning glances beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labour that he takes snuff that he is a freemason that he has been in china and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately i can deduce nothing else mr jabez wilson started up in his chair with his forefinger upon the paper but his eyes upon my companion how in the name of goodfortune did you know all that mr holmes he asked how did you know for example that i did manual labour its as true as gospel for i began as a ships carpenter your hands my dear sir your right hand is quite a size larger than your left you have worked with it and the muscles are more developed well the snuff then and the freemasonry i wont insult your intelligence by telling you how i read that especially as rather against the strict rules of your order you use an arcandcompass breastpin ah of course i forgot that but the writing what else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for five inches and the left one with the smooth patch near the elbow where you rest it upon the desk well but china the fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right wrist could only have been done in china i have made a small study of tattoo marks and have even contributed to the literature of the subject that trick of staining the fishes scales of a delicate pink is quite peculiar to china when in addition i see a chinese coin hanging from your watchchain the matter becomes even more simple mr jabez wilson laughed heavily well i never said he i thought at first that you had done something clever but i see that there was nothing in it after all i begin to think watson said holmes that i make a mistake in explaining omne ignotum pro magnifico you know and my poor little reputation such as it is will suffer shipwreck if i am so candid can you not find the advertisement mr wilson yes i have got it now he answered with his thick red finger planted halfway down the column here it is this is what began it all you just read it for yourself sir i took the paper from him and read as follows to the redheaded league on account of the bequest of the late ezekiah hopkins of lebanon pennsylvania usa there is now another vacancy open which entitles a member of the league to a salary of 4 a week for purely nominal services all redheaded men who are sound in body and mind and above the age of twentyone years are eligible apply in person on monday at eleven oclock to duncan ross at the offices of the league 7 popes court fleet street what on earth does this mean i ejaculated after i had twice read over the extraordinary announcement holmes chuckled and wriggled in his chair as was his habit when in high spirits it is a little off the beaten track isnt it said he and now mr wilson off you go at scratch and tell us all about yourself your household and the effect which this advertisement had upon your fortunes you will first make a note doctor of the paper and the date it is the morning chronicle of april 27 1890 just two months ago very good now mr wilson well it is just as i have been telling you mr sherlock holmes said jabez wilson mopping his forehead i have a small pawnbrokers business at coburg square near the city its not a very large affair and of late years it has not done more than just give me a living i used to be able to keep two assistants but now i only keep one and i would have a job to pay him but that he is willing to come for half wages so as to learn the business what is the name of this obliging youth asked sherlock holmes his name is vincent spaulding and hes not such a youth either its hard to say his age i should not wish a smarter assistant mr holmes and i know very well that he could better himself and earn twice what i am able to give him but after all if he is satisfied why should i put ideas in his head why indeed you seem most fortunate in having an employé who comes under the full market price it is not a common experience among employers in this age i dont know that your assistant is not as remarkable as your advertisement oh he has his faults too said mr wilson never was such a fellow for photography snapping away with a camera when he ought to be improving his mind and then diving down into the cellar like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures that is his main fault but on the whole hes a good worker theres no vice in him he is still with you i presume yes sir he and a girl of fourteen who does a bit of simple cooking and keeps the place cleanthats all i have in the house for i am a widower and never had any family we live very quietly sir the three of us and we keep a roof over our heads and pay our debts if we do nothing more the first thing that put us out was that advertisement spaulding he came down into the office just this day eight weeks with this very paper in his hand and he says i wish to the lord mr wilson that i was a redheaded man why that i asks why says he heres another vacancy on the league of the redheaded men its worth quite a little fortune to any man who gets it and i understand that there are more vacancies than there are men so that the trustees are at their wits end what to do with the money if my hair would only change colour heres a nice little crib all ready for me to step into why what is it then i asked you see mr holmes i am a very stayathome man and as my business came to me instead of my having to go to it i was often weeks on end without putting my foot over the doormat in that way i didnt know much of what was going on outside and i was always glad of a bit of news have you never heard of the league of the redheaded men he asked with his eyes open never why i wonder at that for you are eligible yourself for one of the vacancies and what are they worth i asked oh merely a couple of hundred a year but the work is slight and it need not interfere very much with ones other occupations well you can easily think that that made me prick up my ears for the business has not been over good for some years and an extra couple of hundred would have been very handy tell me all about it said i well said he showing me the advertisement you can see for yourself that the league has a vacancy and there is the address where you should apply for particulars as far as i can make out the league was founded by an american millionaire ezekiah hopkins who was very peculiar in his ways he was himself redheaded and he had a great sympathy for all redheaded men so when he died it was found that he had left his enormous fortune in the hands of trustees with instructions to apply the interest to the providing of easy berths to men whose hair is of that colour from all i hear it is splendid pay and very little to do but said i there would be millions of redheaded men who would apply not so many as you might think he answered you see it is really confined to londoners and to grown men this american had started from london when he was young and he wanted to do the old town a good turn then again i have heard it is no use your applying if your hair is light red or dark red or anything but real bright blazing fiery red now if you cared to apply mr wilson you would just walk in but perhaps it would hardly be worth your while to put yourself out of the way for the sake of a few hundred pounds now it is a fact gentlemen as you may see for yourselves that my hair is of a very full and rich tint so that it seemed to me that if there was to be any competition in the matter i stood as good a chance as any man that i had ever met vincent spaulding seemed to know so much about it that i thought he might prove useful so i just ordered him to put up the shutters for the day and to come right away with me he was very willing to have a holiday so we shut the business up and started off for the address that was given us in the advertisement i never hope to see such a sight as that again mr holmes from north south east and west every man who had a shade of red in his hair had tramped into the city to answer the advertisement fleet street was choked with redheaded folk and popes court looked like a costers orange barrow i should not have thought there were so many in the whole country as were brought together by that single advertisement every shade of colour they werestraw lemon orange brick irishsetter liver clay but as spaulding said there were not many who had the real vivid flamecoloured tint when i saw how many were waiting i would have given it up in despair but spaulding would not hear of it how he did it i could not imagine but he pushed and pulled and butted until he got me through the crowd and right up to the steps which led to the office there was a double stream upon the stair some going up in hope and some coming back dejected but we wedged in as well as we could and soon found ourselves in the office your experience has been a most entertaining one remarked holmes as his client paused and refreshed his memory with a huge pinch of snuff pray continue your very interesting statement there was nothing in the office but a couple of wooden chairs and a deal table behind which sat a small man with a head that was even redder than mine he said a few words to each candidate as he came up and then he always managed to find some fault in them which would disqualify them getting a vacancy did not seem to be such a very easy matter after all however when our turn came the little man was much more favourable to me than to any of the others and he closed the door as we entered so that he might have a private word with us this is mr jabez wilson said my assistant and he is willing to fill a vacancy in the league and he is admirably suited for it the other answered he has every requirement i cannot recall when i have seen anything so fine he took a step backward cocked his head on one side and gazed at my hair until i felt quite bashful then suddenly he plunged forward wrung my hand and congratulated me warmly on my success it would be injustice to hesitate said he you will however i am sure excuse me for taking an obvious precaution with that he seized my hair in both his hands and tugged until i yelled with the pain there is water in your eyes said he as he released me i perceive that all is as it should be but we have to be careful for we have twice been deceived by wigs and once by paint i could tell you tales of cobblers wax which would disgust you with human nature he stepped over to the window and shouted through it at the top of his voice that the vacancy was filled a groan of disappointment came up from below and the folk all trooped away in different directions until there was not a redhead to be seen except my own and that of the manager my name said he is mr duncan ross and i am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor are you a married man mr wilson have you a family i answered that i had not his face fell immediately dear me he said gravely that is very serious indeed i am sorry to hear you say that the fund was of course for the propagation and spread of the redheads as well as for their maintenance it is exceedingly unfortunate that you should be a bachelor my face lengthened at this mr holmes for i thought that i was not to have the vacancy after all but after thinking it over for a few minutes he said that it would be all right in the case of another said he the objection might be fatal but we must stretch a point in favour of a man with such a head of hair as yours when shall you be able to enter upon your new duties well it is a little awkward for i have a business already said i oh never mind about that mr wilson said vincent spaulding i should be able to look after that for you what would be the hours i asked ten to two now a pawnbrokers business is mostly done of an evening mr holmes especially thursday and friday evening which is just before payday so it would suit me very well to earn a little in the mornings besides i knew that my assistant was a good man and that he would see to anything that turned up that would suit me very well said i and the pay is 4 a week and the work is purely nominal what do you call purely nominal well you have to be in the office or at least in the building the whole time if you leave you forfeit your whole position forever the will is very clear upon that point you dont comply with the conditions if you budge from the office during that time its only four hours a day and i should not think of leaving said i no excuse will avail said mr duncan ross neither sickness nor business nor anything else there you must stay or you lose your billet and the work is to copy out the encyclopædia britannica there is the first volume of it in that press you must find your own ink pens and blottingpaper but we provide this table and chair will you be ready tomorrow certainly i answered then goodbye mr jabez wilson and let me congratulate you once more on the important position which you have been fortunate enough to gain he bowed me out of the room and i went home with my assistant hardly knowing what to say or do i was so pleased at my own good fortune well i thought over the matter all day and by evening i was in low spirits again for i had quite persuaded myself that the whole affair must be some great hoax or fraud though what its object might be i could not imagine it seemed altogether past belief that anyone could make such a will or that they would pay such a sum for doing anything so simple as copying out the encyclopædia britannica vincent spaulding did what he could to cheer me up but by bedtime i had reasoned myself out of the whole thing however in the morning i determined to have a look at it anyhow so i bought a penny bottle of ink and with a quillpen and seven sheets of foolscap paper i started off for popes court well to my surprise and delight everything was as right as possible the table was set out ready for me and mr duncan ross was there to see that i got fairly to work he started me off upon the letter a and then he left me but he would drop in from time to time to see that all was right with me at two oclock he bade me goodday complimented me upon the amount that i had written and locked the door of the office after me this went on day after day mr holmes and on saturday the manager came in and planked down four golden sovereigns for my weeks work it was the same next week and the same the week after every morning i was there at ten and every afternoon i left at two by degrees mr duncan ross took to coming in only once of a morning and then after a time he did not come in at all still of course i never dared to leave the room for an instant for i was not sure when he might come and the billet was such a good one and suited me so well that i would not risk the loss of it eight weeks passed away like this and i had written about abbots and archery and armour and architecture and attica and hoped with diligence that i might get on to the bs before very long it cost me something in foolscap and i had pretty nearly filled a shelf with my writings and then suddenly the whole business came to an end to an end yes sir and no later than this morning i went to my work as usual at ten oclock but the door was shut and locked with a little square of cardboard hammered on to the middle of the panel with a tack here it is and you can read for yourself he held up a piece of white cardboard about the size of a sheet of notepaper it read in this fashion the redheaded league is dissolved october 9 1890 sherlock holmes and i surveyed this curt announcement and the rueful face behind it until the comical side of the affair so completely overtopped every other consideration that we both burst out into a roar of laughter i cannot see that there is anything very funny cried our client flushing up to the roots of his flaming head if you can do nothing better than laugh at me i can go elsewhere no no cried holmes shoving him back into the chair from which he had half risen i really wouldnt miss your case for the world it is most refreshingly unusual but there is if you will excuse my saying so something just a little funny about it pray what steps did you take when you found the card upon the door i was staggered sir i did not know what to do then i called at the offices round but none of them seemed to know anything about it finally i went to the landlord who is an accountant living on the ground floor and i asked him if he could tell me what had become of the redheaded league he said that he had never heard of any such body then i asked him who mr duncan ross was he answered that the name was new to him well said i the gentleman at no 4 what the redheaded man yes oh said he his name was william morris he was a solicitor and was using my room as a temporary convenience until his new premises were ready he moved out yesterday where could i find him oh at his new offices he did tell me the address yes 17 king edward street near st pauls i started off mr holmes but when i got to that address it was a manufactory of artificial kneecaps and no one in it had ever heard of either mr william morris or mr duncan ross and what did you do then asked holmes i went home to saxecoburg square and i took the advice of my assistant but he could not help me in any way he could only say that if i waited i should hear by post but that was not quite good enough mr holmes i did not wish to lose such a place without a struggle so as i had heard that you were good enough to give advice to poor folk who were in need of it i came right away to you and you did very wisely said holmes your case is an exceedingly remarkable one and i shall be happy to look into it from what you have told me i think that it is possible that graver issues hang from it than might at first sight appear grave enough said mr jabez wilson why i have lost four pound a week as far as you are personally concerned remarked holmes i do not see that you have any grievance against this extraordinary league on the contrary you are as i understand richer by some 30 to say nothing of the minute knowledge which you have gained on every subject which comes under the letter a you have lost nothing by them no sir but i want to find out about them and who they are and what their object was in playing this prankif it was a prankupon me it was a pretty expensive joke for them for it cost them two and thirty pounds we shall endeavour to clear up these points for you and first one or two questions mr wilson this assistant of yours who first called your attention to the advertisementhow long had he been with you about a month then how did he come in answer to an advertisement was he the only applicant no i had a dozen why did you pick him because he was handy and would come cheap at half wages in fact yes what is he like this vincent spaulding small stoutbuilt very quick in his ways no hair on his face though hes not short of thirty has a white splash of acid upon his forehead holmes sat up in his chair in considerable excitement i thought as much said he have you ever observed that his ears are pierced for earrings yes sir he told me that a gipsy had done it for him when he was a lad hum said holmes sinking back in deep thought he is still with you oh yes sir i have only just left him and has your business been attended to in your absence nothing to complain of sir theres never very much to do of a morning that will do mr wilson i shall be happy to give you an opinion upon the subject in the course of a day or two today is saturday and i hope that by monday we may come to a conclusion well watson said holmes when our visitor had left us what do you make of it all i make nothing of it i answered frankly it is a most mysterious business as a rule said holmes the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be it is your commonplace featureless crimes which are really puzzling just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify but i must be prompt over this matter what are you going to do then i asked to smoke he answered it is quite a three pipe problem and i beg that you wont speak to me for fifty minutes he curled himself up in his chair with his thin knees drawn up to his hawklike nose and there he sat with his eyes closed and his black clay pipe thrusting out like the bill of some strange bird i had come to the conclusion that he had dropped asleep and indeed was nodding myself when he suddenly sprang out of his chair with the gesture of a man who has made up his mind and put his pipe down upon the mantelpiece sarasate plays at the st jamess hall this afternoon he remarked what do you think watson could your patients spare you for a few hours i have nothing to do today my practice is never very absorbing then put on your hat and come i am going through the city first and we can have some lunch on the way i observe that there is a good deal of german music on the programme which is rather more to my taste than italian or french it is introspective and i want to introspect come along we travelled by the underground as far as aldersgate and a short walk took us to saxecoburg square the scene of the singular story which we had listened to in the morning it was a poky little shabbygenteel place where four lines of dingy twostoried brick houses looked out into a small railedin enclosure where a lawn of weedy grass and a few clumps of faded laurel bushes made a hard fight against a smokeladen and uncongenial atmosphere three gilt balls and a brown board with jabez wilson in white letters upon a corner house announced the place where our redheaded client carried on his business sherlock holmes stopped in front of it with his head on one side and looked it all over with his eyes shining brightly between puckered lids then he walked slowly up the street and then down again to the corner still looking keenly at the houses finally he returned to the pawnbrokers and having thumped vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or three times he went up to the door and knocked it was instantly opened by a brightlooking cleanshaven young fellow who asked him to step in thank you said holmes i only wished to ask you how you would go from here to the strand third right fourth left answered the assistant promptly closing the door smart fellow that observed holmes as we walked away he is in my judgment the fourth smartest man in london and for daring i am not sure that he has not a claim to be third i have known something of him before evidently said i mr wilsons assistant counts for a good deal in this mystery of the redheaded league i am sure that you inquired your way merely in order that you might see him not him what then the knees of his trousers and what did you see what i expected to see why did you beat the pavement my dear doctor this is a time for observation not for talk we are spies in an enemys country we know something of saxecoburg square let us now explore the parts which lie behind it the road in which we found ourselves as we turned round the corner from the retired saxecoburg square presented as great a contrast to it as the front of a picture does to the back it was one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the city to the north and west the roadway was blocked with the immense stream of commerce flowing in a double tide inward and outward while the footpaths were black with the hurrying swarm of pedestrians it was difficult to realise as we looked at the line of fine shops and stately business premises that they really abutted on the other side upon the faded and stagnant square which we had just quitted let me see said holmes standing at the corner and glancing along the line i should like just to remember the order of the houses here it is a hobby of mine to have an exact knowledge of london there is mortimers the tobacconist the little newspaper shop the coburg branch of the city and suburban bank the vegetarian restaurant and mcfarlanes carriagebuilding depot that carries us right on to the other block and now doctor weve done our work so its time we had some play a sandwich and a cup of coffee and then off to violinland where all is sweetness and delicacy and harmony and there are no redheaded clients to vex us with their conundrums my friend was an enthusiastic musician being himself not only a very capable performer but a composer of no ordinary merit all the afternoon he sat in the stalls wrapped in the most perfect happiness gently waving his long thin fingers in time to the music while his gently smiling face and his languid dreamy eyes were as unlike those of holmes the sleuthhound holmes the relentless keenwitted readyhanded criminal agent as it was possible to conceive in his singular character the dual nature alternately asserted itself and his extreme exactness and astuteness represented as i have often thought the reaction against the poetic and contemplative mood which occasionally predominated in him the swing of his nature took him from extreme languor to devouring energy and as i knew well he was never so truly formidable as when for days on end he had been lounging in his armchair amid his improvisations and his blackletter editions then it was that the lust of the chase would suddenly come upon him and that his brilliant reasoning power would rise to the level of intuition until those who were unacquainted with his methods would look askance at him as on a man whose knowledge was not that of other mortals when i saw him that afternoon so enwrapped in the music at st jamess hall i felt that an evil time might be coming upon those whom he had set himself to hunt down you want to go home no doubt doctor he remarked as we emerged yes it would be as well and i have some business to do which will take some hours this business at coburg square is serious why serious a considerable crime is in contemplation i have every reason to believe that we shall be in time to stop it but today being saturday rather complicates matters i shall want your help tonight at what time ten will be early enough i shall be at baker street at ten very well and i say doctor there may be some little danger so kindly put your army revolver in your pocket he waved his hand turned on his heel and disappeared in an instant among the crowd i trust that i am not more dense than my neighbours but i was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with sherlock holmes here i had heard what he had heard i had seen what he had seen and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened but what was about to happen while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque as i drove home to my house in kensington i thought over it all from the extraordinary story of the redheaded copier of the encyclopædia down to the visit to saxecoburg square and the ominous words with which he had parted from me what was this nocturnal expedition and why should i go armed where were we going and what were we to do i had the hint from holmes that this smoothfaced pawnbrokers assistant was a formidable mana man who might play a deep game i tried to puzzle it out but gave it up in despair and set the matter aside until night should bring an explanation it was a quarterpast nine when i started from home and made my way across the park and so through oxford street to baker street two hansoms were standing at the door and as i entered the passage i heard the sound of voices from above on entering his room i found holmes in animated conversation with two men one of whom i recognised as peter jones the official police agent while the other was a long thin sadfaced man with a very shiny hat and oppressively respectable frockcoat ha our party is complete said holmes buttoning up his peajacket and taking his heavy hunting crop from the rack watson i think you know mr jones of scotland yard let me introduce you to mr merryweather who is to be our companion in tonights adventure were hunting in couples again doctor you see said jones in his consequential way our friend here is a wonderful man for starting a chase all he wants is an old dog to help him to do the running down i hope a wild goose may not prove to be the end of our chase observed mr merryweather gloomily you may place considerable confidence in mr holmes sir said the police agent loftily he has his own little methods which are if he wont mind my saying so just a little too theoretical and fantastic but he has the makings of a detective in him it is not too much to say that once or twice as in that business of the sholto murder and the agra treasure he has been more nearly correct than the official force oh if you say so mr jones it is all right said the stranger with deference still i confess that i miss my rubber it is the first saturday night for sevenandtwenty years that i have not had my rubber i think you will find said sherlock holmes that you will play for a higher stake tonight than you have ever done yet and that the play will be more exciting for you mr merryweather the stake will be some 30000 and for you jones it will be the man upon whom you wish to lay your hands john clay the murderer thief smasher and forger hes a young man mr merryweather but he is at the head of his profession and i would rather have my bracelets on him than on any criminal in london hes a remarkable man is young john clay his grandfather was a royal duke and he himself has been to eton and oxford his brain is as cunning as his fingers and though we meet signs of him at every turn we never know where to find the man himself hell crack a crib in scotland one week and be raising money to build an orphanage in cornwall the next ive been on his track for years and have never set eyes on him yet i hope that i may have the pleasure of introducing you tonight ive had one or two little turns also with mr john clay and i agree with you that he is at the head of his profession it is past ten however and quite time that we started if you two will take the first hansom watson and i will follow in the second sherlock holmes was not very communicative during the long drive and lay back in the cab humming the tunes which he had heard in the afternoon we rattled through an endless labyrinth of gaslit streets until we emerged into farrington street we are close there now my friend remarked this fellow merryweather is a bank director and personally interested in the matter i thought it as well to have jones with us also he is not a bad fellow though an absolute imbecile in his profession he has one positive virtue he is as brave as a bulldog and as tenacious as a lobster if he gets his claws upon anyone here we are and they are waiting for us we had reached the same crowded thoroughfare in which we had found ourselves in the morning our cabs were dismissed and following the guidance of mr merryweather we passed down a narrow passage and through a side door which he opened for us within there was a small corridor which ended in a very massive iron gate this also was opened and led down a flight of winding stone steps which terminated at another formidable gate mr merryweather stopped to light a lantern and then conducted us down a dark earthsmelling passage and so after opening a third door into a huge vault or cellar which was piled all round with crates and massive boxes you are not very vulnerable from above holmes remarked as he held up the lantern and gazed about him nor from below said mr merryweather striking his stick upon the flags which lined the floor why dear me it sounds quite hollow he remarked looking up in surprise i must really ask you to be a little more quiet said holmes severely you have already imperilled the whole success of our expedition might i beg that you would have the goodness to sit down upon one of those boxes and not to interfere the solemn mr merryweather perched himself upon a crate with a very injured expression upon his face while holmes fell upon his knees upon the floor and with the lantern and a magnifying lens began to examine minutely the cracks between the stones a few seconds sufficed to satisfy him for he sprang to his feet again and put his glass in his pocket we have at least an hour before us he remarked for they can hardly take any steps until the good pawnbroker is safely in bed then they will not lose a minute for the sooner they do their work the longer time they will have for their escape we are at present doctoras no doubt you have divinedin the cellar of the city branch of one of the principal london banks mr merryweather is the chairman of directors and he will explain to you that there are reasons why the more daring criminals of london should take a considerable interest in this cellar at present it is our french gold whispered the director we have had several warnings that an attempt might be made upon it your french gold yes we had occasion some months ago to strengthen our resources and borrowed for that purpose 30000 napoleons from the bank of france it has become known that we have never had occasion to unpack the money and that it is still lying in our cellar the crate upon which i sit contains 2000 napoleons packed between layers of lead foil our reserve of bullion is much larger at present than is usually kept in a single branch office and the directors have had misgivings upon the subject which were very well justified observed holmes and now it is time that we arranged our little plans i expect that within an hour matters will come to a head in the meantime mr merryweather we must put the screen over that dark lantern and sit in the dark i am afraid so i had brought a pack of cards in my pocket and i thought that as we were a partie carrée you might have your rubber after all but i see that the enemys preparations have gone so far that we cannot risk the presence of a light and first of all we must choose our positions these are daring men and though we shall take them at a disadvantage they may do us some harm unless we are careful i shall stand behind this crate and do you conceal yourselves behind those then when i flash a light upon them close in swiftly if they fire watson have no compunction about shooting them down i placed my revolver cocked upon the top of the wooden case behind which i crouched holmes shot the slide across the front of his lantern and left us in pitch darknesssuch an absolute darkness as i have never before experienced the smell of hot metal remained to assure us that the light was still there ready to flash out at a moments notice to me with my nerves worked up to a pitch of expectancy there was something depressing and subduing in the sudden gloom and in the cold dank air of the vault they have but one retreat whispered holmes that is back through the house into saxecoburg square i hope that you have done what i asked you jones i have an inspector and two officers waiting at the front door then we have stopped all the holes and now we must be silent and wait what a time it seemed from comparing notes afterwards it was but an hour and a quarter yet it appeared to me that the night must have almost gone and the dawn be breaking above us my limbs were weary and stiff for i feared to change my position yet my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension and my hearing was so acute that i could not only hear the gentle breathing of my companions but i could distinguish the deeper heavier inbreath of the bulky jones from the thin sighing note of the bank director from my position i could look over the case in the direction of the floor suddenly my eyes caught the glint of a light at first it was but a lurid spark upon the stone pavement then it lengthened out until it became a yellow line and then without any warning or sound a gash seemed to open and a hand appeared a white almost womanly hand which felt about in the centre of the little area of light for a minute or more the hand with its writhing fingers protruded out of the floor then it was withdrawn as suddenly as it appeared and all was dark again save the single lurid spark which marked a chink between the stones its disappearance however was but momentary with a rending tearing sound one of the broad white stones turned over upon its side and left a square gaping hole through which streamed the light of a lantern over the edge there peeped a cleancut boyish face which looked keenly about it and then with a hand on either side of the aperture drew itself shoulderhigh and waisthigh until one knee rested upon the edge in another instant he stood at the side of the hole and was hauling after him a companion lithe and small like himself with a pale face and a shock of very red hair its all clear he whispered have you the chisel and the bags great scott jump archie jump and ill swing for it sherlock holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar the other dived down the hole and i heard the sound of rending cloth as jones clutched at his skirts the light flashed upon the barrel of a revolver but holmes hunting crop came down on the mans wrist and the pistol clinked upon the stone floor its no use john clay said holmes blandly you have no chance at all so i see the other answered with the utmost coolness i fancy that my pal is all right though i see you have got his coattails there are three men waiting for him at the door said holmes oh indeed you seem to have done the thing very completely i must compliment you and i you holmes answered your redheaded idea was very new and effective youll see your pal again presently said jones hes quicker at climbing down holes than i am just hold out while i fix the derbies i beg that you will not touch me with your filthy hands remarked our prisoner as the handcuffs clattered upon his wrists you may not be aware that i have royal blood in my veins have the goodness also when you address me always to say sir and please all right said jones with a stare and a snigger well would you please sir march upstairs where we can get a cab to carry your highness to the policestation that is better said john clay serenely he made a sweeping bow to the three of us and walked quietly off in the custody of the detective really mr holmes said mr merryweather as we followed them from the cellar i do not know how the bank can thank you or repay you there is no doubt that you have detected and defeated in the most complete manner one of the most determined attempts at bank robbery that have ever come within my experience i have had one or two little scores of my own to settle with mr john clay said holmes i have been at some small expense over this matter which i shall expect the bank to refund but beyond that i am amply repaid by having had an experience which is in many ways unique and by hearing the very remarkable narrative of the redheaded league you see watson he explained in the early hours of the morning as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in baker street it was perfectly obvious from the first that the only possible object of this rather fantastic business of the advertisement of the league and the copying of the encyclopædia must be to get this not overbright pawnbroker out of the way for a number of hours every day it was a curious way of managing it but really it would be difficult to suggest a better the method was no doubt suggested to clays ingenious mind by the colour of his accomplices hair the 4 a week was a lure which must draw him and what was it to them who were playing for thousands they put in the advertisement one rogue has the temporary office the other rogue incites the man to apply for it and together they manage to secure his absence every morning in the week from the time that i heard of the assistant having come for half wages it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive for securing the situation but how could you guess what the motive was had there been women in the house i should have suspected a mere vulgar intrigue that however was out of the question the mans business was a small one and there was nothing in his house which could account for such elaborate preparations and such an expenditure as they were at it must then be something out of the house what could it be i thought of the assistants fondness for photography and his trick of vanishing into the cellar the cellar there was the end of this tangled clue then i made inquiries as to this mysterious assistant and found that i had to deal with one of the coolest and most daring criminals in london he was doing something in the cellarsomething which took many hours a day for months on end what could it be once more i could think of nothing save that he was running a tunnel to some other building so far i had got when we went to visit the scene of action i surprised you by beating upon the pavement with my stick i was ascertaining whether the cellar stretched out in front or behind it was not in front then i rang the bell and as i hoped the assistant answered it we have had some skirmishes but we had never set eyes upon each other before i hardly looked at his face his knees were what i wished to see you must yourself have remarked how worn wrinkled and stained they were they spoke of those hours of burrowing the only remaining point was what they were burrowing for i walked round the corner saw the city and suburban bank abutted on our friends premises and felt that i had solved my problem when you drove home after the concert i called upon scotland yard and upon the chairman of the bank directors with the result that you have seen and how could you tell that they would make their attempt tonight i asked well when they closed their league offices that was a sign that they cared no longer about mr jabez wilsons presencein other words that they had completed their tunnel but it was essential that they should use it soon as it might be discovered or the bullion might be removed saturday would suit them better than any other day as it would give them two days for their escape for all these reasons i expected them to come tonight you reasoned it out beautifully i exclaimed in unfeigned admiration it is so long a chain and yet every link rings true it saved me from ennui he answered yawning alas i already feel it closing in upon me my life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence these little problems help me to do so and you are a benefactor of the race said i he shrugged his shoulders well perhaps after all it is of some little use he remarked lhomme cest rienlœuvre cest tout as gustave flaubert wrote to george sand iii a case of identity my dear fellow said sherlock holmes as we sat on either side of the fire in his lodgings at baker street life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent we would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence if we could fly out of that window hand in hand hover over this great city gently remove the roofs and peep in at the queer things which are going on the strange coincidences the plannings the crosspurposes the wonderful chains of events working through generations and leading to the most outré results it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable and yet i am not convinced of it i answered the cases which come to light in the papers are as a rule bald enough and vulgar enough we have in our police reports realism pushed to its extreme limits and yet the result is it must be confessed neither fascinating nor artistic a certain selection and discretion must be used in producing a realistic effect remarked holmes this is wanting in the police report where more stress is laid perhaps upon the platitudes of the magistrate than upon the details which to an observer contain the vital essence of the whole matter depend upon it there is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace i smiled and shook my head i can quite understand your thinking so i said of course in your position of unofficial adviser and helper to everybody who is absolutely puzzled throughout three continents you are brought in contact with all that is strange and bizarre but herei picked up the morning paper from the groundlet us put it to a practical test here is the first heading upon which i come a husbands cruelty to his wife there is half a column of print but i know without reading it that it is all perfectly familiar to me there is of course the other woman the drink the push the blow the bruise the sympathetic sister or landlady the crudest of writers could invent nothing more crude indeed your example is an unfortunate one for your argument said holmes taking the paper and glancing his eye down it this is the dundas separation case and as it happens i was engaged in clearing up some small points in connection with it the husband was a teetotaler there was no other woman and the conduct complained of was that he had drifted into the habit of winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling them at his wife which you will allow is not an action likely to occur to the imagination of the average storyteller take a pinch of snuff doctor and acknowledge that i have scored over you in your example he held out his snuffbox of old gold with a great amethyst in the centre of the lid its splendour was in such contrast to his homely ways and simple life that i could not help commenting upon it ah said he i forgot that i had not seen you for some weeks it is a little souvenir from the king of bohemia in return for my assistance in the case of the irene adler papers and the ring i asked glancing at a remarkable brilliant which sparkled upon his finger it was from the reigning family of holland though the matter in which i served them was of such delicacy that i cannot confide it even to you who have been good enough to chronicle one or two of my little problems and have you any on hand just now i asked with interest some ten or twelve but none which present any feature of interest they are important you understand without being interesting indeed i have found that it is usually in unimportant matters that there is a field for the observation and for the quick analysis of cause and effect which gives the charm to an investigation the larger crimes are apt to be the simpler for the bigger the crime the more obvious as a rule is the motive in these cases save for one rather intricate matter which has been referred to me from marseilles there is nothing which presents any features of interest it is possible however that i may have something better before very many minutes are over for this is one of my clients or i am much mistaken he had risen from his chair and was standing between the parted blinds gazing down into the dull neutraltinted london street looking over his shoulder i saw that on the pavement opposite there stood a large woman with a heavy fur boa round her neck and a large curling red feather in a broadbrimmed hat which was tilted in a coquettish duchess of devonshire fashion over her ear from under this great panoply she peeped up in a nervous hesitating fashion at our windows while her body oscillated backward and forward and her fingers fidgeted with her glove buttons suddenly with a plunge as of the swimmer who leaves the bank she hurried across the road and we heard the sharp clang of the bell i have seen those symptoms before said holmes throwing his cigarette into the fire oscillation upon the pavement always means an affaire de cœur she would like advice but is not sure that the matter is not too delicate for communication and yet even here we may discriminate when a woman has been seriously wronged by a man she no longer oscillates and the usual symptom is a broken bell wire here we may take it that there is a love matter but that the maiden is not so much angry as perplexed or grieved but here she comes in person to resolve our doubts as he spoke there was a tap at the door and the boy in buttons entered to announce miss mary sutherland while the lady herself loomed behind his small black figure like a fullsailed merchantman behind a tiny pilot boat sherlock holmes welcomed her with the easy courtesy for which he was remarkable and having closed the door and bowed her into an armchair he looked her over in the minute and yet abstracted fashion which was peculiar to him do you not find he said that with your short sight it is a little trying to do so much typewriting i did at first she answered but now i know where the letters are without looking then suddenly realising the full purport of his words she gave a violent start and looked up with fear and astonishment upon her broad goodhumoured face youve heard about me mr holmes she cried else how could you know all that never mind said holmes laughing it is my business to know things perhaps i have trained myself to see what others overlook if not why should you come to consult me i came to you sir because i heard of you from mrs etherege whose husband you found so easy when the police and everyone had given him up for dead oh mr holmes i wish you would do as much for me im not rich but still i have a hundred a year in my own right besides the little that i make by the machine and i would give it all to know what has become of mr hosmer angel why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry asked sherlock holmes with his fingertips together and his eyes to the ceiling again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of miss mary sutherland yes i did bang out of the house she said for it made me angry to see the easy way in which mr windibankthat is my fathertook it all he would not go to the police and he would not go to you and so at last as he would do nothing and kept on saying that there was no harm done it made me mad and i just on with my things and came right away to you your father said holmes your stepfather surely since the name is different yes my stepfather i call him father though it sounds funny too for he is only five years and two months older than myself and your mother is alive oh yes mother is alive and well i wasnt best pleased mr holmes when she married again so soon after fathers death and a man who was nearly fifteen years younger than herself father was a plumber in the tottenham court road and he left a tidy business behind him which mother carried on with mr hardy the foreman but when mr windibank came he made her sell the business for he was very superior being a traveller in wines they got 4700 for the goodwill and interest which wasnt near as much as father could have got if he had been alive i had expected to see sherlock holmes impatient under this rambling and inconsequential narrative but on the contrary he had listened with the greatest concentration of attention your own little income he asked does it come out of the business oh no sir it is quite separate and was left me by my uncle ned in auckland it is in new zealand stock paying 4½ per cent two thousand five hundred pounds was the amount but i can only touch the interest you interest me extremely said holmes and since you draw so large a sum as a hundred a year with what you earn into the bargain you no doubt travel a little and indulge yourself in every way i believe that a single lady can get on very nicely upon an income of about 60 i could do with much less than that mr holmes but you understand that as long as i live at home i dont wish to be a burden to them and so they have the use of the money just while i am staying with them of course that is only just for the time mr windibank draws my interest every quarter and pays it over to mother and i find that i can do pretty well with what i earn at typewriting it brings me twopence a sheet and i can often do from fifteen to twenty sheets in a day you have made your position very clear to me said holmes this is my friend dr watson before whom you can speak as freely as before myself kindly tell us now all about your connection with mr hosmer angel a flush stole over miss sutherlands face and she picked nervously at the fringe of her jacket i met him first at the gasfitters ball she said they used to send father tickets when he was alive and then afterwards they remembered us and sent them to mother mr windibank did not wish us to go he never did wish us to go anywhere he would get quite mad if i wanted so much as to join a sundayschool treat but this time i was set on going and i would go for what right had he to prevent he said the folk were not fit for us to know when all fathers friends were to be there and he said that i had nothing fit to wear when i had my purple plush that i had never so much as taken out of the drawer at last when nothing else would do he went off to france upon the business of the firm but we went mother and i with mr hardy who used to be our foreman and it was there i met mr hosmer angel i suppose said holmes that when mr windibank came back from france he was very annoyed at your having gone to the ball oh well he was very good about it he laughed i remember and shrugged his shoulders and said there was no use denying anything to a woman for she would have her way i see then at the gasfitters ball you met as i understand a gentleman called mr hosmer angel yes sir i met him that night and he called next day to ask if we had got home all safe and after that we met himthat is to say mr holmes i met him twice for walks but after that father came back again and mr hosmer angel could not come to the house any more no well you know father didnt like anything of the sort he wouldnt have any visitors if he could help it and he used to say that a woman should be happy in her own family circle but then as i used to say to mother a woman wants her own circle to begin with and i had not got mine yet but how about mr hosmer angel did he make no attempt to see you well father was going off to france again in a week and hosmer wrote and said that it would be safer and better not to see each other until he had gone we could write in the meantime and he used to write every day i took the letters in in the morning so there was no need for father to know were you engaged to the gentleman at this time oh yes mr holmes we were engaged after the first walk that we took hosmermr angelwas a cashier in an office in leadenhall streetand what office thats the worst of it mr holmes i dont know where did he live then he slept on the premises and you dont know his address noexcept that it was leadenhall street where did you address your letters then to the leadenhall street post office to be left till called for he said that if they were sent to the office he would be chaffed by all the other clerks about having letters from a lady so i offered to typewrite them like he did his but he wouldnt have that for he said that when i wrote them they seemed to come from me but when they were typewritten he always felt that the machine had come between us that will just show you how fond he was of me mr holmes and the little things that he would think of it was most suggestive said holmes it has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important can you remember any other little things about mr hosmer angel he was a very shy man mr holmes he would rather walk with me in the evening than in the daylight for he said that he hated to be conspicuous very retiring and gentlemanly he was even his voice was gentle hed had the quinsy and swollen glands when he was young he told me and it had left him with a weak throat and a hesitating whispering fashion of speech he was always well dressed very neat and plain but his eyes were weak just as mine are and he wore tinted glasses against the glare well and what happened when mr windibank your stepfather returned to france mr hosmer angel came to the house again and proposed that we should marry before father came back he was in dreadful earnest and made me swear with my hands on the testament that whatever happened i would always be true to him mother said he was quite right to make me swear and that it was a sign of his passion mother was all in his favour from the first and was even fonder of him than i was then when they talked of marrying within the week i began to ask about father but they both said never to mind about father but just to tell him afterwards and mother said she would make it all right with him i didnt quite like that mr holmes it seemed funny that i should ask his leave as he was only a few years older than me but i didnt want to do anything on the sly so i wrote to father at bordeaux where the company has its french offices but the letter came back to me on the very morning of the wedding it missed him then yes sir for he had started to england just before it arrived ha that was unfortunate your wedding was arranged then for the friday was it to be in church yes sir but very quietly it was to be at st saviours near kings cross and we were to have breakfast afterwards at the st pancras hotel hosmer came for us in a hansom but as there were two of us he put us both into it and stepped himself into a fourwheeler which happened to be the only other cab in the street we got to the church first and when the fourwheeler drove up we waited for him to step out but he never did and when the cabman got down from the box and looked there was no one there the cabman said that he could not imagine what had become of him for he had seen him get in with his own eyes that was last friday mr holmes and i have never seen or heard anything since then to throw any light upon what became of him it seems to me that you have been very shamefully treated said holmes oh no sir he was too good and kind to leave me so why all the morning he was saying to me that whatever happened i was to be true and that even if something quite unforeseen occurred to separate us i was always to remember that i was pledged to him and that he would claim his pledge sooner or later it seemed strange talk for a weddingmorning but what has happened since gives a meaning to it most certainly it does your own opinion is then that some unforeseen catastrophe has occurred to him yes sir i believe that he foresaw some danger or else he would not have talked so and then i think that what he foresaw happened but you have no notion as to what it could have been none one more question how did your mother take the matter she was angry and said that i was never to speak of the matter again and your father did you tell him yes and he seemed to think with me that something had happened and that i should hear of hosmer again as he said what interest could anyone have in bringing me to the doors of the church and then leaving me now if he had borrowed my money or if he had married me and got my money settled on him there might be some reason but hosmer was very independent about money and never would look at a shilling of mine and yet what could have happened and why could he not write oh it drives me halfmad to think of it and i cant sleep a wink at night she pulled a little handkerchief out of her muff and began to sob heavily into it i shall glance into the case for you said holmes rising and i have no doubt that we shall reach some definite result let the weight of the matter rest upon me now and do not let your mind dwell upon it further above all try to let mr hosmer angel vanish from your memory as he has done from your life then you dont think ill see him again i fear not then what has happened to him you will leave that question in my hands i should like an accurate description of him and any letters of his which you can spare i advertised for him in last saturdays chronicle said she here is the slip and here are four letters from him thank you and your address no 31 lyon place camberwell mr angels address you never had i understand where is your fathers place of business he travels for westhouse marbank the great claret importers of fenchurch street thank you you have made your statement very clearly you will leave the papers here and remember the advice which i have given you let the whole incident be a sealed book and do not allow it to affect your life you are very kind mr holmes but i cannot do that i shall be true to hosmer he shall find me ready when he comes back for all the preposterous hat and the vacuous face there was something noble in the simple faith of our visitor which compelled our respect she laid her little bundle of papers upon the table and went her way with a promise to come again whenever she might be summoned sherlock holmes sat silent for a few minutes with his fingertips still pressed together his legs stretched out in front of him and his gaze directed upward to the ceiling then he took down from the rack the old and oily clay pipe which was to him as a counsellor and having lit it he leaned back in his chair with the thick blue cloudwreaths spinning up from him and a look of infinite languor in his face quite an interesting study that maiden he observed i found her more interesting than her little problem which by the way is rather a trite one you will find parallel cases if you consult my index in andover in 77 and there was something of the sort at the hague last year old as is the idea however there were one or two details which were new to me but the maiden herself was most instructive you appeared to read a good deal upon her which was quite invisible to me i remarked not invisible but unnoticed watson you did not know where to look and so you missed all that was important i can never bring you to realise the importance of sleeves the suggestiveness of thumbnails or the great issues that may hang from a bootlace now what did you gather from that womans appearance describe it well she had a slatecoloured broadbrimmed straw hat with a feather of a brickish red her jacket was black with black beads sewn upon it and a fringe of little black jet ornaments her dress was brown rather darker than coffee colour with a little purple plush at the neck and sleeves her gloves were greyish and were worn through at the right forefinger her boots i didnt observe she had small round hanging gold earrings and a general air of being fairly welltodo in a vulgar comfortable easygoing way sherlock holmes clapped his hands softly together and chuckled pon my word watson you are coming along wonderfully you have really done very well indeed it is true that you have missed everything of importance but you have hit upon the method and you have a quick eye for colour never trust to general impressions my boy but concentrate yourself upon details my first glance is always at a womans sleeve in a man it is perhaps better first to take the knee of the trouser as you observe this woman had plush upon her sleeves which is a most useful material for showing traces the double line a little above the wrist where the typewritist presses against the table was beautifully defined the sewingmachine of the hand type leaves a similar mark but only on the left arm and on the side of it farthest from the thumb instead of being right across the broadest part as this was i then glanced at her face and observing the dint of a pincenez at either side of her nose i ventured a remark upon short sight and typewriting which seemed to surprise her it surprised me but surely it was obvious i was then much surprised and interested on glancing down to observe that though the boots which she was wearing were not unlike each other they were really odd ones the one having a slightly decorated toecap and the other a plain one one was buttoned only in the two lower buttons out of five and the other at the first third and fifth now when you see that a young lady otherwise neatly dressed has come away from home with odd boots halfbuttoned it is no great deduction to say that she came away in a hurry and what else i asked keenly interested as i always was by my friends incisive reasoning i noted in passing that she had written a note before leaving home but after being fully dressed you observed that her right glove was torn at the forefinger but you did not apparently see that both glove and finger were stained with violet ink she had written in a hurry and dipped her pen too deep it must have been this morning or the mark would not remain clear upon the finger all this is amusing though rather elementary but i must go back to business watson would you mind reading me the advertised description of mr hosmer angel i held the little printed slip to the light missing it said on the morning of the fourteenth a gentleman named hosmer angel about five ft seven in in height strongly built sallow complexion black hair a little bald in the centre bushy black sidewhiskers and moustache tinted glasses slight infirmity of speech was dressed when last seen in black frockcoat faced with silk black waistcoat gold albert chain and grey harris tweed trousers with brown gaiters over elasticsided boots known to have been employed in an office in leadenhall street anybody bringing c c that will do said holmes as to the letters he continued glancing over them they are very commonplace absolutely no clue in them to mr angel save that he quotes balzac once there is one remarkable point however which will no doubt strike you they are typewritten i remarked not only that but the signature is typewritten look at the neat little hosmer angel at the bottom there is a date you see but no superscription except leadenhall street which is rather vague the point about the signature is very suggestivein fact we may call it conclusive of what my dear fellow is it possible you do not see how strongly it bears upon the case i cannot say that i do unless it were that he wished to be able to deny his signature if an action for breach of promise were instituted no that was not the point however i shall write two letters which should settle the matter one is to a firm in the city the other is to the young ladys stepfather mr windibank asking him whether he could meet us here at six oclock tomorrow evening it is just as well that we should do business with the male relatives and now doctor we can do nothing until the answers to those letters come so we may put our little problem upon the shelf for the interim i had had so many reasons to believe in my friends subtle powers of reasoning and extraordinary energy in action that i felt that he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy demeanour with which he treated the singular mystery which he had been called upon to fathom once only had i known him to fail in the case of the king of bohemia and of the irene adler photograph but when i looked back to the weird business of the sign of four and the extraordinary circumstances connected with the study in scarlet i felt that it would be a strange tangle indeed which he could not unravel i left him then still puffing at his black clay pipe with the conviction that when i came again on the next evening i would find that he held in his hands all the clues which would lead up to the identity of the disappearing bridegroom of miss mary sutherland a professional case of great gravity was engaging my own attention at the time and the whole of next day i was busy at the bedside of the sufferer it was not until close upon six oclock that i found myself free and was able to spring into a hansom and drive to baker street half afraid that i might be too late to assist at the dénouement of the little mystery i found sherlock holmes alone however half asleep with his long thin form curled up in the recesses of his armchair a formidable array of bottles and testtubes with the pungent cleanly smell of hydrochloric acid told me that he had spent his day in the chemical work which was so dear to him well have you solved it i asked as i entered yes it was the bisulphate of baryta no no the mystery i cried oh that i thought of the salt that i have been working upon there was never any mystery in the matter though as i said yesterday some of the details are of interest the only drawback is that there is no law i fear that can touch the scoundrel who was he then and what was his object in deserting miss sutherland the question was hardly out of my mouth and holmes had not yet opened his lips to reply when we heard a heavy footfall in the passage and a tap at the door this is the girls stepfather mr james windibank said holmes he has written to me to say that he would be here at six come in the man who entered was a sturdy middlesized fellow some thirty years of age cleanshaven and sallowskinned with a bland insinuating manner and a pair of wonderfully sharp and penetrating grey eyes he shot a questioning glance at each of us placed his shiny tophat upon the sideboard and with a slight bow sidled down into the nearest chair goodevening mr james windibank said holmes i think that this typewritten letter is from you in which you made an appointment with me for six oclock yes sir i am afraid that i am a little late but i am not quite my own master you know i am sorry that miss sutherland has troubled you about this little matter for i think it is far better not to wash linen of the sort in public it was quite against my wishes that she came but she is a very excitable impulsive girl as you may have noticed and she is not easily controlled when she has made up her mind on a point of course i did not mind you so much as you are not connected with the official police but it is not pleasant to have a family misfortune like this noised abroad besides it is a useless expense for how could you possibly find this hosmer angel on the contrary said holmes quietly i have every reason to believe that i will succeed in discovering mr hosmer angel mr windibank gave a violent start and dropped his gloves i am delighted to hear it he said it is a curious thing remarked holmes that a typewriter has really quite as much individuality as a mans handwriting unless they are quite new no two of them write exactly alike some letters get more worn than others and some wear only on one side now you remark in this note of yours mr windibank that in every case there is some little slurring over of the e and a slight defect in the tail of the r there are fourteen other characteristics but those are the more obvious we do all our correspondence with this machine at the office and no doubt it is a little worn our visitor answered glancing keenly at holmes with his bright little eyes and now i will show you what is really a very interesting study mr windibank holmes continued i think of writing another little monograph some of these days on the typewriter and its relation to crime it is a subject to which i have devoted some little attention i have here four letters which purport to come from the missing man they are all typewritten in each case not only are the es slurred and the rs tailless but you will observe if you care to use my magnifying lens that the fourteen other characteristics to which i have alluded are there as well mr windibank sprang out of his chair and picked up his hat i cannot waste time over this sort of fantastic talk mr holmes he said if you can catch the man catch him and let me know when you have done it certainly said holmes stepping over and turning the key in the door i let you know then that i have caught him what where shouted mr windibank turning white to his lips and glancing about him like a rat in a trap oh it wont doreally it wont said holmes suavely there is no possible getting out of it mr windibank it is quite too transparent and it was a very bad compliment when you said that it was impossible for me to solve so simple a question thats right sit down and let us talk it over our visitor collapsed into a chair with a ghastly face and a glitter of moisture on his brow itits not actionable he stammered i am very much afraid that it is not but between ourselves windibank it was as cruel and selfish and heartless a trick in a petty way as ever came before me now let me just run over the course of events and you will contradict me if i go wrong the man sat huddled up in his chair with his head sunk upon his breast like one who is utterly crushed holmes stuck his feet up on the corner of the mantelpiece and leaning back with his hands in his pockets began talking rather to himself as it seemed than to us the man married a woman very much older than himself for her money said he and he enjoyed the use of the money of the daughter as long as she lived with them it was a considerable sum for people in their position and the loss of it would have made a serious difference it was worth an effort to preserve it the daughter was of a good amiable disposition but affectionate and warmhearted in her ways so that it was evident that with her fair personal advantages and her little income she would not be allowed to remain single long now her marriage would mean of course the loss of a hundred a year so what does her stepfather do to prevent it he takes the obvious course of keeping her at home and forbidding her to seek the company of people of her own age but soon he found that that would not answer forever she became restive insisted upon her rights and finally announced her positive intention of going to a certain ball what does her clever stepfather do then he conceives an idea more creditable to his head than to his heart with the connivance and assistance of his wife he disguised himself covered those keen eyes with tinted glasses masked the face with a moustache and a pair of bushy whiskers sunk that clear voice into an insinuating whisper and doubly secure on account of the girls short sight he appears as mr hosmer angel and keeps off other lovers by making love himself it was only a joke at first groaned our visitor we never thought that she would have been so carried away very likely not however that may be the young lady was very decidedly carried away and having quite made up her mind that her stepfather was in france the suspicion of treachery never for an instant entered her mind she was flattered by the gentlemans attentions and the effect was increased by the loudly expressed admiration of her mother then mr angel began to call for it was obvious that the matter should be pushed as far as it would go if a real effect were to be produced there were meetings and an engagement which would finally secure the girls affections from turning towards anyone else but the deception could not be kept up forever these pretended journeys to france were rather cumbrous the thing to do was clearly to bring the business to an end in such a dramatic manner that it would leave a permanent impression upon the young ladys mind and prevent her from looking upon any other suitor for some time to come hence those vows of fidelity exacted upon a testament and hence also the allusions to a possibility of something happening on the very morning of the wedding james windibank wished miss sutherland to be so bound to hosmer angel and so uncertain as to his fate that for ten years to come at any rate she would not listen to another man as far as the church door he brought her and then as he could go no farther he conveniently vanished away by the old trick of stepping in at one door of a fourwheeler and out at the other i think that was the chain of events mr windibank our visitor had recovered something of his assurance while holmes had been talking and he rose from his chair now with a cold sneer upon his pale face it may be so or it may not mr holmes said he but if you are so very sharp you ought to be sharp enough to know that it is you who are breaking the law now and not me i have done nothing actionable from the first but as long as you keep that door locked you lay yourself open to an action for assault and illegal constraint the law cannot as you say touch you said holmes unlocking and throwing open the door yet there never was a man who deserved punishment more if the young lady has a brother or a friend he ought to lay a whip across your shoulders by jove he continued flushing up at the sight of the bitter sneer upon the mans face it is not part of my duties to my client but heres a hunting crop handy and i think i shall just treat myself to he took two swift steps to the whip but before he could grasp it there was a wild clatter of steps upon the stairs the heavy hall door banged and from the window we could see mr james windibank running at the top of his speed down the road theres a coldblooded scoundrel said holmes laughing as he threw himself down into his chair once more that fellow will rise from crime to crime until he does something very bad and ends on a gallows the case has in some respects been not entirely devoid of interest i cannot now entirely see all the steps of your reasoning i remarked well of course it was obvious from the first that this mr hosmer angel must have some strong object for his curious conduct and it was equally clear that the only man who really profited by the incident as far as we could see was the stepfather then the fact that the two men were never together but that the one always appeared when the other was away was suggestive so were the tinted spectacles and the curious voice which both hinted at a disguise as did the bushy whiskers my suspicions were all confirmed by his peculiar action in typewriting his signature which of course inferred that his handwriting was so familiar to her that she would recognise even the smallest sample of it you see all these isolated facts together with many minor ones all pointed in the same direction and how did you verify them having once spotted my man it was easy to get corroboration i knew the firm for which this man worked having taken the printed description i eliminated everything from it which could be the result of a disguisethe whiskers the glasses the voice and i sent it to the firm with a request that they would inform me whether it answered to the description of any of their travellers i had already noticed the peculiarities of the typewriter and i wrote to the man himself at his business address asking him if he would come here as i expected his reply was typewritten and revealed the same trivial but characteristic defects the same post brought me a letter from westhouse marbank of fenchurch street to say that the description tallied in every respect with that of their employé james windibank voilà tout and miss sutherland if i tell her she will not believe me you may remember the old persian saying there is danger for him who taketh the tiger cub and danger also for whoso snatches a delusion from a woman there is as much sense in hafiz as in horace and as much knowledge of the world iv the boscombe valley mystery we were seated at breakfast one morning my wife and i when the maid brought in a telegram it was from sherlock holmes and ran in this way have you a couple of days to spare have just been wired for from the west of england in connection with boscombe valley tragedy shall be glad if you will come with me air and scenery perfect leave paddington by the 1115 what do you say dear said my wife looking across at me will you go i really dont know what to say i have a fairly long list at present oh anstruther would do your work for you you have been looking a little pale lately i think that the change would do you good and you are always so interested in mr sherlock holmes cases i should be ungrateful if i were not seeing what i gained through one of them i answered but if i am to go i must pack at once for i have only half an hour my experience of camp life in afghanistan had at least had the effect of making me a prompt and ready traveller my wants were few and simple so that in less than the time stated i was in a cab with my valise rattling away to paddington station sherlock holmes was pacing up and down the platform his tall gaunt figure made even gaunter and taller by his long grey travellingcloak and closefitting cloth cap it is really very good of you to come watson said he it makes a considerable difference to me having someone with me on whom i can thoroughly rely local aid is always either worthless or else biassed if you will keep the two corner seats i shall get the tickets we had the carriage to ourselves save for an immense litter of papers which holmes had brought with him among these he rummaged and read with intervals of notetaking and of meditation until we were past reading then he suddenly rolled them all into a gigantic ball and tossed them up onto the rack have you heard anything of the case he asked not a word i have not seen a paper for some days the london press has not had very full accounts i have just been looking through all the recent papers in order to master the particulars it seems from what i gather to be one of those simple cases which are so extremely difficult that sounds a little paradoxical but it is profoundly true singularity is almost invariably a clue the more featureless and commonplace a crime is the more difficult it is to bring it home in this case however they have established a very serious case against the son of the murdered man it is a murder then well it is conjectured to be so i shall take nothing for granted until i have the opportunity of looking personally into it i will explain the state of things to you as far as i have been able to understand it in a very few words boscombe valley is a country district not very far from ross in herefordshire the largest landed proprietor in that part is a mr john turner who made his money in australia and returned some years ago to the old country one of the farms which he held that of hatherley was let to mr charles mccarthy who was also an exaustralian the men had known each other in the colonies so that it was not unnatural that when they came to settle down they should do so as near each other as possible turner was apparently the richer man so mccarthy became his tenant but still remained it seems upon terms of perfect equality as they were frequently together mccarthy had one son a lad of eighteen and turner had an only daughter of the same age but neither of them had wives living they appear to have avoided the society of the neighbouring english families and to have led retired lives though both the mccarthys were fond of sport and were frequently seen at the racemeetings of the neighbourhood mccarthy kept two servantsa man and a girl turner had a considerable household some halfdozen at the least that is as much as i have been able to gather about the families now for the facts on june 3rd that is on monday last mccarthy left his house at hatherley about three in the afternoon and walked down to the boscombe pool which is a small lake formed by the spreading out of the stream which runs down the boscombe valley he had been out with his servingman in the morning at ross and he had told the man that he must hurry as he had an appointment of importance to keep at three from that appointment he never came back alive from hatherley farmhouse to the boscombe pool is a quarter of a mile and two people saw him as he passed over this ground one was an old woman whose name is not mentioned and the other was william crowder a gamekeeper in the employ of mr turner both these witnesses depose that mr mccarthy was walking alone the gamekeeper adds that within a few minutes of his seeing mr mccarthy pass he had seen his son mr james mccarthy going the same way with a gun under his arm to the best of his belief the father was actually in sight at the time and the son was following him he thought no more of the matter until he heard in the evening of the tragedy that had occurred the two mccarthys were seen after the time when william crowder the gamekeeper lost sight of them the boscombe pool is thickly wooded round with just a fringe of grass and of reeds round the edge a girl of fourteen patience moran who is the daughter of the lodgekeeper of the boscombe valley estate was in one of the woods picking flowers she states that while she was there she saw at the border of the wood and close by the lake mr mccarthy and his son and that they appeared to be having a violent quarrel she heard mr mccarthy the elder using very strong language to his son and she saw the latter raise up his hand as if to strike his father she was so frightened by their violence that she ran away and told her mother when she reached home that she had left the two mccarthys quarrelling near boscombe pool and that she was afraid that they were going to fight she had hardly said the words when young mr mccarthy came running up to the lodge to say that he had found his father dead in the wood and to ask for the help of the lodgekeeper he was much excited without either his gun or his hat and his right hand and sleeve were observed to be stained with fresh blood on following him they found the dead body stretched out upon the grass beside the pool the head had been beaten in by repeated blows of some heavy and blunt weapon the injuries were such as might very well have been inflicted by the buttend of his sons gun which was found lying on the grass within a few paces of the body under these circumstances the young man was instantly arrested and a verdict of wilful murder having been returned at the inquest on tuesday he was on wednesday brought before the magistrates at ross who have referred the case to the next assizes those are the main facts of the case as they came out before the coroner and the policecourt i could hardly imagine a more damning case i remarked if ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal it does so here circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing answered holmes thoughtfully it may seem to point very straight to one thing but if you shift your own point of view a little you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different it must be confessed however that the case looks exceedingly grave against the young man and it is very possible that he is indeed the culprit there are several people in the neighbourhood however and among them miss turner the daughter of the neighbouring landowner who believe in his innocence and who have retained lestrade whom you may recollect in connection with the study in scarlet to work out the case in his interest lestrade being rather puzzled has referred the case to me and hence it is that two middleaged gentlemen are flying westward at fifty miles an hour instead of quietly digesting their breakfasts at home i am afraid said i that the facts are so obvious that you will find little credit to be gained out of this case there is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact he answered laughing besides we may chance to hit upon some other obvious facts which may have been by no means obvious to mr lestrade you know me too well to think that i am boasting when i say that i shall either confirm or destroy his theory by means which he is quite incapable of employing or even of understanding to take the first example to hand i very clearly perceive that in your bedroom the window is upon the righthand side and yet i question whether mr lestrade would have noted even so selfevident a thing as that how on earth my dear fellow i know you well i know the military neatness which characterises you you shave every morning and in this season you shave by the sunlight but since your shaving is less and less complete as we get farther back on the left side until it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the jaw it is surely very clear that that side is less illuminated than the other i could not imagine a man of your habits looking at himself in an equal light and being satisfied with such a result i only quote this as a trivial example of observation and inference therein lies my métier and it is just possible that it may be of some service in the investigation which lies before us there are one or two minor points which were brought out in the inquest and which are worth considering what are they it appears that his arrest did not take place at once but after the return to hatherley farm on the inspector of constabulary informing him that he was a prisoner he remarked that he was not surprised to hear it and that it was no more than his deserts this observation of his had the natural effect of removing any traces of doubt which might have remained in the minds of the coroners jury it was a confession i ejaculated no for it was followed by a protestation of innocence coming on the top of such a damning series of events it was at least a most suspicious remark on the contrary said holmes it is the brightest rift which i can at present see in the clouds however innocent he might be he could not be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that the circumstances were very black against him had he appeared surprised at his own arrest or feigned indignation at it i should have looked upon it as highly suspicious because such surprise or anger would not be natural under the circumstances and yet might appear to be the best policy to a scheming man his frank acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocent man or else as a man of considerable selfrestraint and firmness as to his remark about his deserts it was also not unnatural if you consider that he stood beside the dead body of his father and that there is no doubt that he had that very day so far forgotten his filial duty as to bandy words with him and even according to the little girl whose evidence is so important to raise his hand as if to strike him the selfreproach and contrition which are displayed in his remark appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind rather than of a guilty one i shook my head many men have been hanged on far slighter evidence i remarked so they have and many men have been wrongfully hanged what is the young mans own account of the matter it is i am afraid not very encouraging to his supporters though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive you will find it here and may read it for yourself he picked out from his bundle a copy of the local herefordshire paper and having turned down the sheet he pointed out the paragraph in which the unfortunate young man had given his own statement of what had occurred i settled myself down in the corner of the carriage and read it very carefully it ran in this way mr james mccarthy the only son of the deceased was then called and gave evidence as follows i had been away from home for three days at bristol and had only just returned upon the morning of last monday the 3rd my father was absent from home at the time of my arrival and i was informed by the maid that he had driven over to ross with john cobb the groom shortly after my return i heard the wheels of his trap in the yard and looking out of my window i saw him get out and walk rapidly out of the yard though i was not aware in which direction he was going i then took my gun and strolled out in the direction of the boscombe pool with the intention of visiting the rabbit warren which is upon the other side on my way i saw william crowder the gamekeeper as he had stated in his evidence but he is mistaken in thinking that i was following my father i had no idea that he was in front of me when about a hundred yards from the pool i heard a cry of cooee which was a usual signal between my father and myself i then hurried forward and found him standing by the pool he appeared to be much surprised at seeing me and asked me rather roughly what i was doing there a conversation ensued which led to high words and almost to blows for my father was a man of a very violent temper seeing that his passion was becoming ungovernable i left him and returned towards hatherley farm i had not gone more than 150 yards however when i heard a hideous outcry behind me which caused me to run back again i found my father expiring upon the ground with his head terribly injured i dropped my gun and held him in my arms but he almost instantly expired i knelt beside him for some minutes and then made my way to mr turners lodgekeeper his house being the nearest to ask for assistance i saw no one near my father when i returned and i have no idea how he came by his injuries he was not a popular man being somewhat cold and forbidding in his manners but he had as far as i know no active enemies i know nothing further of the matter the coroner did your father make any statement to you before he died witness he mumbled a few words but i could only catch some allusion to a rat the coroner what did you understand by that witness it conveyed no meaning to me i thought that he was delirious the coroner what was the point upon which you and your father had this final quarrel witness i should prefer not to answer the coroner i am afraid that i must press it witness it is really impossible for me to tell you i can assure you that it has nothing to do with the sad tragedy which followed the coroner that is for the court to decide i need not point out to you that your refusal to answer will prejudice your case considerably in any future proceedings which may arise witness i must still refuse the coroner i understand that the cry of cooee was a common signal between you and your father witness it was the coroner how was it then that he uttered it before he saw you and before he even knew that you had returned from bristol witness with considerable confusion i do not know a juryman did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions when you returned on hearing the cry and found your father fatally injured witness nothing definite the coroner what do you mean witness i was so disturbed and excited as i rushed out into the open that i could think of nothing except of my father yet i have a vague impression that as i ran forward something lay upon the ground to the left of me it seemed to me to be something grey in colour a coat of some sort or a plaid perhaps when i rose from my father i looked round for it but it was gone do you mean that it disappeared before you went for help yes it was gone you cannot say what it was no i had a feeling something was there how far from the body a dozen yards or so and how far from the edge of the wood about the same then if it was removed it was while you were within a dozen yards of it yes but with my back towards it this concluded the examination of the witness i see said i as i glanced down the column that the coroner in his concluding remarks was rather severe upon young mccarthy he calls attention and with reason to the discrepancy about his father having signalled to him before seeing him also to his refusal to give details of his conversation with his father and his singular account of his fathers dying words they are all as he remarks very much against the son holmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out upon the cushioned seat both you and the coroner have been at some pains said he to single out the very strongest points in the young mans favour dont you see that you alternately give him credit for having too much imagination and too little too little if he could not invent a cause of quarrel which would give him the sympathy of the jury too much if he evolved from his own inner consciousness anything so outré as a dying reference to a rat and the incident of the vanishing cloth no sir i shall approach this case from the point of view that what this young man says is true and we shall see whither that hypothesis will lead us and now here is my pocket petrarch and not another word shall i say of this case until we are on the scene of action we lunch at swindon and i see that we shall be there in twenty minutes it was nearly four oclock when we at last after passing through the beautiful stroud valley and over the broad gleaming severn found ourselves at the pretty little countrytown of ross a lean ferretlike man furtive and slylooking was waiting for us upon the platform in spite of the light brown dustcoat and leatherleggings which he wore in deference to his rustic surroundings i had no difficulty in recognising lestrade of scotland yard with him we drove to the hereford arms where a room had already been engaged for us i have ordered a carriage said lestrade as we sat over a cup of tea i knew your energetic nature and that you would not be happy until you had been on the scene of the crime it was very nice and complimentary of you holmes answered it is entirely a question of barometric pressure lestrade looked startled i do not quite follow he said how is the glass twentynine i see no wind and not a cloud in the sky i have a caseful of cigarettes here which need smoking and the sofa is very much superior to the usual country hotel abomination i do not think that it is probable that i shall use the carriage tonight lestrade laughed indulgently you have no doubt already formed your conclusions from the newspapers he said the case is as plain as a pikestaff and the more one goes into it the plainer it becomes still of course one cant refuse a lady and such a very positive one too she has heard of you and would have your opinion though i repeatedly told her that there was nothing which you could do which i had not already done why bless my soul here is her carriage at the door he had hardly spoken before there rushed into the room one of the most lovely young women that i have ever seen in my life her violet eyes shining her lips parted a pink flush upon her cheeks all thought of her natural reserve lost in her overpowering excitement and concern oh mr sherlock holmes she cried glancing from one to the other of us and finally with a womans quick intuition fastening upon my companion i am so glad that you have come i have driven down to tell you so i know that james didnt do it i know it and i want you to start upon your work knowing it too never let yourself doubt upon that point we have known each other since we were little children and i know his faults as no one else does but he is too tenderhearted to hurt a fly such a charge is absurd to anyone who really knows him i hope we may clear him miss turner said sherlock holmes you may rely upon my doing all that i can but you have read the evidence you have formed some conclusion do you not see some loophole some flaw do you not yourself think that he is innocent i think that it is very probable there now she cried throwing back her head and looking defiantly at lestrade you hear he gives me hopes lestrade shrugged his shoulders i am afraid that my colleague has been a little quick in forming his conclusions he said but he is right oh i know that he is right james never did it and about his quarrel with his father i am sure that the reason why he would not speak about it to the coroner was because i was concerned in it in what way asked holmes it is no time for me to hide anything james and his father had many disagreements about me mr mccarthy was very anxious that there should be a marriage between us james and i have always loved each other as brother and sister but of course he is young and has seen very little of life yet andandwell he naturally did not wish to do anything like that yet so there were quarrels and this i am sure was one of them and your father asked holmes was he in favour of such a union no he was averse to it also no one but mr mccarthy was in favour of it a quick blush passed over her fresh young face as holmes shot one of his keen questioning glances at her thank you for this information said he may i see your father if i call tomorrow i am afraid the doctor wont allow it the doctor yes have you not heard poor father has never been strong for years back but this has broken him down completely he has taken to his bed and dr willows says that he is a wreck and that his nervous system is shattered mr mccarthy was the only man alive who had known dad in the old days in victoria ha in victoria that is important yes at the mines quite so at the goldmines where as i understand mr turner made his money yes certainly thank you miss turner you have been of material assistance to me you will tell me if you have any news tomorrow no doubt you will go to the prison to see james oh if you do mr holmes do tell him that i know him to be innocent i will miss turner i must go home now for dad is very ill and he misses me so if i leave him goodbye and god help you in your undertaking she hurried from the room as impulsively as she had entered and we heard the wheels of her carriage rattle off down the street i am ashamed of you holmes said lestrade with dignity after a few minutes silence why should you raise up hopes which you are bound to disappoint i am not overtender of heart but i call it cruel i think that i see my way to clearing james mccarthy said holmes have you an order to see him in prison yes but only for you and me then i shall reconsider my resolution about going out we have still time to take a train to hereford and see him tonight ample then let us do so watson i fear that you will find it very slow but i shall only be away a couple of hours i walked down to the station with them and then wandered through the streets of the little town finally returning to the hotel where i lay upon the sofa and tried to interest myself in a yellowbacked novel the puny plot of the story was so thin however when compared to the deep mystery through which we were groping and i found my attention wander so continually from the action to the fact that i at last flung it across the room and gave myself up entirely to a consideration of the events of the day supposing that this unhappy young mans story were absolutely true then what hellish thing what absolutely unforeseen and extraordinary calamity could have occurred between the time when he parted from his father and the moment when drawn back by his screams he rushed into the glade it was something terrible and deadly what could it be might not the nature of the injuries reveal something to my medical instincts i rang the bell and called for the weekly county paper which contained a verbatim account of the inquest in the surgeons deposition it was stated that the posterior third of the left parietal bone and the left half of the occipital bone had been shattered by a heavy blow from a blunt weapon i marked the spot upon my own head clearly such a blow must have been struck from behind that was to some extent in favour of the accused as when seen quarrelling he was face to face with his father still it did not go for very much for the older man might have turned his back before the blow fell still it might be worth while to call holmes attention to it then there was the peculiar dying reference to a rat what could that mean it could not be delirium a man dying from a sudden blow does not commonly become delirious no it was more likely to be an attempt to explain how he met his fate but what could it indicate i cudgelled my brains to find some possible explanation and then the incident of the grey cloth seen by young mccarthy if that were true the murderer must have dropped some part of his dress presumably his overcoat in his flight and must have had the hardihood to return and to carry it away at the instant when the son was kneeling with his back turned not a dozen paces off what a tissue of mysteries and improbabilities the whole thing was i did not wonder at lestrades opinion and yet i had so much faith in sherlock holmes insight that i could not lose hope as long as every fresh fact seemed to strengthen his conviction of young mccarthys innocence it was late before sherlock holmes returned he came back alone for lestrade was staying in lodgings in the town the glass still keeps very high he remarked as he sat down it is of importance that it should not rain before we are able to go over the ground on the other hand a man should be at his very best and keenest for such nice work as that and i did not wish to do it when fagged by a long journey i have seen young mccarthy and what did you learn from him nothing could he throw no light none at all i was inclined to think at one time that he knew who had done it and was screening him or her but i am convinced now that he is as puzzled as everyone else he is not a very quickwitted youth though comely to look at and i should think sound at heart i cannot admire his taste i remarked if it is indeed a fact that he was averse to a marriage with so charming a young lady as this miss turner ah thereby hangs a rather painful tale this fellow is madly insanely in love with her but some two years ago when he was only a lad and before he really knew her for she had been away five years at a boardingschool what does the idiot do but get into the clutches of a barmaid in bristol and marry her at a registry office no one knows a word of the matter but you can imagine how maddening it must be to him to be upbraided for not doing what he would give his very eyes to do but what he knows to be absolutely impossible it was sheer frenzy of this sort which made him throw his hands up into the air when his father at their last interview was goading him on to propose to miss turner on the other hand he had no means of supporting himself and his father who was by all accounts a very hard man would have thrown him over utterly had he known the truth it was with his barmaid wife that he had spent the last three days in bristol and his father did not know where he was mark that point it is of importance good has come out of evil however for the barmaid finding from the papers that he is in serious trouble and likely to be hanged has thrown him over utterly and has written to him to say that she has a husband already in the bermuda dockyard so that there is really no tie between them i think that that bit of news has consoled young mccarthy for all that he has suffered but if he is innocent who has done it ah who i would call your attention very particularly to two points one is that the murdered man had an appointment with someone at the pool and that the someone could not have been his son for his son was away and he did not know when he would return the second is that the murdered man was heard to cry cooee before he knew that his son had returned those are the crucial points upon which the case depends and now let us talk about george meredith if you please and we shall leave all minor matters until tomorrow there was no rain as holmes had foretold and the morning broke bright and cloudless at nine oclock lestrade called for us with the carriage and we set off for hatherley farm and the boscombe pool there is serious news this morning lestrade observed it is said that mr turner of the hall is so ill that his life is despaired of an elderly man i presume said holmes about sixty but his constitution has been shattered by his life abroad and he has been in failing health for some time this business has had a very bad effect upon him he was an old friend of mccarthys and i may add a great benefactor to him for i have learned that he gave him hatherley farm rent free indeed that is interesting said holmes oh yes in a hundred other ways he has helped him everybody about here speaks of his kindness to him really does it not strike you as a little singular that this mccarthy who appears to have had little of his own and to have been under such obligations to turner should still talk of marrying his son to turners daughter who is presumably heiress to the estate and that in such a very cocksure manner as if it were merely a case of a proposal and all else would follow it is the more strange since we know that turner himself was averse to the idea the daughter told us as much do you not deduce something from that we have got to the deductions and the inferences said lestrade winking at me i find it hard enough to tackle facts holmes without flying away after theories and fancies you are right said holmes demurely you do find it very hard to tackle the facts anyhow i have grasped one fact which you seem to find it difficult to get hold of replied lestrade with some warmth and that is that mccarthy senior met his death from mccarthy junior and that all theories to the contrary are the merest moonshine well moonshine is a brighter thing than fog said holmes laughing but i am very much mistaken if this is not hatherley farm upon the left yes that is it it was a widespread comfortablelooking building twostoried slateroofed with great yellow blotches of lichen upon the grey walls the drawn blinds and the smokeless chimneys however gave it a stricken look as though the weight of this horror still lay heavy upon it we called at the door when the maid at holmes request showed us the boots which her master wore at the time of his death and also a pair of the sons though not the pair which he had then had having measured these very carefully from seven or eight different points holmes desired to be led to the courtyard from which we all followed the winding track which led to boscombe pool sherlock holmes was transformed when he was hot upon such a scent as this men who had only known the quiet thinker and logician of baker street would have failed to recognise him his face flushed and darkened his brows were drawn into two hard black lines while his eyes shone out from beneath them with a steely glitter his face was bent downward his shoulders bowed his lips compressed and the veins stood out like whipcord in his long sinewy neck his nostrils seemed to dilate with a purely animal lust for the chase and his mind was so absolutely concentrated upon the matter before him that a question or remark fell unheeded upon his ears or at the most only provoked a quick impatient snarl in reply swiftly and silently he made his way along the track which ran through the meadows and so by way of the woods to the boscombe pool it was damp marshy ground as is all that district and there were marks of many feet both upon the path and amid the short grass which bounded it on either side sometimes holmes would hurry on sometimes stop dead and once he made quite a little detour into the meadow lestrade and i walked behind him the detective indifferent and contemptuous while i watched my friend with the interest which sprang from the conviction that every one of his actions was directed towards a definite end the boscombe pool which is a little reedgirt sheet of water some fifty yards across is situated at the boundary between the hatherley farm and the private park of the wealthy mr turner above the woods which lined it upon the farther side we could see the red jutting pinnacles which marked the site of the rich landowners dwelling on the hatherley side of the pool the woods grew very thick and there was a narrow belt of sodden grass twenty paces across between the edge of the trees and the reeds which lined the lake lestrade showed us the exact spot at which the body had been found and indeed so moist was the ground that i could plainly see the traces which had been left by the fall of the stricken man to holmes as i could see by his eager face and peering eyes very many other things were to be read upon the trampled grass he ran round like a dog who is picking up a scent and then turned upon my companion what did you go into the pool for he asked i fished about with a rake i thought there might be some weapon or other trace but how on earth oh tut tut i have no time that left foot of yours with its inward twist is all over the place a mole could trace it and there it vanishes among the reeds oh how simple it would all have been had i been here before they came like a herd of buffalo and wallowed all over it here is where the party with the lodgekeeper came and they have covered all tracks for six or eight feet round the body but here are three separate tracks of the same feet he drew out a lens and lay down upon his waterproof to have a better view talking all the time rather to himself than to us these are young mccarthys feet twice he was walking and once he ran swiftly so that the soles are deeply marked and the heels hardly visible that bears out his story he ran when he saw his father on the ground then here are the fathers feet as he paced up and down what is this then it is the buttend of the gun as the son stood listening and this ha ha what have we here tiptoes tiptoes square too quite unusual boots they come they go they come againof course that was for the cloak now where did they come from he ran up and down sometimes losing sometimes finding the track until we were well within the edge of the wood and under the shadow of a great beech the largest tree in the neighbourhood holmes traced his way to the farther side of this and lay down once more upon his face with a little cry of satisfaction for a long time he remained there turning over the leaves and dried sticks gathering up what seemed to me to be dust into an envelope and examining with his lens not only the ground but even the bark of the tree as far as he could reach a jagged stone was lying among the moss and this also he carefully examined and retained then he followed a pathway through the wood until he came to the highroad where all traces were lost it has been a case of considerable interest he remarked returning to his natural manner i fancy that this grey house on the right must be the lodge i think that i will go in and have a word with moran and perhaps write a little note having done that we may drive back to our luncheon you may walk to the cab and i shall be with you presently it was about ten minutes before we regained our cab and drove back into ross holmes still carrying with him the stone which he had picked up in the wood this may interest you lestrade he remarked holding it out the murder was done with it i see no marks there are none how do you know then the grass was growing under it it had only lain there a few days there was no sign of a place whence it had been taken it corresponds with the injuries there is no sign of any other weapon and the murderer is a tall man lefthanded limps with the right leg wears thicksoled shootingboots and a grey cloak smokes indian cigars uses a cigarholder and carries a blunt penknife in his pocket there are several other indications but these may be enough to aid us in our search lestrade laughed i am afraid that i am still a sceptic he said theories are all very well but we have to deal with a hardheaded british jury nous verrons answered holmes calmly you work your own method and i shall work mine i shall be busy this afternoon and shall probably return to london by the evening train and leave your case unfinished no finished but the mystery it is solved who was the criminal then the gentleman i describe but who is he surely it would not be difficult to find out this is not such a populous neighbourhood lestrade shrugged his shoulders i am a practical man he said and i really cannot undertake to go about the country looking for a lefthanded gentleman with a game leg i should become the laughingstock of scotland yard all right said holmes quietly i have given you the chance here are your lodgings goodbye i shall drop you a line before i leave having left lestrade at his rooms we drove to our hotel where we found lunch upon the table holmes was silent and buried in thought with a pained expression upon his face as one who finds himself in a perplexing position look here watson he said when the cloth was cleared just sit down in this chair and let me preach to you for a little i dont know quite what to do and i should value your advice light a cigar and let me expound pray do so well now in considering this case there are two points about young mccarthys narrative which struck us both instantly although they impressed me in his favour and you against him one was the fact that his father should according to his account cry cooee before seeing him the other was his singular dying reference to a rat he mumbled several words you understand but that was all that caught the sons ear now from this double point our research must commence and we will begin it by presuming that what the lad says is absolutely true what of this cooee then well obviously it could not have been meant for the son the son as far as he knew was in bristol it was mere chance that he was within earshot the cooee was meant to attract the attention of whoever it was that he had the appointment with but cooee is a distinctly australian cry and one which is used between australians there is a strong presumption that the person whom mccarthy expected to meet him at boscombe pool was someone who had been in australia what of the rat then sherlock holmes took a folded paper from his pocket and flattened it out on the table this is a map of the colony of victoria he said i wired to bristol for it last night he put his hand over part of the map what do you read arat i read and now he raised his hand ballarat quite so that was the word the man uttered and of which his son only caught the last two syllables he was trying to utter the name of his murderer so and so of ballarat it is wonderful i exclaimed it is obvious and now you see i had narrowed the field down considerably the possession of a grey garment was a third point which granting the sons statement to be correct was a certainty we have come now out of mere vagueness to the definite conception of an australian from ballarat with a grey cloak certainly and one who was at home in the district for the pool can only be approached by the farm or by the estate where strangers could hardly wander quite so then comes our expedition of today by an examination of the ground i gained the trifling details which i gave to that imbecile lestrade as to the personality of the criminal but how did you gain them you know my method it is founded upon the observation of trifles his height i know that you might roughly judge from the length of his stride his boots too might be told from their traces yes they were peculiar boots but his lameness the impression of his right foot was always less distinct than his left he put less weight upon it why because he limpedhe was lame but his lefthandedness you were yourself struck by the nature of the injury as recorded by the surgeon at the inquest the blow was struck from immediately behind and yet was upon the left side now how can that be unless it were by a lefthanded man he had stood behind that tree during the interview between the father and son he had even smoked there i found the ash of a cigar which my special knowledge of tobacco ashes enables me to pronounce as an indian cigar i have as you know devoted some attention to this and written a little monograph on the ashes of 140 different varieties of pipe cigar and cigarette tobacco having found the ash i then looked round and discovered the stump among the moss where he had tossed it it was an indian cigar of the variety which are rolled in rotterdam and the cigarholder i could see that the end had not been in his mouth therefore he used a holder the tip had been cut off not bitten off but the cut was not a clean one so i deduced a blunt penknife holmes i said you have drawn a net round this man from which he cannot escape and you have saved an innocent human life as truly as if you had cut the cord which was hanging him i see the direction in which all this points the culprit is mr john turner cried the hotel waiter opening the door of our sittingroom and ushering in a visitor the man who entered was a strange and impressive figure his slow limping step and bowed shoulders gave the appearance of decrepitude and yet his hard deeplined craggy features and his enormous limbs showed that he was possessed of unusual strength of body and of character his tangled beard grizzled hair and outstanding drooping eyebrows combined to give an air of dignity and power to his appearance but his face was of an ashen white while his lips and the corners of his nostrils were tinged with a shade of blue it was clear to me at a glance that he was in the grip of some deadly and chronic disease pray sit down on the sofa said holmes gently you had my note yes the lodgekeeper brought it up you said that you wished to see me here to avoid scandal i thought people would talk if i went to the hall and why did you wish to see me he looked across at my companion with despair in his weary eyes as though his question was already answered yes said holmes answering the look rather than the words it is so i know all about mccarthy the old man sank his face in his hands god help me he cried but i would not have let the young man come to harm i give you my word that i would have spoken out if it went against him at the assizes i am glad to hear you say so said holmes gravely i would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl it would break her heartit will break her heart when she hears that i am arrested it may not come to that said holmes what i am no official agent i understand that it was your daughter who required my presence here and i am acting in her interests young mccarthy must be got off however i am a dying man said old turner i have had diabetes for years my doctor says it is a question whether i shall live a month yet i would rather die under my own roof than in a gaol holmes rose and sat down at the table with his pen in his hand and a bundle of paper before him just tell us the truth he said i shall jot down the facts you will sign it and watson here can witness it then i could produce your confession at the last extremity to save young mccarthy i promise you that i shall not use it unless it is absolutely needed its as well said the old man its a question whether i shall live to the assizes so it matters little to me but i should wish to spare alice the shock and now i will make the thing clear to you it has been a long time in the acting but will not take me long to tell you didnt know this dead man mccarthy he was a devil incarnate i tell you that god keep you out of the clutches of such a man as he his grip has been upon me these twenty years and he has blasted my life ill tell you first how i came to be in his power it was in the early 60s at the diggings i was a young chap then hotblooded and reckless ready to turn my hand at anything i got among bad companions took to drink had no luck with my claim took to the bush and in a word became what you would call over here a highway robber there were six of us and we had a wild free life of it sticking up a station from time to time or stopping the wagons on the road to the diggings black jack of ballarat was the name i went under and our party is still remembered in the colony as the ballarat gang one day a gold convoy came down from ballarat to melbourne and we lay in wait for it and attacked it there were six troopers and six of us so it was a close thing but we emptied four of their saddles at the first volley three of our boys were killed however before we got the swag i put my pistol to the head of the wagondriver who was this very man mccarthy i wish to the lord that i had shot him then but i spared him though i saw his wicked little eyes fixed on my face as though to remember every feature we got away with the gold became wealthy men and made our way over to england without being suspected there i parted from my old pals and determined to settle down to a quiet and respectable life i bought this estate which chanced to be in the market and i set myself to do a little good with my money to make up for the way in which i had earned it i married too and though my wife died young she left me my dear little alice even when she was just a baby her wee hand seemed to lead me down the right path as nothing else had ever done in a word i turned over a new leaf and did my best to make up for the past all was going well when mccarthy laid his grip upon me i had gone up to town about an investment and i met him in regent street with hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his foot here we are jack says he touching me on the arm well be as good as a family to you theres two of us me and my son and you can have the keeping of us if you dontits a fine lawabiding country is england and theres always a policeman within hail well down they came to the west country there was no shaking them off and there they have lived rent free on my best land ever since there was no rest for me no peace no forgetfulness turn where i would there was his cunning grinning face at my elbow it grew worse as alice grew up for he soon saw i was more afraid of her knowing my past than of the police whatever he wanted he must have and whatever it was i gave him without question land money houses until at last he asked a thing which i could not give he asked for alice his son you see had grown up and so had my girl and as i was known to be in weak health it seemed a fine stroke to him that his lad should step into the whole property but there i was firm i would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine not that i had any dislike to the lad but his blood was in him and that was enough i stood firm mccarthy threatened i braved him to do his worst we were to meet at the pool midway between our houses to talk it over when i went down there i found him talking with his son so i smoked a cigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone but as i listened to his talk all that was black and bitter in me seemed to come uppermost he was urging his son to marry my daughter with as little regard for what she might think as if she were a slut from off the streets it drove me mad to think that i and all that i held most dear should be in the power of such a man as this could i not snap the bond i was already a dying and a desperate man though clear of mind and fairly strong of limb i knew that my own fate was sealed but my memory and my girl both could be saved if i could but silence that foul tongue i did it mr holmes i would do it again deeply as i have sinned i have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it but that my girl should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more than i could suffer i struck him down with no more compunction than if he had been some foul and venomous beast his cry brought back his son but i had gained the cover of the wood though i was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which i had dropped in my flight that is the true story gentlemen of all that occurred well it is not for me to judge you said holmes as the old man signed the statement which had been drawn out i pray that we may never be exposed to such a temptation i pray not sir and what do you intend to do in view of your health nothing you are yourself aware that you will soon have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the assizes i will keep your confession and if mccarthy is condemned i shall be forced to use it if not it shall never be seen by mortal eye and your secret whether you be alive or dead shall be safe with us farewell then said the old man solemnly your own deathbeds when they come will be the easier for the thought of the peace which you have given to mine tottering and shaking in all his giant frame he stumbled slowly from the room god help us said holmes after a long silence why does fate play such tricks with poor helpless worms i never hear of such a case as this that i do not think of baxters words and say there but for the grace of god goes sherlock holmes james mccarthy was acquitted at the assizes on the strength of a number of objections which had been drawn out by holmes and submitted to the defending counsel old turner lived for seven months after our interview but he is now dead and there is every prospect that the son and daughter may come to live happily together in ignorance of the black cloud which rests upon their past v the five orange pips when i glance over my notes and records of the sherlock holmes cases between the years 82 and 90 i am faced by so many which present strange and interesting features that it is no easy matter to know which to choose and which to leave some however have already gained publicity through the papers and others have not offered a field for those peculiar qualities which my friend possessed in so high a degree and which it is the object of these papers to illustrate some too have baffled his analytical skill and would be as narratives beginnings without an ending while others have been but partially cleared up and have their explanations founded rather upon conjecture and surmise than on that absolute logical proof which was so dear to him there is however one of these last which was so remarkable in its details and so startling in its results that i am tempted to give some account of it in spite of the fact that there are points in connection with it which never have been and probably never will be entirely cleared up the year 87 furnished us with a long series of cases of greater or less interest of which i retain the records among my headings under this one twelve months i find an account of the adventure of the paradol chamber of the amateur mendicant society who held a luxurious club in the lower vault of a furniture warehouse of the facts connected with the loss of the british barque sophy anderson of the singular adventures of the grice patersons in the island of uffa and finally of the camberwell poisoning case in the latter as may be remembered sherlock holmes was able by winding up the dead mans watch to prove that it had been wound up two hours before and that therefore the deceased had gone to bed within that timea deduction which was of the greatest importance in clearing up the case all these i may sketch out at some future date but none of them present such singular features as the strange train of circumstances which i have now taken up my pen to describe it was in the latter days of september and the equinoctial gales had set in with exceptional violence all day the wind had screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows so that even here in the heart of great handmade london we were forced to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life and to recognise the presence of those great elemental forces which shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilisation like untamed beasts in a cage as evening drew in the storm grew higher and louder and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in the chimney sherlock holmes sat moodily at one side of the fireplace crossindexing his records of crime while i at the other was deep in one of clark russells fine seastories until the howl of the gale from without seemed to blend with the text and the splash of the rain to lengthen out into the long swash of the sea waves my wife was on a visit to her mothers and for a few days i was a dweller once more in my old quarters at baker street why said i glancing up at my companion that was surely the bell who could come tonight some friend of yours perhaps except yourself i have none he answered i do not encourage visitors a client then if so it is a serious case nothing less would bring a man out on such a day and at such an hour but i take it that it is more likely to be some crony of the landladys sherlock holmes was wrong in his conjecture however for there came a step in the passage and a tapping at the door he stretched out his long arm to turn the lamp away from himself and towards the vacant chair upon which a newcomer must sit come in said he the man who entered was young some twoandtwenty at the outside wellgroomed and trimly clad with something of refinement and delicacy in his bearing the streaming umbrella which he held in his hand and his long shining waterproof told of the fierce weather through which he had come he looked about him anxiously in the glare of the lamp and i could see that his face was pale and his eyes heavy like those of a man who is weighed down with some great anxiety i owe you an apology he said raising his golden pincenez to his eyes i trust that i am not intruding i fear that i have brought some traces of the storm and rain into your snug chamber give me your coat and umbrella said holmes they may rest here on the hook and will be dry presently you have come up from the southwest i see yes from horsham that clay and chalk mixture which i see upon your toe caps is quite distinctive i have come for advice that is easily got and help that is not always so easy i have heard of you mr holmes i heard from major prendergast how you saved him in the tankerville club scandal ah of course he was wrongfully accused of cheating at cards he said that you could solve anything he said too much that you are never beaten i have been beaten four timesthree times by men and once by a woman but what is that compared with the number of your successes it is true that i have been generally successful then you may be so with me i beg that you will draw your chair up to the fire and favour me with some details as to your case it is no ordinary one none of those which come to me are i am the last court of appeal and yet i question sir whether in all your experience you have ever listened to a more mysterious and inexplicable chain of events than those which have happened in my own family you fill me with interest said holmes pray give us the essential facts from the commencement and i can afterwards question you as to those details which seem to me to be most important the young man pulled his chair up and pushed his wet feet out towards the blaze my name said he is john openshaw but my own affairs have as far as i can understand little to do with this awful business it is a hereditary matter so in order to give you an idea of the facts i must go back to the commencement of the affair you must know that my grandfather had two sonsmy uncle elias and my father joseph my father had a small factory at coventry which he enlarged at the time of the invention of bicycling he was a patentee of the openshaw unbreakable tire and his business met with such success that he was able to sell it and to retire upon a handsome competence my uncle elias emigrated to america when he was a young man and became a planter in florida where he was reported to have done very well at the time of the war he fought in jacksons army and afterwards under hood where he rose to be a colonel when lee laid down his arms my uncle returned to his plantation where he remained for three or four years about 1869 or 1870 he came back to europe and took a small estate in sussex near horsham he had made a very considerable fortune in the states and his reason for leaving them was his aversion to the negroes and his dislike of the republican policy in extending the franchise to them he was a singular man fierce and quicktempered very foulmouthed when he was angry and of a most retiring disposition during all the years that he lived at horsham i doubt if ever he set foot in the town he had a garden and two or three fields round his house and there he would take his exercise though very often for weeks on end he would never leave his room he drank a great deal of brandy and smoked very heavily but he would see no society and did not want any friends not even his own brother he didnt mind me in fact he took a fancy to me for at the time when he saw me first i was a youngster of twelve or so this would be in the year 1878 after he had been eight or nine years in england he begged my father to let me live with him and he was very kind to me in his way when he was sober he used to be fond of playing backgammon and draughts with me and he would make me his representative both with the servants and with the tradespeople so that by the time that i was sixteen i was quite master of the house i kept all the keys and could go where i liked and do what i liked so long as i did not disturb him in his privacy there was one singular exception however for he had a single room a lumberroom up among the attics which was invariably locked and which he would never permit either me or anyone else to enter with a boys curiosity i have peeped through the keyhole but i was never able to see more than such a collection of old trunks and bundles as would be expected in such a room one dayit was in march 1883a letter with a foreign stamp lay upon the table in front of the colonels plate it was not a common thing for him to receive letters for his bills were all paid in ready money and he had no friends of any sort from india said he as he took it up pondicherry postmark what can this be opening it hurriedly out there jumped five little dried orange pips which pattered down upon his plate i began to laugh at this but the laugh was struck from my lips at the sight of his face his lip had fallen his eyes were protruding his skin the colour of putty and he glared at the envelope which he still held in his trembling hand k k k he shrieked and then my god my god my sins have overtaken me what is it uncle i cried death said he and rising from the table he retired to his room leaving me palpitating with horror i took up the envelope and saw scrawled in red ink upon the inner flap just above the gum the letter k three times repeated there was nothing else save the five dried pips what could be the reason of his overpowering terror i left the breakfasttable and as i ascended the stair i met him coming down with an old rusty key which must have belonged to the attic in one hand and a small brass box like a cashbox in the other they may do what they like but ill checkmate them still said he with an oath tell mary that i shall want a fire in my room today and send down to fordham the horsham lawyer i did as he ordered and when the lawyer arrived i was asked to step up to the room the fire was burning brightly and in the grate there was a mass of black fluffy ashes as of burned paper while the brass box stood open and empty beside it as i glanced at the box i noticed with a start that upon the lid was printed the treble k which i had read in the morning upon the envelope i wish you john said my uncle to witness my will i leave my estate with all its advantages and all its disadvantages to my brother your father whence it will no doubt descend to you if you can enjoy it in peace well and good if you find you cannot take my advice my boy and leave it to your deadliest enemy i am sorry to give you such a twoedged thing but i cant say what turn things are going to take kindly sign the paper where mr fordham shows you i signed the paper as directed and the lawyer took it away with him the singular incident made as you may think the deepest impression upon me and i pondered over it and turned it every way in my mind without being able to make anything of it yet i could not shake off the vague feeling of dread which it left behind though the sensation grew less keen as the weeks passed and nothing happened to disturb the usual routine of our lives i could see a change in my uncle however he drank more than ever and he was less inclined for any sort of society most of his time he would spend in his room with the door locked upon the inside but sometimes he would emerge in a sort of drunken frenzy and would burst out of the house and tear about the garden with a revolver in his hand screaming out that he was afraid of no man and that he was not to be cooped up like a sheep in a pen by man or devil when these hot fits were over however he would rush tumultuously in at the door and lock and bar it behind him like a man who can brazen it out no longer against the terror which lies at the roots of his soul at such times i have seen his face even on a cold day glisten with moisture as though it were new raised from a basin well to come to an end of the matter mr holmes and not to abuse your patience there came a night when he made one of those drunken sallies from which he never came back we found him when we went to search for him face downward in a little greenscummed pool which lay at the foot of the garden there was no sign of any violence and the water was but two feet deep so that the jury having regard to his known eccentricity brought in a verdict of suicide but i who knew how he winced from the very thought of death had much ado to persuade myself that he had gone out of his way to meet it the matter passed however and my father entered into possession of the estate and of some 14000 which lay to his credit at the bank one moment holmes interposed your statement is i foresee one of the most remarkable to which i have ever listened let me have the date of the reception by your uncle of the letter and the date of his supposed suicide the letter arrived on march 10 1883 his death was seven weeks later upon the night of may 2nd thank you pray proceed when my father took over the horsham property he at my request made a careful examination of the attic which had been always locked up we found the brass box there although its contents had been destroyed on the inside of the cover was a paper label with the initials of k k k repeated upon it and letters memoranda receipts and a register written beneath these we presume indicated the nature of the papers which had been destroyed by colonel openshaw for the rest there was nothing of much importance in the attic save a great many scattered papers and notebooks bearing upon my uncles life in america some of them were of the war time and showed that he had done his duty well and had borne the repute of a brave soldier others were of a date during the reconstruction of the southern states and were mostly concerned with politics for he had evidently taken a strong part in opposing the carpetbag politicians who had been sent down from the north well it was the beginning of 84 when my father came to live at horsham and all went as well as possible with us until the january of 85 on the fourth day after the new year i heard my father give a sharp cry of surprise as we sat together at the breakfasttable there he was sitting with a newly opened envelope in one hand and five dried orange pips in the outstretched palm of the other one he had always laughed at what he called my cockandbull story about the colonel but he looked very scared and puzzled now that the same thing had come upon himself why what on earth does this mean john he stammered my heart had turned to lead it is k k k said i he looked inside the envelope so it is he cried here are the very letters but what is this written above them put the papers on the sundial i read peeping over his shoulder what papers what sundial he asked the sundial in the garden there is no other said i but the papers must be those that are destroyed pooh said he gripping hard at his courage we are in a civilised land here and we cant have tomfoolery of this kind where does the thing come from from dundee i answered glancing at the postmark some preposterous practical joke said he what have i to do with sundials and papers i shall take no notice of such nonsense i should certainly speak to the police i said and be laughed at for my pains nothing of the sort then let me do so no i forbid you i wont have a fuss made about such nonsense it was in vain to argue with him for he was a very obstinate man i went about however with a heart which was full of forebodings on the third day after the coming of the letter my father went from home to visit an old friend of his major freebody who is in command of one of the forts upon portsdown hill i was glad that he should go for it seemed to me that he was farther from danger when he was away from home in that however i was in error upon the second day of his absence i received a telegram from the major imploring me to come at once my father had fallen over one of the deep chalkpits which abound in the neighbourhood and was lying senseless with a shattered skull i hurried to him but he passed away without having ever recovered his consciousness he had as it appears been returning from fareham in the twilight and as the country was unknown to him and the chalkpit unfenced the jury had no hesitation in bringing in a verdict of death from accidental causes carefully as i examined every fact connected with his death i was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea of murder there were no signs of violence no footmarks no robbery no record of strangers having been seen upon the roads and yet i need not tell you that my mind was far from at ease and that i was wellnigh certain that some foul plot had been woven round him in this sinister way i came into my inheritance you will ask me why i did not dispose of it i answer because i was well convinced that our troubles were in some way dependent upon an incident in my uncles life and that the danger would be as pressing in one house as in another it was in january 85 that my poor father met his end and two years and eight months have elapsed since then during that time i have lived happily at horsham and i had begun to hope that this curse had passed away from the family and that it had ended with the last generation i had begun to take comfort too soon however yesterday morning the blow fell in the very shape in which it had come upon my father the young man took from his waistcoat a crumpled envelope and turning to the table he shook out upon it five little dried orange pips this is the envelope he continued the postmark is londoneastern division within are the very words which were upon my fathers last message k k k and then put the papers on the sundial what have you done asked holmes nothing nothing to tell the truthhe sank his face into his thin white handsi have felt helpless i have felt like one of those poor rabbits when the snake is writhing towards it i seem to be in the grasp of some resistless inexorable evil which no foresight and no precautions can guard against tut tut cried sherlock holmes you must act man or you are lost nothing but energy can save you this is no time for despair i have seen the police ah but they listened to my story with a smile i am convinced that the inspector has formed the opinion that the letters are all practical jokes and that the deaths of my relations were really accidents as the jury stated and were not to be connected with the warnings holmes shook his clenched hands in the air incredible imbecility he cried they have however allowed me a policeman who may remain in the house with me has he come with you tonight no his orders were to stay in the house again holmes raved in the air why did you come to me he said and above all why did you not come at once i did not know it was only today that i spoke to major prendergast about my troubles and was advised by him to come to you it is really two days since you had the letter we should have acted before this you have no further evidence i suppose than that which you have placed before usno suggestive detail which might help us there is one thing said john openshaw he rummaged in his coat pocket and drawing out a piece of discoloured bluetinted paper he laid it out upon the table i have some remembrance said he that on the day when my uncle burned the papers i observed that the small unburned margins which lay amid the ashes were of this particular colour i found this single sheet upon the floor of his room and i am inclined to think that it may be one of the papers which has perhaps fluttered out from among the others and in that way has escaped destruction beyond the mention of pips i do not see that it helps us much i think myself that it is a page from some private diary the writing is undoubtedly my uncles holmes moved the lamp and we both bent over the sheet of paper which showed by its ragged edge that it had indeed been torn from a book it was headed march 1869 and beneath were the following enigmatical notices 4th hudson came same old platform 7th set the pips on mccauley paramore and john swain of st augustine 9th mccauley cleared 10th john swain cleared 12th visited paramore all well thank you said holmes folding up the paper and returning it to our visitor and now you must on no account lose another instant we cannot spare time even to discuss what you have told me you must get home instantly and act what shall i do there is but one thing to do it must be done at once you must put this piece of paper which you have shown us into the brass box which you have described you must also put in a note to say that all the other papers were burned by your uncle and that this is the only one which remains you must assert that in such words as will carry conviction with them having done this you must at once put the box out upon the sundial as directed do you understand entirely do not think of revenge or anything of the sort at present i think that we may gain that by means of the law but we have our web to weave while theirs is already woven the first consideration is to remove the pressing danger which threatens you the second is to clear up the mystery and to punish the guilty parties i thank you said the young man rising and pulling on his overcoat you have given me fresh life and hope i shall certainly do as you advise do not lose an instant and above all take care of yourself in the meanwhile for i do not think that there can be a doubt that you are threatened by a very real and imminent danger how do you go back by train from waterloo it is not yet nine the streets will be crowded so i trust that you may be in safety and yet you cannot guard yourself too closely i am armed that is well tomorrow i shall set to work upon your case i shall see you at horsham then no your secret lies in london it is there that i shall seek it then i shall call upon you in a day or in two days with news as to the box and the papers i shall take your advice in every particular he shook hands with us and took his leave outside the wind still screamed and the rain splashed and pattered against the windows this strange wild story seemed to have come to us from amid the mad elementsblown in upon us like a sheet of seaweed in a galeand now to have been reabsorbed by them once more sherlock holmes sat for some time in silence with his head sunk forward and his eyes bent upon the red glow of the fire then he lit his pipe and leaning back in his chair he watched the blue smokerings as they chased each other up to the ceiling i think watson he remarked at last that of all our cases we have had none more fantastic than this save perhaps the sign of four well yes save perhaps that and yet this john openshaw seems to me to be walking amid even greater perils than did the sholtos but have you i asked formed any definite conception as to what these perils are there can be no question as to their nature he answered then what are they who is this k k k and why does he pursue this unhappy family sherlock holmes closed his eyes and placed his elbows upon the arms of his chair with his fingertips together the ideal reasoner he remarked would when he had once been shown a single fact in all its bearings deduce from it not only all the chain of events which led up to it but also all the results which would follow from it as cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation of a single bone so the observer who has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents should be able to accurately state all the other ones both before and after we have not yet grasped the results which the reason alone can attain to problems may be solved in the study which have baffled all those who have sought a solution by the aid of their senses to carry the art however to its highest pitch it is necessary that the reasoner should be able to utilise all the facts which have come to his knowledge and this in itself implies as you will readily see a possession of all knowledge which even in these days of free education and encyclopædias is a somewhat rare accomplishment it is not so impossible however that a man should possess all knowledge which is likely to be useful to him in his work and this i have endeavoured in my case to do if i remember rightly you on one occasion in the early days of our friendship defined my limits in a very precise fashion yes i answered laughing it was a singular document philosophy astronomy and politics were marked at zero i remember botany variable geology profound as regards the mudstains from any region within fifty miles of town chemistry eccentric anatomy unsystematic sensational literature and crime records unique violinplayer boxer swordsman lawyer and selfpoisoner by cocaine and tobacco those i think were the main points of my analysis holmes grinned at the last item well he said i say now as i said then that a man should keep his little brainattic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use and the rest he can put away in the lumberroom of his library where he can get it if he wants it now for such a case as the one which has been submitted to us tonight we need certainly to muster all our resources kindly hand me down the letter k of the american encyclopædia which stands upon the shelf beside you thank you now let us consider the situation and see what may be deduced from it in the first place we may start with a strong presumption that colonel openshaw had some very strong reason for leaving america men at his time of life do not change all their habits and exchange willingly the charming climate of florida for the lonely life of an english provincial town his extreme love of solitude in england suggests the idea that he was in fear of someone or something so we may assume as a working hypothesis that it was fear of someone or something which drove him from america as to what it was he feared we can only deduce that by considering the formidable letters which were received by himself and his successors did you remark the postmarks of those letters the first was from pondicherry the second from dundee and the third from london from east london what do you deduce from that they are all seaports that the writer was on board of a ship excellent we have already a clue there can be no doubt that the probabilitythe strong probabilityis that the writer was on board of a ship and now let us consider another point in the case of pondicherry seven weeks elapsed between the threat and its fulfilment in dundee it was only some three or four days does that suggest anything a greater distance to travel but the letter had also a greater distance to come then i do not see the point there is at least a presumption that the vessel in which the man or men are is a sailingship it looks as if they always send their singular warning or token before them when starting upon their mission you see how quickly the deed followed the sign when it came from dundee if they had come from pondicherry in a steamer they would have arrived almost as soon as their letter but as a matter of fact seven weeks elapsed i think that those seven weeks represented the difference between the mailboat which brought the letter and the sailing vessel which brought the writer it is possible more than that it is probable and now you see the deadly urgency of this new case and why i urged young openshaw to caution the blow has always fallen at the end of the time which it would take the senders to travel the distance but this one comes from london and therefore we cannot count upon delay good god i cried what can it mean this relentless persecution the papers which openshaw carried are obviously of vital importance to the person or persons in the sailingship i think that it is quite clear that there must be more than one of them a single man could not have carried out two deaths in such a way as to deceive a coroners jury there must have been several in it and they must have been men of resource and determination their papers they mean to have be the holder of them who it may in this way you see k k k ceases to be the initials of an individual and becomes the badge of a society but of what society have you never said sherlock holmes bending forward and sinking his voicehave you never heard of the ku klux klan i never have holmes turned over the leaves of the book upon his knee here it is said he presently ku klux klan a name derived from the fanciful resemblance to the sound produced by cocking a rifle this terrible secret society was formed by some exconfederate soldiers in the southern states after the civil war and it rapidly formed local branches in different parts of the country notably in tennessee louisiana the carolinas georgia and florida its power was used for political purposes principally for the terrorising of the negro voters and the murdering and driving from the country of those who were opposed to its views its outrages were usually preceded by a warning sent to the marked man in some fantastic but generally recognised shapea sprig of oakleaves in some parts melon seeds or orange pips in others on receiving this the victim might either openly abjure his former ways or might fly from the country if he braved the matter out death would unfailingly come upon him and usually in some strange and unforeseen manner so perfect was the organisation of the society and so systematic its methods that there is hardly a case upon record where any man succeeded in braving it with impunity or in which any of its outrages were traced home to the perpetrators for some years the organisation flourished in spite of the efforts of the united states government and of the better classes of the community in the south eventually in the year 1869 the movement rather suddenly collapsed although there have been sporadic outbreaks of the same sort since that date you will observe said holmes laying down the volume that the sudden breaking up of the society was coincident with the disappearance of openshaw from america with their papers it may well have been cause and effect it is no wonder that he and his family have some of the more implacable spirits upon their track you can understand that this register and diary may implicate some of the first men in the south and that there may be many who will not sleep easy at night until it is recovered then the page we have seen is such as we might expect it ran if i remember right sent the pips to a b and cthat is sent the societys warning to them then there are successive entries that a and b cleared or left the country and finally that c was visited with i fear a sinister result for c well i think doctor that we may let some light into this dark place and i believe that the only chance young openshaw has in the meantime is to do what i have told him there is nothing more to be said or to be done tonight so hand me over my violin and let us try to forget for half an hour the miserable weather and the still more miserable ways of our fellow men it had cleared in the morning and the sun was shining with a subdued brightness through the dim veil which hangs over the great city sherlock holmes was already at breakfast when i came down you will excuse me for not waiting for you said he i have i foresee a very busy day before me in looking into this case of young openshaws what steps will you take i asked it will very much depend upon the results of my first inquiries i may have to go down to horsham after all you will not go there first no i shall commence with the city just ring the bell and the maid will bring up your coffee as i waited i lifted the unopened newspaper from the table and glanced my eye over it it rested upon a heading which sent a chill to my heart holmes i cried you are too late ah said he laying down his cup i feared as much how was it done he spoke calmly but i could see that he was deeply moved my eye caught the name of openshaw and the heading tragedy near waterloo bridge here is the account between nine and ten last night policeconstable cook of the h division on duty near waterloo bridge heard a cry for help and a splash in the water the night however was extremely dark and stormy so that in spite of the help of several passersby it was quite impossible to effect a rescue the alarm however was given and by the aid of the waterpolice the body was eventually recovered it proved to be that of a young gentleman whose name as it appears from an envelope which was found in his pocket was john openshaw and whose residence is near horsham it is conjectured that he may have been hurrying down to catch the last train from waterloo station and that in his haste and the extreme darkness he missed his path and walked over the edge of one of the small landingplaces for river steamboats the body exhibited no traces of violence and there can be no doubt that the deceased had been the victim of an unfortunate accident which should have the effect of calling the attention of the authorities to the condition of the riverside landingstages we sat in silence for some minutes holmes more depressed and shaken than i had ever seen him that hurts my pride watson he said at last it is a petty feeling no doubt but it hurts my pride it becomes a personal matter with me now and if god sends me health i shall set my hand upon this gang that he should come to me for help and that i should send him away to his death he sprang from his chair and paced about the room in uncontrollable agitation with a flush upon his sallow cheeks and a nervous clasping and unclasping of his long thin hands they must be cunning devils he exclaimed at last how could they have decoyed him down there the embankment is not on the direct line to the station the bridge no doubt was too crowded even on such a night for their purpose well watson we shall see who will win in the long run i am going out now to the police no i shall be my own police when i have spun the web they may take the flies but not before all day i was engaged in my professional work and it was late in the evening before i returned to baker street sherlock holmes had not come back yet it was nearly ten oclock before he entered looking pale and worn he walked up to the sideboard and tearing a piece from the loaf he devoured it voraciously washing it down with a long draught of water you are hungry i remarked starving it had escaped my memory i have had nothing since breakfast nothing not a bite i had no time to think of it and how have you succeeded well you have a clue i have them in the hollow of my hand young openshaw shall not long remain unavenged why watson let us put their own devilish trademark upon them it is well thought of what do you mean he took an orange from the cupboard and tearing it to pieces he squeezed out the pips upon the table of these he took five and thrust them into an envelope on the inside of the flap he wrote s h for j o then he sealed it and addressed it to captain james calhoun barque lone star savannah georgia that will await him when he enters port said he chuckling it may give him a sleepless night he will find it as sure a precursor of his fate as openshaw did before him and who is this captain calhoun the leader of the gang i shall have the others but he first how did you trace it then he took a large sheet of paper from his pocket all covered with dates and names i have spent the whole day said he over lloyds registers and files of the old papers following the future career of every vessel which touched at pondicherry in january and february in 83 there were thirtysix ships of fair tonnage which were reported there during those months of these one the lone star instantly attracted my attention since although it was reported as having cleared from london the name is that which is given to one of the states of the union texas i think i was not and am not sure which but i knew that the ship must have an american origin what then i searched the dundee records and when i found that the barque lone star was there in january 85 my suspicion became a certainty i then inquired as to the vessels which lay at present in the port of london yes the lone star had arrived here last week i went down to the albert dock and found that she had been taken down the river by the early tide this morning homeward bound to savannah i wired to gravesend and learned that she had passed some time ago and as the wind is easterly i have no doubt that she is now past the goodwins and not very far from the isle of wight what will you do then oh i have my hand upon him he and the two mates are as i learn the only nativeborn americans in the ship the others are finns and germans i know also that they were all three away from the ship last night i had it from the stevedore who has been loading their cargo by the time that their sailingship reaches savannah the mailboat will have carried this letter and the cable will have informed the police of savannah that these three gentlemen are badly wanted here upon a charge of murder there is ever a flaw however in the best laid of human plans and the murderers of john openshaw were never to receive the orange pips which would show them that another as cunning and as resolute as themselves was upon their track very long and very severe were the equinoctial gales that year we waited long for news of the lone star of savannah but none ever reached us we did at last hear that somewhere far out in the atlantic a shattered sternpost of a boat was seen swinging in the trough of a wave with the letters l s carved upon it and that is all which we shall ever know of the fate of the lone star vi the man with the twisted lip isa whitney brother of the late elias whitney dd principal of the theological college of st georges was much addicted to opium the habit grew upon him as i understand from some foolish freak when he was at college for having read de quinceys description of his dreams and sensations he had drenched his tobacco with laudanum in an attempt to produce the same effects he found as so many more have done that the practice is easier to attain than to get rid of and for many years he continued to be a slave to the drug an object of mingled horror and pity to his friends and relatives i can see him now with yellow pasty face drooping lids and pinpoint pupils all huddled in a chair the wreck and ruin of a noble man one nightit was in june 89there came a ring to my bell about the hour when a man gives his first yawn and glances at the clock i sat up in my chair and my wife laid her needlework down in her lap and made a little face of disappointment a patient said she youll have to go out i groaned for i was newly come back from a weary day we heard the door open a few hurried words and then quick steps upon the linoleum our own door flew open and a lady clad in some darkcoloured stuff with a black veil entered the room you will excuse my calling so late she began and then suddenly losing her selfcontrol she ran forward threw her arms about my wifes neck and sobbed upon her shoulder oh im in such trouble she cried i do so want a little help why said my wife pulling up her veil it is kate whitney how you startled me kate i had not an idea who you were when you came in i didnt know what to do so i came straight to you that was always the way folk who were in grief came to my wife like birds to a lighthouse it was very sweet of you to come now you must have some wine and water and sit here comfortably and tell us all about it or should you rather that i sent james off to bed oh no no i want the doctors advice and help too its about isa he has not been home for two days i am so frightened about him it was not the first time that she had spoken to us of her husbands trouble to me as a doctor to my wife as an old friend and school companion we soothed and comforted her by such words as we could find did she know where her husband was was it possible that we could bring him back to her it seems that it was she had the surest information that of late he had when the fit was on him made use of an opium den in the farthest east of the city hitherto his orgies had always been confined to one day and he had come back twitching and shattered in the evening but now the spell had been upon him eightandforty hours and he lay there doubtless among the dregs of the docks breathing in the poison or sleeping off the effects there he was to be found she was sure of it at the bar of gold in upper swandam lane but what was she to do how could she a young and timid woman make her way into such a place and pluck her husband out from among the ruffians who surrounded him there was the case and of course there was but one way out of it might i not escort her to this place and then as a second thought why should she come at all i was isa whitneys medical adviser and as such i had influence over him i could manage it better if i were alone i promised her on my word that i would send him home in a cab within two hours if he were indeed at the address which she had given me and so in ten minutes i had left my armchair and cheery sittingroom behind me and was speeding eastward in a hansom on a strange errand as it seemed to me at the time though the future only could show how strange it was to be but there was no great difficulty in the first stage of my adventure upper swandam lane is a vile alley lurking behind the high wharves which line the north side of the river to the east of london bridge between a slopshop and a ginshop approached by a steep flight of steps leading down to a black gap like the mouth of a cave i found the den of which i was in search ordering my cab to wait i passed down the steps worn hollow in the centre by the ceaseless tread of drunken feet and by the light of a flickering oillamp above the door i found the latch and made my way into a long low room thick and heavy with the brown opium smoke and terraced with wooden berths like the forecastle of an emigrant ship through the gloom one could dimly catch a glimpse of bodies lying in strange fantastic poses bowed shoulders bent knees heads thrown back and chins pointing upward with here and there a dark lacklustre eye turned upon the newcomer out of the black shadows there glimmered little red circles of light now bright now faint as the burning poison waxed or waned in the bowls of the metal pipes the most lay silent but some muttered to themselves and others talked together in a strange low monotonous voice their conversation coming in gushes and then suddenly tailing off into silence each mumbling out his own thoughts and paying little heed to the words of his neighbour at the farther end was a small brazier of burning charcoal beside which on a threelegged wooden stool there sat a tall thin old man with his jaw resting upon his two fists and his elbows upon his knees staring into the fire as i entered a sallow malay attendant had hurried up with a pipe for me and a supply of the drug beckoning me to an empty berth thank you i have not come to stay said i there is a friend of mine here mr isa whitney and i wish to speak with him there was a movement and an exclamation from my right and peering through the gloom i saw whitney pale haggard and unkempt staring out at me my god its watson said he he was in a pitiable state of reaction with every nerve in a twitter i say watson what oclock is it nearly eleven of what day of friday june 19th good heavens i thought it was wednesday it is wednesday what dyou want to frighten a chap for he sank his face onto his arms and began to sob in a high treble key i tell you that it is friday man your wife has been waiting this two days for you you should be ashamed of yourself so i am but youve got mixed watson for i have only been here a few hours three pipes four pipesi forget how many but ill go home with you i wouldnt frighten katepoor little kate give me your hand have you a cab yes i have one waiting then i shall go in it but i must owe something find what i owe watson i am all off colour i can do nothing for myself i walked down the narrow passage between the double row of sleepers holding my breath to keep out the vile stupefying fumes of the drug and looking about for the manager as i passed the tall man who sat by the brazier i felt a sudden pluck at my skirt and a low voice whispered walk past me and then look back at me the words fell quite distinctly upon my ear i glanced down they could only have come from the old man at my side and yet he sat now as absorbed as ever very thin very wrinkled bent with age an opium pipe dangling down from between his knees as though it had dropped in sheer lassitude from his fingers i took two steps forward and looked back it took all my selfcontrol to prevent me from breaking out into a cry of astonishment he had turned his back so that none could see him but i his form had filled out his wrinkles were gone the dull eyes had regained their fire and there sitting by the fire and grinning at my surprise was none other than sherlock holmes he made a slight motion to me to approach him and instantly as he turned his face half round to the company once more subsided into a doddering looselipped senility holmes i whispered what on earth are you doing in this den as low as you can he answered i have excellent ears if you would have the great kindness to get rid of that sottish friend of yours i should be exceedingly glad to have a little talk with you i have a cab outside then pray send him home in it you may safely trust him for he appears to be too limp to get into any mischief i should recommend you also to send a note by the cabman to your wife to say that you have thrown in your lot with me if you will wait outside i shall be with you in five minutes it was difficult to refuse any of sherlock holmes requests for they were always so exceedingly definite and put forward with such a quiet air of mastery i felt however that when whitney was once confined in the cab my mission was practically accomplished and for the rest i could not wish anything better than to be associated with my friend in one of those singular adventures which were the normal condition of his existence in a few minutes i had written my note paid whitneys bill led him out to the cab and seen him driven through the darkness in a very short time a decrepit figure had emerged from the opium den and i was walking down the street with sherlock holmes for two streets he shuffled along with a bent back and an uncertain foot then glancing quickly round he straightened himself out and burst into a hearty fit of laughter i suppose watson said he that you imagine that i have added opiumsmoking to cocaine injections and all the other little weaknesses on which you have favoured me with your medical views i was certainly surprised to find you there but not more so than i to find you i came to find a friend and i to find an enemy an enemy yes one of my natural enemies or shall i say my natural prey briefly watson i am in the midst of a very remarkable inquiry and i have hoped to find a clue in the incoherent ramblings of these sots as i have done before now had i been recognised in that den my life would not have been worth an hours purchase for i have used it before now for my own purposes and the rascally lascar who runs it has sworn to have vengeance upon me there is a trapdoor at the back of that building near the corner of pauls wharf which could tell some strange tales of what has passed through it upon the moonless nights what you do not mean bodies ay bodies watson we should be rich men if we had 1000 for every poor devil who has been done to death in that den it is the vilest murdertrap on the whole riverside and i fear that neville st clair has entered it never to leave it more but our trap should be here he put his two forefingers between his teeth and whistled shrillya signal which was answered by a similar whistle from the distance followed shortly by the rattle of wheels and the clink of horses hoofs now watson said holmes as a tall dogcart dashed up through the gloom throwing out two golden tunnels of yellow light from its side lanterns youll come with me wont you if i can be of use oh a trusty comrade is always of use and a chronicler still more so my room at the cedars is a doublebedded one the cedars yes that is mr st clairs house i am staying there while i conduct the inquiry where is it then near lee in kent we have a sevenmile drive before us but i am all in the dark of course you are youll know all about it presently jump up here all right john we shall not need you heres half a crown look out for me tomorrow about eleven give her her head so long then he flicked the horse with his whip and we dashed away through the endless succession of sombre and deserted streets which widened gradually until we were flying across a broad balustraded bridge with the murky river flowing sluggishly beneath us beyond lay another dull wilderness of bricks and mortar its silence broken only by the heavy regular footfall of the policeman or the songs and shouts of some belated party of revellers a dull wrack was drifting slowly across the sky and a star or two twinkled dimly here and there through the rifts of the clouds holmes drove in silence with his head sunk upon his breast and the air of a man who is lost in thought while i sat beside him curious to learn what this new quest might be which seemed to tax his powers so sorely and yet afraid to break in upon the current of his thoughts we had driven several miles and were beginning to get to the fringe of the belt of suburban villas when he shook himself shrugged his shoulders and lit up his pipe with the air of a man who has satisfied himself that he is acting for the best you have a grand gift of silence watson said he it makes you quite invaluable as a companion pon my word it is a great thing for me to have someone to talk to for my own thoughts are not overpleasant i was wondering what i should say to this dear little woman tonight when she meets me at the door you forget that i know nothing about it i shall just have time to tell you the facts of the case before we get to lee it seems absurdly simple and yet somehow i can get nothing to go upon theres plenty of thread no doubt but i cant get the end of it into my hand now ill state the case clearly and concisely to you watson and maybe you can see a spark where all is dark to me proceed then some years agoto be definite in may 1884there came to lee a gentleman neville st clair by name who appeared to have plenty of money he took a large villa laid out the grounds very nicely and lived generally in good style by degrees he made friends in the neighbourhood and in 1887 he married the daughter of a local brewer by whom he now has two children he had no occupation but was interested in several companies and went into town as a rule in the morning returning by the 514 from cannon street every night mr st clair is now thirtyseven years of age is a man of temperate habits a good husband a very affectionate father and a man who is popular with all who know him i may add that his whole debts at the present moment as far as we have been able to ascertain amount to 88 10s while he has 220 standing to his credit in the capital and counties bank there is no reason therefore to think that money troubles have been weighing upon his mind last monday mr neville st clair went into town rather earlier than usual remarking before he started that he had two important commissions to perform and that he would bring his little boy home a box of bricks now by the merest chance his wife received a telegram upon this same monday very shortly after his departure to the effect that a small parcel of considerable value which she had been expecting was waiting for her at the offices of the aberdeen shipping company now if you are well up in your london you will know that the office of the company is in fresno street which branches out of upper swandam lane where you found me tonight mrs st clair had her lunch started for the city did some shopping proceeded to the companys office got her packet and found herself at exactly 435 walking through swandam lane on her way back to the station have you followed me so far it is very clear if you remember monday was an exceedingly hot day and mrs st clair walked slowly glancing about in the hope of seeing a cab as she did not like the neighbourhood in which she found herself while she was walking in this way down swandam lane she suddenly heard an ejaculation or cry and was struck cold to see her husband looking down at her and as it seemed to her beckoning to her from a secondfloor window the window was open and she distinctly saw his face which she describes as being terribly agitated he waved his hands frantically to her and then vanished from the window so suddenly that it seemed to her that he had been plucked back by some irresistible force from behind one singular point which struck her quick feminine eye was that although he wore some dark coat such as he had started to town in he had on neither collar nor necktie convinced that something was amiss with him she rushed down the stepsfor the house was none other than the opium den in which you found me tonightand running through the front room she attempted to ascend the stairs which led to the first floor at the foot of the stairs however she met this lascar scoundrel of whom i have spoken who thrust her back and aided by a dane who acts as assistant there pushed her out into the street filled with the most maddening doubts and fears she rushed down the lane and by rare goodfortune met in fresno street a number of constables with an inspector all on their way to their beat the inspector and two men accompanied her back and in spite of the continued resistance of the proprietor they made their way to the room in which mr st clair had last been seen there was no sign of him there in fact in the whole of that floor there was no one to be found save a crippled wretch of hideous aspect who it seems made his home there both he and the lascar stoutly swore that no one else had been in the front room during the afternoon so determined was their denial that the inspector was staggered and had almost come to believe that mrs st clair had been deluded when with a cry she sprang at a small deal box which lay upon the table and tore the lid from it out there fell a cascade of childrens bricks it was the toy which he had promised to bring home this discovery and the evident confusion which the cripple showed made the inspector realise that the matter was serious the rooms were carefully examined and results all pointed to an abominable crime the front room was plainly furnished as a sittingroom and led into a small bedroom which looked out upon the back of one of the wharves between the wharf and the bedroom window is a narrow strip which is dry at low tide but is covered at high tide with at least four and a half feet of water the bedroom window was a broad one and opened from below on examination traces of blood were to be seen upon the windowsill and several scattered drops were visible upon the wooden floor of the bedroom thrust away behind a curtain in the front room were all the clothes of mr neville st clair with the exception of his coat his boots his socks his hat and his watchall were there there were no signs of violence upon any of these garments and there were no other traces of mr neville st clair out of the window he must apparently have gone for no other exit could be discovered and the ominous bloodstains upon the sill gave little promise that he could save himself by swimming for the tide was at its very highest at the moment of the tragedy and now as to the villains who seemed to be immediately implicated in the matter the lascar was known to be a man of the vilest antecedents but as by mrs st clairs story he was known to have been at the foot of the stair within a very few seconds of her husbands appearance at the window he could hardly have been more than an accessory to the crime his defence was one of absolute ignorance and he protested that he had no knowledge as to the doings of hugh boone his lodger and that he could not account in any way for the presence of the missing gentlemans clothes so much for the lascar manager now for the sinister cripple who lives upon the second floor of the opium den and who was certainly the last human being whose eyes rested upon neville st clair his name is hugh boone and his hideous face is one which is familiar to every man who goes much to the city he is a professional beggar though in order to avoid the police regulations he pretends to a small trade in wax vestas some little distance down threadneedle street upon the lefthand side there is as you may have remarked a small angle in the wall here it is that this creature takes his daily seat crosslegged with his tiny stock of matches on his lap and as he is a piteous spectacle a small rain of charity descends into the greasy leather cap which lies upon the pavement beside him i have watched the fellow more than once before ever i thought of making his professional acquaintance and i have been surprised at the harvest which he has reaped in a short time his appearance you see is so remarkable that no one can pass him without observing him a shock of orange hair a pale face disfigured by a horrible scar which by its contraction has turned up the outer edge of his upper lip a bulldog chin and a pair of very penetrating dark eyes which present a singular contrast to the colour of his hair all mark him out from amid the common crowd of mendicants and so too does his wit for he is ever ready with a reply to any piece of chaff which may be thrown at him by the passersby this is the man whom we now learn to have been the lodger at the opium den and to have been the last man to see the gentleman of whom we are in quest but a cripple said i what could he have done singlehanded against a man in the prime of life he is a cripple in the sense that he walks with a limp but in other respects he appears to be a powerful and wellnurtured man surely your medical experience would tell you watson that weakness in one limb is often compensated for by exceptional strength in the others pray continue your narrative mrs st clair had fainted at the sight of the blood upon the window and she was escorted home in a cab by the police as her presence could be of no help to them in their investigations inspector barton who had charge of the case made a very careful examination of the premises but without finding anything which threw any light upon the matter one mistake had been made in not arresting boone instantly as he was allowed some few minutes during which he might have communicated with his friend the lascar but this fault was soon remedied and he was seized and searched without anything being found which could incriminate him there were it is true some bloodstains upon his right shirtsleeve but he pointed to his ringfinger which had been cut near the nail and explained that the bleeding came from there adding that he had been to the window not long before and that the stains which had been observed there came doubtless from the same source he denied strenuously having ever seen mr neville st clair and swore that the presence of the clothes in his room was as much a mystery to him as to the police as to mrs st clairs assertion that she had actually seen her husband at the window he declared that she must have been either mad or dreaming he was removed loudly protesting to the policestation while the inspector remained upon the premises in the hope that the ebbing tide might afford some fresh clue and it did though they hardly found upon the mudbank what they had feared to find it was neville st clairs coat and not neville st clair which lay uncovered as the tide receded and what do you think they found in the pockets i cannot imagine no i dont think you would guess every pocket stuffed with pennies and halfpennies421 pennies and 270 halfpennies it was no wonder that it had not been swept away by the tide but a human body is a different matter there is a fierce eddy between the wharf and the house it seemed likely enough that the weighted coat had remained when the stripped body had been sucked away into the river but i understand that all the other clothes were found in the room would the body be dressed in a coat alone no sir but the facts might be met speciously enough suppose that this man boone had thrust neville st clair through the window there is no human eye which could have seen the deed what would he do then it would of course instantly strike him that he must get rid of the telltale garments he would seize the coat then and be in the act of throwing it out when it would occur to him that it would swim and not sink he has little time for he has heard the scuffle downstairs when the wife tried to force her way up and perhaps he has already heard from his lascar confederate that the police are hurrying up the street there is not an instant to be lost he rushes to some secret hoard where he has accumulated the fruits of his beggary and he stuffs all the coins upon which he can lay his hands into the pockets to make sure of the coats sinking he throws it out and would have done the same with the other garments had not he heard the rush of steps below and only just had time to close the window when the police appeared it certainly sounds feasible well we will take it as a working hypothesis for want of a better boone as i have told you was arrested and taken to the station but it could not be shown that there had ever before been anything against him he had for years been known as a professional beggar but his life appeared to have been a very quiet and innocent one there the matter stands at present and the questions which have to be solvedwhat neville st clair was doing in the opium den what happened to him when there where is he now and what hugh boone had to do with his disappearanceare all as far from a solution as ever i confess that i cannot recall any case within my experience which looked at the first glance so simple and yet which presented such difficulties while sherlock holmes had been detailing this singular series of events we had been whirling through the outskirts of the great town until the last straggling houses had been left behind and we rattled along with a country hedge upon either side of us just as he finished however we drove through two scattered villages where a few lights still glimmered in the windows we are on the outskirts of lee said my companion we have touched on three english counties in our short drive starting in middlesex passing over an angle of surrey and ending in kent see that light among the trees that is the cedars and beside that lamp sits a woman whose anxious ears have already i have little doubt caught the clink of our horses feet but why are you not conducting the case from baker street i asked because there are many inquiries which must be made out here mrs st clair has most kindly put two rooms at my disposal and you may rest assured that she will have nothing but a welcome for my friend and colleague i hate to meet her watson when i have no news of her husband here we are whoa there whoa we had pulled up in front of a large villa which stood within its own grounds a stableboy had run out to the horses head and springing down i followed holmes up the small winding graveldrive which led to the house as we approached the door flew open and a little blonde woman stood in the opening clad in some sort of light mousseline de soie with a touch of fluffy pink chiffon at her neck and wrists she stood with her figure outlined against the flood of light one hand upon the door one halfraised in her eagerness her body slightly bent her head and face protruded with eager eyes and parted lips a standing question well she cried well and then seeing that there were two of us she gave a cry of hope which sank into a groan as she saw that my companion shook his head and shrugged his shoulders no good news none no bad no thank god for that but come in you must be weary for you have had a long day this is my friend dr watson he has been of most vital use to me in several of my cases and a lucky chance has made it possible for me to bring him out and associate him with this investigation i am delighted to see you said she pressing my hand warmly you will i am sure forgive anything that may be wanting in our arrangements when you consider the blow which has come so suddenly upon us my dear madam said i i am an old campaigner and if i were not i can very well see that no apology is needed if i can be of any assistance either to you or to my friend here i shall be indeed happy now mr sherlock holmes said the lady as we entered a welllit diningroom upon the table of which a cold supper had been laid out i should very much like to ask you one or two plain questions to which i beg that you will give a plain answer certainly madam do not trouble about my feelings i am not hysterical nor given to fainting i simply wish to hear your real real opinion upon what point in your heart of hearts do you think that neville is alive sherlock holmes seemed to be embarrassed by the question frankly now she repeated standing upon the rug and looking keenly down at him as he leaned back in a basketchair frankly then madam i do not you think that he is dead i do murdered i dont say that perhaps and on what day did he meet his death on monday then perhaps mr holmes you will be good enough to explain how it is that i have received a letter from him today sherlock holmes sprang out of his chair as if he had been galvanised what he roared yes today she stood smiling holding up a little slip of paper in the air may i see it certainly he snatched it from her in his eagerness and smoothing it out upon the table he drew over the lamp and examined it intently i had left my chair and was gazing at it over his shoulder the envelope was a very coarse one and was stamped with the gravesend postmark and with the date of that very day or rather of the day before for it was considerably after midnight coarse writing murmured holmes surely this is not your husbands writing madam no but the enclosure is i perceive also that whoever addressed the envelope had to go and inquire as to the address how can you tell that the name you see is in perfectly black ink which has dried itself the rest is of the greyish colour which shows that blottingpaper has been used if it had been written straight off and then blotted none would be of a deep black shade this man has written the name and there has then been a pause before he wrote the address which can only mean that he was not familiar with it it is of course a trifle but there is nothing so important as trifles let us now see the letter ha there has been an enclosure here yes there was a ring his signetring and you are sure that this is your husbands hand one of his hands one his hand when he wrote hurriedly it is very unlike his usual writing and yet i know it well dearest do not be frightened all will come well there is a huge error which it may take some little time to rectify wait in patienceneville written in pencil upon the flyleaf of a book octavo size no watermark hum posted today in gravesend by a man with a dirty thumb ha and the flap has been gummed if i am not very much in error by a person who had been chewing tobacco and you have no doubt that it is your husbands hand madam none neville wrote those words and they were posted today at gravesend well mrs st clair the clouds lighten though i should not venture to say that the danger is over but he must be alive mr holmes unless this is a clever forgery to put us on the wrong scent the ring after all proves nothing it may have been taken from him no no it is it is his very own writing very well it may however have been written on monday and only posted today that is possible if so much may have happened between oh you must not discourage me mr holmes i know that all is well with him there is so keen a sympathy between us that i should know if evil came upon him on the very day that i saw him last he cut himself in the bedroom and yet i in the diningroom rushed upstairs instantly with the utmost certainty that something had happened do you think that i would respond to such a trifle and yet be ignorant of his death i have seen too much not to know that the impression of a woman may be more valuable than the conclusion of an analytical reasoner and in this letter you certainly have a very strong piece of evidence to corroborate your view but if your husband is alive and able to write letters why should he remain away from you i cannot imagine it is unthinkable and on monday he made no remarks before leaving you no and you were surprised to see him in swandam lane very much so was the window open yes then he might have called to you he might he only as i understand gave an inarticulate cry yes a call for help you thought yes he waved his hands but it might have been a cry of surprise astonishment at the unexpected sight of you might cause him to throw up his hands it is possible and you thought he was pulled back he disappeared so suddenly he might have leaped back you did not see anyone else in the room no but this horrible man confessed to having been there and the lascar was at the foot of the stairs quite so your husband as far as you could see had his ordinary clothes on but without his collar or tie i distinctly saw his bare throat had he ever spoken of swandam lane never had he ever showed any signs of having taken opium never thank you mrs st clair those are the principal points about which i wished to be absolutely clear we shall now have a little supper and then retire for we may have a very busy day tomorrow a large and comfortable doublebedded room had been placed at our disposal and i was quickly between the sheets for i was weary after my night of adventure sherlock holmes was a man however who when he had an unsolved problem upon his mind would go for days and even for a week without rest turning it over rearranging his facts looking at it from every point of view until he had either fathomed it or convinced himself that his data were insufficient it was soon evident to me that he was now preparing for an allnight sitting he took off his coat and waistcoat put on a large blue dressinggown and then wandered about the room collecting pillows from his bed and cushions from the sofa and armchairs with these he constructed a sort of eastern divan upon which he perched himself crosslegged with an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches laid out in front of him in the dim light of the lamp i saw him sitting there an old briar pipe between his lips his eyes fixed vacantly upon the corner of the ceiling the blue smoke curling up from him silent motionless with the light shining upon his strongset aquiline features so he sat as i dropped off to sleep and so he sat when a sudden ejaculation caused me to wake up and i found the summer sun shining into the apartment the pipe was still between his lips the smoke still curled upward and the room was full of a dense tobacco haze but nothing remained of the heap of shag which i had seen upon the previous night awake watson he asked yes game for a morning drive certainly then dress no one is stirring yet but i know where the stableboy sleeps and we shall soon have the trap out he chuckled to himself as he spoke his eyes twinkled and he seemed a different man to the sombre thinker of the previous night as i dressed i glanced at my watch it was no wonder that no one was stirring it was twentyfive minutes past four i had hardly finished when holmes returned with the news that the boy was putting in the horse i want to test a little theory of mine said he pulling on his boots i think watson that you are now standing in the presence of one of the most absolute fools in europe i deserve to be kicked from here to charing cross but i think i have the key of the affair now and where is it i asked smiling in the bathroom he answered oh yes i am not joking he continued seeing my look of incredulity i have just been there and i have taken it out and i have got it in this gladstone bag come on my boy and we shall see whether it will not fit the lock we made our way downstairs as quietly as possible and out into the bright morning sunshine in the road stood our horse and trap with the halfclad stableboy waiting at the head we both sprang in and away we dashed down the london road a few country carts were stirring bearing in vegetables to the metropolis but the lines of villas on either side were as silent and lifeless as some city in a dream it has been in some points a singular case said holmes flicking the horse on into a gallop i confess that i have been as blind as a mole but it is better to learn wisdom late than never to learn it at all in town the earliest risers were just beginning to look sleepily from their windows as we drove through the streets of the surrey side passing down the waterloo bridge road we crossed over the river and dashing up wellington street wheeled sharply to the right and found ourselves in bow street sherlock holmes was well known to the force and the two constables at the door saluted him one of them held the horses head while the other led us in who is on duty asked holmes inspector bradstreet sir ah bradstreet how are you a tall stout official had come down the stoneflagged passage in a peaked cap and frogged jacket i wish to have a quiet word with you bradstreet certainly mr holmes step into my room here it was a small officelike room with a huge ledger upon the table and a telephone projecting from the wall the inspector sat down at his desk what can i do for you mr holmes i called about that beggarman boonethe one who was charged with being concerned in the disappearance of mr neville st clair of lee yes he was brought up and remanded for further inquiries so i heard you have him here in the cells is he quiet oh he gives no trouble but he is a dirty scoundrel dirty yes it is all we can do to make him wash his hands and his face is as black as a tinkers well when once his case has been settled he will have a regular prison bath and i think if you saw him you would agree with me that he needed it i should like to see him very much would you that is easily done come this way you can leave your bag no i think that ill take it very good come this way if you please he led us down a passage opened a barred door passed down a winding stair and brought us to a whitewashed corridor with a line of doors on each side the third on the right is his said the inspector here it is he quietly shot back a panel in the upper part of the door and glanced through he is asleep said he you can see him very well we both put our eyes to the grating the prisoner lay with his face towards us in a very deep sleep breathing slowly and heavily he was a middlesized man coarsely clad as became his calling with a coloured shirt protruding through the rent in his tattered coat he was as the inspector had said extremely dirty but the grime which covered his face could not conceal its repulsive ugliness a broad wheal from an old scar ran right across it from eye to chin and by its contraction had turned up one side of the upper lip so that three teeth were exposed in a perpetual snarl a shock of very bright red hair grew low over his eyes and forehead hes a beauty isnt he said the inspector he certainly needs a wash remarked holmes i had an idea that he might and i took the liberty of bringing the tools with me he opened the gladstone bag as he spoke and took out to my astonishment a very large bathsponge he he you are a funny one chuckled the inspector now if you will have the great goodness to open that door very quietly we will soon make him cut a much more respectable figure well i dont know why not said the inspector he doesnt look a credit to the bow street cells does he he slipped his key into the lock and we all very quietly entered the cell the sleeper half turned and then settled down once more into a deep slumber holmes stooped to the waterjug moistened his sponge and then rubbed it twice vigorously across and down the prisoners face let me introduce you he shouted to mr neville st clair of lee in the county of kent never in my life have i seen such a sight the mans face peeled off under the sponge like the bark from a tree gone was the coarse brown tint gone too was the horrid scar which had seamed it across and the twisted lip which had given the repulsive sneer to the face a twitch brought away the tangled red hair and there sitting up in his bed was a pale sadfaced refinedlooking man blackhaired and smoothskinned rubbing his eyes and staring about him with sleepy bewilderment then suddenly realising the exposure he broke into a scream and threw himself down with his face to the pillow great heavens cried the inspector it is indeed the missing man i know him from the photograph the prisoner turned with the reckless air of a man who abandons himself to his destiny be it so said he and pray what am i charged with with making away with mr neville st oh come you cant be charged with that unless they make a case of attempted suicide of it said the inspector with a grin well i have been twentyseven years in the force but this really takes the cake if i am mr neville st clair then it is obvious that no crime has been committed and that therefore i am illegally detained no crime but a very great error has been committed said holmes you would have done better to have trusted your wife it was not the wife it was the children groaned the prisoner god help me i would not have them ashamed of their father my god what an exposure what can i do sherlock holmes sat down beside him on the couch and patted him kindly on the shoulder if you leave it to a court of law to clear the matter up said he of course you can hardly avoid publicity on the other hand if you convince the police authorities that there is no possible case against you i do not know that there is any reason that the details should find their way into the papers inspector bradstreet would i am sure make notes upon anything which you might tell us and submit it to the proper authorities the case would then never go into court at all god bless you cried the prisoner passionately i would have endured imprisonment ay even execution rather than have left my miserable secret as a family blot to my children you are the first who have ever heard my story my father was a schoolmaster in chesterfield where i received an excellent education i travelled in my youth took to the stage and finally became a reporter on an evening paper in london one day my editor wished to have a series of articles upon begging in the metropolis and i volunteered to supply them there was the point from which all my adventures started it was only by trying begging as an amateur that i could get the facts upon which to base my articles when an actor i had of course learned all the secrets of making up and had been famous in the greenroom for my skill i took advantage now of my attainments i painted my face and to make myself as pitiable as possible i made a good scar and fixed one side of my lip in a twist by the aid of a small slip of fleshcoloured plaster then with a red head of hair and an appropriate dress i took my station in the business part of the city ostensibly as a matchseller but really as a beggar for seven hours i plied my trade and when i returned home in the evening i found to my surprise that i had received no less than 26s 4d i wrote my articles and thought little more of the matter until some time later i backed a bill for a friend and had a writ served upon me for 25 i was at my wits end where to get the money but a sudden idea came to me i begged a fortnights grace from the creditor asked for a holiday from my employers and spent the time in begging in the city under my disguise in ten days i had the money and had paid the debt well you can imagine how hard it was to settle down to arduous work at 2 a week when i knew that i could earn as much in a day by smearing my face with a little paint laying my cap on the ground and sitting still it was a long fight between my pride and the money but the dollars won at last and i threw up reporting and sat day after day in the corner which i had first chosen inspiring pity by my ghastly face and filling my pockets with coppers only one man knew my secret he was the keeper of a low den in which i used to lodge in swandam lane where i could every morning emerge as a squalid beggar and in the evenings transform myself into a welldressed man about town this fellow a lascar was well paid by me for his rooms so that i knew that my secret was safe in his possession well very soon i found that i was saving considerable sums of money i do not mean that any beggar in the streets of london could earn 700 a yearwhich is less than my average takingsbut i had exceptional advantages in my power of making up and also in a facility of repartee which improved by practice and made me quite a recognised character in the city all day a stream of pennies varied by silver poured in upon me and it was a very bad day in which i failed to take 2 as i grew richer i grew more ambitious took a house in the country and eventually married without anyone having a suspicion as to my real occupation my dear wife knew that i had business in the city she little knew what last monday i had finished for the day and was dressing in my room above the opium den when i looked out of my window and saw to my horror and astonishment that my wife was standing in the street with her eyes fixed full upon me i gave a cry of surprise threw up my arms to cover my face and rushing to my confidant the lascar entreated him to prevent anyone from coming up to me i heard her voice downstairs but i knew that she could not ascend swiftly i threw off my clothes pulled on those of a beggar and put on my pigments and wig even a wifes eyes could not pierce so complete a disguise but then it occurred to me that there might be a search in the room and that the clothes might betray me i threw open the window reopening by my violence a small cut which i had inflicted upon myself in the bedroom that morning then i seized my coat which was weighted by the coppers which i had just transferred to it from the leather bag in which i carried my takings i hurled it out of the window and it disappeared into the thames the other clothes would have followed but at that moment there was a rush of constables up the stair and a few minutes after i found rather i confess to my relief that instead of being identified as mr neville st clair i was arrested as his murderer i do not know that there is anything else for me to explain i was determined to preserve my disguise as long as possible and hence my preference for a dirty face knowing that my wife would be terribly anxious i slipped off my ring and confided it to the lascar at a moment when no constable was watching me together with a hurried scrawl telling her that she had no cause to fear that note only reached her yesterday said holmes good god what a week she must have spent the police have watched this lascar said inspector bradstreet and i can quite understand that he might find it difficult to post a letter unobserved probably he handed it to some sailor customer of his who forgot all about it for some days that was it said holmes nodding approvingly i have no doubt of it but have you never been prosecuted for begging many times but what was a fine to me it must stop here however said bradstreet if the police are to hush this thing up there must be no more of hugh boone i have sworn it by the most solemn oaths which a man can take in that case i think that it is probable that no further steps may be taken but if you are found again then all must come out i am sure mr holmes that we are very much indebted to you for having cleared the matter up i wish i knew how you reach your results i reached this one said my friend by sitting upon five pillows and consuming an ounce of shag i think watson that if we drive to baker street we shall just be in time for breakfast vii the adventure of the blue carbuncle i had called upon my friend sherlock holmes upon the second morning after christmas with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season he was lounging upon the sofa in a purple dressinggown a piperack within his reach upon the right and a pile of crumpled morning papers evidently newly studied near at hand beside the couch was a wooden chair and on the angle of the back hung a very seedy and disreputable hardfelt hat much the worse for wear and cracked in several places a lens and a forceps lying upon the seat of the chair suggested that the hat had been suspended in this manner for the purpose of examination you are engaged said i perhaps i interrupt you not at all i am glad to have a friend with whom i can discuss my results the matter is a perfectly trivial onehe jerked his thumb in the direction of the old hatbut there are points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction i seated myself in his armchair and warmed my hands before his crackling fire for a sharp frost had set in and the windows were thick with the ice crystals i suppose i remarked that homely as it looks this thing has some deadly story linked on to itthat it is the clue which will guide you in the solution of some mystery and the punishment of some crime no no no crime said sherlock holmes laughing only one of those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have four million human beings all jostling each other within the space of a few square miles amid the action and reaction of so dense a swarm of humanity every possible combination of events may be expected to take place and many a little problem will be presented which may be striking and bizarre without being criminal we have already had experience of such so much so i remarked that of the last six cases which i have added to my notes three have been entirely free of any legal crime precisely you allude to my attempt to recover the irene adler papers to the singular case of miss mary sutherland and to the adventure of the man with the twisted lip well i have no doubt that this small matter will fall into the same innocent category you know peterson the commissionaire yes it is to him that this trophy belongs it is his hat no no he found it its owner is unknown i beg that you will look upon it not as a battered billycock but as an intellectual problem and first as to how it came here it arrived upon christmas morning in company with a good fat goose which is i have no doubt roasting at this moment in front of petersons fire the facts are these about four oclock on christmas morning peterson who as you know is a very honest fellow was returning from some small jollification and was making his way homeward down tottenham court road in front of him he saw in the gaslight a tallish man walking with a slight stagger and carrying a white goose slung over his shoulder as he reached the corner of goodge street a row broke out between this stranger and a little knot of roughs one of the latter knocked off the mans hat on which he raised his stick to defend himself and swinging it over his head smashed the shop window behind him peterson had rushed forward to protect the stranger from his assailants but the man shocked at having broken the window and seeing an officiallooking person in uniform rushing towards him dropped his goose took to his heels and vanished amid the labyrinth of small streets which lie at the back of tottenham court road the roughs had also fled at the appearance of peterson so that he was left in possession of the field of battle and also of the spoils of victory in the shape of this battered hat and a most unimpeachable christmas goose which surely he restored to their owner my dear fellow there lies the problem it is true that for mrs henry baker was printed upon a small card which was tied to the birds left leg and it is also true that the initials h b are legible upon the lining of this hat but as there are some thousands of bakers and some hundreds of henry bakers in this city of ours it is not easy to restore lost property to any one of them what then did peterson do he brought round both hat and goose to me on christmas morning knowing that even the smallest problems are of interest to me the goose we retained until this morning when there were signs that in spite of the slight frost it would be well that it should be eaten without unnecessary delay its finder has carried it off therefore to fulfil the ultimate destiny of a goose while i continue to retain the hat of the unknown gentleman who lost his christmas dinner did he not advertise no then what clue could you have as to his identity only as much as we can deduce from his hat precisely but you are joking what can you gather from this old battered felt here is my lens you know my methods what can you gather yourself as to the individuality of the man who has worn this article i took the tattered object in my hands and turned it over rather ruefully it was a very ordinary black hat of the usual round shape hard and much the worse for wear the lining had been of red silk but was a good deal discoloured there was no makers name but as holmes had remarked the initials h b were scrawled upon one side it was pierced in the brim for a hatsecurer but the elastic was missing for the rest it was cracked exceedingly dusty and spotted in several places although there seemed to have been some attempt to hide the discoloured patches by smearing them with ink i can see nothing said i handing it back to my friend on the contrary watson you can see everything you fail however to reason from what you see you are too timid in drawing your inferences then pray tell me what it is that you can infer from this hat he picked it up and gazed at it in the peculiar introspective fashion which was characteristic of him it is perhaps less suggestive than it might have been he remarked and yet there are a few inferences which are very distinct and a few others which represent at least a strong balance of probability that the man was highly intellectual is of course obvious upon the face of it and also that he was fairly welltodo within the last three years although he has now fallen upon evil days he had foresight but has less now than formerly pointing to a moral retrogression which when taken with the decline of his fortunes seems to indicate some evil influence probably drink at work upon him this may account also for the obvious fact that his wife has ceased to love him my dear holmes he has however retained some degree of selfrespect he continued disregarding my remonstrance he is a man who leads a sedentary life goes out little is out of training entirely is middleaged has grizzled hair which he has had cut within the last few days and which he anoints with limecream these are the more patent facts which are to be deduced from his hat also by the way that it is extremely improbable that he has gas laid on in his house you are certainly joking holmes not in the least is it possible that even now when i give you these results you are unable to see how they are attained i have no doubt that i am very stupid but i must confess that i am unable to follow you for example how did you deduce that this man was intellectual for answer holmes clapped the hat upon his head it came right over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose it is a question of cubic capacity said he a man with so large a brain must have something in it the decline of his fortunes then this hat is three years old these flat brims curled at the edge came in then it is a hat of the very best quality look at the band of ribbed silk and the excellent lining if this man could afford to buy so expensive a hat three years ago and has had no hat since then he has assuredly gone down in the world well that is clear enough certainly but how about the foresight and the moral retrogression sherlock holmes laughed here is the foresight said he putting his finger upon the little disc and loop of the hatsecurer they are never sold upon hats if this man ordered one it is a sign of a certain amount of foresight since he went out of his way to take this precaution against the wind but since we see that he has broken the elastic and has not troubled to replace it it is obvious that he has less foresight now than formerly which is a distinct proof of a weakening nature on the other hand he has endeavoured to conceal some of these stains upon the felt by daubing them with ink which is a sign that he has not entirely lost his selfrespect your reasoning is certainly plausible the further points that he is middleaged that his hair is grizzled that it has been recently cut and that he uses limecream are all to be gathered from a close examination of the lower part of the lining the lens discloses a large number of hairends clean cut by the scissors of the barber they all appear to be adhesive and there is a distinct odour of limecream this dust you will observe is not the gritty grey dust of the street but the fluffy brown dust of the house showing that it has been hung up indoors most of the time while the marks of moisture upon the inside are proof positive that the wearer perspired very freely and could therefore hardly be in the best of training but his wifeyou said that she had ceased to love him this hat has not been brushed for weeks when i see you my dear watson with a weeks accumulation of dust upon your hat and when your wife allows you to go out in such a state i shall fear that you also have been unfortunate enough to lose your wifes affection but he might be a bachelor nay he was bringing home the goose as a peaceoffering to his wife remember the card upon the birds leg you have an answer to everything but how on earth do you deduce that the gas is not laid on in his house one tallow stain or even two might come by chance but when i see no less than five i think that there can be little doubt that the individual must be brought into frequent contact with burning tallowwalks upstairs at night probably with his hat in one hand and a guttering candle in the other anyhow he never got tallowstains from a gasjet are you satisfied well it is very ingenious said i laughing but since as you said just now there has been no crime committed and no harm done save the loss of a goose all this seems to be rather a waste of energy sherlock holmes had opened his mouth to reply when the door flew open and peterson the commissionaire rushed into the apartment with flushed cheeks and the face of a man who is dazed with astonishment the goose mr holmes the goose sir he gasped eh what of it then has it returned to life and flapped off through the kitchen window holmes twisted himself round upon the sofa to get a fairer view of the mans excited face see here sir see what my wife found in its crop he held out his hand and displayed upon the centre of the palm a brilliantly scintillating blue stone rather smaller than a bean in size but of such purity and radiance that it twinkled like an electric point in the dark hollow of his hand sherlock holmes sat up with a whistle by jove peterson said he this is treasure trove indeed i suppose you know what you have got a diamond sir a precious stone it cuts into glass as though it were putty its more than a precious stone it is the precious stone not the countess of morcars blue carbuncle i ejaculated precisely so i ought to know its size and shape seeing that i have read the advertisement about it in the times every day lately it is absolutely unique and its value can only be conjectured but the reward offered of 1000 is certainly not within a twentieth part of the market price a thousand pounds great lord of mercy the commissionaire plumped down into a chair and stared from one to the other of us that is the reward and i have reason to know that there are sentimental considerations in the background which would induce the countess to part with half her fortune if she could but recover the gem it was lost if i remember aright at the hotel cosmopolitan i remarked precisely so on december 22nd just five days ago john horner a plumber was accused of having abstracted it from the ladys jewelcase the evidence against him was so strong that the case has been referred to the assizes i have some account of the matter here i believe he rummaged amid his newspapers glancing over the dates until at last he smoothed one out doubled it over and read the following paragraph hotel cosmopolitan jewel robbery john horner 26 plumber was brought up upon the charge of having upon the 22nd inst abstracted from the jewelcase of the countess of morcar the valuable gem known as the blue carbuncle james ryder upperattendant at the hotel gave his evidence to the effect that he had shown horner up to the dressingroom of the countess of morcar upon the day of the robbery in order that he might solder the second bar of the grate which was loose he had remained with horner some little time but had finally been called away on returning he found that horner had disappeared that the bureau had been forced open and that the small morocco casket in which as it afterwards transpired the countess was accustomed to keep her jewel was lying empty upon the dressingtable ryder instantly gave the alarm and horner was arrested the same evening but the stone could not be found either upon his person or in his rooms catherine cusack maid to the countess deposed to having heard ryders cry of dismay on discovering the robbery and to having rushed into the room where she found matters as described by the last witness inspector bradstreet b division gave evidence as to the arrest of horner who struggled frantically and protested his innocence in the strongest terms evidence of a previous conviction for robbery having been given against the prisoner the magistrate refused to deal summarily with the offence but referred it to the assizes horner who had shown signs of intense emotion during the proceedings fainted away at the conclusion and was carried out of court hum so much for the policecourt said holmes thoughtfully tossing aside the paper the question for us now to solve is the sequence of events leading from a rifled jewelcase at one end to the crop of a goose in tottenham court road at the other you see watson our little deductions have suddenly assumed a much more important and less innocent aspect here is the stone the stone came from the goose and the goose came from mr henry baker the gentleman with the bad hat and all the other characteristics with which i have bored you so now we must set ourselves very seriously to finding this gentleman and ascertaining what part he has played in this little mystery to do this we must try the simplest means first and these lie undoubtedly in an advertisement in all the evening papers if this fail i shall have recourse to other methods what will you say give me a pencil and that slip of paper now then found at the corner of goodge street a goose and a black felt hat mr henry baker can have the same by applying at 630 this evening at 221b baker street that is clear and concise very but will he see it well he is sure to keep an eye on the papers since to a poor man the loss was a heavy one he was clearly so scared by his mischance in breaking the window and by the approach of peterson that he thought of nothing but flight but since then he must have bitterly regretted the impulse which caused him to drop his bird then again the introduction of his name will cause him to see it for everyone who knows him will direct his attention to it here you are peterson run down to the advertising agency and have this put in the evening papers in which sir oh in the globe star pall mall st jamess gazette evening news standard echo and any others that occur to you very well sir and this stone ah yes i shall keep the stone thank you and i say peterson just buy a goose on your way back and leave it here with me for we must have one to give to this gentleman in place of the one which your family is now devouring when the commissionaire had gone holmes took up the stone and held it against the light its a bonny thing said he just see how it glints and sparkles of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime every good stone is they are the devils pet baits in the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed this stone is not yet twenty years old it was found in the banks of the amoy river in southern china and is remarkable in having every characteristic of the carbuncle save that it is blue in shade instead of ruby red in spite of its youth it has already a sinister history there have been two murders a vitriolthrowing a suicide and several robberies brought about for the sake of this fortygrain weight of crystallised charcoal who would think that so pretty a toy would be a purveyor to the gallows and the prison ill lock it up in my strong box now and drop a line to the countess to say that we have it do you think that this man horner is innocent i cannot tell well then do you imagine that this other one henry baker had anything to do with the matter it is i think much more likely that henry baker is an absolutely innocent man who had no idea that the bird which he was carrying was of considerably more value than if it were made of solid gold that however i shall determine by a very simple test if we have an answer to our advertisement and you can do nothing until then nothing in that case i shall continue my professional round but i shall come back in the evening at the hour you have mentioned for i should like to see the solution of so tangled a business very glad to see you i dine at seven there is a woodcock i believe by the way in view of recent occurrences perhaps i ought to ask mrs hudson to examine its crop i had been delayed at a case and it was a little after halfpast six when i found myself in baker street once more as i approached the house i saw a tall man in a scotch bonnet with a coat which was buttoned up to his chin waiting outside in the bright semicircle which was thrown from the fanlight just as i arrived the door was opened and we were shown up together to holmes room mr henry baker i believe said he rising from his armchair and greeting his visitor with the easy air of geniality which he could so readily assume pray take this chair by the fire mr baker it is a cold night and i observe that your circulation is more adapted for summer than for winter ah watson you have just come at the right time is that your hat mr baker yes sir that is undoubtedly my hat he was a large man with rounded shoulders a massive head and a broad intelligent face sloping down to a pointed beard of grizzled brown a touch of red in nose and cheeks with a slight tremor of his extended hand recalled holmes surmise as to his habits his rusty black frockcoat was buttoned right up in front with the collar turned up and his lank wrists protruded from his sleeves without a sign of cuff or shirt he spoke in a slow staccato fashion choosing his words with care and gave the impression generally of a man of learning and letters who had had illusage at the hands of fortune we have retained these things for some days said holmes because we expected to see an advertisement from you giving your address i am at a loss to know now why you did not advertise our visitor gave a rather shamefaced laugh shillings have not been so plentiful with me as they once were he remarked i had no doubt that the gang of roughs who assaulted me had carried off both my hat and the bird i did not care to spend more money in a hopeless attempt at recovering them very naturally by the way about the bird we were compelled to eat it to eat it our visitor half rose from his chair in his excitement yes it would have been of no use to anyone had we not done so but i presume that this other goose upon the sideboard which is about the same weight and perfectly fresh will answer your purpose equally well oh certainly certainly answered mr baker with a sigh of relief of course we still have the feathers legs crop and so on of your own bird so if you wish the man burst into a hearty laugh they might be useful to me as relics of my adventure said he but beyond that i can hardly see what use the disjecta membra of my late acquaintance are going to be to me no sir i think that with your permission i will confine my attentions to the excellent bird which i perceive upon the sideboard sherlock holmes glanced sharply across at me with a slight shrug of his shoulders there is your hat then and there your bird said he by the way would it bore you to tell me where you got the other one from i am somewhat of a fowl fancier and i have seldom seen a better grown goose certainly sir said baker who had risen and tucked his newly gained property under his arm there are a few of us who frequent the alpha inn near the museumwe are to be found in the museum itself during the day you understand this year our good host windigate by name instituted a goose club by which on consideration of some few pence every week we were each to receive a bird at christmas my pence were duly paid and the rest is familiar to you i am much indebted to you sir for a scotch bonnet is fitted neither to my years nor my gravity with a comical pomposity of manner he bowed solemnly to both of us and strode off upon his way so much for mr henry baker said holmes when he had closed the door behind him it is quite certain that he knows nothing whatever about the matter are you hungry watson not particularly then i suggest that we turn our dinner into a supper and follow up this clue while it is still hot by all means it was a bitter night so we drew on our ulsters and wrapped cravats about our throats outside the stars were shining coldly in a cloudless sky and the breath of the passersby blew out into smoke like so many pistol shots our footfalls rang out crisply and loudly as we swung through the doctors quarter wimpole street harley street and so through wigmore street into oxford street in a quarter of an hour we were in bloomsbury at the alpha inn which is a small publichouse at the corner of one of the streets which runs down into holborn holmes pushed open the door of the private bar and ordered two glasses of beer from the ruddyfaced whiteaproned landlord your beer should be excellent if it is as good as your geese said he my geese the man seemed surprised yes i was speaking only half an hour ago to mr henry baker who was a member of your goose club ah yes i see but you see sir thems not our geese indeed whose then well i got the two dozen from a salesman in covent garden indeed i know some of them which was it breckinridge is his name ah i dont know him well heres your good health landlord and prosperity to your house goodnight now for mr breckinridge he continued buttoning up his coat as we came out into the frosty air remember watson that though we have so homely a thing as a goose at one end of this chain we have at the other a man who will certainly get seven years penal servitude unless we can establish his innocence it is possible that our inquiry may but confirm his guilt but in any case we have a line of investigation which has been missed by the police and which a singular chance has placed in our hands let us follow it out to the bitter end faces to the south then and quick march we passed across holborn down endell street and so through a zigzag of slums to covent garden market one of the largest stalls bore the name of breckinridge upon it and the proprietor a horseylooking man with a sharp face and trim sidewhiskers was helping a boy to put up the shutters goodevening its a cold night said holmes the salesman nodded and shot a questioning glance at my companion sold out of geese i see continued holmes pointing at the bare slabs of marble let you have five hundred tomorrow morning thats no good well there are some on the stall with the gasflare ah but i was recommended to you who by the landlord of the alpha oh yes i sent him a couple of dozen fine birds they were too now where did you get them from to my surprise the question provoked a burst of anger from the salesman now then mister said he with his head cocked and his arms akimbo what are you driving at lets have it straight now it is straight enough i should like to know who sold you the geese which you supplied to the alpha well then i shant tell you so now oh it is a matter of no importance but i dont know why you should be so warm over such a trifle warm youd be as warm maybe if you were as pestered as i am when i pay good money for a good article there should be an end of the business but its where are the geese and who did you sell the geese to and what will you take for the geese one would think they were the only geese in the world to hear the fuss that is made over them well i have no connection with any other people who have been making inquiries said holmes carelessly if you wont tell us the bet is off that is all but im always ready to back my opinion on a matter of fowls and i have a fiver on it that the bird i ate is country bred well then youve lost your fiver for its town bred snapped the salesman its nothing of the kind i say it is i dont believe it dyou think you know more about fowls than i who have handled them ever since i was a nipper i tell you all those birds that went to the alpha were town bred youll never persuade me to believe that will you bet then its merely taking your money for i know that i am right but ill have a sovereign on with you just to teach you not to be obstinate the salesman chuckled grimly bring me the books bill said he the small boy brought round a small thin volume and a great greasybacked one laying them out together beneath the hanging lamp now then mr cocksure said the salesman i thought that i was out of geese but before i finish youll find that there is still one left in my shop you see this little book well thats the list of the folk from whom i buy dyou see well then here on this page are the country folk and the numbers after their names are where their accounts are in the big ledger now then you see this other page in red ink well that is a list of my town suppliers now look at that third name just read it out to me mrs oakshott 117 brixton road249 read holmes quite so now turn that up in the ledger holmes turned to the page indicated here you are mrs oakshott 117 brixton road egg and poultry supplier now then whats the last entry december 22nd twentyfour geese at 7s 6d quite so there you are and underneath sold to mr windigate of the alpha at 12s what have you to say now sherlock holmes looked deeply chagrined he drew a sovereign from his pocket and threw it down upon the slab turning away with the air of a man whose disgust is too deep for words a few yards off he stopped under a lamppost and laughed in the hearty noiseless fashion which was peculiar to him when you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the pink un protruding out of his pocket you can always draw him by a bet said he i daresay that if i had put 100 down in front of him that man would not have given me such complete information as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a wager well watson we are i fancy nearing the end of our quest and the only point which remains to be determined is whether we should go on to this mrs oakshott tonight or whether we should reserve it for tomorrow it is clear from what that surly fellow said that there are others besides ourselves who are anxious about the matter and i should his remarks were suddenly cut short by a loud hubbub which broke out from the stall which we had just left turning round we saw a little ratfaced fellow standing in the centre of the circle of yellow light which was thrown by the swinging lamp while breckinridge the salesman framed in the door of his stall was shaking his fists fiercely at the cringing figure ive had enough of you and your geese he shouted i wish you were all at the devil together if you come pestering me any more with your silly talk ill set the dog at you you bring mrs oakshott here and ill answer her but what have you to do with it did i buy the geese off you no but one of them was mine all the same whined the little man well then ask mrs oakshott for it she told me to ask you well you can ask the king of proosia for all i care ive had enough of it get out of this he rushed fiercely forward and the inquirer flitted away into the darkness ha this may save us a visit to brixton road whispered holmes come with me and we will see what is to be made of this fellow striding through the scattered knots of people who lounged round the flaring stalls my companion speedily overtook the little man and touched him upon the shoulder he sprang round and i could see in the gaslight that every vestige of colour had been driven from his face who are you then what do you want he asked in a quavering voice you will excuse me said holmes blandly but i could not help overhearing the questions which you put to the salesman just now i think that i could be of assistance to you you who are you how could you know anything of the matter my name is sherlock holmes it is my business to know what other people dont know but you can know nothing of this excuse me i know everything of it you are endeavouring to trace some geese which were sold by mrs oakshott of brixton road to a salesman named breckinridge by him in turn to mr windigate of the alpha and by him to his club of which mr henry baker is a member oh sir you are the very man whom i have longed to meet cried the little fellow with outstretched hands and quivering fingers i can hardly explain to you how interested i am in this matter sherlock holmes hailed a fourwheeler which was passing in that case we had better discuss it in a cosy room rather than in this windswept marketplace said he but pray tell me before we go farther who it is that i have the pleasure of assisting the man hesitated for an instant my name is john robinson he answered with a sidelong glance no no the real name said holmes sweetly it is always awkward doing business with an alias a flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger well then said he my real name is james ryder precisely so head attendant at the hotel cosmopolitan pray step into the cab and i shall soon be able to tell you everything which you would wish to know the little man stood glancing from one to the other of us with halffrightened halfhopeful eyes as one who is not sure whether he is on the verge of a windfall or of a catastrophe then he stepped into the cab and in half an hour we were back in the sittingroom at baker street nothing had been said during our drive but the high thin breathing of our new companion and the claspings and unclaspings of his hands spoke of the nervous tension within him here we are said holmes cheerily as we filed into the room the fire looks very seasonable in this weather you look cold mr ryder pray take the basketchair i will just put on my slippers before we settle this little matter of yours now then you want to know what became of those geese yes sir or rather i fancy of that goose it was one bird i imagine in which you were interestedwhite with a black bar across the tail ryder quivered with emotion oh sir he cried can you tell me where it went to it came here here yes and a most remarkable bird it proved i dont wonder that you should take an interest in it it laid an egg after it was deadthe bonniest brightest little blue egg that ever was seen i have it here in my museum our visitor staggered to his feet and clutched the mantelpiece with his right hand holmes unlocked his strongbox and held up the blue carbuncle which shone out like a star with a cold brilliant manypointed radiance ryder stood glaring with a drawn face uncertain whether to claim or to disown it the games up ryder said holmes quietly hold up man or youll be into the fire give him an arm back into his chair watson hes not got blood enough to go in for felony with impunity give him a dash of brandy so now he looks a little more human what a shrimp it is to be sure for a moment he had staggered and nearly fallen but the brandy brought a tinge of colour into his cheeks and he sat staring with frightened eyes at his accuser i have almost every link in my hands and all the proofs which i could possibly need so there is little which you need tell me still that little may as well be cleared up to make the case complete you had heard ryder of this blue stone of the countess of morcars it was catherine cusack who told me of it said he in a crackling voice i seeher ladyships waitingmaid well the temptation of sudden wealth so easily acquired was too much for you as it has been for better men before you but you were not very scrupulous in the means you used it seems to me ryder that there is the making of a very pretty villain in you you knew that this man horner the plumber had been concerned in some such matter before and that suspicion would rest the more readily upon him what did you do then you made some small job in my ladys roomyou and your confederate cusackand you managed that he should be the man sent for then when he had left you rifled the jewelcase raised the alarm and had this unfortunate man arrested you then ryder threw himself down suddenly upon the rug and clutched at my companions knees for gods sake have mercy he shrieked think of my father of my mother it would break their hearts i never went wrong before i never will again i swear it ill swear it on a bible oh dont bring it into court for christs sake dont get back into your chair said holmes sternly it is very well to cringe and crawl now but you thought little enough of this poor horner in the dock for a crime of which he knew nothing i will fly mr holmes i will leave the country sir then the charge against him will break down hum we will talk about that and now let us hear a true account of the next act how came the stone into the goose and how came the goose into the open market tell us the truth for there lies your only hope of safety ryder passed his tongue over his parched lips i will tell you it just as it happened sir said he when horner had been arrested it seemed to me that it would be best for me to get away with the stone at once for i did not know at what moment the police might not take it into their heads to search me and my room there was no place about the hotel where it would be safe i went out as if on some commission and i made for my sisters house she had married a man named oakshott and lived in brixton road where she fattened fowls for the market all the way there every man i met seemed to me to be a policeman or a detective and for all that it was a cold night the sweat was pouring down my face before i came to the brixton road my sister asked me what was the matter and why i was so pale but i told her that i had been upset by the jewel robbery at the hotel then i went into the back yard and smoked a pipe and wondered what it would be best to do i had a friend once called maudsley who went to the bad and has just been serving his time in pentonville one day he had met me and fell into talk about the ways of thieves and how they could get rid of what they stole i knew that he would be true to me for i knew one or two things about him so i made up my mind to go right on to kilburn where he lived and take him into my confidence he would show me how to turn the stone into money but how to get to him in safety i thought of the agonies i had gone through in coming from the hotel i might at any moment be seized and searched and there would be the stone in my waistcoat pocket i was leaning against the wall at the time and looking at the geese which were waddling about round my feet and suddenly an idea came into my head which showed me how i could beat the best detective that ever lived my sister had told me some weeks before that i might have the pick of her geese for a christmas present and i knew that she was always as good as her word i would take my goose now and in it i would carry my stone to kilburn there was a little shed in the yard and behind this i drove one of the birdsa fine big one white with a barred tail i caught it and prying its bill open i thrust the stone down its throat as far as my finger could reach the bird gave a gulp and i felt the stone pass along its gullet and down into its crop but the creature flapped and struggled and out came my sister to know what was the matter as i turned to speak to her the brute broke loose and fluttered off among the others whatever were you doing with that bird jem says she well said i you said youd give me one for christmas and i was feeling which was the fattest oh says she weve set yours aside for youjems bird we call it its the big white one over yonder theres twentysix of them which makes one for you and one for us and two dozen for the market thank you maggie says i but if it is all the same to you id rather have that one i was handling just now the other is a good three pound heavier said she and we fattened it expressly for you never mind ill have the other and ill take it now said i oh just as you like said she a little huffed which is it you want then that white one with the barred tail right in the middle of the flock oh very well kill it and take it with you well i did what she said mr holmes and i carried the bird all the way to kilburn i told my pal what i had done for he was a man that it was easy to tell a thing like that to he laughed until he choked and we got a knife and opened the goose my heart turned to water for there was no sign of the stone and i knew that some terrible mistake had occurred i left the bird rushed back to my sisters and hurried into the back yard there was not a bird to be seen there where are they all maggie i cried gone to the dealers jem which dealers breckinridge of covent garden but was there another with a barred tail i asked the same as the one i chose yes jem there were two barredtailed ones and i could never tell them apart well then of course i saw it all and i ran off as hard as my feet would carry me to this man breckinridge but he had sold the lot at once and not one word would he tell me as to where they had gone you heard him yourselves tonight well he has always answered me like that my sister thinks that i am going mad sometimes i think that i am myself and nowand now i am myself a branded thief without ever having touched the wealth for which i sold my character god help me god help me he burst into convulsive sobbing with his face buried in his hands there was a long silence broken only by his heavy breathing and by the measured tapping of sherlock holmes fingertips upon the edge of the table then my friend rose and threw open the door get out said he what sir oh heaven bless you no more words get out and no more words were needed there was a rush a clatter upon the stairs the bang of a door and the crisp rattle of running footfalls from the street after all watson said holmes reaching up his hand for his clay pipe i am not retained by the police to supply their deficiencies if horner were in danger it would be another thing but this fellow will not appear against him and the case must collapse i suppose that i am commuting a felony but it is just possible that i am saving a soul this fellow will not go wrong again he is too terribly frightened send him to gaol now and you make him a gaolbird for life besides it is the season of forgiveness chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem and its solution is its own reward if you will have the goodness to touch the bell doctor we will begin another investigation in which also a bird will be the chief feature viii the adventure of the speckled band on glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which i have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend sherlock holmes i find many tragic some comic a large number merely strange but none commonplace for working as he did rather for the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth he refused to associate himself with any investigation which did not tend towards the unusual and even the fantastic of all these varied cases however i cannot recall any which presented more singular features than that which was associated with the wellknown surrey family of the roylotts of stoke moran the events in question occurred in the early days of my association with holmes when we were sharing rooms as bachelors in baker street it is possible that i might have placed them upon record before but a promise of secrecy was made at the time from which i have only been freed during the last month by the untimely death of the lady to whom the pledge was given it is perhaps as well that the facts should now come to light for i have reasons to know that there are widespread rumours as to the death of dr grimesby roylott which tend to make the matter even more terrible than the truth it was early in april in the year 83 that i woke one morning to find sherlock holmes standing fully dressed by the side of my bed he was a late riser as a rule and as the clock on the mantelpiece showed me that it was only a quarterpast seven i blinked up at him in some surprise and perhaps just a little resentment for i was myself regular in my habits very sorry to knock you up watson said he but its the common lot this morning mrs hudson has been knocked up she retorted upon me and i on you what is it thena fire no a client it seems that a young lady has arrived in a considerable state of excitement who insists upon seeing me she is waiting now in the sittingroom now when young ladies wander about the metropolis at this hour of the morning and knock sleepy people up out of their beds i presume that it is something very pressing which they have to communicate should it prove to be an interesting case you would i am sure wish to follow it from the outset i thought at any rate that i should call you and give you the chance my dear fellow i would not miss it for anything i had no keener pleasure than in following holmes in his professional investigations and in admiring the rapid deductions as swift as intuitions and yet always founded on a logical basis with which he unravelled the problems which were submitted to him i rapidly threw on my clothes and was ready in a few minutes to accompany my friend down to the sittingroom a lady dressed in black and heavily veiled who had been sitting in the window rose as we entered goodmorning madam said holmes cheerily my name is sherlock holmes this is my intimate friend and associate dr watson before whom you can speak as freely as before myself ha i am glad to see that mrs hudson has had the good sense to light the fire pray draw up to it and i shall order you a cup of hot coffee for i observe that you are shivering it is not cold which makes me shiver said the woman in a low voice changing her seat as requested what then it is fear mr holmes it is terror she raised her veil as she spoke and we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation her face all drawn and grey with restless frightened eyes like those of some hunted animal her features and figure were those of a woman of thirty but her hair was shot with premature grey and her expression was weary and haggard sherlock holmes ran her over with one of his quick allcomprehensive glances you must not fear said he soothingly bending forward and patting her forearm we shall soon set matters right i have no doubt you have come in by train this morning i see you know me then no but i observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm of your left glove you must have started early and yet you had a good drive in a dogcart along heavy roads before you reached the station the lady gave a violent start and stared in bewilderment at my companion there is no mystery my dear madam said he smiling the left arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than seven places the marks are perfectly fresh there is no vehicle save a dogcart which throws up mud in that way and then only when you sit on the lefthand side of the driver whatever your reasons may be you are perfectly correct said she i started from home before six reached leatherhead at twenty past and came in by the first train to waterloo sir i can stand this strain no longer i shall go mad if it continues i have no one to turn tonone save only one who cares for me and he poor fellow can be of little aid i have heard of you mr holmes i have heard of you from mrs farintosh whom you helped in the hour of her sore need it was from her that i had your address oh sir do you not think that you could help me too and at least throw a little light through the dense darkness which surrounds me at present it is out of my power to reward you for your services but in a month or six weeks i shall be married with the control of my own income and then at least you shall not find me ungrateful holmes turned to his desk and unlocking it drew out a small casebook which he consulted farintosh said he ah yes i recall the case it was concerned with an opal tiara i think it was before your time watson i can only say madam that i shall be happy to devote the same care to your case as i did to that of your friend as to reward my profession is its own reward but you are at liberty to defray whatever expenses i may be put to at the time which suits you best and now i beg that you will lay before us everything that may help us in forming an opinion upon the matter alas replied our visitor the very horror of my situation lies in the fact that my fears are so vague and my suspicions depend so entirely upon small points which might seem trivial to another that even he to whom of all others i have a right to look for help and advice looks upon all that i tell him about it as the fancies of a nervous woman he does not say so but i can read it from his soothing answers and averted eyes but i have heard mr holmes that you can see deeply into the manifold wickedness of the human heart you may advise me how to walk amid the dangers which encompass me i am all attention madam my name is helen stoner and i am living with my stepfather who is the last survivor of one of the oldest saxon families in england the roylotts of stoke moran on the western border of surrey holmes nodded his head the name is familiar to me said he the family was at one time among the richest in england and the estates extended over the borders into berkshire in the north and hampshire in the west in the last century however four successive heirs were of a dissolute and wasteful disposition and the family ruin was eventually completed by a gambler in the days of the regency nothing was left save a few acres of ground and the twohundredyearold house which is itself crushed under a heavy mortgage the last squire dragged out his existence there living the horrible life of an aristocratic pauper but his only son my stepfather seeing that he must adapt himself to the new conditions obtained an advance from a relative which enabled him to take a medical degree and went out to calcutta where by his professional skill and his force of character he established a large practice in a fit of anger however caused by some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house he beat his native butler to death and narrowly escaped a capital sentence as it was he suffered a long term of imprisonment and afterwards returned to england a morose and disappointed man when dr roylott was in india he married my mother mrs stoner the young widow of majorgeneral stoner of the bengal artillery my sister julia and i were twins and we were only two years old at the time of my mothers remarriage she had a considerable sum of moneynot less than 1000 a yearand this she bequeathed to dr roylott entirely while we resided with him with a provision that a certain annual sum should be allowed to each of us in the event of our marriage shortly after our return to england my mother diedshe was killed eight years ago in a railway accident near crewe dr roylott then abandoned his attempts to establish himself in practice in london and took us to live with him in the old ancestral house at stoke moran the money which my mother had left was enough for all our wants and there seemed to be no obstacle to our happiness but a terrible change came over our stepfather about this time instead of making friends and exchanging visits with our neighbours who had at first been overjoyed to see a roylott of stoke moran back in the old family seat he shut himself up in his house and seldom came out save to indulge in ferocious quarrels with whoever might cross his path violence of temper approaching to mania has been hereditary in the men of the family and in my stepfathers case it had i believe been intensified by his long residence in the tropics a series of disgraceful brawls took place two of which ended in the policecourt until at last he became the terror of the village and the folks would fly at his approach for he is a man of immense strength and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger last week he hurled the local blacksmith over a parapet into a stream and it was only by paying over all the money which i could gather together that i was able to avert another public exposure he had no friends at all save the wandering gipsies and he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few acres of bramblecovered land which represent the family estate and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end he has a passion also for indian animals which are sent over to him by a correspondent and he has at this moment a cheetah and a baboon which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the villagers almost as much as their master you can imagine from what i say that my poor sister julia and i had no great pleasure in our lives no servant would stay with us and for a long time we did all the work of the house she was but thirty at the time of her death and yet her hair had already begun to whiten even as mine has your sister is dead then she died just two years ago and it is of her death that i wish to speak to you you can understand that living the life which i have described we were little likely to see anyone of our own age and position we had however an aunt my mothers maiden sister miss honoria westphail who lives near harrow and we were occasionally allowed to pay short visits at this ladys house julia went there at christmas two years ago and met there a halfpay major of marines to whom she became engaged my stepfather learned of the engagement when my sister returned and offered no objection to the marriage but within a fortnight of the day which had been fixed for the wedding the terrible event occurred which has deprived me of my only companion sherlock holmes had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed and his head sunk in a cushion but he half opened his lids now and glanced across at his visitor pray be precise as to details said he it is easy for me to be so for every event of that dreadful time is seared into my memory the manorhouse is as i have already said very old and only one wing is now inhabited the bedrooms in this wing are on the ground floor the sittingrooms being in the central block of the buildings of these bedrooms the first is dr roylotts the second my sisters and the third my own there is no communication between them but they all open out into the same corridor do i make myself plain perfectly so the windows of the three rooms open out upon the lawn that fatal night dr roylott had gone to his room early though we knew that he had not retired to rest for my sister was troubled by the smell of the strong indian cigars which it was his custom to smoke she left her room therefore and came into mine where she sat for some time chatting about her approaching wedding at eleven oclock she rose to leave me but she paused at the door and looked back tell me helen said she have you ever heard anyone whistle in the dead of the night never said i i suppose that you could not possibly whistle yourself in your sleep certainly not but why because during the last few nights i have always about three in the morning heard a low clear whistle i am a light sleeper and it has awakened me i cannot tell where it came fromperhaps from the next room perhaps from the lawn i thought that i would just ask you whether you had heard it no i have not it must be those wretched gipsies in the plantation very likely and yet if it were on the lawn i wonder that you did not hear it also ah but i sleep more heavily than you well it is of no great consequence at any rate she smiled back at me closed my door and a few moments later i heard her key turn in the lock indeed said holmes was it your custom always to lock yourselves in at night always and why i think that i mentioned to you that the doctor kept a cheetah and a baboon we had no feeling of security unless our doors were locked quite so pray proceed with your statement i could not sleep that night a vague feeling of impending misfortune impressed me my sister and i you will recollect were twins and you know how subtle are the links which bind two souls which are so closely allied it was a wild night the wind was howling outside and the rain was beating and splashing against the windows suddenly amid all the hubbub of the gale there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified woman i knew that it was my sisters voice i sprang from my bed wrapped a shawl round me and rushed into the corridor as i opened my door i seemed to hear a low whistle such as my sister described and a few moments later a clanging sound as if a mass of metal had fallen as i ran down the passage my sisters door was unlocked and revolved slowly upon its hinges i stared at it horrorstricken not knowing what was about to issue from it by the light of the corridorlamp i saw my sister appear at the opening her face blanched with terror her hands groping for help her whole figure swaying to and fro like that of a drunkard i ran to her and threw my arms round her but at that moment her knees seemed to give way and she fell to the ground she writhed as one who is in terrible pain and her limbs were dreadfully convulsed at first i thought that she had not recognised me but as i bent over her she suddenly shrieked out in a voice which i shall never forget oh my god helen it was the band the speckled band there was something else which she would fain have said and she stabbed with her finger into the air in the direction of the doctors room but a fresh convulsion seized her and choked her words i rushed out calling loudly for my stepfather and i met him hastening from his room in his dressinggown when he reached my sisters side she was unconscious and though he poured brandy down her throat and sent for medical aid from the village all efforts were in vain for she slowly sank and died without having recovered her consciousness such was the dreadful end of my beloved sister one moment said holmes are you sure about this whistle and metallic sound could you swear to it that was what the county coroner asked me at the inquiry it is my strong impression that i heard it and yet among the crash of the gale and the creaking of an old house i may possibly have been deceived was your sister dressed no she was in her nightdress in her right hand was found the charred stump of a match and in her left a matchbox showing that she had struck a light and looked about her when the alarm took place that is important and what conclusions did the coroner come to he investigated the case with great care for dr roylotts conduct had long been notorious in the county but he was unable to find any satisfactory cause of death my evidence showed that the door had been fastened upon the inner side and the windows were blocked by oldfashioned shutters with broad iron bars which were secured every night the walls were carefully sounded and were shown to be quite solid all round and the flooring was also thoroughly examined with the same result the chimney is wide but is barred up by four large staples it is certain therefore that my sister was quite alone when she met her end besides there were no marks of any violence upon her how about poison the doctors examined her for it but without success what do you think that this unfortunate lady died of then it is my belief that she died of pure fear and nervous shock though what it was that frightened her i cannot imagine were there gipsies in the plantation at the time yes there are nearly always some there ah and what did you gather from this allusion to a banda speckled band sometimes i have thought that it was merely the wild talk of delirium sometimes that it may have referred to some band of people perhaps to these very gipsies in the plantation i do not know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wear over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which she used holmes shook his head like a man who is far from being satisfied these are very deep waters said he pray go on with your narrative two years have passed since then and my life has been until lately lonelier than ever a month ago however a dear friend whom i have known for many years has done me the honour to ask my hand in marriage his name is armitagepercy armitagethe second son of mr armitage of crane water near reading my stepfather has offered no opposition to the match and we are to be married in the course of the spring two days ago some repairs were started in the west wing of the building and my bedroom wall has been pierced so that i have had to move into the chamber in which my sister died and to sleep in the very bed in which she slept imagine then my thrill of terror when last night as i lay awake thinking over her terrible fate i suddenly heard in the silence of the night the low whistle which had been the herald of her own death i sprang up and lit the lamp but nothing was to be seen in the room i was too shaken to go to bed again however so i dressed and as soon as it was daylight i slipped down got a dogcart at the crown inn which is opposite and drove to leatherhead from whence i have come on this morning with the one object of seeing you and asking your advice you have done wisely said my friend but have you told me all yes all miss roylott you have not you are screening your stepfather why what do you mean for answer holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which fringed the hand that lay upon our visitors knee five little livid spots the marks of four fingers and a thumb were printed upon the white wrist you have been cruelly used said holmes the lady coloured deeply and covered over her injured wrist he is a hard man she said and perhaps he hardly knows his own strength there was a long silence during which holmes leaned his chin upon his hands and stared into the crackling fire this is a very deep business he said at last there are a thousand details which i should desire to know before i decide upon our course of action yet we have not a moment to lose if we were to come to stoke moran today would it be possible for us to see over these rooms without the knowledge of your stepfather as it happens he spoke of coming into town today upon some most important business it is probable that he will be away all day and that there would be nothing to disturb you we have a housekeeper now but she is old and foolish and i could easily get her out of the way excellent you are not averse to this trip watson by no means then we shall both come what are you going to do yourself i have one or two things which i would wish to do now that i am in town but i shall return by the twelve oclock train so as to be there in time for your coming and you may expect us early in the afternoon i have myself some small business matters to attend to will you not wait and breakfast no i must go my heart is lightened already since i have confided my trouble to you i shall look forward to seeing you again this afternoon she dropped her thick black veil over her face and glided from the room and what do you think of it all watson asked sherlock holmes leaning back in his chair it seems to me to be a most dark and sinister business dark enough and sinister enough yet if the lady is correct in saying that the flooring and walls are sound and that the door window and chimney are impassable then her sister must have been undoubtedly alone when she met her mysterious end what becomes then of these nocturnal whistles and what of the very peculiar words of the dying woman i cannot think when you combine the ideas of whistles at night the presence of a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has an interest in preventing his stepdaughters marriage the dying allusion to a band and finally the fact that miss helen stoner heard a metallic clang which might have been caused by one of those metal bars that secured the shutters falling back into its place i think that there is good ground to think that the mystery may be cleared along those lines but what then did the gipsies do i cannot imagine i see many objections to any such theory and so do i it is precisely for that reason that we are going to stoke moran this day i want to see whether the objections are fatal or if they may be explained away but what in the name of the devil the ejaculation had been drawn from my companion by the fact that our door had been suddenly dashed open and that a huge man had framed himself in the aperture his costume was a peculiar mixture of the professional and of the agricultural having a black tophat a long frockcoat and a pair of high gaiters with a huntingcrop swinging in his hand so tall was he that his hat actually brushed the cross bar of the doorway and his breadth seemed to span it across from side to side a large face seared with a thousand wrinkles burned yellow with the sun and marked with every evil passion was turned from one to the other of us while his deepset bileshot eyes and his high thin fleshless nose gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old bird of prey which of you is holmes asked this apparition my name sir but you have the advantage of me said my companion quietly i am dr grimesby roylott of stoke moran indeed doctor said holmes blandly pray take a seat i will do nothing of the kind my stepdaughter has been here i have traced her what has she been saying to you it is a little cold for the time of the year said holmes what has she been saying to you screamed the old man furiously but i have heard that the crocuses promise well continued my companion imperturbably ha you put me off do you said our new visitor taking a step forward and shaking his huntingcrop i know you you scoundrel i have heard of you before you are holmes the meddler my friend smiled holmes the busybody his smile broadened holmes the scotland yard jackinoffice holmes chuckled heartily your conversation is most entertaining said he when you go out close the door for there is a decided draught i will go when i have had my say dont you dare to meddle with my affairs i know that miss stoner has been here i traced her i am a dangerous man to fall foul of see here he stepped swiftly forward seized the poker and bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands see that you keep yourself out of my grip he snarled and hurling the twisted poker into the fireplace he strode out of the room he seems a very amiable person said holmes laughing i am not quite so bulky but if he had remained i might have shown him that my grip was not much more feeble than his own as he spoke he picked up the steel poker and with a sudden effort straightened it out again fancy his having the insolence to confound me with the official detective force this incident gives zest to our investigation however and i only trust that our little friend will not suffer from her imprudence in allowing this brute to trace her and now watson we shall order breakfast and afterwards i shall walk down to doctors commons where i hope to get some data which may help us in this matter it was nearly one oclock when sherlock holmes returned from his excursion he held in his hand a sheet of blue paper scrawled over with notes and figures i have seen the will of the deceased wife said he to determine its exact meaning i have been obliged to work out the present prices of the investments with which it is concerned the total income which at the time of the wifes death was little short of 1100 is now through the fall in agricultural prices not more than 750 each daughter can claim an income of 250 in case of marriage it is evident therefore that if both girls had married this beauty would have had a mere pittance while even one of them would cripple him to a very serious extent my mornings work has not been wasted since it has proved that he has the very strongest motives for standing in the way of anything of the sort and now watson this is too serious for dawdling especially as the old man is aware that we are interesting ourselves in his affairs so if you are ready we shall call a cab and drive to waterloo i should be very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your pocket an eleys no 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots that and a toothbrush are i think all that we need at waterloo we were fortunate in catching a train for leatherhead where we hired a trap at the station inn and drove for four or five miles through the lovely surrey lanes it was a perfect day with a bright sun and a few fleecy clouds in the heavens the trees and wayside hedges were just throwing out their first green shoots and the air was full of the pleasant smell of the moist earth to me at least there was a strange contrast between the sweet promise of the spring and this sinister quest upon which we were engaged my companion sat in the front of the trap his arms folded his hat pulled down over his eyes and his chin sunk upon his breast buried in the deepest thought suddenly however he started tapped me on the shoulder and pointed over the meadows look there said he a heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope thickening into a grove at the highest point from amid the branches there jutted out the grey gables and high rooftree of a very old mansion stoke moran said he yes sir that be the house of dr grimesby roylott remarked the driver there is some building going on there said holmes that is where we are going theres the village said the driver pointing to a cluster of roofs some distance to the left but if you want to get to the house youll find it shorter to get over this stile and so by the footpath over the fields there it is where the lady is walking and the lady i fancy is miss stoner observed holmes shading his eyes yes i think we had better do as you suggest we got off paid our fare and the trap rattled back on its way to leatherhead i thought it as well said holmes as we climbed the stile that this fellow should think we had come here as architects or on some definite business it may stop his gossip goodafternoon miss stoner you see that we have been as good as our word our client of the morning had hurried forward to meet us with a face which spoke her joy i have been waiting so eagerly for you she cried shaking hands with us warmly all has turned out splendidly dr roylott has gone to town and it is unlikely that he will be back before evening we have had the pleasure of making the doctors acquaintance said holmes and in a few words he sketched out what had occurred miss stoner turned white to the lips as she listened good heavens she cried he has followed me then so it appears he is so cunning that i never know when i am safe from him what will he say when he returns he must guard himself for he may find that there is someone more cunning than himself upon his track you must lock yourself up from him tonight if he is violent we shall take you away to your aunts at harrow now we must make the best use of our time so kindly take us at once to the rooms which we are to examine the building was of grey lichenblotched stone with a high central portion and two curving wings like the claws of a crab thrown out on each side in one of these wings the windows were broken and blocked with wooden boards while the roof was partly caved in a picture of ruin the central portion was in little better repair but the righthand block was comparatively modern and the blinds in the windows with the blue smoke curling up from the chimneys showed that this was where the family resided some scaffolding had been erected against the end wall and the stonework had been broken into but there were no signs of any workmen at the moment of our visit holmes walked slowly up and down the illtrimmed lawn and examined with deep attention the outsides of the windows this i take it belongs to the room in which you used to sleep the centre one to your sisters and the one next to the main building to dr roylotts chamber exactly so but i am now sleeping in the middle one pending the alterations as i understand by the way there does not seem to be any very pressing need for repairs at that end wall there were none i believe that it was an excuse to move me from my room ah that is suggestive now on the other side of this narrow wing runs the corridor from which these three rooms open there are windows in it of course yes but very small ones too narrow for anyone to pass through as you both locked your doors at night your rooms were unapproachable from that side now would you have the kindness to go into your room and bar your shutters miss stoner did so and holmes after a careful examination through the open window endeavoured in every way to force the shutter open but without success there was no slit through which a knife could be passed to raise the bar then with his lens he tested the hinges but they were of solid iron built firmly into the massive masonry hum said he scratching his chin in some perplexity my theory certainly presents some difficulties no one could pass these shutters if they were bolted well we shall see if the inside throws any light upon the matter a small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which the three bedrooms opened holmes refused to examine the third chamber so we passed at once to the second that in which miss stoner was now sleeping and in which her sister had met with her fate it was a homely little room with a low ceiling and a gaping fireplace after the fashion of old countryhouses a brown chest of drawers stood in one corner a narrow whitecounterpaned bed in another and a dressingtable on the lefthand side of the window these articles with two small wickerwork chairs made up all the furniture in the room save for a square of wilton carpet in the centre the boards round and the panelling of the walls were of brown wormeaten oak so old and discoloured that it may have dated from the original building of the house holmes drew one of the chairs into a corner and sat silent while his eyes travelled round and round and up and down taking in every detail of the apartment where does that bell communicate with he asked at last pointing to a thick bellrope which hung down beside the bed the tassel actually lying upon the pillow it goes to the housekeepers room it looks newer than the other things yes it was only put there a couple of years ago your sister asked for it i suppose no i never heard of her using it we used always to get what we wanted for ourselves indeed it seemed unnecessary to put so nice a bellpull there you will excuse me for a few minutes while i satisfy myself as to this floor he threw himself down upon his face with his lens in his hand and crawled swiftly backward and forward examining minutely the cracks between the boards then he did the same with the woodwork with which the chamber was panelled finally he walked over to the bed and spent some time in staring at it and in running his eye up and down the wall finally he took the bellrope in his hand and gave it a brisk tug why its a dummy said he wont it ring no it is not even attached to a wire this is very interesting you can see now that it is fastened to a hook just above where the little opening for the ventilator is how very absurd i never noticed that before very strange muttered holmes pulling at the rope there are one or two very singular points about this room for example what a fool a builder must be to open a ventilator into another room when with the same trouble he might have communicated with the outside air that is also quite modern said the lady done about the same time as the bellrope remarked holmes yes there were several little changes carried out about that time they seem to have been of a most interesting characterdummy bellropes and ventilators which do not ventilate with your permission miss stoner we shall now carry our researches into the inner apartment dr grimesby roylotts chamber was larger than that of his stepdaughter but was as plainly furnished a campbed a small wooden shelf full of books mostly of a technical character an armchair beside the bed a plain wooden chair against the wall a round table and a large iron safe were the principal things which met the eye holmes walked slowly round and examined each and all of them with the keenest interest whats in here he asked tapping the safe my stepfathers business papers oh you have seen inside then only once some years ago i remember that it was full of papers there isnt a cat in it for example no what a strange idea well look at this he took up a small saucer of milk which stood on the top of it no we dont keep a cat but there is a cheetah and a baboon ah yes of course well a cheetah is just a big cat and yet a saucer of milk does not go very far in satisfying its wants i daresay there is one point which i should wish to determine he squatted down in front of the wooden chair and examined the seat of it with the greatest attention thank you that is quite settled said he rising and putting his lens in his pocket hullo here is something interesting the object which had caught his eye was a small dog lash hung on one corner of the bed the lash however was curled upon itself and tied so as to make a loop of whipcord what do you make of that watson its a common enough lash but i dont know why it should be tied that is not quite so common is it ah me its a wicked world and when a clever man turns his brains to crime it is the worst of all i think that i have seen enough now miss stoner and with your permission we shall walk out upon the lawn i had never seen my friends face so grim or his brow so dark as it was when we turned from the scene of this investigation we had walked several times up and down the lawn neither miss stoner nor myself liking to break in upon his thoughts before he roused himself from his reverie it is very essential miss stoner said he that you should absolutely follow my advice in every respect i shall most certainly do so the matter is too serious for any hesitation your life may depend upon your compliance i assure you that i am in your hands in the first place both my friend and i must spend the night in your room both miss stoner and i gazed at him in astonishment yes it must be so let me explain i believe that that is the village inn over there yes that is the crown very good your windows would be visible from there certainly you must confine yourself to your room on pretence of a headache when your stepfather comes back then when you hear him retire for the night you must open the shutters of your window undo the hasp put your lamp there as a signal to us and then withdraw quietly with everything which you are likely to want into the room which you used to occupy i have no doubt that in spite of the repairs you could manage there for one night oh yes easily the rest you will leave in our hands but what will you do we shall spend the night in your room and we shall investigate the cause of this noise which has disturbed you i believe mr holmes that you have already made up your mind said miss stoner laying her hand upon my companions sleeve perhaps i have then for pitys sake tell me what was the cause of my sisters death i should prefer to have clearer proofs before i speak you can at least tell me whether my own thought is correct and if she died from some sudden fright no i do not think so i think that there was probably some more tangible cause and now miss stoner we must leave you for if dr roylott returned and saw us our journey would be in vain goodbye and be brave for if you will do what i have told you you may rest assured that we shall soon drive away the dangers that threaten you sherlock holmes and i had no difficulty in engaging a bedroom and sittingroom at the crown inn they were on the upper floor and from our window we could command a view of the avenue gate and of the inhabited wing of stoke moran manor house at dusk we saw dr grimesby roylott drive past his huge form looming up beside the little figure of the lad who drove him the boy had some slight difficulty in undoing the heavy iron gates and we heard the hoarse roar of the doctors voice and saw the fury with which he shook his clinched fists at him the trap drove on and a few minutes later we saw a sudden light spring up among the trees as the lamp was lit in one of the sittingrooms do you know watson said holmes as we sat together in the gathering darkness i have really some scruples as to taking you tonight there is a distinct element of danger can i be of assistance your presence might be invaluable then i shall certainly come it is very kind of you you speak of danger you have evidently seen more in these rooms than was visible to me no but i fancy that i may have deduced a little more i imagine that you saw all that i did i saw nothing remarkable save the bellrope and what purpose that could answer i confess is more than i can imagine you saw the ventilator too yes but i do not think that it is such a very unusual thing to have a small opening between two rooms it was so small that a rat could hardly pass through i knew that we should find a ventilator before ever we came to stoke moran my dear holmes oh yes i did you remember in her statement she said that her sister could smell dr roylotts cigar now of course that suggested at once that there must be a communication between the two rooms it could only be a small one or it would have been remarked upon at the coroners inquiry i deduced a ventilator but what harm can there be in that well there is at least a curious coincidence of dates a ventilator is made a cord is hung and a lady who sleeps in the bed dies does not that strike you i cannot as yet see any connection did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed no it was clamped to the floor did you ever see a bed fastened like that before i cannot say that i have the lady could not move her bed it must always be in the same relative position to the ventilator and to the ropeor so we may call it since it was clearly never meant for a bellpull holmes i cried i seem to see dimly what you are hinting at we are only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible crime subtle enough and horrible enough when a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals he has nerve and he has knowledge palmer and pritchard were among the heads of their profession this man strikes even deeper but i think watson that we shall be able to strike deeper still but we shall have horrors enough before the night is over for goodness sake let us have a quiet pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more cheerful about nine oclock the light among the trees was extinguished and all was dark in the direction of the manor house two hours passed slowly away and then suddenly just at the stroke of eleven a single bright light shone out right in front of us that is our signal said holmes springing to his feet it comes from the middle window as we passed out he exchanged a few words with the landlord explaining that we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance and that it was possible that we might spend the night there a moment later we were out on the dark road a chill wind blowing in our faces and one yellow light twinkling in front of us through the gloom to guide us on our sombre errand there was little difficulty in entering the grounds for unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall making our way among the trees we reached the lawn crossed it and were about to enter through the window when out from a clump of laurel bushes there darted what seemed to be a hideous and distorted child who threw itself upon the grass with writhing limbs and then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness my god i whispered did you see it holmes was for the moment as startled as i his hand closed like a vice upon my wrist in his agitation then he broke into a low laugh and put his lips to my ear it is a nice household he murmured that is the baboon i had forgotten the strange pets which the doctor affected there was a cheetah too perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders at any moment i confess that i felt easier in my mind when after following holmes example and slipping off my shoes i found myself inside the bedroom my companion noiselessly closed the shutters moved the lamp onto the table and cast his eyes round the room all was as we had seen it in the daytime then creeping up to me and making a trumpet of his hand he whispered into my ear again so gently that it was all that i could do to distinguish the words the least sound would be fatal to our plans i nodded to show that i had heard we must sit without light he would see it through the ventilator i nodded again do not go asleep your very life may depend upon it have your pistol ready in case we should need it i will sit on the side of the bed and you in that chair i took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table holmes had brought up a long thin cane and this he placed upon the bed beside him by it he laid the box of matches and the stump of a candle then he turned down the lamp and we were left in darkness how shall i ever forget that dreadful vigil i could not hear a sound not even the drawing of a breath and yet i knew that my companion sat openeyed within a few feet of me in the same state of nervous tension in which i was myself the shutters cut off the least ray of light and we waited in absolute darkness from outside came the occasional cry of a nightbird and once at our very window a long drawn catlike whine which told us that the cheetah was indeed at liberty far away we could hear the deep tones of the parish clock which boomed out every quarter of an hour how long they seemed those quarters twelve struck and one and two and three and still we sat waiting silently for whatever might befall suddenly there was the momentary gleam of a light up in the direction of the ventilator which vanished immediately but was succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal someone in the next room had lit a darklantern i heard a gentle sound of movement and then all was silent once more though the smell grew stronger for half an hour i sat with straining ears then suddenly another sound became audiblea very gentle soothing sound like that of a small jet of steam escaping continually from a kettle the instant that we heard it holmes sprang from the bed struck a match and lashed furiously with his cane at the bellpull you see it watson he yelled you see it but i saw nothing at the moment when holmes struck the light i heard a low clear whistle but the sudden glare flashing into my weary eyes made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which my friend lashed so savagely i could however see that his face was deadly pale and filled with horror and loathing he had ceased to strike and was gazing up at the ventilator when suddenly there broke from the silence of the night the most horrible cry to which i have ever listened it swelled up louder and louder a hoarse yell of pain and fear and anger all mingled in the one dreadful shriek they say that away down in the village and even in the distant parsonage that cry raised the sleepers from their beds it struck cold to our hearts and i stood gazing at holmes and he at me until the last echoes of it had died away into the silence from which it rose what can it mean i gasped it means that it is all over holmes answered and perhaps after all it is for the best take your pistol and we will enter dr roylotts room with a grave face he lit the lamp and led the way down the corridor twice he struck at the chamber door without any reply from within then he turned the handle and entered i at his heels with the cocked pistol in my hand it was a singular sight which met our eyes on the table stood a darklantern with the shutter half open throwing a brilliant beam of light upon the iron safe the door of which was ajar beside this table on the wooden chair sat dr grimesby roylott clad in a long grey dressinggown his bare ankles protruding beneath and his feet thrust into red heelless turkish slippers across his lap lay the short stock with the long lash which we had noticed during the day his chin was cocked upward and his eyes were fixed in a dreadful rigid stare at the corner of the ceiling round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band with brownish speckles which seemed to be bound tightly round his head as we entered he made neither sound nor motion the band the speckled band whispered holmes i took a step forward in an instant his strange headgear began to move and there reared itself from among his hair the squat diamondshaped head and puffed neck of a loathsome serpent it is a swamp adder cried holmes the deadliest snake in india he has died within ten seconds of being bitten violence does in truth recoil upon the violent and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another let us thrust this creature back into its den and we can then remove miss stoner to some place of shelter and let the county police know what has happened as he spoke he drew the dogwhip swiftly from the dead mans lap and throwing the noose round the reptiles neck he drew it from its horrid perch and carrying it at arms length threw it into the iron safe which he closed upon it such are the true facts of the death of dr grimesby roylott of stoke moran it is not necessary that i should prolong a narrative which has already run to too great a length by telling how we broke the sad news to the terrified girl how we conveyed her by the morning train to the care of her good aunt at harrow of how the slow process of official inquiry came to the conclusion that the doctor met his fate while indiscreetly playing with a dangerous pet the little which i had yet to learn of the case was told me by sherlock holmes as we travelled back next day i had said he come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which shows my dear watson how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data the presence of the gipsies and the use of the word band which was used by the poor girl no doubt to explain the appearance which she had caught a hurried glimpse of by the light of her match were sufficient to put me upon an entirely wrong scent i can only claim the merit that i instantly reconsidered my position when however it became clear to me that whatever danger threatened an occupant of the room could not come either from the window or the door my attention was speedily drawn as i have already remarked to you to this ventilator and to the bellrope which hung down to the bed the discovery that this was a dummy and that the bed was clamped to the floor instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was there as a bridge for something passing through the hole and coming to the bed the idea of a snake instantly occurred to me and when i coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was furnished with a supply of creatures from india i felt that i was probably on the right track the idea of using a form of poison which could not possibly be discovered by any chemical test was just such a one as would occur to a clever and ruthless man who had had an eastern training the rapidity with which such a poison would take effect would also from his point of view be an advantage it would be a sharpeyed coroner indeed who could distinguish the two little dark punctures which would show where the poison fangs had done their work then i thought of the whistle of course he must recall the snake before the morning light revealed it to the victim he had trained it probably by the use of the milk which we saw to return to him when summoned he would put it through this ventilator at the hour that he thought best with the certainty that it would crawl down the rope and land on the bed it might or might not bite the occupant perhaps she might escape every night for a week but sooner or later she must fall a victim i had come to these conclusions before ever i had entered his room an inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in the habit of standing on it which of course would be necessary in order that he should reach the ventilator the sight of the safe the saucer of milk and the loop of whipcord were enough to finally dispel any doubts which may have remained the metallic clang heard by miss stoner was obviously caused by her stepfather hastily closing the door of his safe upon its terrible occupant having once made up my mind you know the steps which i took in order to put the matter to the proof i heard the creature hiss as i have no doubt that you did also and i instantly lit the light and attacked it with the result of driving it through the ventilator and also with the result of causing it to turn upon its master at the other side some of the blows of my cane came home and roused its snakish temper so that it flew upon the first person it saw in this way i am no doubt indirectly responsible for dr grimesby roylotts death and i cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience ix the adventure of the engineers thumb of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend mr sherlock holmes for solution during the years of our intimacy there were only two which i was the means of introducing to his noticethat of mr hatherleys thumb and that of colonel warburtons madness of these the latter may have afforded a finer field for an acute and original observer but the other was so strange in its inception and so dramatic in its details that it may be the more worthy of being placed upon record even if it gave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of reasoning by which he achieved such remarkable results the story has i believe been told more than once in the newspapers but like all such narratives its effect is much less striking when set forth en bloc in a single halfcolumn of print than when the facts slowly evolve before your own eyes and the mystery clears gradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which leads on to the complete truth at the time the circumstances made a deep impression upon me and the lapse of two years has hardly served to weaken the effect it was in the summer of 89 not long after my marriage that the events occurred which i am now about to summarise i had returned to civil practice and had finally abandoned holmes in his baker street rooms although i continually visited him and occasionally even persuaded him to forgo his bohemian habits so far as to come and visit us my practice had steadily increased and as i happened to live at no very great distance from paddington station i got a few patients from among the officials one of these whom i had cured of a painful and lingering disease was never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavouring to send me on every sufferer over whom he might have any influence one morning at a little before seven oclock i was awakened by the maid tapping at the door to announce that two men had come from paddington and were waiting in the consultingroom i dressed hurriedly for i knew by experience that railway cases were seldom trivial and hastened downstairs as i descended my old ally the guard came out of the room and closed the door tightly behind him ive got him here he whispered jerking his thumb over his shoulder hes all right what is it then i asked for his manner suggested that it was some strange creature which he had caged up in my room its a new patient he whispered i thought id bring him round myself then he couldnt slip away there he is all safe and sound i must go now doctor i have my dooties just the same as you and off he went this trusty tout without even giving me time to thank him i entered my consultingroom and found a gentleman seated by the table he was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with a soft cloth cap which he had laid down upon my books round one of his hands he had a handkerchief wrapped which was mottled all over with bloodstains he was young not more than fiveandtwenty i should say with a strong masculine face but he was exceedingly pale and gave me the impression of a man who was suffering from some strong agitation which it took all his strength of mind to control i am sorry to knock you up so early doctor said he but i have had a very serious accident during the night i came in by train this morning and on inquiring at paddington as to where i might find a doctor a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me here i gave the maid a card but i see that she has left it upon the sidetable i took it up and glanced at it mr victor hatherley hydraulic engineer 16a victoria street 3rd floor that was the name style and abode of my morning visitor i regret that i have kept you waiting said i sitting down in my librarychair you are fresh from a night journey i understand which is in itself a monotonous occupation oh my night could not be called monotonous said he and laughed he laughed very heartily with a high ringing note leaning back in his chair and shaking his sides all my medical instincts rose up against that laugh stop it i cried pull yourself together and i poured out some water from a caraffe it was useless however he was off in one of those hysterical outbursts which come upon a strong nature when some great crisis is over and gone presently he came to himself once more very weary and palelooking i have been making a fool of myself he gasped not at all drink this i dashed some brandy into the water and the colour began to come back to his bloodless cheeks thats better said he and now doctor perhaps you would kindly attend to my thumb or rather to the place where my thumb used to be he unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand it gave even my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it there were four protruding fingers and a horrid red spongy surface where the thumb should have been it had been hacked or torn right out from the roots good heavens i cried this is a terrible injury it must have bled considerably yes it did i fainted when it was done and i think that i must have been senseless for a long time when i came to i found that it was still bleeding so i tied one end of my handkerchief very tightly round the wrist and braced it up with a twig excellent you should have been a surgeon it is a question of hydraulics you see and came within my own province this has been done said i examining the wound by a very heavy and sharp instrument a thing like a cleaver said he an accident i presume by no means what a murderous attack very murderous indeed you horrify me i sponged the wound cleaned it dressed it and finally covered it over with cotton wadding and carbolised bandages he lay back without wincing though he bit his lip from time to time how is that i asked when i had finished capital between your brandy and your bandage i feel a new man i was very weak but i have had a good deal to go through perhaps you had better not speak of the matter it is evidently trying to your nerves oh no not now i shall have to tell my tale to the police but between ourselves if it were not for the convincing evidence of this wound of mine i should be surprised if they believed my statement for it is a very extraordinary one and i have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up and even if they believe me the clues which i can give them are so vague that it is a question whether justice will be done ha cried i if it is anything in the nature of a problem which you desire to see solved i should strongly recommend you to come to my friend mr sherlock holmes before you go to the official police oh i have heard of that fellow answered my visitor and i should be very glad if he would take the matter up though of course i must use the official police as well would you give me an introduction to him ill do better ill take you round to him myself i should be immensely obliged to you well call a cab and go together we shall just be in time to have a little breakfast with him do you feel equal to it yes i shall not feel easy until i have told my story then my servant will call a cab and i shall be with you in an instant i rushed upstairs explained the matter shortly to my wife and in five minutes was inside a hansom driving with my new acquaintance to baker street sherlock holmes was as i expected lounging about his sittingroom in his dressinggown reading the agony column of the times and smoking his beforebreakfast pipe which was composed of all the plugs and dottles left from his smokes of the day before all carefully dried and collected on the corner of the mantelpiece he received us in his quietly genial fashion ordered fresh rashers and eggs and joined us in a hearty meal when it was concluded he settled our new acquaintance upon the sofa placed a pillow beneath his head and laid a glass of brandy and water within his reach it is easy to see that your experience has been no common one mr hatherley said he pray lie down there and make yourself absolutely at home tell us what you can but stop when you are tired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant thank you said my patient but i have felt another man since the doctor bandaged me and i think that your breakfast has completed the cure i shall take up as little of your valuable time as possible so i shall start at once upon my peculiar experiences holmes sat in his big armchair with the weary heavylidded expression which veiled his keen and eager nature while i sat opposite to him and we listened in silence to the strange story which our visitor detailed to us you must know said he that i am an orphan and a bachelor residing alone in lodgings in london by profession i am a hydraulic engineer and i have had considerable experience of my work during the seven years that i was apprenticed to venner matheson the wellknown firm of greenwich two years ago having served my time and having also come into a fair sum of money through my poor fathers death i determined to start in business for myself and took professional chambers in victoria street i suppose that everyone finds his first independent start in business a dreary experience to me it has been exceptionally so during two years i have had three consultations and one small job and that is absolutely all that my profession has brought me my gross takings amount to 27 10s every day from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon i waited in my little den until at last my heart began to sink and i came to believe that i should never have any practice at all yesterday however just as i was thinking of leaving the office my clerk entered to say there was a gentleman waiting who wished to see me upon business he brought up a card too with the name of colonel lysander stark engraved upon it close at his heels came the colonel himself a man rather over the middle size but of an exceeding thinness i do not think that i have ever seen so thin a man his whole face sharpened away into nose and chin and the skin of his cheeks was drawn quite tense over his outstanding bones yet this emaciation seemed to be his natural habit and due to no disease for his eye was bright his step brisk and his bearing assured he was plainly but neatly dressed and his age i should judge would be nearer forty than thirty mr hatherley said he with something of a german accent you have been recommended to me mr hatherley as being a man who is not only proficient in his profession but is also discreet and capable of preserving a secret i bowed feeling as flattered as any young man would at such an address may i ask who it was who gave me so good a character well perhaps it is better that i should not tell you that just at this moment i have it from the same source that you are both an orphan and a bachelor and are residing alone in london that is quite correct i answered but you will excuse me if i say that i cannot see how all this bears upon my professional qualifications i understand that it was on a professional matter that you wished to speak to me undoubtedly so but you will find that all i say is really to the point i have a professional commission for you but absolute secrecy is quite essentialabsolute secrecy you understand and of course we may expect that more from a man who is alone than from one who lives in the bosom of his family if i promise to keep a secret said i you may absolutely depend upon my doing so he looked very hard at me as i spoke and it seemed to me that i had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye do you promise then said he at last yes i promise absolute and complete silence before during and after no reference to the matter at all either in word or writing i have already given you my word very good he suddenly sprang up and darting like lightning across the room he flung open the door the passage outside was empty thats all right said he coming back i know that clerks are sometimes curious as to their masters affairs now we can talk in safety he drew up his chair very close to mine and began to stare at me again with the same questioning and thoughtful look a feeling of repulsion and of something akin to fear had begun to rise within me at the strange antics of this fleshless man even my dread of losing a client could not restrain me from showing my impatience i beg that you will state your business sir said i my time is of value heaven forgive me for that last sentence but the words came to my lips how would fifty guineas for a nights work suit you he asked most admirably i say a nights work but an hours would be nearer the mark i simply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine which has got out of gear if you show us what is wrong we shall soon set it right ourselves what do you think of such a commission as that the work appears to be light and the pay munificent precisely so we shall want you to come tonight by the last train where to to eyford in berkshire it is a little place near the borders of oxfordshire and within seven miles of reading there is a train from paddington which would bring you there at about 1115 very good i shall come down in a carriage to meet you there is a drive then yes our little place is quite out in the country it is a good seven miles from eyford station then we can hardly get there before midnight i suppose there would be no chance of a train back i should be compelled to stop the night yes we could easily give you a shakedown that is very awkward could i not come at some more convenient hour we have judged it best that you should come late it is to recompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you a young and unknown man a fee which would buy an opinion from the very heads of your profession still of course if you would like to draw out of the business there is plenty of time to do so i thought of the fifty guineas and of how very useful they would be to me not at all said i i shall be very happy to accommodate myself to your wishes i should like however to understand a little more clearly what it is that you wish me to do quite so it is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity i have no wish to commit you to anything without your having it all laid before you i suppose that we are absolutely safe from eavesdroppers entirely then the matter stands thus you are probably aware that fullersearth is a valuable product and that it is only found in one or two places in england i have heard so some little time ago i bought a small placea very small placewithin ten miles of reading i was fortunate enough to discover that there was a deposit of fullersearth in one of my fields on examining it however i found that this deposit was a comparatively small one and that it formed a link between two very much larger ones upon the right and leftboth of them however in the grounds of my neighbours these good people were absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was quite as valuable as a goldmine naturally it was to my interest to buy their land before they discovered its true value but unfortunately i had no capital by which i could do this i took a few of my friends into the secret however and they suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little deposit and that in this way we should earn the money which would enable us to buy the neighbouring fields this we have now been doing for some time and in order to help us in our operations we erected a hydraulic press this press as i have already explained has got out of order and we wish your advice upon the subject we guard our secret very jealously however and if it once became known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our little house it would soon rouse inquiry and then if the facts came out it would be goodbye to any chance of getting these fields and carrying out our plans that is why i have made you promise me that you will not tell a human being that you are going to eyford tonight i hope that i make it all plain i quite follow you said i the only point which i could not quite understand was what use you could make of a hydraulic press in excavating fullersearth which as i understand is dug out like gravel from a pit ah said he carelessly we have our own process we compress the earth into bricks so as to remove them without revealing what they are but that is a mere detail i have taken you fully into my confidence now mr hatherley and i have shown you how i trust you he rose as he spoke i shall expect you then at eyford at 1115 i shall certainly be there and not a word to a soul he looked at me with a last long questioning gaze and then pressing my hand in a cold dank grasp he hurried from the room well when i came to think it all over in cool blood i was very much astonished as you may both think at this sudden commission which had been intrusted to me on the one hand of course i was glad for the fee was at least tenfold what i should have asked had i set a price upon my own services and it was possible that this order might lead to other ones on the other hand the face and manner of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon me and i could not think that his explanation of the fullersearth was sufficient to explain the necessity for my coming at midnight and his extreme anxiety lest i should tell anyone of my errand however i threw all fears to the winds ate a hearty supper drove to paddington and started off having obeyed to the letter the injunction as to holding my tongue at reading i had to change not only my carriage but my station however i was in time for the last train to eyford and i reached the little dimlit station after eleven oclock i was the only passenger who got out there and there was no one upon the platform save a single sleepy porter with a lantern as i passed out through the wicket gate however i found my acquaintance of the morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side without a word he grasped my arm and hurried me into a carriage the door of which was standing open he drew up the windows on either side tapped on the woodwork and away we went as fast as the horse could go one horse interjected holmes yes only one did you observe the colour yes i saw it by the sidelights when i was stepping into the carriage it was a chestnut tiredlooking or fresh oh fresh and glossy thank you i am sorry to have interrupted you pray continue your most interesting statement away we went then and we drove for at least an hour colonel lysander stark had said that it was only seven miles but i should think from the rate that we seemed to go and from the time that we took that it must have been nearer twelve he sat at my side in silence all the time and i was aware more than once when i glanced in his direction that he was looking at me with great intensity the country roads seem to be not very good in that part of the world for we lurched and jolted terribly i tried to look out of the windows to see something of where we were but they were made of frosted glass and i could make out nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light now and then i hazarded some remark to break the monotony of the journey but the colonel answered only in monosyllables and the conversation soon flagged at last however the bumping of the road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a graveldrive and the carriage came to a stand colonel lysander stark sprang out and as i followed after him pulled me swiftly into a porch which gaped in front of us we stepped as it were right out of the carriage and into the hall so that i failed to catch the most fleeting glance of the front of the house the instant that i had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us and i heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage drove away it was pitch dark inside the house and the colonel fumbled about looking for matches and muttering under his breath suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage and a long golden bar of light shot out in our direction it grew broader and a woman appeared with a lamp in her hand which she held above her head pushing her face forward and peering at us i could see that she was pretty and from the gloss with which the light shone upon her dark dress i knew that it was a rich material she spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as though asking a question and when my companion answered in a gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly fell from her hand colonel stark went up to her whispered something in her ear and then pushing her back into the room from whence she had come he walked towards me again with the lamp in his hand perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a few minutes said he throwing open another door it was a quiet little plainly furnished room with a round table in the centre on which several german books were scattered colonel stark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the door i shall not keep you waiting an instant said he and vanished into the darkness i glanced at the books upon the table and in spite of my ignorance of german i could see that two of them were treatises on science the others being volumes of poetry then i walked across to the window hoping that i might catch some glimpse of the countryside but an oak shutter heavily barred was folded across it it was a wonderfully silent house there was an old clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage but otherwise everything was deadly still a vague feeling of uneasiness began to steal over me who were these german people and what were they doing living in this strange outoftheway place and where was the place i was ten miles or so from eyford that was all i knew but whether north south east or west i had no idea for that matter reading and possibly other large towns were within that radius so the place might not be so secluded after all yet it was quite certain from the absolute stillness that we were in the country i paced up and down the room humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling that i was thoroughly earning my fiftyguinea fee suddenly without any preliminary sound in the midst of the utter stillness the door of my room swung slowly open the woman was standing in the aperture the darkness of the hall behind her the yellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager and beautiful face i could see at a glance that she was sick with fear and the sight sent a chill to my own heart she held up one shaking finger to warn me to be silent and she shot a few whispered words of broken english at me her eyes glancing back like those of a frightened horse into the gloom behind her i would go said she trying hard as it seemed to me to speak calmly i would go i should not stay here there is no good for you to do but madam said i i have not yet done what i came for i cannot possibly leave until i have seen the machine it is not worth your while to wait she went on you can pass through the door no one hinders and then seeing that i smiled and shook my head she suddenly threw aside her constraint and made a step forward with her hands wrung together for the love of heaven she whispered get away from here before it is too late but i am somewhat headstrong by nature and the more ready to engage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way i thought of my fiftyguinea fee of my wearisome journey and of the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me was it all to go for nothing why should i slink away without having carried out my commission and without the payment which was my due this woman might for all i knew be a monomaniac with a stout bearing therefore though her manner had shaken me more than i cared to confess i still shook my head and declared my intention of remaining where i was she was about to renew her entreaties when a door slammed overhead and the sound of several footsteps was heard upon the stairs she listened for an instant threw up her hands with a despairing gesture and vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as she had come the newcomers were colonel lysander stark and a short thick man with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double chin who was introduced to me as mr ferguson this is my secretary and manager said the colonel by the way i was under the impression that i left this door shut just now i fear that you have felt the draught on the contrary said i i opened the door myself because i felt the room to be a little close he shot one of his suspicious looks at me perhaps we had better proceed to business then said he mr ferguson and i will take you up to see the machine i had better put my hat on i suppose oh no it is in the house what you dig fullersearth in the house no no this is only where we compress it but never mind that all we wish you to do is to examine the machine and to let us know what is wrong with it we went upstairs together the colonel first with the lamp the fat manager and i behind him it was a labyrinth of an old house with corridors passages narrow winding staircases and little low doors the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the generations who had crossed them there were no carpets and no signs of any furniture above the ground floor while the plaster was peeling off the walls and the damp was breaking through in green unhealthy blotches i tried to put on as unconcerned an air as possible but i had not forgotten the warnings of the lady even though i disregarded them and i kept a keen eye upon my two companions ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent man but i could see from the little that he said that he was at least a fellowcountryman colonel lysander stark stopped at last before a low door which he unlocked within was a small square room in which the three of us could hardly get at one time ferguson remained outside and the colonel ushered me in we are now said he actually within the hydraulic press and it would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were to turn it on the ceiling of this small chamber is really the end of the descending piston and it comes down with the force of many tons upon this metal floor there are small lateral columns of water outside which receive the force and which transmit and multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you the machine goes readily enough but there is some stiffness in the working of it and it has lost a little of its force perhaps you will have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set it right i took the lamp from him and i examined the machine very thoroughly it was indeed a gigantic one and capable of exercising enormous pressure when i passed outside however and pressed down the levers which controlled it i knew at once by the whishing sound that there was a slight leakage which allowed a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders an examination showed that one of the indiarubber bands which was round the head of a drivingrod had shrunk so as not quite to fill the socket along which it worked this was clearly the cause of the loss of power and i pointed it out to my companions who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical questions as to how they should proceed to set it right when i had made it clear to them i returned to the main chamber of the machine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity it was obvious at a glance that the story of the fullersearth was the merest fabrication for it would be absurd to suppose that so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate a purpose the walls were of wood but the floor consisted of a large iron trough and when i came to examine it i could see a crust of metallic deposit all over it i had stooped and was scraping at this to see exactly what it was when i heard a muttered exclamation in german and saw the cadaverous face of the colonel looking down at me what are you doing there he asked i felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as that which he had told me i was admiring your fullersearth said i i think that i should be better able to advise you as to your machine if i knew what the exact purpose was for which it was used the instant that i uttered the words i regretted the rashness of my speech his face set hard and a baleful light sprang up in his grey eyes very well said he you shall know all about the machine he took a step backward slammed the little door and turned the key in the lock i rushed towards it and pulled at the handle but it was quite secure and did not give in the least to my kicks and shoves hullo i yelled hullo colonel let me out and then suddenly in the silence i heard a sound which sent my heart into my mouth it was the clank of the levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder he had set the engine at work the lamp still stood upon the floor where i had placed it when examining the trough by its light i saw that the black ceiling was coming down upon me slowly jerkily but as none knew better than myself with a force which must within a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp i threw myself screaming against the door and dragged with my nails at the lock i implored the colonel to let me out but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my cries the ceiling was only a foot or two above my head and with my hand upraised i could feel its hard rough surface then it flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend very much upon the position in which i met it if i lay on my face the weight would come upon my spine and i shuddered to think of that dreadful snap easier the other way perhaps and yet had i the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering down upon me already i was unable to stand erect when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope back to my heart i have said that though the floor and ceiling were of iron the walls were of wood as i gave a last hurried glance around i saw a thin line of yellow light between two of the boards which broadened and broadened as a small panel was pushed backward for an instant i could hardly believe that here was indeed a door which led away from death the next instant i threw myself through and lay halffainting upon the other side the panel had closed again behind me but the crash of the lamp and a few moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal told me how narrow had been my escape i was recalled to myself by a frantic plucking at my wrist and i found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor while a woman bent over me and tugged at me with her left hand while she held a candle in her right it was the same good friend whose warning i had so foolishly rejected come come she cried breathlessly they will be here in a moment they will see that you are not there oh do not waste the soprecious time but come this time at least i did not scorn her advice i staggered to my feet and ran with her along the corridor and down a winding stair the latter led to another broad passage and just as we reached it we heard the sound of running feet and the shouting of two voices one answering the other from the floor on which we were and from the one beneath my guide stopped and looked about her like one who is at her wits end then she threw open a door which led into a bedroom through the window of which the moon was shining brightly it is your only chance said she it is high but it may be that you can jump it as she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the passage and i saw the lean figure of colonel lysander stark rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a butchers cleaver in the other i rushed across the bedroom flung open the window and looked out how quiet and sweet and wholesome the garden looked in the moonlight and it could not be more than thirty feet down i clambered out upon the sill but i hesitated to jump until i should have heard what passed between my saviour and the ruffian who pursued me if she were illused then at any risks i was determined to go back to her assistance the thought had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at the door pushing his way past her but she threw her arms round him and tried to hold him back fritz fritz she cried in english remember your promise after the last time you said it should not be again he will be silent oh he will be silent you are mad elise he shouted struggling to break away from her you will be the ruin of us he has seen too much let me pass i say he dashed her to one side and rushing to the window cut at me with his heavy weapon i had let myself go and was hanging by the hands to the sill when his blow fell i was conscious of a dull pain my grip loosened and i fell into the garden below i was shaken but not hurt by the fall so i picked myself up and rushed off among the bushes as hard as i could run for i understood that i was far from being out of danger yet suddenly however as i ran a deadly dizziness and sickness came over me i glanced down at my hand which was throbbing painfully and then for the first time saw that my thumb had been cut off and that the blood was pouring from my wound i endeavoured to tie my handkerchief round it but there came a sudden buzzing in my ears and next moment i fell in a dead faint among the rosebushes how long i remained unconscious i cannot tell it must have been a very long time for the moon had sunk and a bright morning was breaking when i came to myself my clothes were all sodden with dew and my coatsleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded thumb the smarting of it recalled in an instant all the particulars of my nights adventure and i sprang to my feet with the feeling that i might hardly yet be safe from my pursuers but to my astonishment when i came to look round me neither house nor garden were to be seen i had been lying in an angle of the hedge close by the highroad and just a little lower down was a long building which proved upon my approaching it to be the very station at which i had arrived upon the previous night were it not for the ugly wound upon my hand all that had passed during those dreadful hours might have been an evil dream half dazed i went into the station and asked about the morning train there would be one to reading in less than an hour the same porter was on duty i found as had been there when i arrived i inquired of him whether he had ever heard of colonel lysander stark the name was strange to him had he observed a carriage the night before waiting for me no he had not was there a policestation anywhere near there was one about three miles off it was too far for me to go weak and ill as i was i determined to wait until i got back to town before telling my story to the police it was a little past six when i arrived so i went first to have my wound dressed and then the doctor was kind enough to bring me along here i put the case into your hands and shall do exactly what you advise we both sat in silence for some little time after listening to this extraordinary narrative then sherlock holmes pulled down from the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in which he placed his cuttings here is an advertisement which will interest you said he it appeared in all the papers about a year ago listen to this lost on the 9th inst mr jeremiah hayling aged twentysix a hydraulic engineer left his lodgings at ten oclock at night and has not been heard of since was dressed in etc etc ha that represents the last time that the colonel needed to have his machine overhauled i fancy good heavens cried my patient then that explains what the girl said undoubtedly it is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and desperate man who was absolutely determined that nothing should stand in the way of his little game like those outandout pirates who will leave no survivor from a captured ship well every moment now is precious so if you feel equal to it we shall go down to scotland yard at once as a preliminary to starting for eyford some three hours or so afterwards we were all in the train together bound from reading to the little berkshire village there were sherlock holmes the hydraulic engineer inspector bradstreet of scotland yard a plainclothes man and myself bradstreet had spread an ordnance map of the county out upon the seat and was busy with his compasses drawing a circle with eyford for its centre there you are said he that circle is drawn at a radius of ten miles from the village the place we want must be somewhere near that line you said ten miles i think sir it was an hours good drive and you think that they brought you back all that way when you were unconscious they must have done so i have a confused memory too of having been lifted and conveyed somewhere what i cannot understand said i is why they should have spared you when they found you lying fainting in the garden perhaps the villain was softened by the womans entreaties i hardly think that likely i never saw a more inexorable face in my life oh we shall soon clear up all that said bradstreet well i have drawn my circle and i only wish i knew at what point upon it the folk that we are in search of are to be found i think i could lay my finger on it said holmes quietly really now cried the inspector you have formed your opinion come now we shall see who agrees with you i say it is south for the country is more deserted there and i say east said my patient i am for west remarked the plainclothes man there are several quiet little villages up there and i am for north said i because there are no hills there and our friend says that he did not notice the carriage go up any come cried the inspector laughing its a very pretty diversity of opinion we have boxed the compass among us who do you give your casting vote to you are all wrong but we cant all be oh yes you can this is my point he placed his finger in the centre of the circle this is where we shall find them but the twelvemile drive gasped hatherley six out and six back nothing simpler you say yourself that the horse was fresh and glossy when you got in how could it be that if it had gone twelve miles over heavy roads indeed it is a likely ruse enough observed bradstreet thoughtfully of course there can be no doubt as to the nature of this gang none at all said holmes they are coiners on a large scale and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the place of silver we have known for some time that a clever gang was at work said the inspector they have been turning out halfcrowns by the thousand we even traced them as far as reading but could get no farther for they had covered their traces in a way that showed that they were very old hands but now thanks to this lucky chance i think that we have got them right enough but the inspector was mistaken for those criminals were not destined to fall into the hands of justice as we rolled into eyford station we saw a gigantic column of smoke which streamed up from behind a small clump of trees in the neighbourhood and hung like an immense ostrich feather over the landscape a house on fire asked bradstreet as the train steamed off again on its way yes sir said the stationmaster when did it break out i hear that it was during the night sir but it has got worse and the whole place is in a blaze whose house is it dr bechers tell me broke in the engineer is dr becher a german very thin with a long sharp nose the stationmaster laughed heartily no sir dr becher is an englishman and there isnt a man in the parish who has a betterlined waistcoat but he has a gentleman staying with him a patient as i understand who is a foreigner and he looks as if a little good berkshire beef would do him no harm the stationmaster had not finished his speech before we were all hastening in the direction of the fire the road topped a low hill and there was a great widespread whitewashed building in front of us spouting fire at every chink and window while in the garden in front three fireengines were vainly striving to keep the flames under thats it cried hatherley in intense excitement there is the graveldrive and there are the rosebushes where i lay that second window is the one that i jumped from well at least said holmes you have had your revenge upon them there can be no question that it was your oillamp which when it was crushed in the press set fire to the wooden walls though no doubt they were too excited in the chase after you to observe it at the time now keep your eyes open in this crowd for your friends of last night though i very much fear that they are a good hundred miles off by now and holmes fears came to be realised for from that day to this no word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman the sinister german or the morose englishman early that morning a peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very bulky boxes driving rapidly in the direction of reading but there all traces of the fugitives disappeared and even holmes ingenuity failed ever to discover the least clue as to their whereabouts the firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements which they had found within and still more so by discovering a newly severed human thumb upon a windowsill of the second floor about sunset however their efforts were at last successful and they subdued the flames but not before the roof had fallen in and the whole place been reduced to such absolute ruin that save some twisted cylinders and iron piping not a trace remained of the machinery which had cost our unfortunate acquaintance so dearly large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered stored in an outhouse but no coins were to be found which may have explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have been already referred to how our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed from the garden to the spot where he recovered his senses might have remained forever a mystery were it not for the soft mould which told us a very plain tale he had evidently been carried down by two persons one of whom had remarkably small feet and the other unusually large ones on the whole it was most probable that the silent englishman being less bold or less murderous than his companion had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious man out of the way of danger well said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to return once more to london it has been a pretty business for me i have lost my thumb and i have lost a fiftyguinea fee and what have i gained experience said holmes laughing indirectly it may be of value you know you have only to put it into words to gain the reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence x the adventure of the noble bachelor the lord st simon marriage and its curious termination have long ceased to be a subject of interest in those exalted circles in which the unfortunate bridegroom moves fresh scandals have eclipsed it and their more piquant details have drawn the gossips away from this fouryearold drama as i have reason to believe however that the full facts have never been revealed to the general public and as my friend sherlock holmes had a considerable share in clearing the matter up i feel that no memoir of him would be complete without some little sketch of this remarkable episode it was a few weeks before my own marriage during the days when i was still sharing rooms with holmes in baker street that he came home from an afternoon stroll to find a letter on the table waiting for him i had remained indoors all day for the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain with high autumnal winds and the jezail bullet which i had brought back in one of my limbs as a relic of my afghan campaign throbbed with dull persistence with my body in one easychair and my legs upon another i had surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers until at last saturated with the news of the day i tossed them all aside and lay listless watching the huge crest and monogram upon the envelope upon the table and wondering lazily who my friends noble correspondent could be here is a very fashionable epistle i remarked as he entered your morning letters if i remember right were from a fishmonger and a tidewaiter yes my correspondence has certainly the charm of variety he answered smiling and the humbler are usually the more interesting this looks like one of those unwelcome social summonses which call upon a man either to be bored or to lie he broke the seal and glanced over the contents oh come it may prove to be something of interest after all not social then no distinctly professional and from a noble client one of the highest in england my dear fellow i congratulate you i assure you watson without affectation that the status of my client is a matter of less moment to me than the interest of his case it is just possible however that that also may not be wanting in this new investigation you have been reading the papers diligently of late have you not it looks like it said i ruefully pointing to a huge bundle in the corner i have had nothing else to do it is fortunate for you will perhaps be able to post me up i read nothing except the criminal news and the agony column the latter is always instructive but if you have followed recent events so closely you must have read about lord st simon and his wedding oh yes with the deepest interest that is well the letter which i hold in my hand is from lord st simon i will read it to you and in return you must turn over these papers and let me have whatever bears upon the matter this is what he says my dear mr sherlock holmeslord backwater tells me that i may place implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion i have determined therefore to call upon you and to consult you in reference to the very painful event which has occurred in connection with my wedding mr lestrade of scotland yard is acting already in the matter but he assures me that he sees no objection to your cooperation and that he even thinks that it might be of some assistance i will call at four oclock in the afternoon and should you have any other engagement at that time i hope that you will postpone it as this matter is of paramount importance yours faithfully robert st simon it is dated from grosvenor mansions written with a quill pen and the noble lord has had the misfortune to get a smear of ink upon the outer side of his right little finger remarked holmes as he folded up the epistle he says four oclock it is three now he will be here in an hour then i have just time with your assistance to get clear upon the subject turn over those papers and arrange the extracts in their order of time while i take a glance as to who our client is he picked a redcovered volume from a line of books of reference beside the mantelpiece here he is said he sitting down and flattening it out upon his knee lord robert walsingham de vere st simon second son of the duke of balmoral hum arms azure three caltrops in chief over a fess sable born in 1846 hes fortyone years of age which is mature for marriage was undersecretary for the colonies in a late administration the duke his father was at one time secretary for foreign affairs they inherit plantagenet blood by direct descent and tudor on the distaff side ha well there is nothing very instructive in all this i think that i must turn to you watson for something more solid i have very little difficulty in finding what i want said i for the facts are quite recent and the matter struck me as remarkable i feared to refer them to you however as i knew that you had an inquiry on hand and that you disliked the intrusion of other matters oh you mean the little problem of the grosvenor square furniture van that is quite cleared up nowthough indeed it was obvious from the first pray give me the results of your newspaper selections here is the first notice which i can find it is in the personal column of the morning post and dates as you see some weeks back a marriage has been arranged it says and will if rumour is correct very shortly take place between lord robert st simon second son of the duke of balmoral and miss hatty doran the only daughter of aloysius doran esq of san francisco cal usa that is all terse and to the point remarked holmes stretching his long thin legs towards the fire there was a paragraph amplifying this in one of the society papers of the same week ah here it is there will soon be a call for protection in the marriage market for the present freetrade principle appears to tell heavily against our home product one by one the management of the noble houses of great britain is passing into the hands of our fair cousins from across the atlantic an important addition has been made during the last week to the list of the prizes which have been borne away by these charming invaders lord st simon who has shown himself for over twenty years proof against the little gods arrows has now definitely announced his approaching marriage with miss hatty doran the fascinating daughter of a california millionaire miss doran whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much attention at the westbury house festivities is an only child and it is currently reported that her dowry will run to considerably over the six figures with expectancies for the future as it is an open secret that the duke of balmoral has been compelled to sell his pictures within the last few years and as lord st simon has no property of his own save the small estate of birchmoor it is obvious that the californian heiress is not the only gainer by an alliance which will enable her to make the easy and common transition from a republican lady to a british peeress anything else asked holmes yawning oh yes plenty then there is another note in the morning post to say that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet one that it would be at st georges hanover square that only half a dozen intimate friends would be invited and that the party would return to the furnished house at lancaster gate which has been taken by mr aloysius doran two days laterthat is on wednesday lastthere is a curt announcement that the wedding had taken place and that the honeymoon would be passed at lord backwaters place near petersfield those are all the notices which appeared before the disappearance of the bride before the what asked holmes with a start the vanishing of the lady when did she vanish then at the wedding breakfast indeed this is more interesting than it promised to be quite dramatic in fact yes it struck me as being a little out of the common they often vanish before the ceremony and occasionally during the honeymoon but i cannot call to mind anything quite so prompt as this pray let me have the details i warn you that they are very incomplete perhaps we may make them less so such as they are they are set forth in a single article of a morning paper of yesterday which i will read to you it is headed singular occurrence at a fashionable wedding the family of lord robert st simon has been thrown into the greatest consternation by the strange and painful episodes which have taken place in connection with his wedding the ceremony as shortly announced in the papers of yesterday occurred on the previous morning but it is only now that it has been possible to confirm the strange rumours which have been so persistently floating about in spite of the attempts of the friends to hush the matter up so much public attention has now been drawn to it that no good purpose can be served by affecting to disregard what is a common subject for conversation the ceremony which was performed at st georges hanover square was a very quiet one no one being present save the father of the bride mr aloysius doran the duchess of balmoral lord backwater lord eustace and lady clara st simon the younger brother and sister of the bridegroom and lady alicia whittington the whole party proceeded afterwards to the house of mr aloysius doran at lancaster gate where breakfast had been prepared it appears that some little trouble was caused by a woman whose name has not been ascertained who endeavoured to force her way into the house after the bridal party alleging that she had some claim upon lord st simon it was only after a painful and prolonged scene that she was ejected by the butler and the footman the bride who had fortunately entered the house before this unpleasant interruption had sat down to breakfast with the rest when she complained of a sudden indisposition and retired to her room her prolonged absence having caused some comment her father followed her but learned from her maid that she had only come up to her chamber for an instant caught up an ulster and bonnet and hurried down to the passage one of the footmen declared that he had seen a lady leave the house thus apparelled but had refused to credit that it was his mistress believing her to be with the company on ascertaining that his daughter had disappeared mr aloysius doran in conjunction with the bridegroom instantly put themselves in communication with the police and very energetic inquiries are being made which will probably result in a speedy clearing up of this very singular business up to a late hour last night however nothing had transpired as to the whereabouts of the missing lady there are rumours of foul play in the matter and it is said that the police have caused the arrest of the woman who had caused the original disturbance in the belief that from jealousy or some other motive she may have been concerned in the strange disappearance of the bride and is that all only one little item in another of the morning papers but it is a suggestive one and it is that miss flora millar the lady who had caused the disturbance has actually been arrested it appears that she was formerly a danseuse at the allegro and that she has known the bridegroom for some years there are no further particulars and the whole case is in your hands nowso far as it has been set forth in the public press and an exceedingly interesting case it appears to be i would not have missed it for worlds but there is a ring at the bell watson and as the clock makes it a few minutes after four i have no doubt that this will prove to be our noble client do not dream of going watson for i very much prefer having a witness if only as a check to my own memory lord robert st simon announced our pageboy throwing open the door a gentleman entered with a pleasant cultured face highnosed and pale with something perhaps of petulance about the mouth and with the steady wellopened eye of a man whose pleasant lot it had ever been to command and to be obeyed his manner was brisk and yet his general appearance gave an undue impression of age for he had a slight forward stoop and a little bend of the knees as he walked his hair too as he swept off his very curlybrimmed hat was grizzled round the edges and thin upon the top as to his dress it was careful to the verge of foppishness with high collar black frockcoat white waistcoat yellow gloves patentleather shoes and lightcoloured gaiters he advanced slowly into the room turning his head from left to right and swinging in his right hand the cord which held his golden eyeglasses goodday lord st simon said holmes rising and bowing pray take the basketchair this is my friend and colleague dr watson draw up a little to the fire and we will talk this matter over a most painful matter to me as you can most readily imagine mr holmes i have been cut to the quick i understand that you have already managed several delicate cases of this sort sir though i presume that they were hardly from the same class of society no i am descending i beg pardon my last client of the sort was a king oh really i had no idea and which king the king of scandinavia what had he lost his wife you can understand said holmes suavely that i extend to the affairs of my other clients the same secrecy which i promise to you in yours of course very right very right im sure i beg pardon as to my own case i am ready to give you any information which may assist you in forming an opinion thank you i have already learned all that is in the public prints nothing more i presume that i may take it as correctthis article for example as to the disappearance of the bride lord st simon glanced over it yes it is correct as far as it goes but it needs a great deal of supplementing before anyone could offer an opinion i think that i may arrive at my facts most directly by questioning you pray do so when did you first meet miss hatty doran in san francisco a year ago you were travelling in the states yes did you become engaged then no but you were on a friendly footing i was amused by her society and she could see that i was amused her father is very rich he is said to be the richest man on the pacific slope and how did he make his money in mining he had nothing a few years ago then he struck gold invested it and came up by leaps and bounds now what is your own impression as to the young ladysyour wifes character the nobleman swung his glasses a little faster and stared down into the fire you see mr holmes said he my wife was twenty before her father became a rich man during that time she ran free in a mining camp and wandered through woods or mountains so that her education has come from nature rather than from the schoolmaster she is what we call in england a tomboy with a strong nature wild and free unfettered by any sort of traditions she is impetuousvolcanic i was about to say she is swift in making up her mind and fearless in carrying out her resolutions on the other hand i would not have given her the name which i have the honour to bearhe gave a little stately coughhad i not thought her to be at bottom a noble woman i believe that she is capable of heroic selfsacrifice and that anything dishonourable would be repugnant to her have you her photograph i brought this with me he opened a locket and showed us the full face of a very lovely woman it was not a photograph but an ivory miniature and the artist had brought out the full effect of the lustrous black hair the large dark eyes and the exquisite mouth holmes gazed long and earnestly at it then he closed the locket and handed it back to lord st simon the young lady came to london then and you renewed your acquaintance yes her father brought her over for this last london season i met her several times became engaged to her and have now married her she brought i understand a considerable dowry a fair dowry not more than is usual in my family and this of course remains to you since the marriage is a fait accompli i really have made no inquiries on the subject very naturally not did you see miss doran on the day before the wedding yes was she in good spirits never better she kept talking of what we should do in our future lives indeed that is very interesting and on the morning of the wedding she was as bright as possibleat least until after the ceremony and did you observe any change in her then well to tell the truth i saw then the first signs that i had ever seen that her temper was just a little sharp the incident however was too trivial to relate and can have no possible bearing upon the case pray let us have it for all that oh it is childish she dropped her bouquet as we went towards the vestry she was passing the front pew at the time and it fell over into the pew there was a moments delay but the gentleman in the pew handed it up to her again and it did not appear to be the worse for the fall yet when i spoke to her of the matter she answered me abruptly and in the carriage on our way home she seemed absurdly agitated over this trifling cause indeed you say that there was a gentleman in the pew some of the general public were present then oh yes it is impossible to exclude them when the church is open this gentleman was not one of your wifes friends no no i call him a gentleman by courtesy but he was quite a commonlooking person i hardly noticed his appearance but really i think that we are wandering rather far from the point lady st simon then returned from the wedding in a less cheerful frame of mind than she had gone to it what did she do on reentering her fathers house i saw her in conversation with her maid and who is her maid alice is her name she is an american and came from california with her a confidential servant a little too much so it seemed to me that her mistress allowed her to take great liberties still of course in america they look upon these things in a different way how long did she speak to this alice oh a few minutes i had something else to think of you did not overhear what they said lady st simon said something about jumping a claim she was accustomed to use slang of the kind i have no idea what she meant american slang is very expressive sometimes and what did your wife do when she finished speaking to her maid she walked into the breakfastroom on your arm no alone she was very independent in little matters like that then after we had sat down for ten minutes or so she rose hurriedly muttered some words of apology and left the room she never came back but this maid alice as i understand deposes that she went to her room covered her brides dress with a long ulster put on a bonnet and went out quite so and she was afterwards seen walking into hyde park in company with flora millar a woman who is now in custody and who had already made a disturbance at mr dorans house that morning ah yes i should like a few particulars as to this young lady and your relations to her lord st simon shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows we have been on a friendly footing for some yearsi may say on a very friendly footing she used to be at the allegro i have not treated her ungenerously and she had no just cause of complaint against me but you know what women are mr holmes flora was a dear little thing but exceedingly hotheaded and devotedly attached to me she wrote me dreadful letters when she heard that i was about to be married and to tell the truth the reason why i had the marriage celebrated so quietly was that i feared lest there might be a scandal in the church she came to mr dorans door just after we returned and she endeavoured to push her way in uttering very abusive expressions towards my wife and even threatening her but i had foreseen the possibility of something of the sort and i had two police fellows there in private clothes who soon pushed her out again she was quiet when she saw that there was no good in making a row did your wife hear all this no thank goodness she did not and she was seen walking with this very woman afterwards yes that is what mr lestrade of scotland yard looks upon as so serious it is thought that flora decoyed my wife out and laid some terrible trap for her well it is a possible supposition you think so too i did not say a probable one but you do not yourself look upon this as likely i do not think flora would hurt a fly still jealousy is a strange transformer of characters pray what is your own theory as to what took place well really i came to seek a theory not to propound one i have given you all the facts since you ask me however i may say that it has occurred to me as possible that the excitement of this affair the consciousness that she had made so immense a social stride had the effect of causing some little nervous disturbance in my wife in short that she had become suddenly deranged well really when i consider that she has turned her backi will not say upon me but upon so much that many have aspired to without successi can hardly explain it in any other fashion well certainly that is also a conceivable hypothesis said holmes smiling and now lord st simon i think that i have nearly all my data may i ask whether you were seated at the breakfasttable so that you could see out of the window we could see the other side of the road and the park quite so then i do not think that i need to detain you longer i shall communicate with you should you be fortunate enough to solve this problem said our client rising i have solved it eh what was that i say that i have solved it where then is my wife that is a detail which i shall speedily supply lord st simon shook his head i am afraid that it will take wiser heads than yours or mine he remarked and bowing in a stately oldfashioned manner he departed it is very good of lord st simon to honour my head by putting it on a level with his own said sherlock holmes laughing i think that i shall have a whisky and soda and a cigar after all this crossquestioning i had formed my conclusions as to the case before our client came into the room my dear holmes i have notes of several similar cases though none as i remarked before which were quite as prompt my whole examination served to turn my conjecture into a certainty circumstantial evidence is occasionally very convincing as when you find a trout in the milk to quote thoreaus example but i have heard all that you have heard without however the knowledge of preexisting cases which serves me so well there was a parallel instance in aberdeen some years back and something on very much the same lines at munich the year after the francoprussian war it is one of these casesbut hullo here is lestrade goodafternoon lestrade you will find an extra tumbler upon the sideboard and there are cigars in the box the official detective was attired in a peajacket and cravat which gave him a decidedly nautical appearance and he carried a black canvas bag in his hand with a short greeting he seated himself and lit the cigar which had been offered to him whats up then asked holmes with a twinkle in his eye you look dissatisfied and i feel dissatisfied it is this infernal st simon marriage case i can make neither head nor tail of the business really you surprise me who ever heard of such a mixed affair every clue seems to slip through my fingers i have been at work upon it all day and very wet it seems to have made you said holmes laying his hand upon the arm of the peajacket yes i have been dragging the serpentine in heavens name what for in search of the body of lady st simon sherlock holmes leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily have you dragged the basin of trafalgar square fountain he asked why what do you mean because you have just as good a chance of finding this lady in the one as in the other lestrade shot an angry glance at my companion i suppose you know all about it he snarled well i have only just heard the facts but my mind is made up oh indeed then you think that the serpentine plays no part in the matter i think it very unlikely then perhaps you will kindly explain how it is that we found this in it he opened his bag as he spoke and tumbled onto the floor a weddingdress of watered silk a pair of white satin shoes and a brides wreath and veil all discoloured and soaked in water there said he putting a new weddingring upon the top of the pile there is a little nut for you to crack master holmes oh indeed said my friend blowing blue rings into the air you dragged them from the serpentine no they were found floating near the margin by a parkkeeper they have been identified as her clothes and it seemed to me that if the clothes were there the body would not be far off by the same brilliant reasoning every mans body is to be found in the neighbourhood of his wardrobe and pray what did you hope to arrive at through this at some evidence implicating flora millar in the disappearance i am afraid that you will find it difficult are you indeed now cried lestrade with some bitterness i am afraid holmes that you are not very practical with your deductions and your inferences you have made two blunders in as many minutes this dress does implicate miss flora millar and how in the dress is a pocket in the pocket is a cardcase in the cardcase is a note and here is the very note he slapped it down upon the table in front of him listen to this you will see me when all is ready come at once f h m now my theory all along has been that lady st simon was decoyed away by flora millar and that she with confederates no doubt was responsible for her disappearance here signed with her initials is the very note which was no doubt quietly slipped into her hand at the door and which lured her within their reach very good lestrade said holmes laughing you really are very fine indeed let me see it he took up the paper in a listless way but his attention instantly became riveted and he gave a little cry of satisfaction this is indeed important said he ha you find it so extremely so i congratulate you warmly lestrade rose in his triumph and bent his head to look why he shrieked youre looking at the wrong side on the contrary this is the right side the right side youre mad here is the note written in pencil over here and over here is what appears to be the fragment of a hotel bill which interests me deeply theres nothing in it i looked at it before said lestrade oct 4th rooms 8s breakfast 2s 6d cocktail 1s lunch 2s 6d glass sherry 8d i see nothing in that very likely not it is most important all the same as to the note it is important also or at least the initials are so i congratulate you again ive wasted time enough said lestrade rising i believe in hard work and not in sitting by the fire spinning fine theories goodday mr holmes and we shall see which gets to the bottom of the matter first he gathered up the garments thrust them into the bag and made for the door just one hint to you lestrade drawled holmes before his rival vanished i will tell you the true solution of the matter lady st simon is a myth there is not and there never has been any such person lestrade looked sadly at my companion then he turned to me tapped his forehead three times shook his head solemnly and hurried away he had hardly shut the door behind him when holmes rose to put on his overcoat there is something in what the fellow says about outdoor work he remarked so i think watson that i must leave you to your papers for a little it was after five oclock when sherlock holmes left me but i had no time to be lonely for within an hour there arrived a confectioners man with a very large flat box this he unpacked with the help of a youth whom he had brought with him and presently to my very great astonishment a quite epicurean little cold supper began to be laid out upon our humble lodginghouse mahogany there were a couple of brace of cold woodcock a pheasant a pâté de foie gras pie with a group of ancient and cobwebby bottles having laid out all these luxuries my two visitors vanished away like the genii of the arabian nights with no explanation save that the things had been paid for and were ordered to this address just before nine oclock sherlock holmes stepped briskly into the room his features were gravely set but there was a light in his eye which made me think that he had not been disappointed in his conclusions they have laid the supper then he said rubbing his hands you seem to expect company they have laid for five yes i fancy we may have some company dropping in said he i am surprised that lord st simon has not already arrived ha i fancy that i hear his step now upon the stairs it was indeed our visitor of the afternoon who came bustling in dangling his glasses more vigorously than ever and with a very perturbed expression upon his aristocratic features my messenger reached you then asked holmes yes and i confess that the contents startled me beyond measure have you good authority for what you say the best possible lord st simon sank into a chair and passed his hand over his forehead what will the duke say he murmured when he hears that one of the family has been subjected to such humiliation it is the purest accident i cannot allow that there is any humiliation ah you look on these things from another standpoint i fail to see that anyone is to blame i can hardly see how the lady could have acted otherwise though her abrupt method of doing it was undoubtedly to be regretted having no mother she had no one to advise her at such a crisis it was a slight sir a public slight said lord st simon tapping his fingers upon the table you must make allowance for this poor girl placed in so unprecedented a position i will make no allowance i am very angry indeed and i have been shamefully used i think that i heard a ring said holmes yes there are steps on the landing if i cannot persuade you to take a lenient view of the matter lord st simon i have brought an advocate here who may be more successful he opened the door and ushered in a lady and gentleman lord st simon said he allow me to introduce you to mr and mrs francis hay moulton the lady i think you have already met at the sight of these newcomers our client had sprung from his seat and stood very erect with his eyes cast down and his hand thrust into the breast of his frockcoat a picture of offended dignity the lady had taken a quick step forward and had held out her hand to him but he still refused to raise his eyes it was as well for his resolution perhaps for her pleading face was one which it was hard to resist youre angry robert said she well i guess you have every cause to be pray make no apology to me said lord st simon bitterly oh yes i know that i have treated you real bad and that i should have spoken to you before i went but i was kind of rattled and from the time when i saw frank here again i just didnt know what i was doing or saying i only wonder i didnt fall down and do a faint right there before the altar perhaps mrs moulton you would like my friend and me to leave the room while you explain this matter if i may give an opinion remarked the strange gentleman weve had just a little too much secrecy over this business already for my part i should like all europe and america to hear the rights of it he was a small wiry sunburnt man cleanshaven with a sharp face and alert manner then ill tell our story right away said the lady frank here and i met in 84 in mcquires camp near the rockies where pa was working a claim we were engaged to each other frank and i but then one day father struck a rich pocket and made a pile while poor frank here had a claim that petered out and came to nothing the richer pa grew the poorer was frank so at last pa wouldnt hear of our engagement lasting any longer and he took me away to frisco frank wouldnt throw up his hand though so he followed me there and he saw me without pa knowing anything about it it would only have made him mad to know so we just fixed it all up for ourselves frank said that he would go and make his pile too and never come back to claim me until he had as much as pa so then i promised to wait for him to the end of time and pledged myself not to marry anyone else while he lived why shouldnt we be married right away then said he and then i will feel sure of you and i wont claim to be your husband until i come back well we talked it over and he had fixed it all up so nicely with a clergyman all ready in waiting that we just did it right there and then frank went off to seek his fortune and i went back to pa the next i heard of frank was that he was in montana and then he went prospecting in arizona and then i heard of him from new mexico after that came a long newspaper story about how a miners camp had been attacked by apache indians and there was my franks name among the killed i fainted dead away and i was very sick for months after pa thought i had a decline and took me to half the doctors in frisco not a word of news came for a year and more so that i never doubted that frank was really dead then lord st simon came to frisco and we came to london and a marriage was arranged and pa was very pleased but i felt all the time that no man on this earth would ever take the place in my heart that had been given to my poor frank still if i had married lord st simon of course id have done my duty by him we cant command our love but we can our actions i went to the altar with him with the intention to make him just as good a wife as it was in me to be but you may imagine what i felt when just as i came to the altar rails i glanced back and saw frank standing and looking at me out of the first pew i thought it was his ghost at first but when i looked again there he was still with a kind of question in his eyes as if to ask me whether i were glad or sorry to see him i wonder i didnt drop i know that everything was turning round and the words of the clergyman were just like the buzz of a bee in my ear i didnt know what to do should i stop the service and make a scene in the church i glanced at him again and he seemed to know what i was thinking for he raised his finger to his lips to tell me to be still then i saw him scribble on a piece of paper and i knew that he was writing me a note as i passed his pew on the way out i dropped my bouquet over to him and he slipped the note into my hand when he returned me the flowers it was only a line asking me to join him when he made the sign to me to do so of course i never doubted for a moment that my first duty was now to him and i determined to do just whatever he might direct when i got back i told my maid who had known him in california and had always been his friend i ordered her to say nothing but to get a few things packed and my ulster ready i know i ought to have spoken to lord st simon but it was dreadful hard before his mother and all those great people i just made up my mind to run away and explain afterwards i hadnt been at the table ten minutes before i saw frank out of the window at the other side of the road he beckoned to me and then began walking into the park i slipped out put on my things and followed him some woman came talking something or other about lord st simon to meseemed to me from the little i heard as if he had a little secret of his own before marriage alsobut i managed to get away from her and soon overtook frank we got into a cab together and away we drove to some lodgings he had taken in gordon square and that was my true wedding after all those years of waiting frank had been a prisoner among the apaches had escaped came on to frisco found that i had given him up for dead and had gone to england followed me there and had come upon me at last on the very morning of my second wedding i saw it in a paper explained the american it gave the name and the church but not where the lady lived then we had a talk as to what we should do and frank was all for openness but i was so ashamed of it all that i felt as if i should like to vanish away and never see any of them againjust sending a line to pa perhaps to show him that i was alive it was awful to me to think of all those lords and ladies sitting round that breakfasttable and waiting for me to come back so frank took my weddingclothes and things and made a bundle of them so that i should not be traced and dropped them away somewhere where no one could find them it is likely that we should have gone on to paris tomorrow only that this good gentleman mr holmes came round to us this evening though how he found us is more than i can think and he showed us very clearly and kindly that i was wrong and that frank was right and that we should be putting ourselves in the wrong if we were so secret then he offered to give us a chance of talking to lord st simon alone and so we came right away round to his rooms at once now robert you have heard it all and i am very sorry if i have given you pain and i hope that you do not think very meanly of me lord st simon had by no means relaxed his rigid attitude but had listened with a frowning brow and a compressed lip to this long narrative excuse me he said but it is not my custom to discuss my most intimate personal affairs in this public manner then you wont forgive me you wont shake hands before i go oh certainly if it would give you any pleasure he put out his hand and coldly grasped that which she extended to him i had hoped suggested holmes that you would have joined us in a friendly supper i think that there you ask a little too much responded his lordship i may be forced to acquiesce in these recent developments but i can hardly be expected to make merry over them i think that with your permission i will now wish you all a very goodnight he included us all in a sweeping bow and stalked out of the room then i trust that you at least will honour me with your company said sherlock holmes it is always a joy to meet an american mr moulton for i am one of those who believe that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in fargone years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same worldwide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the union jack with the stars and stripes the case has been an interesting one remarked holmes when our visitors had left us because it serves to show very clearly how simple the explanation may be of an affair which at first sight seems to be almost inexplicable nothing could be more natural than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady and nothing stranger than the result when viewed for instance by mr lestrade of scotland yard you were not yourself at fault at all then from the first two facts were very obvious to me the one that the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony the other that she had repented of it within a few minutes of returning home obviously something had occurred during the morning then to cause her to change her mind what could that something be she could not have spoken to anyone when she was out for she had been in the company of the bridegroom had she seen someone then if she had it must be someone from america because she had spent so short a time in this country that she could hardly have allowed anyone to acquire so deep an influence over her that the mere sight of him would induce her to change her plans so completely you see we have already arrived by a process of exclusion at the idea that she might have seen an american then who could this american be and why should he possess so much influence over her it might be a lover it might be a husband her young womanhood had i knew been spent in rough scenes and under strange conditions so far i had got before i ever heard lord st simons narrative when he told us of a man in a pew of the change in the brides manner of so transparent a device for obtaining a note as the dropping of a bouquet of her resort to her confidential maid and of her very significant allusion to claimjumpingwhich in miners parlance means taking possession of that which another person has a prior claim tothe whole situation became absolutely clear she had gone off with a man and the man was either a lover or was a previous husbandthe chances being in favour of the latter and how in the world did you find them it might have been difficult but friend lestrade held information in his hands the value of which he did not himself know the initials were of course of the highest importance but more valuable still was it to know that within a week he had settled his bill at one of the most select london hotels how did you deduce the select by the select prices eight shillings for a bed and eightpence for a glass of sherry pointed to one of the most expensive hotels there are not many in london which charge at that rate in the second one which i visited in northumberland avenue i learned by an inspection of the book that francis h moulton an american gentleman had left only the day before and on looking over the entries against him i came upon the very items which i had seen in the duplicate bill his letters were to be forwarded to 226 gordon square so thither i travelled and being fortunate enough to find the loving couple at home i ventured to give them some paternal advice and to point out to them that it would be better in every way that they should make their position a little clearer both to the general public and to lord st simon in particular i invited them to meet him here and as you see i made him keep the appointment but with no very good result i remarked his conduct was certainly not very gracious ah watson said holmes smiling perhaps you would not be very gracious either if after all the trouble of wooing and wedding you found yourself deprived in an instant of wife and of fortune i think that we may judge lord st simon very mercifully and thank our stars that we are never likely to find ourselves in the same position draw your chair up and hand me my violin for the only problem we have still to solve is how to while away these bleak autumnal evenings xi the adventure of the beryl coronet holmes said i as i stood one morning in our bowwindow looking down the street here is a madman coming along it seems rather sad that his relatives should allow him to come out alone my friend rose lazily from his armchair and stood with his hands in the pockets of his dressinggown looking over my shoulder it was a bright crisp february morning and the snow of the day before still lay deep upon the ground shimmering brightly in the wintry sun down the centre of baker street it had been ploughed into a brown crumbly band by the traffic but at either side and on the heapedup edges of the footpaths it still lay as white as when it fell the grey pavement had been cleaned and scraped but was still dangerously slippery so that there were fewer passengers than usual indeed from the direction of the metropolitan station no one was coming save the single gentleman whose eccentric conduct had drawn my attention he was a man of about fifty tall portly and imposing with a massive strongly marked face and a commanding figure he was dressed in a sombre yet rich style in black frockcoat shining hat neat brown gaiters and wellcut pearlgrey trousers yet his actions were in absurd contrast to the dignity of his dress and features for he was running hard with occasional little springs such as a weary man gives who is little accustomed to set any tax upon his legs as he ran he jerked his hands up and down waggled his head and writhed his face into the most extraordinary contortions what on earth can be the matter with him i asked he is looking up at the numbers of the houses i believe that he is coming here said holmes rubbing his hands here yes i rather think he is coming to consult me professionally i think that i recognise the symptoms ha did i not tell you as he spoke the man puffing and blowing rushed at our door and pulled at our bell until the whole house resounded with the clanging a few moments later he was in our room still puffing still gesticulating but with so fixed a look of grief and despair in his eyes that our smiles were turned in an instant to horror and pity for a while he could not get his words out but swayed his body and plucked at his hair like one who has been driven to the extreme limits of his reason then suddenly springing to his feet he beat his head against the wall with such force that we both rushed upon him and tore him away to the centre of the room sherlock holmes pushed him down into the easychair and sitting beside him patted his hand and chatted with him in the easy soothing tones which he knew so well how to employ you have come to me to tell your story have you not said he you are fatigued with your haste pray wait until you have recovered yourself and then i shall be most happy to look into any little problem which you may submit to me the man sat for a minute or more with a heaving chest fighting against his emotion then he passed his handkerchief over his brow set his lips tight and turned his face towards us no doubt you think me mad said he i see that you have had some great trouble responded holmes god knows i havea trouble which is enough to unseat my reason so sudden and so terrible is it public disgrace i might have faced although i am a man whose character has never yet borne a stain private affliction also is the lot of every man but the two coming together and in so frightful a form have been enough to shake my very soul besides it is not i alone the very noblest in the land may suffer unless some way be found out of this horrible affair pray compose yourself sir said holmes and let me have a clear account of who you are and what it is that has befallen you my name answered our visitor is probably familiar to your ears i am alexander holder of the banking firm of holder stevenson of threadneedle street the name was indeed well known to us as belonging to the senior partner in the second largest private banking concern in the city of london what could have happened then to bring one of the foremost citizens of london to this most pitiable pass we waited all curiosity until with another effort he braced himself to tell his story i feel that time is of value said he that is why i hastened here when the police inspector suggested that i should secure your cooperation i came to baker street by the underground and hurried from there on foot for the cabs go slowly through this snow that is why i was so out of breath for i am a man who takes very little exercise i feel better now and i will put the facts before you as shortly and yet as clearly as i can it is of course well known to you that in a successful banking business as much depends upon our being able to find remunerative investments for our funds as upon our increasing our connection and the number of our depositors one of our most lucrative means of laying out money is in the shape of loans where the security is unimpeachable we have done a good deal in this direction during the last few years and there are many noble families to whom we have advanced large sums upon the security of their pictures libraries or plate yesterday morning i was seated in my office at the bank when a card was brought in to me by one of the clerks i started when i saw the name for it was that of none other thanwell perhaps even to you i had better say no more than that it was a name which is a household word all over the earthone of the highest noblest most exalted names in england i was overwhelmed by the honour and attempted when he entered to say so but he plunged at once into business with the air of a man who wishes to hurry quickly through a disagreeable task mr holder said he i have been informed that you are in the habit of advancing money the firm does so when the security is good i answered it is absolutely essential to me said he that i should have 50000 at once i could of course borrow so trifling a sum ten times over from my friends but i much prefer to make it a matter of business and to carry out that business myself in my position you can readily understand that it is unwise to place ones self under obligations for how long may i ask do you want this sum i asked next monday i have a large sum due to me and i shall then most certainly repay what you advance with whatever interest you think it right to charge but it is very essential to me that the money should be paid at once i should be happy to advance it without further parley from my own private purse said i were it not that the strain would be rather more than it could bear if on the other hand i am to do it in the name of the firm then in justice to my partner i must insist that even in your case every businesslike precaution should be taken i should much prefer to have it so said he raising up a square black morocco case which he had laid beside his chair you have doubtless heard of the beryl coronet one of the most precious public possessions of the empire said i precisely he opened the case and there imbedded in soft fleshcoloured velvet lay the magnificent piece of jewellery which he had named there are thirtynine enormous beryls said he and the price of the gold chasing is incalculable the lowest estimate would put the worth of the coronet at double the sum which i have asked i am prepared to leave it with you as my security i took the precious case into my hands and looked in some perplexity from it to my illustrious client you doubt its value he asked not at all i only doubt the propriety of my leaving it you may set your mind at rest about that i should not dream of doing so were it not absolutely certain that i should be able in four days to reclaim it it is a pure matter of form is the security sufficient ample you understand mr holder that i am giving you a strong proof of the confidence which i have in you founded upon all that i have heard of you i rely upon you not only to be discreet and to refrain from all gossip upon the matter but above all to preserve this coronet with every possible precaution because i need not say that a great public scandal would be caused if any harm were to befall it any injury to it would be almost as serious as its complete loss for there are no beryls in the world to match these and it would be impossible to replace them i leave it with you however with every confidence and i shall call for it in person on monday morning seeing that my client was anxious to leave i said no more but calling for my cashier i ordered him to pay over fifty 1000 notes when i was alone once more however with the precious case lying upon the table in front of me i could not but think with some misgivings of the immense responsibility which it entailed upon me there could be no doubt that as it was a national possession a horrible scandal would ensue if any misfortune should occur to it i already regretted having ever consented to take charge of it however it was too late to alter the matter now so i locked it up in my private safe and turned once more to my work when evening came i felt that it would be an imprudence to leave so precious a thing in the office behind me bankers safes had been forced before now and why should not mine be if so how terrible would be the position in which i should find myself i determined therefore that for the next few days i would always carry the case backward and forward with me so that it might never be really out of my reach with this intention i called a cab and drove out to my house at streatham carrying the jewel with me i did not breathe freely until i had taken it upstairs and locked it in the bureau of my dressingroom and now a word as to my household mr holmes for i wish you to thoroughly understand the situation my groom and my page sleep out of the house and may be set aside altogether i have three maidservants who have been with me a number of years and whose absolute reliability is quite above suspicion another lucy parr the second waitingmaid has only been in my service a few months she came with an excellent character however and has always given me satisfaction she is a very pretty girl and has attracted admirers who have occasionally hung about the place that is the only drawback which we have found to her but we believe her to be a thoroughly good girl in every way so much for the servants my family itself is so small that it will not take me long to describe it i am a widower and have an only son arthur he has been a disappointment to me mr holmesa grievous disappointment i have no doubt that i am myself to blame people tell me that i have spoiled him very likely i have when my dear wife died i felt that he was all i had to love i could not bear to see the smile fade even for a moment from his face i have never denied him a wish perhaps it would have been better for both of us had i been sterner but i meant it for the best it was naturally my intention that he should succeed me in my business but he was not of a business turn he was wild wayward and to speak the truth i could not trust him in the handling of large sums of money when he was young he became a member of an aristocratic club and there having charming manners he was soon the intimate of a number of men with long purses and expensive habits he learned to play heavily at cards and to squander money on the turf until he had again and again to come to me and implore me to give him an advance upon his allowance that he might settle his debts of honour he tried more than once to break away from the dangerous company which he was keeping but each time the influence of his friend sir george burnwell was enough to draw him back again and indeed i could not wonder that such a man as sir george burnwell should gain an influence over him for he has frequently brought him to my house and i have found myself that i could hardly resist the fascination of his manner he is older than arthur a man of the world to his fingertips one who had been everywhere seen everything a brilliant talker and a man of great personal beauty yet when i think of him in cold blood far away from the glamour of his presence i am convinced from his cynical speech and the look which i have caught in his eyes that he is one who should be deeply distrusted so i think and so too thinks my little mary who has a womans quick insight into character and now there is only she to be described she is my niece but when my brother died five years ago and left her alone in the world i adopted her and have looked upon her ever since as my daughter she is a sunbeam in my housesweet loving beautiful a wonderful manager and housekeeper yet as tender and quiet and gentle as a woman could be she is my right hand i do not know what i could do without her in only one matter has she ever gone against my wishes twice my boy has asked her to marry him for he loves her devotedly but each time she has refused him i think that if anyone could have drawn him into the right path it would have been she and that his marriage might have changed his whole life but now alas it is too lateforever too late now mr holmes you know the people who live under my roof and i shall continue with my miserable story when we were taking coffee in the drawingroom that night after dinner i told arthur and mary my experience and of the precious treasure which we had under our roof suppressing only the name of my client lucy parr who had brought in the coffee had i am sure left the room but i cannot swear that the door was closed mary and arthur were much interested and wished to see the famous coronet but i thought it better not to disturb it where have you put it asked arthur in my own bureau well i hope to goodness the house wont be burgled during the night said he it is locked up i answered oh any old key will fit that bureau when i was a youngster i have opened it myself with the key of the boxroom cupboard he often had a wild way of talking so that i thought little of what he said he followed me to my room however that night with a very grave face look here dad said he with his eyes cast down can you let me have 200 no i cannot i answered sharply i have been far too generous with you in money matters you have been very kind said he but i must have this money or else i can never show my face inside the club again and a very good thing too i cried yes but you would not have me leave it a dishonoured man said he i could not bear the disgrace i must raise the money in some way and if you will not let me have it then i must try other means i was very angry for this was the third demand during the month you shall not have a farthing from me i cried on which he bowed and left the room without another word when he was gone i unlocked my bureau made sure that my treasure was safe and locked it again then i started to go round the house to see that all was securea duty which i usually leave to mary but which i thought it well to perform myself that night as i came down the stairs i saw mary herself at the side window of the hall which she closed and fastened as i approached tell me dad said she looking i thought a little disturbed did you give lucy the maid leave to go out tonight certainly not she came in just now by the back door i have no doubt that she has only been to the side gate to see someone but i think that it is hardly safe and should be stopped you must speak to her in the morning or i will if you prefer it are you sure that everything is fastened quite sure dad then goodnight i kissed her and went up to my bedroom again where i was soon asleep i am endeavouring to tell you everything mr holmes which may have any bearing upon the case but i beg that you will question me upon any point which i do not make clear on the contrary your statement is singularly lucid i come to a part of my story now in which i should wish to be particularly so i am not a very heavy sleeper and the anxiety in my mind tended no doubt to make me even less so than usual about two in the morning then i was awakened by some sound in the house it had ceased ere i was wide awake but it had left an impression behind it as though a window had gently closed somewhere i lay listening with all my ears suddenly to my horror there was a distinct sound of footsteps moving softly in the next room i slipped out of bed all palpitating with fear and peeped round the corner of my dressingroom door arthur i screamed you villain you thief how dare you touch that coronet the gas was half up as i had left it and my unhappy boy dressed only in his shirt and trousers was standing beside the light holding the coronet in his hands he appeared to be wrenching at it or bending it with all his strength at my cry he dropped it from his grasp and turned as pale as death i snatched it up and examined it one of the gold corners with three of the beryls in it was missing you blackguard i shouted beside myself with rage you have destroyed it you have dishonoured me forever where are the jewels which you have stolen stolen he cried yes thief i roared shaking him by the shoulder there are none missing there cannot be any missing said he there are three missing and you know where they are must i call you a liar as well as a thief did i not see you trying to tear off another piece you have called me names enough said he i will not stand it any longer i shall not say another word about this business since you have chosen to insult me i will leave your house in the morning and make my own way in the world you shall leave it in the hands of the police i cried halfmad with grief and rage i shall have this matter probed to the bottom you shall learn nothing from me said he with a passion such as i should not have thought was in his nature if you choose to call the police let the police find what they can by this time the whole house was astir for i had raised my voice in my anger mary was the first to rush into my room and at the sight of the coronet and of arthurs face she read the whole story and with a scream fell down senseless on the ground i sent the housemaid for the police and put the investigation into their hands at once when the inspector and a constable entered the house arthur who had stood sullenly with his arms folded asked me whether it was my intention to charge him with theft i answered that it had ceased to be a private matter but had become a public one since the ruined coronet was national property i was determined that the law should have its way in everything at least said he you will not have me arrested at once it would be to your advantage as well as mine if i might leave the house for five minutes that you may get away or perhaps that you may conceal what you have stolen said i and then realising the dreadful position in which i was placed i implored him to remember that not only my honour but that of one who was far greater than i was at stake and that he threatened to raise a scandal which would convulse the nation he might avert it all if he would but tell me what he had done with the three missing stones you may as well face the matter said i you have been caught in the act and no confession could make your guilt more heinous if you but make such reparation as is in your power by telling us where the beryls are all shall be forgiven and forgotten keep your forgiveness for those who ask for it he answered turning away from me with a sneer i saw that he was too hardened for any words of mine to influence him there was but one way for it i called in the inspector and gave him into custody a search was made at once not only of his person but of his room and of every portion of the house where he could possibly have concealed the gems but no trace of them could be found nor would the wretched boy open his mouth for all our persuasions and our threats this morning he was removed to a cell and i after going through all the police formalities have hurried round to you to implore you to use your skill in unravelling the matter the police have openly confessed that they can at present make nothing of it you may go to any expense which you think necessary i have already offered a reward of 1000 my god what shall i do i have lost my honour my gems and my son in one night oh what shall i do he put a hand on either side of his head and rocked himself to and fro droning to himself like a child whose grief has got beyond words sherlock holmes sat silent for some few minutes with his brows knitted and his eyes fixed upon the fire do you receive much company he asked none save my partner with his family and an occasional friend of arthurs sir george burnwell has been several times lately no one else i think do you go out much in society arthur does mary and i stay at home we neither of us care for it that is unusual in a young girl she is of a quiet nature besides she is not so very young she is fourandtwenty this matter from what you say seems to have been a shock to her also terrible she is even more affected than i you have neither of you any doubt as to your sons guilt how can we have when i saw him with my own eyes with the coronet in his hands i hardly consider that a conclusive proof was the remainder of the coronet at all injured yes it was twisted do you not think then that he might have been trying to straighten it god bless you you are doing what you can for him and for me but it is too heavy a task what was he doing there at all if his purpose were innocent why did he not say so precisely and if it were guilty why did he not invent a lie his silence appears to me to cut both ways there are several singular points about the case what did the police think of the noise which awoke you from your sleep they considered that it might be caused by arthurs closing his bedroom door a likely story as if a man bent on felony would slam his door so as to wake a household what did they say then of the disappearance of these gems they are still sounding the planking and probing the furniture in the hope of finding them have they thought of looking outside the house yes they have shown extraordinary energy the whole garden has already been minutely examined now my dear sir said holmes is it not obvious to you now that this matter really strikes very much deeper than either you or the police were at first inclined to think it appeared to you to be a simple case to me it seems exceedingly complex consider what is involved by your theory you suppose that your son came down from his bed went at great risk to your dressingroom opened your bureau took out your coronet broke off by main force a small portion of it went off to some other place concealed three gems out of the thirtynine with such skill that nobody can find them and then returned with the other thirtysix into the room in which he exposed himself to the greatest danger of being discovered i ask you now is such a theory tenable but what other is there cried the banker with a gesture of despair if his motives were innocent why does he not explain them it is our task to find that out replied holmes so now if you please mr holder we will set off for streatham together and devote an hour to glancing a little more closely into details my friend insisted upon my accompanying them in their expedition which i was eager enough to do for my curiosity and sympathy were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened i confess that the guilt of the bankers son appeared to me to be as obvious as it did to his unhappy father but still i had such faith in holmes judgment that i felt that there must be some grounds for hope as long as he was dissatisfied with the accepted explanation he hardly spoke a word the whole way out to the southern suburb but sat with his chin upon his breast and his hat drawn over his eyes sunk in the deepest thought our client appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope which had been presented to him and he even broke into a desultory chat with me over his business affairs a short railway journey and a shorter walk brought us to fairbank the modest residence of the great financier fairbank was a goodsized square house of white stone standing back a little from the road a double carriagesweep with a snowclad lawn stretched down in front to two large iron gates which closed the entrance on the right side was a small wooden thicket which led into a narrow path between two neat hedges stretching from the road to the kitchen door and forming the tradesmens entrance on the left ran a lane which led to the stables and was not itself within the grounds at all being a public though little used thoroughfare holmes left us standing at the door and walked slowly all round the house across the front down the tradesmens path and so round by the garden behind into the stable lane so long was he that mr holder and i went into the diningroom and waited by the fire until he should return we were sitting there in silence when the door opened and a young lady came in she was rather above the middle height slim with dark hair and eyes which seemed the darker against the absolute pallor of her skin i do not think that i have ever seen such deadly paleness in a womans face her lips too were bloodless but her eyes were flushed with crying as she swept silently into the room she impressed me with a greater sense of grief than the banker had done in the morning and it was the more striking in her as she was evidently a woman of strong character with immense capacity for selfrestraint disregarding my presence she went straight to her uncle and passed her hand over his head with a sweet womanly caress you have given orders that arthur should be liberated have you not dad she asked no no my girl the matter must be probed to the bottom but i am so sure that he is innocent you know what womans instincts are i know that he has done no harm and that you will be sorry for having acted so harshly why is he silent then if he is innocent who knows perhaps because he was so angry that you should suspect him how could i help suspecting him when i actually saw him with the coronet in his hand oh but he had only picked it up to look at it oh do do take my word for it that he is innocent let the matter drop and say no more it is so dreadful to think of our dear arthur in prison i shall never let it drop until the gems are foundnever mary your affection for arthur blinds you as to the awful consequences to me far from hushing the thing up i have brought a gentleman down from london to inquire more deeply into it this gentleman she asked facing round to me no his friend he wished us to leave him alone he is round in the stable lane now the stable lane she raised her dark eyebrows what can he hope to find there ah this i suppose is he i trust sir that you will succeed in proving what i feel sure is the truth that my cousin arthur is innocent of this crime i fully share your opinion and i trust with you that we may prove it returned holmes going back to the mat to knock the snow from his shoes i believe i have the honour of addressing miss mary holder might i ask you a question or two pray do sir if it may help to clear this horrible affair up you heard nothing yourself last night nothing until my uncle here began to speak loudly i heard that and i came down you shut up the windows and doors the night before did you fasten all the windows yes were they all fastened this morning yes you have a maid who has a sweetheart i think that you remarked to your uncle last night that she had been out to see him yes and she was the girl who waited in the drawingroom and who may have heard uncles remarks about the coronet i see you infer that she may have gone out to tell her sweetheart and that the two may have planned the robbery but what is the good of all these vague theories cried the banker impatiently when i have told you that i saw arthur with the coronet in his hands wait a little mr holder we must come back to that about this girl miss holder you saw her return by the kitchen door i presume yes when i went to see if the door was fastened for the night i met her slipping in i saw the man too in the gloom do you know him oh yes he is the greengrocer who brings our vegetables round his name is francis prosper he stood said holmes to the left of the doorthat is to say farther up the path than is necessary to reach the door yes he did and he is a man with a wooden leg something like fear sprang up in the young ladys expressive black eyes why you are like a magician said she how do you know that she smiled but there was no answering smile in holmes thin eager face i should be very glad now to go upstairs said he i shall probably wish to go over the outside of the house again perhaps i had better take a look at the lower windows before i go up he walked swiftly round from one to the other pausing only at the large one which looked from the hall onto the stable lane this he opened and made a very careful examination of the sill with his powerful magnifying lens now we shall go upstairs said he at last the bankers dressingroom was a plainly furnished little chamber with a grey carpet a large bureau and a long mirror holmes went to the bureau first and looked hard at the lock which key was used to open it he asked that which my son himself indicatedthat of the cupboard of the lumberroom have you it here that is it on the dressingtable sherlock holmes took it up and opened the bureau it is a noiseless lock said he it is no wonder that it did not wake you this case i presume contains the coronet we must have a look at it he opened the case and taking out the diadem he laid it upon the table it was a magnificent specimen of the jewellers art and the thirtysix stones were the finest that i have ever seen at one side of the coronet was a cracked edge where a corner holding three gems had been torn away now mr holder said holmes here is the corner which corresponds to that which has been so unfortunately lost might i beg that you will break it off the banker recoiled in horror i should not dream of trying said he then i will holmes suddenly bent his strength upon it but without result i feel it give a little said he but though i am exceptionally strong in the fingers it would take me all my time to break it an ordinary man could not do it now what do you think would happen if i did break it mr holder there would be a noise like a pistol shot do you tell me that all this happened within a few yards of your bed and that you heard nothing of it i do not know what to think it is all dark to me but perhaps it may grow lighter as we go what do you think miss holder i confess that i still share my uncles perplexity your son had no shoes or slippers on when you saw him he had nothing on save only his trousers and shirt thank you we have certainly been favoured with extraordinary luck during this inquiry and it will be entirely our own fault if we do not succeed in clearing the matter up with your permission mr holder i shall now continue my investigations outside he went alone at his own request for he explained that any unnecessary footmarks might make his task more difficult for an hour or more he was at work returning at last with his feet heavy with snow and his features as inscrutable as ever i think that i have seen now all that there is to see mr holder said he i can serve you best by returning to my rooms but the gems mr holmes where are they i cannot tell the banker wrung his hands i shall never see them again he cried and my son you give me hopes my opinion is in no way altered then for gods sake what was this dark business which was acted in my house last night if you can call upon me at my baker street rooms tomorrow morning between nine and ten i shall be happy to do what i can to make it clearer i understand that you give me carte blanche to act for you provided only that i get back the gems and that you place no limit on the sum i may draw i would give my fortune to have them back very good i shall look into the matter between this and then goodbye it is just possible that i may have to come over here again before evening it was obvious to me that my companions mind was now made up about the case although what his conclusions were was more than i could even dimly imagine several times during our homeward journey i endeavoured to sound him upon the point but he always glided away to some other topic until at last i gave it over in despair it was not yet three when we found ourselves in our rooms once more he hurried to his chamber and was down again in a few minutes dressed as a common loafer with his collar turned up his shiny seedy coat his red cravat and his worn boots he was a perfect sample of the class i think that this should do said he glancing into the glass above the fireplace i only wish that you could come with me watson but i fear that it wont do i may be on the trail in this matter or i may be following a willothewisp but i shall soon know which it is i hope that i may be back in a few hours he cut a slice of beef from the joint upon the sideboard sandwiched it between two rounds of bread and thrusting this rude meal into his pocket he started off upon his expedition i had just finished my tea when he returned evidently in excellent spirits swinging an old elasticsided boot in his hand he chucked it down into a corner and helped himself to a cup of tea i only looked in as i passed said he i am going right on where to oh to the other side of the west end it may be some time before i get back dont wait up for me in case i should be late how are you getting on oh so so nothing to complain of i have been out to streatham since i saw you last but i did not call at the house it is a very sweet little problem and i would not have missed it for a good deal however i must not sit gossiping here but must get these disreputable clothes off and return to my highly respectable self i could see by his manner that he had stronger reasons for satisfaction than his words alone would imply his eyes twinkled and there was even a touch of colour upon his sallow cheeks he hastened upstairs and a few minutes later i heard the slam of the hall door which told me that he was off once more upon his congenial hunt i waited until midnight but there was no sign of his return so i retired to my room it was no uncommon thing for him to be away for days and nights on end when he was hot upon a scent so that his lateness caused me no surprise i do not know at what hour he came in but when i came down to breakfast in the morning there he was with a cup of coffee in one hand and the paper in the other as fresh and trim as possible you will excuse my beginning without you watson said he but you remember that our client has rather an early appointment this morning why it is after nine now i answered i should not be surprised if that were he i thought i heard a ring it was indeed our friend the financier i was shocked by the change which had come over him for his face which was naturally of a broad and massive mould was now pinched and fallen in while his hair seemed to me at least a shade whiter he entered with a weariness and lethargy which was even more painful than his violence of the morning before and he dropped heavily into the armchair which i pushed forward for him i do not know what i have done to be so severely tried said he only two days ago i was a happy and prosperous man without a care in the world now i am left to a lonely and dishonoured age one sorrow comes close upon the heels of another my niece mary has deserted me deserted you yes her bed this morning had not been slept in her room was empty and a note for me lay upon the hall table i had said to her last night in sorrow and not in anger that if she had married my boy all might have been well with him perhaps it was thoughtless of me to say so it is to that remark that she refers in this note my dearest unclei feel that i have brought trouble upon you and that if i had acted differently this terrible misfortune might never have occurred i cannot with this thought in my mind ever again be happy under your roof and i feel that i must leave you forever do not worry about my future for that is provided for and above all do not search for me for it will be fruitless labour and an illservice to me in life or in death i am ever your loving mary what could she mean by that note mr holmes do you think it points to suicide no no nothing of the kind it is perhaps the best possible solution i trust mr holder that you are nearing the end of your troubles ha you say so you have heard something mr holmes you have learned something where are the gems you would not think 1000 apiece an excessive sum for them i would pay ten that would be unnecessary three thousand will cover the matter and there is a little reward i fancy have you your chequebook here is a pen better make it out for 4000 with a dazed face the banker made out the required check holmes walked over to his desk took out a little triangular piece of gold with three gems in it and threw it down upon the table with a shriek of joy our client clutched it up you have it he gasped i am saved i am saved the reaction of joy was as passionate as his grief had been and he hugged his recovered gems to his bosom there is one other thing you owe mr holder said sherlock holmes rather sternly owe he caught up a pen name the sum and i will pay it no the debt is not to me you owe a very humble apology to that noble lad your son who has carried himself in this matter as i should be proud to see my own son do should i ever chance to have one then it was not arthur who took them i told you yesterday and i repeat today that it was not you are sure of it then let us hurry to him at once to let him know that the truth is known he knows it already when i had cleared it all up i had an interview with him and finding that he would not tell me the story i told it to him on which he had to confess that i was right and to add the very few details which were not yet quite clear to me your news of this morning however may open his lips for heavens sake tell me then what is this extraordinary mystery i will do so and i will show you the steps by which i reached it and let me say to you first that which it is hardest for me to say and for you to hear there has been an understanding between sir george burnwell and your niece mary they have now fled together my mary impossible it is unfortunately more than possible it is certain neither you nor your son knew the true character of this man when you admitted him into your family circle he is one of the most dangerous men in englanda ruined gambler an absolutely desperate villain a man without heart or conscience your niece knew nothing of such men when he breathed his vows to her as he had done to a hundred before her she flattered herself that she alone had touched his heart the devil knows best what he said but at least she became his tool and was in the habit of seeing him nearly every evening i cannot and i will not believe it cried the banker with an ashen face i will tell you then what occurred in your house last night your niece when you had as she thought gone to your room slipped down and talked to her lover through the window which leads into the stable lane his footmarks had pressed right through the snow so long had he stood there she told him of the coronet his wicked lust for gold kindled at the news and he bent her to his will i have no doubt that she loved you but there are women in whom the love of a lover extinguishes all other loves and i think that she must have been one she had hardly listened to his instructions when she saw you coming downstairs on which she closed the window rapidly and told you about one of the servants escapade with her woodenlegged lover which was all perfectly true your boy arthur went to bed after his interview with you but he slept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts in the middle of the night he heard a soft tread pass his door so he rose and looking out was surprised to see his cousin walking very stealthily along the passage until she disappeared into your dressingroom petrified with astonishment the lad slipped on some clothes and waited there in the dark to see what would come of this strange affair presently she emerged from the room again and in the light of the passagelamp your son saw that she carried the precious coronet in her hands she passed down the stairs and he thrilling with horror ran along and slipped behind the curtain near your door whence he could see what passed in the hall beneath he saw her stealthily open the window hand out the coronet to someone in the gloom and then closing it once more hurry back to her room passing quite close to where he stood hid behind the curtain as long as she was on the scene he could not take any action without a horrible exposure of the woman whom he loved but the instant that she was gone he realised how crushing a misfortune this would be for you and how allimportant it was to set it right he rushed down just as he was in his bare feet opened the window sprang out into the snow and ran down the lane where he could see a dark figure in the moonlight sir george burnwell tried to get away but arthur caught him and there was a struggle between them your lad tugging at one side of the coronet and his opponent at the other in the scuffle your son struck sir george and cut him over the eye then something suddenly snapped and your son finding that he had the coronet in his hands rushed back closed the window ascended to your room and had just observed that the coronet had been twisted in the struggle and was endeavouring to straighten it when you appeared upon the scene is it possible gasped the banker you then roused his anger by calling him names at a moment when he felt that he had deserved your warmest thanks he could not explain the true state of affairs without betraying one who certainly deserved little enough consideration at his hands he took the more chivalrous view however and preserved her secret and that was why she shrieked and fainted when she saw the coronet cried mr holder oh my god what a blind fool i have been and his asking to be allowed to go out for five minutes the dear fellow wanted to see if the missing piece were at the scene of the struggle how cruelly i have misjudged him when i arrived at the house continued holmes i at once went very carefully round it to observe if there were any traces in the snow which might help me i knew that none had fallen since the evening before and also that there had been a strong frost to preserve impressions i passed along the tradesmens path but found it all trampled down and indistinguishable just beyond it however at the far side of the kitchen door a woman had stood and talked with a man whose round impressions on one side showed that he had a wooden leg i could even tell that they had been disturbed for the woman had run back swiftly to the door as was shown by the deep toe and light heel marks while woodenleg had waited a little and then had gone away i thought at the time that this might be the maid and her sweetheart of whom you had already spoken to me and inquiry showed it was so i passed round the garden without seeing anything more than random tracks which i took to be the police but when i got into the stable lane a very long and complex story was written in the snow in front of me there was a double line of tracks of a booted man and a second double line which i saw with delight belonged to a man with naked feet i was at once convinced from what you had told me that the latter was your son the first had walked both ways but the other had run swiftly and as his tread was marked in places over the depression of the boot it was obvious that he had passed after the other i followed them up and found they led to the hall window where boots had worn all the snow away while waiting then i walked to the other end which was a hundred yards or more down the lane i saw where boots had faced round where the snow was cut up as though there had been a struggle and finally where a few drops of blood had fallen to show me that i was not mistaken boots had then run down the lane and another little smudge of blood showed that it was he who had been hurt when he came to the highroad at the other end i found that the pavement had been cleared so there was an end to that clue on entering the house however i examined as you remember the sill and framework of the hall window with my lens and i could at once see that someone had passed out i could distinguish the outline of an instep where the wet foot had been placed in coming in i was then beginning to be able to form an opinion as to what had occurred a man had waited outside the window someone had brought the gems the deed had been overseen by your son he had pursued the thief had struggled with him they had each tugged at the coronet their united strength causing injuries which neither alone could have effected he had returned with the prize but had left a fragment in the grasp of his opponent so far i was clear the question now was who was the man and who was it brought him the coronet it is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible whatever remains however improbable must be the truth now i knew that it was not you who had brought it down so there only remained your niece and the maids but if it were the maids why should your son allow himself to be accused in their place there could be no possible reason as he loved his cousin however there was an excellent explanation why he should retain her secretthe more so as the secret was a disgraceful one when i remembered that you had seen her at that window and how she had fainted on seeing the coronet again my conjecture became a certainty and who could it be who was her confederate a lover evidently for who else could outweigh the love and gratitude which she must feel to you i knew that you went out little and that your circle of friends was a very limited one but among them was sir george burnwell i had heard of him before as being a man of evil reputation among women it must have been he who wore those boots and retained the missing gems even though he knew that arthur had discovered him he might still flatter himself that he was safe for the lad could not say a word without compromising his own family well your own good sense will suggest what measures i took next i went in the shape of a loafer to sir georges house managed to pick up an acquaintance with his valet learned that his master had cut his head the night before and finally at the expense of six shillings made all sure by buying a pair of his castoff shoes with these i journeyed down to streatham and saw that they exactly fitted the tracks i saw an illdressed vagabond in the lane yesterday evening said mr holder precisely it was i i found that i had my man so i came home and changed my clothes it was a delicate part which i had to play then for i saw that a prosecution must be avoided to avert scandal and i knew that so astute a villain would see that our hands were tied in the matter i went and saw him at first of course he denied everything but when i gave him every particular that had occurred he tried to bluster and took down a lifepreserver from the wall i knew my man however and i clapped a pistol to his head before he could strike then he became a little more reasonable i told him that we would give him a price for the stones he held 1000 apiece that brought out the first signs of grief that he had shown why dash it all said he ive let them go at six hundred for the three i soon managed to get the address of the receiver who had them on promising him that there would be no prosecution off i set to him and after much chaffering i got our stones at 1000 apiece then i looked in upon your son told him that all was right and eventually got to my bed about two oclock after what i may call a really hard days work a day which has saved england from a great public scandal said the banker rising sir i cannot find words to thank you but you shall not find me ungrateful for what you have done your skill has indeed exceeded all that i have heard of it and now i must fly to my dear boy to apologise to him for the wrong which i have done him as to what you tell me of poor mary it goes to my very heart not even your skill can inform me where she is now i think that we may safely say returned holmes that she is wherever sir george burnwell is it is equally certain too that whatever her sins are they will soon receive a more than sufficient punishment xii the adventure of the copper beeches to the man who loves art for its own sake remarked sherlock holmes tossing aside the advertisement sheet of the daily telegraph it is frequently in its least important and lowliest manifestations that the keenest pleasure is to be derived it is pleasant to me to observe watson that you have so far grasped this truth that in these little records of our cases which you have been good enough to draw up and i am bound to say occasionally to embellish you have given prominence not so much to the many causes célèbres and sensational trials in which i have figured but rather to those incidents which may have been trivial in themselves but which have given room for those faculties of deduction and of logical synthesis which i have made my special province and yet said i smiling i cannot quite hold myself absolved from the charge of sensationalism which has been urged against my records you have erred perhaps he observed taking up a glowing cinder with the tongs and lighting with it the long cherrywood pipe which was wont to replace his clay when he was in a disputatious rather than a meditative moodyou have erred perhaps in attempting to put colour and life into each of your statements instead of confining yourself to the task of placing upon record that severe reasoning from cause to effect which is really the only notable feature about the thing it seems to me that i have done you full justice in the matter i remarked with some coldness for i was repelled by the egotism which i had more than once observed to be a strong factor in my friends singular character no it is not selfishness or conceit said he answering as was his wont my thoughts rather than my words if i claim full justice for my art it is because it is an impersonal thinga thing beyond myself crime is common logic is rare therefore it is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should dwell you have degraded what should have been a course of lectures into a series of tales it was a cold morning of the early spring and we sat after breakfast on either side of a cheery fire in the old room at baker street a thick fog rolled down between the lines of duncoloured houses and the opposing windows loomed like dark shapeless blurs through the heavy yellow wreaths our gas was lit and shone on the white cloth and glimmer of china and metal for the table had not been cleared yet sherlock holmes had been silent all the morning dipping continuously into the advertisement columns of a succession of papers until at last having apparently given up his search he had emerged in no very sweet temper to lecture me upon my literary shortcomings at the same time he remarked after a pause during which he had sat puffing at his long pipe and gazing down into the fire you can hardly be open to a charge of sensationalism for out of these cases which you have been so kind as to interest yourself in a fair proportion do not treat of crime in its legal sense at all the small matter in which i endeavoured to help the king of bohemia the singular experience of miss mary sutherland the problem connected with the man with the twisted lip and the incident of the noble bachelor were all matters which are outside the pale of the law but in avoiding the sensational i fear that you may have bordered on the trivial the end may have been so i answered but the methods i hold to have been novel and of interest pshaw my dear fellow what do the public the great unobservant public who could hardly tell a weaver by his tooth or a compositor by his left thumb care about the finer shades of analysis and deduction but indeed if you are trivial i cannot blame you for the days of the great cases are past man or at least criminal man has lost all enterprise and originality as to my own little practice it seems to be degenerating into an agency for recovering lost lead pencils and giving advice to young ladies from boardingschools i think that i have touched bottom at last however this note i had this morning marks my zeropoint i fancy read it he tossed a crumpled letter across to me it was dated from montague place upon the preceding evening and ran thus dear mr holmesi am very anxious to consult you as to whether i should or should not accept a situation which has been offered to me as governess i shall call at halfpast ten tomorrow if i do not inconvenience you yours faithfully violet hunter do you know the young lady i asked not i it is halfpast ten now yes and i have no doubt that is her ring it may turn out to be of more interest than you think you remember that the affair of the blue carbuncle which appeared to be a mere whim at first developed into a serious investigation it may be so in this case also well let us hope so but our doubts will very soon be solved for here unless i am much mistaken is the person in question as he spoke the door opened and a young lady entered the room she was plainly but neatly dressed with a bright quick face freckled like a plovers egg and with the brisk manner of a woman who has had her own way to make in the world you will excuse my troubling you i am sure said she as my companion rose to greet her but i have had a very strange experience and as i have no parents or relations of any sort from whom i could ask advice i thought that perhaps you would be kind enough to tell me what i should do pray take a seat miss hunter i shall be happy to do anything that i can to serve you i could see that holmes was favourably impressed by the manner and speech of his new client he looked her over in his searching fashion and then composed himself with his lids drooping and his fingertips together to listen to her story i have been a governess for five years said she in the family of colonel spence munro but two months ago the colonel received an appointment at halifax in nova scotia and took his children over to america with him so that i found myself without a situation i advertised and i answered advertisements but without success at last the little money which i had saved began to run short and i was at my wits end as to what i should do there is a wellknown agency for governesses in the west end called westaways and there i used to call about once a week in order to see whether anything had turned up which might suit me westaway was the name of the founder of the business but it is really managed by miss stoper she sits in her own little office and the ladies who are seeking employment wait in an anteroom and are then shown in one by one when she consults her ledgers and sees whether she has anything which would suit them well when i called last week i was shown into the little office as usual but i found that miss stoper was not alone a prodigiously stout man with a very smiling face and a great heavy chin which rolled down in fold upon fold over his throat sat at her elbow with a pair of glasses on his nose looking very earnestly at the ladies who entered as i came in he gave quite a jump in his chair and turned quickly to miss stoper that will do said he i could not ask for anything better capital capital he seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his hands together in the most genial fashion he was such a comfortablelooking man that it was quite a pleasure to look at him you are looking for a situation miss he asked yes sir as governess yes sir and what salary do you ask i had 4 a month in my last place with colonel spence munro oh tut tut sweatingrank sweating he cried throwing his fat hands out into the air like a man who is in a boiling passion how could anyone offer so pitiful a sum to a lady with such attractions and accomplishments my accomplishments sir may be less than you imagine said i a little french a little german music and drawing tut tut he cried this is all quite beside the question the point is have you or have you not the bearing and deportment of a lady there it is in a nutshell if you have not you are not fitted for the rearing of a child who may some day play a considerable part in the history of the country but if you have why then how could any gentleman ask you to condescend to accept anything under the three figures your salary with me madam would commence at 100 a year you may imagine mr holmes that to me destitute as i was such an offer seemed almost too good to be true the gentleman however seeing perhaps the look of incredulity upon my face opened a pocketbook and took out a note it is also my custom said he smiling in the most pleasant fashion until his eyes were just two little shining slits amid the white creases of his face to advance to my young ladies half their salary beforehand so that they may meet any little expenses of their journey and their wardrobe it seemed to me that i had never met so fascinating and so thoughtful a man as i was already in debt to my tradesmen the advance was a great convenience and yet there was something unnatural about the whole transaction which made me wish to know a little more before i quite committed myself may i ask where you live sir said i hampshire charming rural place the copper beeches five miles on the far side of winchester it is the most lovely country my dear young lady and the dearest old countryhouse and my duties sir i should be glad to know what they would be one childone dear little romper just six years old oh if you could see him killing cockroaches with a slipper smack smack smack three gone before you could wink he leaned back in his chair and laughed his eyes into his head again i was a little startled at the nature of the childs amusement but the fathers laughter made me think that perhaps he was joking my sole duties then i asked are to take charge of a single child no no not the sole not the sole my dear young lady he cried your duty would be as i am sure your good sense would suggest to obey any little commands my wife might give provided always that they were such commands as a lady might with propriety obey you see no difficulty heh i should be happy to make myself useful quite so in dress now for example we are faddy people you knowfaddy but kindhearted if you were asked to wear any dress which we might give you you would not object to our little whim heh no said i considerably astonished at his words or to sit here or sit there that would not be offensive to you oh no or to cut your hair quite short before you come to us i could hardly believe my ears as you may observe mr holmes my hair is somewhat luxuriant and of a rather peculiar tint of chestnut it has been considered artistic i could not dream of sacrificing it in this offhand fashion i am afraid that that is quite impossible said i he had been watching me eagerly out of his small eyes and i could see a shadow pass over his face as i spoke i am afraid that it is quite essential said he it is a little fancy of my wifes and ladies fancies you know madam ladies fancies must be consulted and so you wont cut your hair no sir i really could not i answered firmly ah very well then that quite settles the matter it is a pity because in other respects you would really have done very nicely in that case miss stoper i had best inspect a few more of your young ladies the manageress had sat all this while busy with her papers without a word to either of us but she glanced at me now with so much annoyance upon her face that i could not help suspecting that she had lost a handsome commission through my refusal do you desire your name to be kept upon the books she asked if you please miss stoper well really it seems rather useless since you refuse the most excellent offers in this fashion said she sharply you can hardly expect us to exert ourselves to find another such opening for you goodday to you miss hunter she struck a gong upon the table and i was shown out by the page well mr holmes when i got back to my lodgings and found little enough in the cupboard and two or three bills upon the table i began to ask myself whether i had not done a very foolish thing after all if these people had strange fads and expected obedience on the most extraordinary matters they were at least ready to pay for their eccentricity very few governesses in england are getting 100 a year besides what use was my hair to me many people are improved by wearing it short and perhaps i should be among the number next day i was inclined to think that i had made a mistake and by the day after i was sure of it i had almost overcome my pride so far as to go back to the agency and inquire whether the place was still open when i received this letter from the gentleman himself i have it here and i will read it to you the copper beeches near winchester dear miss huntermiss stoper has very kindly given me your address and i write from here to ask you whether you have reconsidered your decision my wife is very anxious that you should come for she has been much attracted by my description of you we are willing to give 30 a quarter or 120 a year so as to recompense you for any little inconvenience which our fads may cause you they are not very exacting after all my wife is fond of a particular shade of electric blue and would like you to wear such a dress indoors in the morning you need not however go to the expense of purchasing one as we have one belonging to my dear daughter alice now in philadelphia which would i should think fit you very well then as to sitting here or there or amusing yourself in any manner indicated that need cause you no inconvenience as regards your hair it is no doubt a pity especially as i could not help remarking its beauty during our short interview but i am afraid that i must remain firm upon this point and i only hope that the increased salary may recompense you for the loss your duties as far as the child is concerned are very light now do try to come and i shall meet you with the dogcart at winchester let me know your train yours faithfully jephro rucastle that is the letter which i have just received mr holmes and my mind is made up that i will accept it i thought however that before taking the final step i should like to submit the whole matter to your consideration well miss hunter if your mind is made up that settles the question said holmes smiling but you would not advise me to refuse i confess that it is not the situation which i should like to see a sister of mine apply for what is the meaning of it all mr holmes ah i have no data i cannot tell perhaps you have yourself formed some opinion well there seems to me to be only one possible solution mr rucastle seemed to be a very kind goodnatured man is it not possible that his wife is a lunatic that he desires to keep the matter quiet for fear she should be taken to an asylum and that he humours her fancies in every way in order to prevent an outbreak that is a possible solutionin fact as matters stand it is the most probable one but in any case it does not seem to be a nice household for a young lady but the money mr holmes the money well yes of course the pay is goodtoo good that is what makes me uneasy why should they give you 120 a year when they could have their pick for 40 there must be some strong reason behind i thought that if i told you the circumstances you would understand afterwards if i wanted your help i should feel so much stronger if i felt that you were at the back of me oh you may carry that feeling away with you i assure you that your little problem promises to be the most interesting which has come my way for some months there is something distinctly novel about some of the features if you should find yourself in doubt or in danger danger what danger do you foresee holmes shook his head gravely it would cease to be a danger if we could define it said he but at any time day or night a telegram would bring me down to your help that is enough she rose briskly from her chair with the anxiety all swept from her face i shall go down to hampshire quite easy in my mind now i shall write to mr rucastle at once sacrifice my poor hair tonight and start for winchester tomorrow with a few grateful words to holmes she bade us both goodnight and bustled off upon her way at least said i as we heard her quick firm steps descending the stairs she seems to be a young lady who is very well able to take care of herself and she would need to be said holmes gravely i am much mistaken if we do not hear from her before many days are past it was not very long before my friends prediction was fulfilled a fortnight went by during which i frequently found my thoughts turning in her direction and wondering what strange sidealley of human experience this lonely woman had strayed into the unusual salary the curious conditions the light duties all pointed to something abnormal though whether a fad or a plot or whether the man were a philanthropist or a villain it was quite beyond my powers to determine as to holmes i observed that he sat frequently for half an hour on end with knitted brows and an abstracted air but he swept the matter away with a wave of his hand when i mentioned it data data data he cried impatiently i cant make bricks without clay and yet he would always wind up by muttering that no sister of his should ever have accepted such a situation the telegram which we eventually received came late one night just as i was thinking of turning in and holmes was settling down to one of those allnight chemical researches which he frequently indulged in when i would leave him stooping over a retort and a testtube at night and find him in the same position when i came down to breakfast in the morning he opened the yellow envelope and then glancing at the message threw it across to me just look up the trains in bradshaw said he and turned back to his chemical studies the summons was a brief and urgent one please be at the black swan hotel at winchester at midday tomorrow it said do come i am at my wits end hunter will you come with me asked holmes glancing up i should wish to just look it up then there is a train at halfpast nine said i glancing over my bradshaw it is due at winchester at 1130 that will do very nicely then perhaps i had better postpone my analysis of the acetones as we may need to be at our best in the morning by eleven oclock the next day we were well upon our way to the old english capital holmes had been buried in the morning papers all the way down but after we had passed the hampshire border he threw them down and began to admire the scenery it was an ideal spring day a light blue sky flecked with little fleecy white clouds drifting across from west to east the sun was shining very brightly and yet there was an exhilarating nip in the air which set an edge to a mans energy all over the countryside away to the rolling hills around aldershot the little red and grey roofs of the farmsteadings peeped out from amid the light green of the new foliage are they not fresh and beautiful i cried with all the enthusiasm of a man fresh from the fogs of baker street but holmes shook his head gravely do you know watson said he that it is one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine that i must look at everything with reference to my own special subject you look at these scattered houses and you are impressed by their beauty i look at them and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there good heavens i cried who would associate crime with these dear old homesteads they always fill me with a certain horror it is my belief watson founded upon my experience that the lowest and vilest alleys in london do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside you horrify me but the reason is very obvious the pressure of public opinion can do in the town what the law cannot accomplish there is no lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child or the thud of a drunkards blow does not beget sympathy and indignation among the neighbours and then the whole machinery of justice is ever so close that a word of complaint can set it going and there is but a step between the crime and the dock but look at these lonely houses each in its own fields filled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law think of the deeds of hellish cruelty the hidden wickedness which may go on year in year out in such places and none the wiser had this lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in winchester i should never have had a fear for her it is the five miles of country which makes the danger still it is clear that she is not personally threatened no if she can come to winchester to meet us she can get away quite so she has her freedom what can be the matter then can you suggest no explanation i have devised seven separate explanations each of which would cover the facts as far as we know them but which of these is correct can only be determined by the fresh information which we shall no doubt find waiting for us well there is the tower of the cathedral and we shall soon learn all that miss hunter has to tell the black swan is an inn of repute in the high street at no distance from the station and there we found the young lady waiting for us she had engaged a sittingroom and our lunch awaited us upon the table i am so delighted that you have come she said earnestly it is so very kind of you both but indeed i do not know what i should do your advice will be altogether invaluable to me pray tell us what has happened to you i will do so and i must be quick for i have promised mr rucastle to be back before three i got his leave to come into town this morning though he little knew for what purpose let us have everything in its due order holmes thrust his long thin legs out towards the fire and composed himself to listen in the first place i may say that i have met on the whole with no actual illtreatment from mr and mrs rucastle it is only fair to them to say that but i cannot understand them and i am not easy in my mind about them what can you not understand their reasons for their conduct but you shall have it all just as it occurred when i came down mr rucastle met me here and drove me in his dogcart to the copper beeches it is as he said beautifully situated but it is not beautiful in itself for it is a large square block of a house whitewashed but all stained and streaked with damp and bad weather there are grounds round it woods on three sides and on the fourth a field which slopes down to the southampton highroad which curves past about a hundred yards from the front door this ground in front belongs to the house but the woods all round are part of lord southertons preserves a clump of copper beeches immediately in front of the hall door has given its name to the place i was driven over by my employer who was as amiable as ever and was introduced by him that evening to his wife and the child there was no truth mr holmes in the conjecture which seemed to us to be probable in your rooms at baker street mrs rucastle is not mad i found her to be a silent palefaced woman much younger than her husband not more than thirty i should think while he can hardly be less than fortyfive from their conversation i have gathered that they have been married about seven years that he was a widower and that his only child by the first wife was the daughter who has gone to philadelphia mr rucastle told me in private that the reason why she had left them was that she had an unreasoning aversion to her stepmother as the daughter could not have been less than twenty i can quite imagine that her position must have been uncomfortable with her fathers young wife mrs rucastle seemed to me to be colourless in mind as well as in feature she impressed me neither favourably nor the reverse she was a nonentity it was easy to see that she was passionately devoted both to her husband and to her little son her light grey eyes wandered continually from one to the other noting every little want and forestalling it if possible he was kind to her also in his bluff boisterous fashion and on the whole they seemed to be a happy couple and yet she had some secret sorrow this woman she would often be lost in deep thought with the saddest look upon her face more than once i have surprised her in tears i have thought sometimes that it was the disposition of her child which weighed upon her mind for i have never met so utterly spoiled and so illnatured a little creature he is small for his age with a head which is quite disproportionately large his whole life appears to be spent in an alternation between savage fits of passion and gloomy intervals of sulking giving pain to any creature weaker than himself seems to be his one idea of amusement and he shows quite remarkable talent in planning the capture of mice little birds and insects but i would rather not talk about the creature mr holmes and indeed he has little to do with my story i am glad of all details remarked my friend whether they seem to you to be relevant or not i shall try not to miss anything of importance the one unpleasant thing about the house which struck me at once was the appearance and conduct of the servants there are only two a man and his wife toller for that is his name is a rough uncouth man with grizzled hair and whiskers and a perpetual smell of drink twice since i have been with them he has been quite drunk and yet mr rucastle seemed to take no notice of it his wife is a very tall and strong woman with a sour face as silent as mrs rucastle and much less amiable they are a most unpleasant couple but fortunately i spend most of my time in the nursery and my own room which are next to each other in one corner of the building for two days after my arrival at the copper beeches my life was very quiet on the third mrs rucastle came down just after breakfast and whispered something to her husband oh yes said he turning to me we are very much obliged to you miss hunter for falling in with our whims so far as to cut your hair i assure you that it has not detracted in the tiniest iota from your appearance we shall now see how the electricblue dress will become you you will find it laid out upon the bed in your room and if you would be so good as to put it on we should both be extremely obliged the dress which i found waiting for me was of a peculiar shade of blue it was of excellent material a sort of beige but it bore unmistakable signs of having been worn before it could not have been a better fit if i had been measured for it both mr and mrs rucastle expressed a delight at the look of it which seemed quite exaggerated in its vehemence they were waiting for me in the drawingroom which is a very large room stretching along the entire front of the house with three long windows reaching down to the floor a chair had been placed close to the central window with its back turned towards it in this i was asked to sit and then mr rucastle walking up and down on the other side of the room began to tell me a series of the funniest stories that i have ever listened to you cannot imagine how comical he was and i laughed until i was quite weary mrs rucastle however who has evidently no sense of humour never so much as smiled but sat with her hands in her lap and a sad anxious look upon her face after an hour or so mr rucastle suddenly remarked that it was time to commence the duties of the day and that i might change my dress and go to little edward in the nursery two days later this same performance was gone through under exactly similar circumstances again i changed my dress again i sat in the window and again i laughed very heartily at the funny stories of which my employer had an immense répertoire and which he told inimitably then he handed me a yellowbacked novel and moving my chair a little sideways that my own shadow might not fall upon the page he begged me to read aloud to him i read for about ten minutes beginning in the heart of a chapter and then suddenly in the middle of a sentence he ordered me to cease and to change my dress you can easily imagine mr holmes how curious i became as to what the meaning of this extraordinary performance could possibly be they were always very careful i observed to turn my face away from the window so that i became consumed with the desire to see what was going on behind my back at first it seemed to be impossible but i soon devised a means my handmirror had been broken so a happy thought seized me and i concealed a piece of the glass in my handkerchief on the next occasion in the midst of my laughter i put my handkerchief up to my eyes and was able with a little management to see all that there was behind me i confess that i was disappointed there was nothing at least that was my first impression at the second glance however i perceived that there was a man standing in the southampton road a small bearded man in a grey suit who seemed to be looking in my direction the road is an important highway and there are usually people there this man however was leaning against the railings which bordered our field and was looking earnestly up i lowered my handkerchief and glanced at mrs rucastle to find her eyes fixed upon me with a most searching gaze she said nothing but i am convinced that she had divined that i had a mirror in my hand and had seen what was behind me she rose at once jephro said she there is an impertinent fellow upon the road there who stares up at miss hunter no friend of yours miss hunter he asked no i know no one in these parts dear me how very impertinent kindly turn round and motion to him to go away surely it would be better to take no notice no no we should have him loitering here always kindly turn round and wave him away like that i did as i was told and at the same instant mrs rucastle drew down the blind that was a week ago and from that time i have not sat again in the window nor have i worn the blue dress nor seen the man in the road pray continue said holmes your narrative promises to be a most interesting one you will find it rather disconnected i fear and there may prove to be little relation between the different incidents of which i speak on the very first day that i was at the copper beeches mr rucastle took me to a small outhouse which stands near the kitchen door as we approached it i heard the sharp rattling of a chain and the sound as of a large animal moving about look in here said mr rucastle showing me a slit between two planks is he not a beauty i looked through and was conscious of two glowing eyes and of a vague figure huddled up in the darkness dont be frightened said my employer laughing at the start which i had given its only carlo my mastiff i call him mine but really old toller my groom is the only man who can do anything with him we feed him once a day and not too much then so that he is always as keen as mustard toller lets him loose every night and god help the trespasser whom he lays his fangs upon for goodness sake dont you ever on any pretext set your foot over the threshold at night for its as much as your life is worth the warning was no idle one for two nights later i happened to look out of my bedroom window about two oclock in the morning it was a beautiful moonlight night and the lawn in front of the house was silvered over and almost as bright as day i was standing rapt in the peaceful beauty of the scene when i was aware that something was moving under the shadow of the copper beeches as it emerged into the moonshine i saw what it was it was a giant dog as large as a calf tawny tinted with hanging jowl black muzzle and huge projecting bones it walked slowly across the lawn and vanished into the shadow upon the other side that dreadful sentinel sent a chill to my heart which i do not think that any burglar could have done and now i have a very strange experience to tell you i had as you know cut off my hair in london and i had placed it in a great coil at the bottom of my trunk one evening after the child was in bed i began to amuse myself by examining the furniture of my room and by rearranging my own little things there was an old chest of drawers in the room the two upper ones empty and open the lower one locked i had filled the first two with my linen and as i had still much to pack away i was naturally annoyed at not having the use of the third drawer it struck me that it might have been fastened by a mere oversight so i took out my bunch of keys and tried to open it the very first key fitted to perfection and i drew the drawer open there was only one thing in it but i am sure that you would never guess what it was it was my coil of hair i took it up and examined it it was of the same peculiar tint and the same thickness but then the impossibility of the thing obtruded itself upon me how could my hair have been locked in the drawer with trembling hands i undid my trunk turned out the contents and drew from the bottom my own hair i laid the two tresses together and i assure you that they were identical was it not extraordinary puzzle as i would i could make nothing at all of what it meant i returned the strange hair to the drawer and i said nothing of the matter to the rucastles as i felt that i had put myself in the wrong by opening a drawer which they had locked i am naturally observant as you may have remarked mr holmes and i soon had a pretty good plan of the whole house in my head there was one wing however which appeared not to be inhabited at all a door which faced that which led into the quarters of the tollers opened into this suite but it was invariably locked one day however as i ascended the stair i met mr rucastle coming out through this door his keys in his hand and a look on his face which made him a very different person to the round jovial man to whom i was accustomed his cheeks were red his brow was all crinkled with anger and the veins stood out at his temples with passion he locked the door and hurried past me without a word or a look this aroused my curiosity so when i went out for a walk in the grounds with my charge i strolled round to the side from which i could see the windows of this part of the house there were four of them in a row three of which were simply dirty while the fourth was shuttered up they were evidently all deserted as i strolled up and down glancing at them occasionally mr rucastle came out to me looking as merry and jovial as ever ah said he you must not think me rude if i passed you without a word my dear young lady i was preoccupied with business matters i assured him that i was not offended by the way said i you seem to have quite a suite of spare rooms up there and one of them has the shutters up he looked surprised and as it seemed to me a little startled at my remark photography is one of my hobbies said he i have made my dark room up there but dear me what an observant young lady we have come upon who would have believed it who would have ever believed it he spoke in a jesting tone but there was no jest in his eyes as he looked at me i read suspicion there and annoyance but no jest well mr holmes from the moment that i understood that there was something about that suite of rooms which i was not to know i was all on fire to go over them it was not mere curiosity though i have my share of that it was more a feeling of dutya feeling that some good might come from my penetrating to this place they talk of womans instinct perhaps it was womans instinct which gave me that feeling at any rate it was there and i was keenly on the lookout for any chance to pass the forbidden door it was only yesterday that the chance came i may tell you that besides mr rucastle both toller and his wife find something to do in these deserted rooms and i once saw him carrying a large black linen bag with him through the door recently he has been drinking hard and yesterday evening he was very drunk and when i came upstairs there was the key in the door i have no doubt at all that he had left it there mr and mrs rucastle were both downstairs and the child was with them so that i had an admirable opportunity i turned the key gently in the lock opened the door and slipped through there was a little passage in front of me unpapered and uncarpeted which turned at a right angle at the farther end round this corner were three doors in a line the first and third of which were open they each led into an empty room dusty and cheerless with two windows in the one and one in the other so thick with dirt that the evening light glimmered dimly through them the centre door was closed and across the outside of it had been fastened one of the broad bars of an iron bed padlocked at one end to a ring in the wall and fastened at the other with stout cord the door itself was locked as well and the key was not there this barricaded door corresponded clearly with the shuttered window outside and yet i could see by the glimmer from beneath it that the room was not in darkness evidently there was a skylight which let in light from above as i stood in the passage gazing at the sinister door and wondering what secret it might veil i suddenly heard the sound of steps within the room and saw a shadow pass backward and forward against the little slit of dim light which shone out from under the door a mad unreasoning terror rose up in me at the sight mr holmes my overstrung nerves failed me suddenly and i turned and ranran as though some dreadful hand were behind me clutching at the skirt of my dress i rushed down the passage through the door and straight into the arms of mr rucastle who was waiting outside so said he smiling it was you then i thought that it must be when i saw the door open oh i am so frightened i panted my dear young lady my dear young ladyyou cannot think how caressing and soothing his manner wasand what has frightened you my dear young lady but his voice was just a little too coaxing he overdid it i was keenly on my guard against him i was foolish enough to go into the empty wing i answered but it is so lonely and eerie in this dim light that i was frightened and ran out again oh it is so dreadfully still in there only that said he looking at me keenly why what did you think i asked why do you think that i lock this door i am sure that i do not know it is to keep people out who have no business there do you see he was still smiling in the most amiable manner i am sure if i had known well then you know now and if you ever put your foot over that threshold againhere in an instant the smile hardened into a grin of rage and he glared down at me with the face of a demonill throw you to the mastiff i was so terrified that i do not know what i did i suppose that i must have rushed past him into my room i remember nothing until i found myself lying on my bed trembling all over then i thought of you mr holmes i could not live there longer without some advice i was frightened of the house of the man of the woman of the servants even of the child they were all horrible to me if i could only bring you down all would be well of course i might have fled from the house but my curiosity was almost as strong as my fears my mind was soon made up i would send you a wire i put on my hat and cloak went down to the office which is about half a mile from the house and then returned feeling very much easier a horrible doubt came into my mind as i approached the door lest the dog might be loose but i remembered that toller had drunk himself into a state of insensibility that evening and i knew that he was the only one in the household who had any influence with the savage creature or who would venture to set him free i slipped in in safety and lay awake half the night in my joy at the thought of seeing you i had no difficulty in getting leave to come into winchester this morning but i must be back before three oclock for mr and mrs rucastle are going on a visit and will be away all the evening so that i must look after the child now i have told you all my adventures mr holmes and i should be very glad if you could tell me what it all means and above all what i should do holmes and i had listened spellbound to this extraordinary story my friend rose now and paced up and down the room his hands in his pockets and an expression of the most profound gravity upon his face is toller still drunk he asked yes i heard his wife tell mrs rucastle that she could do nothing with him that is well and the rucastles go out tonight yes is there a cellar with a good strong lock yes the winecellar you seem to me to have acted all through this matter like a very brave and sensible girl miss hunter do you think that you could perform one more feat i should not ask it of you if i did not think you a quite exceptional woman i will try what is it we shall be at the copper beeches by seven oclock my friend and i the rucastles will be gone by that time and toller will we hope be incapable there only remains mrs toller who might give the alarm if you could send her into the cellar on some errand and then turn the key upon her you would facilitate matters immensely i will do it excellent we shall then look thoroughly into the affair of course there is only one feasible explanation you have been brought there to personate someone and the real person is imprisoned in this chamber that is obvious as to who this prisoner is i have no doubt that it is the daughter miss alice rucastle if i remember right who was said to have gone to america you were chosen doubtless as resembling her in height figure and the colour of your hair hers had been cut off very possibly in some illness through which she has passed and so of course yours had to be sacrificed also by a curious chance you came upon her tresses the man in the road was undoubtedly some friend of herspossibly her fiancéand no doubt as you wore the girls dress and were so like her he was convinced from your laughter whenever he saw you and afterwards from your gesture that miss rucastle was perfectly happy and that she no longer desired his attentions the dog is let loose at night to prevent him from endeavouring to communicate with her so much is fairly clear the most serious point in the case is the disposition of the child what on earth has that to do with it i ejaculated my dear watson you as a medical man are continually gaining light as to the tendencies of a child by the study of the parents dont you see that the converse is equally valid i have frequently gained my first real insight into the character of parents by studying their children this childs disposition is abnormally cruel merely for crueltys sake and whether he derives this from his smiling father as i should suspect or from his mother it bodes evil for the poor girl who is in their power i am sure that you are right mr holmes cried our client a thousand things come back to me which make me certain that you have hit it oh let us lose not an instant in bringing help to this poor creature we must be circumspect for we are dealing with a very cunning man we can do nothing until seven oclock at that hour we shall be with you and it will not be long before we solve the mystery we were as good as our word for it was just seven when we reached the copper beeches having put up our trap at a wayside publichouse the group of trees with their dark leaves shining like burnished metal in the light of the setting sun were sufficient to mark the house even had miss hunter not been standing smiling on the doorstep have you managed it asked holmes a loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs that is mrs toller in the cellar said she her husband lies snoring on the kitchen rug here are his keys which are the duplicates of mr rucastles you have done well indeed cried holmes with enthusiasm now lead the way and we shall soon see the end of this black business we passed up the stair unlocked the door followed on down a passage and found ourselves in front of the barricade which miss hunter had described holmes cut the cord and removed the transverse bar then he tried the various keys in the lock but without success no sound came from within and at the silence holmes face clouded over i trust that we are not too late said he i think miss hunter that we had better go in without you now watson put your shoulder to it and we shall see whether we cannot make our way in it was an old rickety door and gave at once before our united strength together we rushed into the room it was empty there was no furniture save a little pallet bed a small table and a basketful of linen the skylight above was open and the prisoner gone there has been some villainy here said holmes this beauty has guessed miss hunters intentions and has carried his victim off but how through the skylight we shall soon see how he managed it he swung himself up onto the roof ah yes he cried heres the end of a long light ladder against the eaves that is how he did it but it is impossible said miss hunter the ladder was not there when the rucastles went away he has come back and done it i tell you that he is a clever and dangerous man i should not be very much surprised if this were he whose step i hear now upon the stair i think watson that it would be as well for you to have your pistol ready the words were hardly out of his mouth before a man appeared at the door of the room a very fat and burly man with a heavy stick in his hand miss hunter screamed and shrunk against the wall at the sight of him but sherlock holmes sprang forward and confronted him you villain said he wheres your daughter the fat man cast his eyes round and then up at the open skylight it is for me to ask you that he shrieked you thieves spies and thieves i have caught you have i you are in my power ill serve you he turned and clattered down the stairs as hard as he could go hes gone for the dog cried miss hunter i have my revolver said i better close the front door cried holmes and we all rushed down the stairs together we had hardly reached the hall when we heard the baying of a hound and then a scream of agony with a horrible worrying sound which it was dreadful to listen to an elderly man with a red face and shaking limbs came staggering out at a side door my god he cried someone has loosed the dog its not been fed for two days quick quick or itll be too late holmes and i rushed out and round the angle of the house with toller hurrying behind us there was the huge famished brute its black muzzle buried in rucastles throat while he writhed and screamed upon the ground running up i blew its brains out and it fell over with its keen white teeth still meeting in the great creases of his neck with much labour we separated them and carried him living but horribly mangled into the house we laid him upon the drawingroom sofa and having dispatched the sobered toller to bear the news to his wife i did what i could to relieve his pain we were all assembled round him when the door opened and a tall gaunt woman entered the room mrs toller cried miss hunter yes miss mr rucastle let me out when he came back before he went up to you ah miss it is a pity you didnt let me know what you were planning for i would have told you that your pains were wasted ha said holmes looking keenly at her it is clear that mrs toller knows more about this matter than anyone else yes sir i do and i am ready enough to tell what i know then pray sit down and let us hear it for there are several points on which i must confess that i am still in the dark i will soon make it clear to you said she and id have done so before now if i could ha got out from the cellar if theres policecourt business over this youll remember that i was the one that stood your friend and that i was miss alices friend too she was never happy at home miss alice wasnt from the time that her father married again she was slighted like and had no say in anything but it never really became bad for her until after she met mr fowler at a friends house as well as i could learn miss alice had rights of her own by will but she was so quiet and patient she was that she never said a word about them but just left everything in mr rucastles hands he knew he was safe with her but when there was a chance of a husband coming forward who would ask for all that the law would give him then her father thought it time to put a stop on it he wanted her to sign a paper so that whether she married or not he could use her money when she wouldnt do it he kept on worrying her until she got brainfever and for six weeks was at deaths door then she got better at last all worn to a shadow and with her beautiful hair cut off but that didnt make no change in her young man and he stuck to her as true as man could be ah said holmes i think that what you have been good enough to tell us makes the matter fairly clear and that i can deduce all that remains mr rucastle then i presume took to this system of imprisonment yes sir and brought miss hunter down from london in order to get rid of the disagreeable persistence of mr fowler that was it sir but mr fowler being a persevering man as a good seaman should be blockaded the house and having met you succeeded by certain arguments metallic or otherwise in convincing you that your interests were the same as his mr fowler was a very kindspoken freehanded gentleman said mrs toller serenely and in this way he managed that your good man should have no want of drink and that a ladder should be ready at the moment when your master had gone out you have it sir just as it happened i am sure we owe you an apology mrs toller said holmes for you have certainly cleared up everything which puzzled us and here comes the country surgeon and mrs rucastle so i think watson that we had best escort miss hunter back to winchester as it seems to me that our locus standi now is rather a questionable one and thus was solved the mystery of the sinister house with the copper beeches in front of the door mr rucastle survived but was always a broken man kept alive solely through the care of his devoted wife they still live with their old servants who probably know so much of rucastles past life that he finds it difficult to part from them mr fowler and miss rucastle were married by special license in southampton the day after their flight and he is now the holder of a government appointment in the island of mauritius as to miss violet hunter my friend holmes rather to my disappointment manifested no further interest in her when once she had ceased to be the centre of one of his problems and she is now the head of a private school at walsall where i believe that she has met with considerable success end of the project gutenberg ebook the adventures of sherlock holmes updated editions will replace the previous onethe old editions will be renamed creating the works from print editions not protected by us copyright law means that no one owns a united states copyright in these works so the foundation and you can copy and distribute it in the united states without permission and without paying copyright royalties special rules set forth in the general terms of use part of this license apply to copying and distributing project gutenbergtm electronic works to protect the project gutenbergtm concept and trademark project gutenberg is a registered trademark and may not be used if you charge for an ebook except by following the terms of the trademark license including paying royalties for use of the project gutenberg trademark if you do not charge anything for copies of this ebook complying with the trademark license is very easy you may use this ebook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works reports performances and research project gutenberg ebooks may be modified and printed and given awayyou may do practically anything in the united states with ebooks not protected by us copyright law redistribution is subject to the trademark license especially commercial redistribution start full license the full project gutenberg license please read this before you distribute or use this work to protect the project gutenbergtm mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works by using or distributing this work or any other work associated in any way with the phrase project gutenberg you agree to comply with all the terms of the full project gutenbergtm license available with this file or online at wwwgutenbergorglicense section 1 general terms of use and redistributing project gutenbergtm electronic works 1a by reading or using any part of this project gutenbergtm electronic work you indicate that you have read understand agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property trademarkcopyright agreement if you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of project gutenbergtm electronic works in your possession if you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a project gutenbergtm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1e8 1b project gutenberg is a registered trademark it may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement there are a few things that you can do with most project gutenbergtm electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement see paragraph 1c below there are a lot of things you can do with project gutenbergtm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to project gutenbergtm electronic works see paragraph 1e below 1c the project gutenberg literary archive foundation the foundation or pglaf owns a compilation copyright in the collection of project gutenbergtm electronic works nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the united states if an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the united states and you are located in the united states we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying distributing performing displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to project gutenberg are removed of course we hope that you will support the project gutenbergtm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing project gutenbergtm works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the project gutenbergtm name associated with the work you can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full project gutenbergtm license when you share it without charge with others 1d the copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change if you are outside the united states check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading copying displaying performing distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other project gutenbergtm work the foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the united states 1e unless you have removed all references to project gutenberg 1e1 the following sentence with active links to or other immediate access to the full project gutenbergtm license must appear prominently whenever any copy of a project gutenbergtm work any work on which the phrase project gutenberg appears or with which the phrase project gutenberg is associated is accessed displayed performed viewed copied or distributed this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the united states and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever you may copy it give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at wwwgutenbergorg if you are not located in the united states you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook 1e2 if an individual project gutenbergtm electronic work is derived from texts not protected by us copyright law does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the united states without paying any fees or charges if you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase project gutenberg associated with or appearing on the work you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1e1 through 1e7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the project gutenbergtm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1e8 or 1e9 1e3 if an individual project gutenbergtm electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1e1 through 1e7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder additional terms will be linked to the project gutenbergtm license for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work 1e4 do not unlink or detach or remove the full project gutenbergtm license terms from this work or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with project gutenbergtm 1e5 do not copy display perform distribute or redistribute this electronic work or any part of this electronic work without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1e1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the project gutenbergtm license 1e6 you may convert to and distribute this work in any binary compressed marked up nonproprietary or proprietary form including any word processing or hypertext form however if you provide access to or distribute copies of a project gutenbergtm work in a format other than plain vanilla ascii or other format used in the official version posted on the official project gutenbergtm website wwwgutenbergorg you must at no additional cost fee or expense to the user provide a copy a means of exporting a copy or a means of obtaining a copy upon request of the work in its original plain vanilla ascii or other form any alternate format must include the full project gutenbergtm license as specified in paragraph 1e1 1e7 do not charge a fee for access to viewing displaying performing copying or distributing any project gutenbergtm works unless you comply with paragraph 1e8 or 1e9 1e8 you may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing project gutenbergtm electronic works provided that you pay a royalty fee of 20 of the gross profits you derive from the use of project gutenbergtm works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes the fee is owed to the owner of the project gutenbergtm trademark but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the project gutenberg literary archive foundation royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare or are legally required to prepare your periodic tax returns royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the project gutenberg literary archive foundation at the address specified in section 4 information about donations to the project gutenberg literary archive foundation you provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing or by email within 30 days of receipt that she does not agree to the terms of the full project gutenbergtm license you must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of project gutenbergtm works you provide in accordance with paragraph 1f3 a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work you comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of project gutenbergtm works 1e9 if you wish to charge a fee or distribute a project gutenbergtm electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement you must obtain permission in writing from the project gutenberg literary archive foundation the manager of the project gutenbergtm trademark contact the foundation as set forth in section 3 below 1f 1f1 project gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify do copyright research on transcribe and proofread works not protected by us copyright law in creating the project gutenbergtm collection despite these efforts project gutenbergtm electronic works and the medium on which they may be stored may contain defects such as but not limited to incomplete inaccurate or corrupt data transcription errors a copyright or other intellectual property infringement a defective or damaged disk or other medium a computer virus or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment 1f2 limited warranty disclaimer of damages except for the right of replacement or refund described in paragraph 1f3 the project gutenberg literary archive foundation the owner of the project gutenbergtm trademark and any other party distributing a project gutenbergtm electronic work under this agreement disclaim all liability to you for damages costs and expenses including legal fees you agree that you have no remedies for negligence strict liability breach of warranty or breach of contract except those provided in paragraph 1f3 you agree that the foundation the trademark owner and any distributor under this agreement will not be liable to you for actual direct indirect consequential punitive or incidental damages even if you give notice of the possibility of such damage 1f3 limited right of replacement or refund if you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it you can receive a refund of the money if any you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from if you received the work on a physical medium you must return the medium with your written explanation the person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund if you received the work electronically the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund if the second copy is also defective you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem 1f4 except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1f3 this work is provided to you asis with no other warranties of any kind express or implied including but not limited to warranties of merchantability or fitness for any purpose 1f5 some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages if any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law the invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions 1f6 indemnity you agree to indemnify and hold the foundation the trademark owner any agent or employee of the foundation anyone providing copies of project gutenbergtm electronic works in accordance with this agreement and any volunteers associated with the production promotion and distribution of project gutenbergtm electronic works harmless from all liability costs and expenses including legal fees that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur a distribution of this or any project gutenbergtm work b alteration modification or additions or deletions to any project gutenbergtm work and c any defect you cause section 2 information about the mission of project gutenbergtm project gutenbergtm is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete old middleaged and new computers it exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching project gutenbergtms goals and ensuring that the project gutenbergtm collection will remain freely available for generations to come in 2001 the project gutenberg literary archive foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for project gutenbergtm and future generations to learn more about the project gutenberg literary archive foundation and how your efforts and donations can help see sections 3 and 4 and the foundation information page at wwwgutenbergorg section 3 information about the project gutenberg literary archive foundation the project gutenberg literary archive foundation is a nonprofit 501c3 educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the internal revenue service the foundations ein or federal tax identification number is 646221541 contributions to the project gutenberg literary archive foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by us federal laws and your states laws the foundations business office is located at 809 north 1500 west salt lake city ut 84116 801 5961887 email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the foundations website and official page at wwwgutenbergorgcontact section 4 information about donations to the project gutenberg literary archive foundation project gutenbergtm depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machinereadable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment many small donations 1 to 5000 are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the irs the foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the united states compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements we do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance to send donations or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit wwwgutenbergorgdonate while we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate international donations are gratefully accepted but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the united states us laws alone swamp our small staff please check the project gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks online payments and credit card donations to donate please visit wwwgutenbergorgdonate section 5 general information about project gutenbergtm electronic works professor michael s hart was the originator of the project gutenbergtm concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone for forty years he produced and distributed project gutenbergtm ebooks with only a loose network of volunteer support project gutenbergtm ebooks are often created from several printed editions all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the us unless a copyright notice is included thus we do not necessarily keep ebooks in compliance with any particular paper edition most people start at our website which has the main pg search facility wwwgutenbergorg this website includes information about project gutenbergtm including how to make donations to the project gutenberg literary archive foundation how to help produce our new ebooks and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new ebooks '
In [9]:
# Tokenizing T2
Tokenized_T2 = word_tokenize(T2)
print(Tokenized_T2)
['the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'ebook', 'of', 'the', 'adventures', 'of', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'by', 'arthur', 'conan', 'doyle', 'this', 'ebook', 'is', 'for', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'anyone', 'anywhere', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'and', 'most', 'other', 'parts', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'at', 'no', 'cost', 'and', 'with', 'almost', 'no', 'restrictions', 'whatsoever', 'you', 'may', 'copy', 'it', 'give', 'it', 'away', 'or', 'reuse', 'it', 'under', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'license', 'included', 'with', 'this', 'ebook', 'or', 'online', 'at', 'wwwgutenbergorg', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'located', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'you', 'will', 'have', 'to', 'check', 'the', 'laws', 'of', 'the', 'country', 'where', 'you', 'are', 'located', 'before', 'using', 'this', 'ebook', 'title', 'the', 'adventures', 'of', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'author', 'arthur', 'conan', 'doyle', 'release', 'date', 'november', '29', '2002', 'ebook', '1661', 'most', 'recently', 'updated', 'may', '20', '2019', 'language', 'english', 'character', 'set', 'encoding', 'utf8', 'produced', 'by', 'an', 'anonymous', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'volunteer', 'and', 'jose', 'menendez', 'start', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'ebook', 'the', 'adventures', 'of', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'cover', 'the', 'adventures', 'of', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'by', 'arthur', 'conan', 'doyle', 'contents', 'i', 'a', 'scandal', 'in', 'bohemia', 'ii', 'the', 'redheaded', 'league', 'iii', 'a', 'case', 'of', 'identity', 'iv', 'the', 'boscombe', 'valley', 'mystery', 'v', 'the', 'five', 'orange', 'pips', 'vi', 'the', 'man', 'with', 'the', 'twisted', 'lip', 'vii', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'blue', 'carbuncle', 'viii', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'speckled', 'band', 'ix', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'engineers', 'thumb', 'x', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'noble', 'bachelor', 'xi', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'beryl', 'coronet', 'xii', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'i', 'a', 'scandal', 'in', 'bohemia', 'i', 'to', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'she', 'is', 'always', 'the', 'woman', 'i', 'have', 'seldom', 'heard', 'him', 'mention', 'her', 'under', 'any', 'other', 'name', 'in', 'his', 'eyes', 'she', 'eclipses', 'and', 'predominates', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'her', 'sex', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'that', 'he', 'felt', 'any', 'emotion', 'akin', 'to', 'love', 'for', 'irene', 'adler', 'all', 'emotions', 'and', 'that', 'one', 'particularly', 'were', 'abhorrent', 'to', 'his', 'cold', 'precise', 'but', 'admirably', 'balanced', 'mind', 'he', 'was', 'i', 'take', 'it', 'the', 'most', 'perfect', 'reasoning', 'and', 'observing', 'machine', 'that', 'the', 'world', 'has', 'seen', 'but', 'as', 'a', 'lover', 'he', 'would', 'have', 'placed', 'himself', 'in', 'a', 'false', 'position', 'he', 'never', 'spoke', 'of', 'the', 'softer', 'passions', 'save', 'with', 'a', 'gibe', 'and', 'a', 'sneer', 'they', 'were', 'admirable', 'things', 'for', 'the', 'observerexcellent', 'for', 'drawing', 'the', 'veil', 'from', 'mens', 'motives', 'and', 'actions', 'but', 'for', 'the', 'trained', 'reasoner', 'to', 'admit', 'such', 'intrusions', 'into', 'his', 'own', 'delicate', 'and', 'finely', 'adjusted', 'temperament', 'was', 'to', 'introduce', 'a', 'distracting', 'factor', 'which', 'might', 'throw', 'a', 'doubt', 'upon', 'all', 'his', 'mental', 'results', 'grit', 'in', 'a', 'sensitive', 'instrument', 'or', 'a', 'crack', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'highpower', 'lenses', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'more', 'disturbing', 'than', 'a', 'strong', 'emotion', 'in', 'a', 'nature', 'such', 'as', 'his', 'and', 'yet', 'there', 'was', 'but', 'one', 'woman', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'that', 'woman', 'was', 'the', 'late', 'irene', 'adler', 'of', 'dubious', 'and', 'questionable', 'memory', 'i', 'had', 'seen', 'little', 'of', 'holmes', 'lately', 'my', 'marriage', 'had', 'drifted', 'us', 'away', 'from', 'each', 'other', 'my', 'own', 'complete', 'happiness', 'and', 'the', 'homecentred', 'interests', 'which', 'rise', 'up', 'around', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'first', 'finds', 'himself', 'master', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'establishment', 'were', 'sufficient', 'to', 'absorb', 'all', 'my', 'attention', 'while', 'holmes', 'who', 'loathed', 'every', 'form', 'of', 'society', 'with', 'his', 'whole', 'bohemian', 'soul', 'remained', 'in', 'our', 'lodgings', 'in', 'baker', 'street', 'buried', 'among', 'his', 'old', 'books', 'and', 'alternating', 'from', 'week', 'to', 'week', 'between', 'cocaine', 'and', 'ambition', 'the', 'drowsiness', 'of', 'the', 'drug', 'and', 'the', 'fierce', 'energy', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'keen', 'nature', 'he', 'was', 'still', 'as', 'ever', 'deeply', 'attracted', 'by', 'the', 'study', 'of', 'crime', 'and', 'occupied', 'his', 'immense', 'faculties', 'and', 'extraordinary', 'powers', 'of', 'observation', 'in', 'following', 'out', 'those', 'clues', 'and', 'clearing', 'up', 'those', 'mysteries', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'abandoned', 'as', 'hopeless', 'by', 'the', 'official', 'police', 'from', 'time', 'to', 'time', 'i', 'heard', 'some', 'vague', 'account', 'of', 'his', 'doings', 'of', 'his', 'summons', 'to', 'odessa', 'in', 'the', 'case', 'of', 'the', 'trepoff', 'murder', 'of', 'his', 'clearing', 'up', 'of', 'the', 'singular', 'tragedy', 'of', 'the', 'atkinson', 'brothers', 'at', 'trincomalee', 'and', 'finally', 'of', 'the', 'mission', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'accomplished', 'so', 'delicately', 'and', 'successfully', 'for', 'the', 'reigning', 'family', 'of', 'holland', 'beyond', 'these', 'signs', 'of', 'his', 'activity', 'however', 'which', 'i', 'merely', 'shared', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'readers', 'of', 'the', 'daily', 'press', 'i', 'knew', 'little', 'of', 'my', 'former', 'friend', 'and', 'companion', 'one', 'nightit', 'was', 'on', 'the', 'twentieth', 'of', 'march', '1888i', 'was', 'returning', 'from', 'a', 'journey', 'to', 'a', 'patient', 'for', 'i', 'had', 'now', 'returned', 'to', 'civil', 'practice', 'when', 'my', 'way', 'led', 'me', 'through', 'baker', 'street', 'as', 'i', 'passed', 'the', 'wellremembered', 'door', 'which', 'must', 'always', 'be', 'associated', 'in', 'my', 'mind', 'with', 'my', 'wooing', 'and', 'with', 'the', 'dark', 'incidents', 'of', 'the', 'study', 'in', 'scarlet', 'i', 'was', 'seized', 'with', 'a', 'keen', 'desire', 'to', 'see', 'holmes', 'again', 'and', 'to', 'know', 'how', 'he', 'was', 'employing', 'his', 'extraordinary', 'powers', 'his', 'rooms', 'were', 'brilliantly', 'lit', 'and', 'even', 'as', 'i', 'looked', 'up', 'i', 'saw', 'his', 'tall', 'spare', 'figure', 'pass', 'twice', 'in', 'a', 'dark', 'silhouette', 'against', 'the', 'blind', 'he', 'was', 'pacing', 'the', 'room', 'swiftly', 'eagerly', 'with', 'his', 'head', 'sunk', 'upon', 'his', 'chest', 'and', 'his', 'hands', 'clasped', 'behind', 'him', 'to', 'me', 'who', 'knew', 'his', 'every', 'mood', 'and', 'habit', 'his', 'attitude', 'and', 'manner', 'told', 'their', 'own', 'story', 'he', 'was', 'at', 'work', 'again', 'he', 'had', 'risen', 'out', 'of', 'his', 'drugcreated', 'dreams', 'and', 'was', 'hot', 'upon', 'the', 'scent', 'of', 'some', 'new', 'problem', 'i', 'rang', 'the', 'bell', 'and', 'was', 'shown', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'chamber', 'which', 'had', 'formerly', 'been', 'in', 'part', 'my', 'own', 'his', 'manner', 'was', 'not', 'effusive', 'it', 'seldom', 'was', 'but', 'he', 'was', 'glad', 'i', 'think', 'to', 'see', 'me', 'with', 'hardly', 'a', 'word', 'spoken', 'but', 'with', 'a', 'kindly', 'eye', 'he', 'waved', 'me', 'to', 'an', 'armchair', 'threw', 'across', 'his', 'case', 'of', 'cigars', 'and', 'indicated', 'a', 'spirit', 'case', 'and', 'a', 'gasogene', 'in', 'the', 'corner', 'then', 'he', 'stood', 'before', 'the', 'fire', 'and', 'looked', 'me', 'over', 'in', 'his', 'singular', 'introspective', 'fashion', 'wedlock', 'suits', 'you', 'he', 'remarked', 'i', 'think', 'watson', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'put', 'on', 'seven', 'and', 'a', 'half', 'pounds', 'since', 'i', 'saw', 'you', 'seven', 'i', 'answered', 'indeed', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'thought', 'a', 'little', 'more', 'just', 'a', 'trifle', 'more', 'i', 'fancy', 'watson', 'and', 'in', 'practice', 'again', 'i', 'observe', 'you', 'did', 'not', 'tell', 'me', 'that', 'you', 'intended', 'to', 'go', 'into', 'harness', 'then', 'how', 'do', 'you', 'know', 'i', 'see', 'it', 'i', 'deduce', 'it', 'how', 'do', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'getting', 'yourself', 'very', 'wet', 'lately', 'and', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'a', 'most', 'clumsy', 'and', 'careless', 'servant', 'girl', 'my', 'dear', 'holmes', 'said', 'i', 'this', 'is', 'too', 'much', 'you', 'would', 'certainly', 'have', 'been', 'burned', 'had', 'you', 'lived', 'a', 'few', 'centuries', 'ago', 'it', 'is', 'true', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'a', 'country', 'walk', 'on', 'thursday', 'and', 'came', 'home', 'in', 'a', 'dreadful', 'mess', 'but', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'changed', 'my', 'clothes', 'i', 'cant', 'imagine', 'how', 'you', 'deduce', 'it', 'as', 'to', 'mary', 'jane', 'she', 'is', 'incorrigible', 'and', 'my', 'wife', 'has', 'given', 'her', 'notice', 'but', 'there', 'again', 'i', 'fail', 'to', 'see', 'how', 'you', 'work', 'it', 'out', 'he', 'chuckled', 'to', 'himself', 'and', 'rubbed', 'his', 'long', 'nervous', 'hands', 'together', 'it', 'is', 'simplicity', 'itself', 'said', 'he', 'my', 'eyes', 'tell', 'me', 'that', 'on', 'the', 'inside', 'of', 'your', 'left', 'shoe', 'just', 'where', 'the', 'firelight', 'strikes', 'it', 'the', 'leather', 'is', 'scored', 'by', 'six', 'almost', 'parallel', 'cuts', 'obviously', 'they', 'have', 'been', 'caused', 'by', 'someone', 'who', 'has', 'very', 'carelessly', 'scraped', 'round', 'the', 'edges', 'of', 'the', 'sole', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'remove', 'crusted', 'mud', 'from', 'it', 'hence', 'you', 'see', 'my', 'double', 'deduction', 'that', 'you', 'had', 'been', 'out', 'in', 'vile', 'weather', 'and', 'that', 'you', 'had', 'a', 'particularly', 'malignant', 'bootslitting', 'specimen', 'of', 'the', 'london', 'slavey', 'as', 'to', 'your', 'practice', 'if', 'a', 'gentleman', 'walks', 'into', 'my', 'rooms', 'smelling', 'of', 'iodoform', 'with', 'a', 'black', 'mark', 'of', 'nitrate', 'of', 'silver', 'upon', 'his', 'right', 'forefinger', 'and', 'a', 'bulge', 'on', 'the', 'right', 'side', 'of', 'his', 'tophat', 'to', 'show', 'where', 'he', 'has', 'secreted', 'his', 'stethoscope', 'i', 'must', 'be', 'dull', 'indeed', 'if', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'pronounce', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'an', 'active', 'member', 'of', 'the', 'medical', 'profession', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'laughing', 'at', 'the', 'ease', 'with', 'which', 'he', 'explained', 'his', 'process', 'of', 'deduction', 'when', 'i', 'hear', 'you', 'give', 'your', 'reasons', 'i', 'remarked', 'the', 'thing', 'always', 'appears', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'ridiculously', 'simple', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'easily', 'do', 'it', 'myself', 'though', 'at', 'each', 'successive', 'instance', 'of', 'your', 'reasoning', 'i', 'am', 'baffled', 'until', 'you', 'explain', 'your', 'process', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'believe', 'that', 'my', 'eyes', 'are', 'as', 'good', 'as', 'yours', 'quite', 'so', 'he', 'answered', 'lighting', 'a', 'cigarette', 'and', 'throwing', 'himself', 'down', 'into', 'an', 'armchair', 'you', 'see', 'but', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'observe', 'the', 'distinction', 'is', 'clear', 'for', 'example', 'you', 'have', 'frequently', 'seen', 'the', 'steps', 'which', 'lead', 'up', 'from', 'the', 'hall', 'to', 'this', 'room', 'frequently', 'how', 'often', 'well', 'some', 'hundreds', 'of', 'times', 'then', 'how', 'many', 'are', 'there', 'how', 'many', 'i', 'dont', 'know', 'quite', 'so', 'you', 'have', 'not', 'observed', 'and', 'yet', 'you', 'have', 'seen', 'that', 'is', 'just', 'my', 'point', 'now', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'there', 'are', 'seventeen', 'steps', 'because', 'i', 'have', 'both', 'seen', 'and', 'observed', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'since', 'you', 'are', 'interested', 'in', 'these', 'little', 'problems', 'and', 'since', 'you', 'are', 'good', 'enough', 'to', 'chronicle', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'of', 'my', 'trifling', 'experiences', 'you', 'may', 'be', 'interested', 'in', 'this', 'he', 'threw', 'over', 'a', 'sheet', 'of', 'thick', 'pinktinted', 'notepaper', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'lying', 'open', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'it', 'came', 'by', 'the', 'last', 'post', 'said', 'he', 'read', 'it', 'aloud', 'the', 'note', 'was', 'undated', 'and', 'without', 'either', 'signature', 'or', 'address', 'there', 'will', 'call', 'upon', 'you', 'tonight', 'at', 'a', 'quarter', 'to', 'eight', 'oclock', 'it', 'said', 'a', 'gentleman', 'who', 'desires', 'to', 'consult', 'you', 'upon', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'the', 'very', 'deepest', 'moment', 'your', 'recent', 'services', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'royal', 'houses', 'of', 'europe', 'have', 'shown', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'one', 'who', 'may', 'safely', 'be', 'trusted', 'with', 'matters', 'which', 'are', 'of', 'an', 'importance', 'which', 'can', 'hardly', 'be', 'exaggerated', 'this', 'account', 'of', 'you', 'we', 'have', 'from', 'all', 'quarters', 'received', 'be', 'in', 'your', 'chamber', 'then', 'at', 'that', 'hour', 'and', 'do', 'not', 'take', 'it', 'amiss', 'if', 'your', 'visitor', 'wear', 'a', 'mask', 'this', 'is', 'indeed', 'a', 'mystery', 'i', 'remarked', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'imagine', 'that', 'it', 'means', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'data', 'yet', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'capital', 'mistake', 'to', 'theorise', 'before', 'one', 'has', 'data', 'insensibly', 'one', 'begins', 'to', 'twist', 'facts', 'to', 'suit', 'theories', 'instead', 'of', 'theories', 'to', 'suit', 'facts', 'but', 'the', 'note', 'itself', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'deduce', 'from', 'it', 'i', 'carefully', 'examined', 'the', 'writing', 'and', 'the', 'paper', 'upon', 'which', 'it', 'was', 'written', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'wrote', 'it', 'was', 'presumably', 'well', 'to', 'do', 'i', 'remarked', 'endeavouring', 'to', 'imitate', 'my', 'companions', 'processes', 'such', 'paper', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'bought', 'under', 'half', 'a', 'crown', 'a', 'packet', 'it', 'is', 'peculiarly', 'strong', 'and', 'stiff', 'peculiarthat', 'is', 'the', 'very', 'word', 'said', 'holmes', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'an', 'english', 'paper', 'at', 'all', 'hold', 'it', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'light', 'i', 'did', 'so', 'and', 'saw', 'a', 'large', 'e', 'with', 'a', 'small', 'g', 'a', 'p', 'and', 'a', 'large', 'g', 'with', 'a', 'small', 't', 'woven', 'into', 'the', 'texture', 'of', 'the', 'paper', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'make', 'of', 'that', 'asked', 'holmes', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'the', 'maker', 'no', 'doubt', 'or', 'his', 'monogram', 'rather', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'the', 'g', 'with', 'the', 'small', 't', 'stands', 'for', 'gesellschaft', 'which', 'is', 'the', 'german', 'for', 'company', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'customary', 'contraction', 'like', 'our', 'co', 'p', 'of', 'course', 'stands', 'for', 'papier', 'now', 'for', 'the', 'eg', 'let', 'us', 'glance', 'at', 'our', 'continental', 'gazetteer', 'he', 'took', 'down', 'a', 'heavy', 'brown', 'volume', 'from', 'his', 'shelves', 'eglow', 'eglonitzhere', 'we', 'are', 'egria', 'it', 'is', 'in', 'a', 'germanspeaking', 'countryin', 'bohemia', 'not', 'far', 'from', 'carlsbad', 'remarkable', 'as', 'being', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'the', 'death', 'of', 'wallenstein', 'and', 'for', 'its', 'numerous', 'glassfactories', 'and', 'papermills', 'ha', 'ha', 'my', 'boy', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'make', 'of', 'that', 'his', 'eyes', 'sparkled', 'and', 'he', 'sent', 'up', 'a', 'great', 'blue', 'triumphant', 'cloud', 'from', 'his', 'cigarette', 'the', 'paper', 'was', 'made', 'in', 'bohemia', 'i', 'said', 'precisely', 'and', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'wrote', 'the', 'note', 'is', 'a', 'german', 'do', 'you', 'note', 'the', 'peculiar', 'construction', 'of', 'the', 'sentencethis', 'account', 'of', 'you', 'we', 'have', 'from', 'all', 'quarters', 'received', 'a', 'frenchman', 'or', 'russian', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'written', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'german', 'who', 'is', 'so', 'uncourteous', 'to', 'his', 'verbs', 'it', 'only', 'remains', 'therefore', 'to', 'discover', 'what', 'is', 'wanted', 'by', 'this', 'german', 'who', 'writes', 'upon', 'bohemian', 'paper', 'and', 'prefers', 'wearing', 'a', 'mask', 'to', 'showing', 'his', 'face', 'and', 'here', 'he', 'comes', 'if', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'mistaken', 'to', 'resolve', 'all', 'our', 'doubts', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'there', 'was', 'the', 'sharp', 'sound', 'of', 'horses', 'hoofs', 'and', 'grating', 'wheels', 'against', 'the', 'curb', 'followed', 'by', 'a', 'sharp', 'pull', 'at', 'the', 'bell', 'holmes', 'whistled', 'a', 'pair', 'by', 'the', 'sound', 'said', 'he', 'yes', 'he', 'continued', 'glancing', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'window', 'a', 'nice', 'little', 'brougham', 'and', 'a', 'pair', 'of', 'beauties', 'a', 'hundred', 'and', 'fifty', 'guineas', 'apiece', 'theres', 'money', 'in', 'this', 'case', 'watson', 'if', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'else', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'better', 'go', 'holmes', 'not', 'a', 'bit', 'doctor', 'stay', 'where', 'you', 'are', 'i', 'am', 'lost', 'without', 'my', 'boswell', 'and', 'this', 'promises', 'to', 'be', 'interesting', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'pity', 'to', 'miss', 'it', 'but', 'your', 'client', 'never', 'mind', 'him', 'i', 'may', 'want', 'your', 'help', 'and', 'so', 'may', 'he', 'here', 'he', 'comes', 'sit', 'down', 'in', 'that', 'armchair', 'doctor', 'and', 'give', 'us', 'your', 'best', 'attention', 'a', 'slow', 'and', 'heavy', 'step', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'heard', 'upon', 'the', 'stairs', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'passage', 'paused', 'immediately', 'outside', 'the', 'door', 'then', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'loud', 'and', 'authoritative', 'tap', 'come', 'in', 'said', 'holmes', 'a', 'man', 'entered', 'who', 'could', 'hardly', 'have', 'been', 'less', 'than', 'six', 'feet', 'six', 'inches', 'in', 'height', 'with', 'the', 'chest', 'and', 'limbs', 'of', 'a', 'hercules', 'his', 'dress', 'was', 'rich', 'with', 'a', 'richness', 'which', 'would', 'in', 'england', 'be', 'looked', 'upon', 'as', 'akin', 'to', 'bad', 'taste', 'heavy', 'bands', 'of', 'astrakhan', 'were', 'slashed', 'across', 'the', 'sleeves', 'and', 'fronts', 'of', 'his', 'doublebreasted', 'coat', 'while', 'the', 'deep', 'blue', 'cloak', 'which', 'was', 'thrown', 'over', 'his', 'shoulders', 'was', 'lined', 'with', 'flamecoloured', 'silk', 'and', 'secured', 'at', 'the', 'neck', 'with', 'a', 'brooch', 'which', 'consisted', 'of', 'a', 'single', 'flaming', 'beryl', 'boots', 'which', 'extended', 'halfway', 'up', 'his', 'calves', 'and', 'which', 'were', 'trimmed', 'at', 'the', 'tops', 'with', 'rich', 'brown', 'fur', 'completed', 'the', 'impression', 'of', 'barbaric', 'opulence', 'which', 'was', 'suggested', 'by', 'his', 'whole', 'appearance', 'he', 'carried', 'a', 'broadbrimmed', 'hat', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'while', 'he', 'wore', 'across', 'the', 'upper', 'part', 'of', 'his', 'face', 'extending', 'down', 'past', 'the', 'cheekbones', 'a', 'black', 'vizard', 'mask', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'apparently', 'adjusted', 'that', 'very', 'moment', 'for', 'his', 'hand', 'was', 'still', 'raised', 'to', 'it', 'as', 'he', 'entered', 'from', 'the', 'lower', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'face', 'he', 'appeared', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'strong', 'character', 'with', 'a', 'thick', 'hanging', 'lip', 'and', 'a', 'long', 'straight', 'chin', 'suggestive', 'of', 'resolution', 'pushed', 'to', 'the', 'length', 'of', 'obstinacy', 'you', 'had', 'my', 'note', 'he', 'asked', 'with', 'a', 'deep', 'harsh', 'voice', 'and', 'a', 'strongly', 'marked', 'german', 'accent', 'i', 'told', 'you', 'that', 'i', 'would', 'call', 'he', 'looked', 'from', 'one', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'of', 'us', 'as', 'if', 'uncertain', 'which', 'to', 'address', 'pray', 'take', 'a', 'seat', 'said', 'holmes', 'this', 'is', 'my', 'friend', 'and', 'colleague', 'dr', 'watson', 'who', 'is', 'occasionally', 'good', 'enough', 'to', 'help', 'me', 'in', 'my', 'cases', 'whom', 'have', 'i', 'the', 'honour', 'to', 'address', 'you', 'may', 'address', 'me', 'as', 'the', 'count', 'von', 'kramm', 'a', 'bohemian', 'nobleman', 'i', 'understand', 'that', 'this', 'gentleman', 'your', 'friend', 'is', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'honour', 'and', 'discretion', 'whom', 'i', 'may', 'trust', 'with', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'extreme', 'importance', 'if', 'not', 'i', 'should', 'much', 'prefer', 'to', 'communicate', 'with', 'you', 'alone', 'i', 'rose', 'to', 'go', 'but', 'holmes', 'caught', 'me', 'by', 'the', 'wrist', 'and', 'pushed', 'me', 'back', 'into', 'my', 'chair', 'it', 'is', 'both', 'or', 'none', 'said', 'he', 'you', 'may', 'say', 'before', 'this', 'gentleman', 'anything', 'which', 'you', 'may', 'say', 'to', 'me', 'the', 'count', 'shrugged', 'his', 'broad', 'shoulders', 'then', 'i', 'must', 'begin', 'said', 'he', 'by', 'binding', 'you', 'both', 'to', 'absolute', 'secrecy', 'for', 'two', 'years', 'at', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'that', 'time', 'the', 'matter', 'will', 'be', 'of', 'no', 'importance', 'at', 'present', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'too', 'much', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'such', 'weight', 'it', 'may', 'have', 'an', 'influence', 'upon', 'european', 'history', 'i', 'promise', 'said', 'holmes', 'and', 'i', 'you', 'will', 'excuse', 'this', 'mask', 'continued', 'our', 'strange', 'visitor', 'the', 'august', 'person', 'who', 'employs', 'me', 'wishes', 'his', 'agent', 'to', 'be', 'unknown', 'to', 'you', 'and', 'i', 'may', 'confess', 'at', 'once', 'that', 'the', 'title', 'by', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'just', 'called', 'myself', 'is', 'not', 'exactly', 'my', 'own', 'i', 'was', 'aware', 'of', 'it', 'said', 'holmes', 'dryly', 'the', 'circumstances', 'are', 'of', 'great', 'delicacy', 'and', 'every', 'precaution', 'has', 'to', 'be', 'taken', 'to', 'quench', 'what', 'might', 'grow', 'to', 'be', 'an', 'immense', 'scandal', 'and', 'seriously', 'compromise', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'reigning', 'families', 'of', 'europe', 'to', 'speak', 'plainly', 'the', 'matter', 'implicates', 'the', 'great', 'house', 'of', 'ormstein', 'hereditary', 'kings', 'of', 'bohemia', 'i', 'was', 'also', 'aware', 'of', 'that', 'murmured', 'holmes', 'settling', 'himself', 'down', 'in', 'his', 'armchair', 'and', 'closing', 'his', 'eyes', 'our', 'visitor', 'glanced', 'with', 'some', 'apparent', 'surprise', 'at', 'the', 'languid', 'lounging', 'figure', 'of', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'no', 'doubt', 'depicted', 'to', 'him', 'as', 'the', 'most', 'incisive', 'reasoner', 'and', 'most', 'energetic', 'agent', 'in', 'europe', 'holmes', 'slowly', 'reopened', 'his', 'eyes', 'and', 'looked', 'impatiently', 'at', 'his', 'gigantic', 'client', 'if', 'your', 'majesty', 'would', 'condescend', 'to', 'state', 'your', 'case', 'he', 'remarked', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'better', 'able', 'to', 'advise', 'you', 'the', 'man', 'sprang', 'from', 'his', 'chair', 'and', 'paced', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'room', 'in', 'uncontrollable', 'agitation', 'then', 'with', 'a', 'gesture', 'of', 'desperation', 'he', 'tore', 'the', 'mask', 'from', 'his', 'face', 'and', 'hurled', 'it', 'upon', 'the', 'ground', 'you', 'are', 'right', 'he', 'cried', 'i', 'am', 'the', 'king', 'why', 'should', 'i', 'attempt', 'to', 'conceal', 'it', 'why', 'indeed', 'murmured', 'holmes', 'your', 'majesty', 'had', 'not', 'spoken', 'before', 'i', 'was', 'aware', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'addressing', 'wilhelm', 'gottsreich', 'sigismond', 'von', 'ormstein', 'grand', 'duke', 'of', 'casselfelstein', 'and', 'hereditary', 'king', 'of', 'bohemia', 'but', 'you', 'can', 'understand', 'said', 'our', 'strange', 'visitor', 'sitting', 'down', 'once', 'more', 'and', 'passing', 'his', 'hand', 'over', 'his', 'high', 'white', 'forehead', 'you', 'can', 'understand', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'accustomed', 'to', 'doing', 'such', 'business', 'in', 'my', 'own', 'person', 'yet', 'the', 'matter', 'was', 'so', 'delicate', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'confide', 'it', 'to', 'an', 'agent', 'without', 'putting', 'myself', 'in', 'his', 'power', 'i', 'have', 'come', 'incognito', 'from', 'prague', 'for', 'the', 'purpose', 'of', 'consulting', 'you', 'then', 'pray', 'consult', 'said', 'holmes', 'shutting', 'his', 'eyes', 'once', 'more', 'the', 'facts', 'are', 'briefly', 'these', 'some', 'five', 'years', 'ago', 'during', 'a', 'lengthy', 'visit', 'to', 'warsaw', 'i', 'made', 'the', 'acquaintance', 'of', 'the', 'wellknown', 'adventuress', 'irene', 'adler', 'the', 'name', 'is', 'no', 'doubt', 'familiar', 'to', 'you', 'kindly', 'look', 'her', 'up', 'in', 'my', 'index', 'doctor', 'murmured', 'holmes', 'without', 'opening', 'his', 'eyes', 'for', 'many', 'years', 'he', 'had', 'adopted', 'a', 'system', 'of', 'docketing', 'all', 'paragraphs', 'concerning', 'men', 'and', 'things', 'so', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'difficult', 'to', 'name', 'a', 'subject', 'or', 'a', 'person', 'on', 'which', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'at', 'once', 'furnish', 'information', 'in', 'this', 'case', 'i', 'found', 'her', 'biography', 'sandwiched', 'in', 'between', 'that', 'of', 'a', 'hebrew', 'rabbi', 'and', 'that', 'of', 'a', 'staffcommander', 'who', 'had', 'written', 'a', 'monograph', 'upon', 'the', 'deepsea', 'fishes', 'let', 'me', 'see', 'said', 'holmes', 'hum', 'born', 'in', 'new', 'jersey', 'in', 'the', 'year', '1858', 'contraltohum', 'la', 'scala', 'hum', 'prima', 'donna', 'imperial', 'opera', 'of', 'warsawyes', 'retired', 'from', 'operatic', 'stageha', 'living', 'in', 'londonquite', 'so', 'your', 'majesty', 'as', 'i', 'understand', 'became', 'entangled', 'with', 'this', 'young', 'person', 'wrote', 'her', 'some', 'compromising', 'letters', 'and', 'is', 'now', 'desirous', 'of', 'getting', 'those', 'letters', 'back', 'precisely', 'so', 'but', 'how', 'was', 'there', 'a', 'secret', 'marriage', 'none', 'no', 'legal', 'papers', 'or', 'certificates', 'none', 'then', 'i', 'fail', 'to', 'follow', 'your', 'majesty', 'if', 'this', 'young', 'person', 'should', 'produce', 'her', 'letters', 'for', 'blackmailing', 'or', 'other', 'purposes', 'how', 'is', 'she', 'to', 'prove', 'their', 'authenticity', 'there', 'is', 'the', 'writing', 'pooh', 'pooh', 'forgery', 'my', 'private', 'notepaper', 'stolen', 'my', 'own', 'seal', 'imitated', 'my', 'photograph', 'bought', 'we', 'were', 'both', 'in', 'the', 'photograph', 'oh', 'dear', 'that', 'is', 'very', 'bad', 'your', 'majesty', 'has', 'indeed', 'committed', 'an', 'indiscretion', 'i', 'was', 'madinsane', 'you', 'have', 'compromised', 'yourself', 'seriously', 'i', 'was', 'only', 'crown', 'prince', 'then', 'i', 'was', 'young', 'i', 'am', 'but', 'thirty', 'now', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'recovered', 'we', 'have', 'tried', 'and', 'failed', 'your', 'majesty', 'must', 'pay', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'bought', 'she', 'will', 'not', 'sell', 'stolen', 'then', 'five', 'attempts', 'have', 'been', 'made', 'twice', 'burglars', 'in', 'my', 'pay', 'ransacked', 'her', 'house', 'once', 'we', 'diverted', 'her', 'luggage', 'when', 'she', 'travelled', 'twice', 'she', 'has', 'been', 'waylaid', 'there', 'has', 'been', 'no', 'result', 'no', 'sign', 'of', 'it', 'absolutely', 'none', 'holmes', 'laughed', 'it', 'is', 'quite', 'a', 'pretty', 'little', 'problem', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'a', 'very', 'serious', 'one', 'to', 'me', 'returned', 'the', 'king', 'reproachfully', 'very', 'indeed', 'and', 'what', 'does', 'she', 'propose', 'to', 'do', 'with', 'the', 'photograph', 'to', 'ruin', 'me', 'but', 'how', 'i', 'am', 'about', 'to', 'be', 'married', 'so', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'to', 'clotilde', 'lothman', 'von', 'saxemeningen', 'second', 'daughter', 'of', 'the', 'king', 'of', 'scandinavia', 'you', 'may', 'know', 'the', 'strict', 'principles', 'of', 'her', 'family', 'she', 'is', 'herself', 'the', 'very', 'soul', 'of', 'delicacy', 'a', 'shadow', 'of', 'a', 'doubt', 'as', 'to', 'my', 'conduct', 'would', 'bring', 'the', 'matter', 'to', 'an', 'end', 'and', 'irene', 'adler', 'threatens', 'to', 'send', 'them', 'the', 'photograph', 'and', 'she', 'will', 'do', 'it', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'she', 'will', 'do', 'it', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'her', 'but', 'she', 'has', 'a', 'soul', 'of', 'steel', 'she', 'has', 'the', 'face', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'beautiful', 'of', 'women', 'and', 'the', 'mind', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'resolute', 'of', 'men', 'rather', 'than', 'i', 'should', 'marry', 'another', 'woman', 'there', 'are', 'no', 'lengths', 'to', 'which', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'gonone', 'you', 'are', 'sure', 'that', 'she', 'has', 'not', 'sent', 'it', 'yet', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'and', 'why', 'because', 'she', 'has', 'said', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'send', 'it', 'on', 'the', 'day', 'when', 'the', 'betrothal', 'was', 'publicly', 'proclaimed', 'that', 'will', 'be', 'next', 'monday', 'oh', 'then', 'we', 'have', 'three', 'days', 'yet', 'said', 'holmes', 'with', 'a', 'yawn', 'that', 'is', 'very', 'fortunate', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'matters', 'of', 'importance', 'to', 'look', 'into', 'just', 'at', 'present', 'your', 'majesty', 'will', 'of', 'course', 'stay', 'in', 'london', 'for', 'the', 'present', 'certainly', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'me', 'at', 'the', 'langham', 'under', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'the', 'count', 'von', 'kramm', 'then', 'i', 'shall', 'drop', 'you', 'a', 'line', 'to', 'let', 'you', 'know', 'how', 'we', 'progress', 'pray', 'do', 'so', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'all', 'anxiety', 'then', 'as', 'to', 'money', 'you', 'have', 'carte', 'blanche', 'absolutely', 'i', 'tell', 'you', 'that', 'i', 'would', 'give', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'provinces', 'of', 'my', 'kingdom', 'to', 'have', 'that', 'photograph', 'and', 'for', 'present', 'expenses', 'the', 'king', 'took', 'a', 'heavy', 'chamois', 'leather', 'bag', 'from', 'under', 'his', 'cloak', 'and', 'laid', 'it', 'on', 'the', 'table', 'there', 'are', 'three', 'hundred', 'pounds', 'in', 'gold', 'and', 'seven', 'hundred', 'in', 'notes', 'he', 'said', 'holmes', 'scribbled', 'a', 'receipt', 'upon', 'a', 'sheet', 'of', 'his', 'notebook', 'and', 'handed', 'it', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'mademoiselles', 'address', 'he', 'asked', 'is', 'briony', 'lodge', 'serpentine', 'avenue', 'st', 'johns', 'wood', 'holmes', 'took', 'a', 'note', 'of', 'it', 'one', 'other', 'question', 'said', 'he', 'was', 'the', 'photograph', 'a', 'cabinet', 'it', 'was', 'then', 'goodnight', 'your', 'majesty', 'and', 'i', 'trust', 'that', 'we', 'shall', 'soon', 'have', 'some', 'good', 'news', 'for', 'you', 'and', 'goodnight', 'watson', 'he', 'added', 'as', 'the', 'wheels', 'of', 'the', 'royal', 'brougham', 'rolled', 'down', 'the', 'street', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'good', 'enough', 'to', 'call', 'tomorrow', 'afternoon', 'at', 'three', 'oclock', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'to', 'chat', 'this', 'little', 'matter', 'over', 'with', 'you', 'ii', 'at', 'three', 'oclock', 'precisely', 'i', 'was', 'at', 'baker', 'street', 'but', 'holmes', 'had', 'not', 'yet', 'returned', 'the', 'landlady', 'informed', 'me', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'left', 'the', 'house', 'shortly', 'after', 'eight', 'oclock', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'i', 'sat', 'down', 'beside', 'the', 'fire', 'however', 'with', 'the', 'intention', 'of', 'awaiting', 'him', 'however', 'long', 'he', 'might', 'be', 'i', 'was', 'already', 'deeply', 'interested', 'in', 'his', 'inquiry', 'for', 'though', 'it', 'was', 'surrounded', 'by', 'none', 'of', 'the', 'grim', 'and', 'strange', 'features', 'which', 'were', 'associated', 'with', 'the', 'two', 'crimes', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'already', 'recorded', 'still', 'the', 'nature', 'of', 'the', 'case', 'and', 'the', 'exalted', 'station', 'of', 'his', 'client', 'gave', 'it', 'a', 'character', 'of', 'its', 'own', 'indeed', 'apart', 'from', 'the', 'nature', 'of', 'the', 'investigation', 'which', 'my', 'friend', 'had', 'on', 'hand', 'there', 'was', 'something', 'in', 'his', 'masterly', 'grasp', 'of', 'a', 'situation', 'and', 'his', 'keen', 'incisive', 'reasoning', 'which', 'made', 'it', 'a', 'pleasure', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'study', 'his', 'system', 'of', 'work', 'and', 'to', 'follow', 'the', 'quick', 'subtle', 'methods', 'by', 'which', 'he', 'disentangled', 'the', 'most', 'inextricable', 'mysteries', 'so', 'accustomed', 'was', 'i', 'to', 'his', 'invariable', 'success', 'that', 'the', 'very', 'possibility', 'of', 'his', 'failing', 'had', 'ceased', 'to', 'enter', 'into', 'my', 'head', 'it', 'was', 'close', 'upon', 'four', 'before', 'the', 'door', 'opened', 'and', 'a', 'drunkenlooking', 'groom', 'illkempt', 'and', 'sidewhiskered', 'with', 'an', 'inflamed', 'face', 'and', 'disreputable', 'clothes', 'walked', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'accustomed', 'as', 'i', 'was', 'to', 'my', 'friends', 'amazing', 'powers', 'in', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'disguises', 'i', 'had', 'to', 'look', 'three', 'times', 'before', 'i', 'was', 'certain', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'indeed', 'he', 'with', 'a', 'nod', 'he', 'vanished', 'into', 'the', 'bedroom', 'whence', 'he', 'emerged', 'in', 'five', 'minutes', 'tweedsuited', 'and', 'respectable', 'as', 'of', 'old', 'putting', 'his', 'hands', 'into', 'his', 'pockets', 'he', 'stretched', 'out', 'his', 'legs', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'fire', 'and', 'laughed', 'heartily', 'for', 'some', 'minutes', 'well', 'really', 'he', 'cried', 'and', 'then', 'he', 'choked', 'and', 'laughed', 'again', 'until', 'he', 'was', 'obliged', 'to', 'lie', 'back', 'limp', 'and', 'helpless', 'in', 'the', 'chair', 'what', 'is', 'it', 'its', 'quite', 'too', 'funny', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'you', 'could', 'never', 'guess', 'how', 'i', 'employed', 'my', 'morning', 'or', 'what', 'i', 'ended', 'by', 'doing', 'i', 'cant', 'imagine', 'i', 'suppose', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'watching', 'the', 'habits', 'and', 'perhaps', 'the', 'house', 'of', 'miss', 'irene', 'adler', 'quite', 'so', 'but', 'the', 'sequel', 'was', 'rather', 'unusual', 'i', 'will', 'tell', 'you', 'however', 'i', 'left', 'the', 'house', 'a', 'little', 'after', 'eight', 'oclock', 'this', 'morning', 'in', 'the', 'character', 'of', 'a', 'groom', 'out', 'of', 'work', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'wonderful', 'sympathy', 'and', 'freemasonry', 'among', 'horsey', 'men', 'be', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'and', 'you', 'will', 'know', 'all', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'to', 'know', 'i', 'soon', 'found', 'briony', 'lodge', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'bijou', 'villa', 'with', 'a', 'garden', 'at', 'the', 'back', 'but', 'built', 'out', 'in', 'front', 'right', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'road', 'two', 'stories', 'chubb', 'lock', 'to', 'the', 'door', 'large', 'sittingroom', 'on', 'the', 'right', 'side', 'well', 'furnished', 'with', 'long', 'windows', 'almost', 'to', 'the', 'floor', 'and', 'those', 'preposterous', 'english', 'window', 'fasteners', 'which', 'a', 'child', 'could', 'open', 'behind', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'remarkable', 'save', 'that', 'the', 'passage', 'window', 'could', 'be', 'reached', 'from', 'the', 'top', 'of', 'the', 'coachhouse', 'i', 'walked', 'round', 'it', 'and', 'examined', 'it', 'closely', 'from', 'every', 'point', 'of', 'view', 'but', 'without', 'noting', 'anything', 'else', 'of', 'interest', 'i', 'then', 'lounged', 'down', 'the', 'street', 'and', 'found', 'as', 'i', 'expected', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'mews', 'in', 'a', 'lane', 'which', 'runs', 'down', 'by', 'one', 'wall', 'of', 'the', 'garden', 'i', 'lent', 'the', 'ostlers', 'a', 'hand', 'in', 'rubbing', 'down', 'their', 'horses', 'and', 'received', 'in', 'exchange', 'twopence', 'a', 'glass', 'of', 'halfandhalf', 'two', 'fills', 'of', 'shag', 'tobacco', 'and', 'as', 'much', 'information', 'as', 'i', 'could', 'desire', 'about', 'miss', 'adler', 'to', 'say', 'nothing', 'of', 'half', 'a', 'dozen', 'other', 'people', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'in', 'whom', 'i', 'was', 'not', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'interested', 'but', 'whose', 'biographies', 'i', 'was', 'compelled', 'to', 'listen', 'to', 'and', 'what', 'of', 'irene', 'adler', 'i', 'asked', 'oh', 'she', 'has', 'turned', 'all', 'the', 'mens', 'heads', 'down', 'in', 'that', 'part', 'she', 'is', 'the', 'daintiest', 'thing', 'under', 'a', 'bonnet', 'on', 'this', 'planet', 'so', 'say', 'the', 'serpentinemews', 'to', 'a', 'man', 'she', 'lives', 'quietly', 'sings', 'at', 'concerts', 'drives', 'out', 'at', 'five', 'every', 'day', 'and', 'returns', 'at', 'seven', 'sharp', 'for', 'dinner', 'seldom', 'goes', 'out', 'at', 'other', 'times', 'except', 'when', 'she', 'sings', 'has', 'only', 'one', 'male', 'visitor', 'but', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'of', 'him', 'he', 'is', 'dark', 'handsome', 'and', 'dashing', 'never', 'calls', 'less', 'than', 'once', 'a', 'day', 'and', 'often', 'twice', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'mr', 'godfrey', 'norton', 'of', 'the', 'inner', 'temple', 'see', 'the', 'advantages', 'of', 'a', 'cabman', 'as', 'a', 'confidant', 'they', 'had', 'driven', 'him', 'home', 'a', 'dozen', 'times', 'from', 'serpentinemews', 'and', 'knew', 'all', 'about', 'him', 'when', 'i', 'had', 'listened', 'to', 'all', 'they', 'had', 'to', 'tell', 'i', 'began', 'to', 'walk', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'near', 'briony', 'lodge', 'once', 'more', 'and', 'to', 'think', 'over', 'my', 'plan', 'of', 'campaign', 'this', 'godfrey', 'norton', 'was', 'evidently', 'an', 'important', 'factor', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'lawyer', 'that', 'sounded', 'ominous', 'what', 'was', 'the', 'relation', 'between', 'them', 'and', 'what', 'the', 'object', 'of', 'his', 'repeated', 'visits', 'was', 'she', 'his', 'client', 'his', 'friend', 'or', 'his', 'mistress', 'if', 'the', 'former', 'she', 'had', 'probably', 'transferred', 'the', 'photograph', 'to', 'his', 'keeping', 'if', 'the', 'latter', 'it', 'was', 'less', 'likely', 'on', 'the', 'issue', 'of', 'this', 'question', 'depended', 'whether', 'i', 'should', 'continue', 'my', 'work', 'at', 'briony', 'lodge', 'or', 'turn', 'my', 'attention', 'to', 'the', 'gentlemans', 'chambers', 'in', 'the', 'temple', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'delicate', 'point', 'and', 'it', 'widened', 'the', 'field', 'of', 'my', 'inquiry', 'i', 'fear', 'that', 'i', 'bore', 'you', 'with', 'these', 'details', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'to', 'let', 'you', 'see', 'my', 'little', 'difficulties', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'to', 'understand', 'the', 'situation', 'i', 'am', 'following', 'you', 'closely', 'i', 'answered', 'i', 'was', 'still', 'balancing', 'the', 'matter', 'in', 'my', 'mind', 'when', 'a', 'hansom', 'cab', 'drove', 'up', 'to', 'briony', 'lodge', 'and', 'a', 'gentleman', 'sprang', 'out', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'remarkably', 'handsome', 'man', 'dark', 'aquiline', 'and', 'moustachedevidently', 'the', 'man', 'of', 'whom', 'i', 'had', 'heard', 'he', 'appeared', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'a', 'great', 'hurry', 'shouted', 'to', 'the', 'cabman', 'to', 'wait', 'and', 'brushed', 'past', 'the', 'maid', 'who', 'opened', 'the', 'door', 'with', 'the', 'air', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'was', 'thoroughly', 'at', 'home', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'about', 'half', 'an', 'hour', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'catch', 'glimpses', 'of', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'windows', 'of', 'the', 'sittingroom', 'pacing', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'talking', 'excitedly', 'and', 'waving', 'his', 'arms', 'of', 'her', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'nothing', 'presently', 'he', 'emerged', 'looking', 'even', 'more', 'flurried', 'than', 'before', 'as', 'he', 'stepped', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'cab', 'he', 'pulled', 'a', 'gold', 'watch', 'from', 'his', 'pocket', 'and', 'looked', 'at', 'it', 'earnestly', 'drive', 'like', 'the', 'devil', 'he', 'shouted', 'first', 'to', 'gross', 'hankeys', 'in', 'regent', 'street', 'and', 'then', 'to', 'the', 'church', 'of', 'st', 'monica', 'in', 'the', 'edgeware', 'road', 'half', 'a', 'guinea', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'it', 'in', 'twenty', 'minutes', 'away', 'they', 'went', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'just', 'wondering', 'whether', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'do', 'well', 'to', 'follow', 'them', 'when', 'up', 'the', 'lane', 'came', 'a', 'neat', 'little', 'landau', 'the', 'coachman', 'with', 'his', 'coat', 'only', 'halfbuttoned', 'and', 'his', 'tie', 'under', 'his', 'ear', 'while', 'all', 'the', 'tags', 'of', 'his', 'harness', 'were', 'sticking', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'buckles', 'it', 'hadnt', 'pulled', 'up', 'before', 'she', 'shot', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'hall', 'door', 'and', 'into', 'it', 'i', 'only', 'caught', 'a', 'glimpse', 'of', 'her', 'at', 'the', 'moment', 'but', 'she', 'was', 'a', 'lovely', 'woman', 'with', 'a', 'face', 'that', 'a', 'man', 'might', 'die', 'for', 'the', 'church', 'of', 'st', 'monica', 'john', 'she', 'cried', 'and', 'half', 'a', 'sovereign', 'if', 'you', 'reach', 'it', 'in', 'twenty', 'minutes', 'this', 'was', 'quite', 'too', 'good', 'to', 'lose', 'watson', 'i', 'was', 'just', 'balancing', 'whether', 'i', 'should', 'run', 'for', 'it', 'or', 'whether', 'i', 'should', 'perch', 'behind', 'her', 'landau', 'when', 'a', 'cab', 'came', 'through', 'the', 'street', 'the', 'driver', 'looked', 'twice', 'at', 'such', 'a', 'shabby', 'fare', 'but', 'i', 'jumped', 'in', 'before', 'he', 'could', 'object', 'the', 'church', 'of', 'st', 'monica', 'said', 'i', 'and', 'half', 'a', 'sovereign', 'if', 'you', 'reach', 'it', 'in', 'twenty', 'minutes', 'it', 'was', 'twentyfive', 'minutes', 'to', 'twelve', 'and', 'of', 'course', 'it', 'was', 'clear', 'enough', 'what', 'was', 'in', 'the', 'wind', 'my', 'cabby', 'drove', 'fast', 'i', 'dont', 'think', 'i', 'ever', 'drove', 'faster', 'but', 'the', 'others', 'were', 'there', 'before', 'us', 'the', 'cab', 'and', 'the', 'landau', 'with', 'their', 'steaming', 'horses', 'were', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'door', 'when', 'i', 'arrived', 'i', 'paid', 'the', 'man', 'and', 'hurried', 'into', 'the', 'church', 'there', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'soul', 'there', 'save', 'the', 'two', 'whom', 'i', 'had', 'followed', 'and', 'a', 'surpliced', 'clergyman', 'who', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'expostulating', 'with', 'them', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'three', 'standing', 'in', 'a', 'knot', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'altar', 'i', 'lounged', 'up', 'the', 'side', 'aisle', 'like', 'any', 'other', 'idler', 'who', 'has', 'dropped', 'into', 'a', 'church', 'suddenly', 'to', 'my', 'surprise', 'the', 'three', 'at', 'the', 'altar', 'faced', 'round', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'godfrey', 'norton', 'came', 'running', 'as', 'hard', 'as', 'he', 'could', 'towards', 'me', 'thank', 'god', 'he', 'cried', 'youll', 'do', 'come', 'come', 'what', 'then', 'i', 'asked', 'come', 'man', 'come', 'only', 'three', 'minutes', 'or', 'it', 'wont', 'be', 'legal', 'i', 'was', 'halfdragged', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'altar', 'and', 'before', 'i', 'knew', 'where', 'i', 'was', 'i', 'found', 'myself', 'mumbling', 'responses', 'which', 'were', 'whispered', 'in', 'my', 'ear', 'and', 'vouching', 'for', 'things', 'of', 'which', 'i', 'knew', 'nothing', 'and', 'generally', 'assisting', 'in', 'the', 'secure', 'tying', 'up', 'of', 'irene', 'adler', 'spinster', 'to', 'godfrey', 'norton', 'bachelor', 'it', 'was', 'all', 'done', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'the', 'gentleman', 'thanking', 'me', 'on', 'the', 'one', 'side', 'and', 'the', 'lady', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'while', 'the', 'clergyman', 'beamed', 'on', 'me', 'in', 'front', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'most', 'preposterous', 'position', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'ever', 'found', 'myself', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'thought', 'of', 'it', 'that', 'started', 'me', 'laughing', 'just', 'now', 'it', 'seems', 'that', 'there', 'had', 'been', 'some', 'informality', 'about', 'their', 'license', 'that', 'the', 'clergyman', 'absolutely', 'refused', 'to', 'marry', 'them', 'without', 'a', 'witness', 'of', 'some', 'sort', 'and', 'that', 'my', 'lucky', 'appearance', 'saved', 'the', 'bridegroom', 'from', 'having', 'to', 'sally', 'out', 'into', 'the', 'streets', 'in', 'search', 'of', 'a', 'best', 'man', 'the', 'bride', 'gave', 'me', 'a', 'sovereign', 'and', 'i', 'mean', 'to', 'wear', 'it', 'on', 'my', 'watch', 'chain', 'in', 'memory', 'of', 'the', 'occasion', 'this', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'unexpected', 'turn', 'of', 'affairs', 'said', 'i', 'and', 'what', 'then', 'well', 'i', 'found', 'my', 'plans', 'very', 'seriously', 'menaced', 'it', 'looked', 'as', 'if', 'the', 'pair', 'might', 'take', 'an', 'immediate', 'departure', 'and', 'so', 'necessitate', 'very', 'prompt', 'and', 'energetic', 'measures', 'on', 'my', 'part', 'at', 'the', 'church', 'door', 'however', 'they', 'separated', 'he', 'driving', 'back', 'to', 'the', 'temple', 'and', 'she', 'to', 'her', 'own', 'house', 'i', 'shall', 'drive', 'out', 'in', 'the', 'park', 'at', 'five', 'as', 'usual', 'she', 'said', 'as', 'she', 'left', 'him', 'i', 'heard', 'no', 'more', 'they', 'drove', 'away', 'in', 'different', 'directions', 'and', 'i', 'went', 'off', 'to', 'make', 'my', 'own', 'arrangements', 'which', 'are', 'some', 'cold', 'beef', 'and', 'a', 'glass', 'of', 'beer', 'he', 'answered', 'ringing', 'the', 'bell', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'too', 'busy', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'food', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'busier', 'still', 'this', 'evening', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'doctor', 'i', 'shall', 'want', 'your', 'cooperation', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'delighted', 'you', 'dont', 'mind', 'breaking', 'the', 'law', 'not', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'nor', 'running', 'a', 'chance', 'of', 'arrest', 'not', 'in', 'a', 'good', 'cause', 'oh', 'the', 'cause', 'is', 'excellent', 'then', 'i', 'am', 'your', 'man', 'i', 'was', 'sure', 'that', 'i', 'might', 'rely', 'on', 'you', 'but', 'what', 'is', 'it', 'you', 'wish', 'when', 'mrs', 'turner', 'has', 'brought', 'in', 'the', 'tray', 'i', 'will', 'make', 'it', 'clear', 'to', 'you', 'now', 'he', 'said', 'as', 'he', 'turned', 'hungrily', 'on', 'the', 'simple', 'fare', 'that', 'our', 'landlady', 'had', 'provided', 'i', 'must', 'discuss', 'it', 'while', 'i', 'eat', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'much', 'time', 'it', 'is', 'nearly', 'five', 'now', 'in', 'two', 'hours', 'we', 'must', 'be', 'on', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'action', 'miss', 'irene', 'or', 'madame', 'rather', 'returns', 'from', 'her', 'drive', 'at', 'seven', 'we', 'must', 'be', 'at', 'briony', 'lodge', 'to', 'meet', 'her', 'and', 'what', 'then', 'you', 'must', 'leave', 'that', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'have', 'already', 'arranged', 'what', 'is', 'to', 'occur', 'there', 'is', 'only', 'one', 'point', 'on', 'which', 'i', 'must', 'insist', 'you', 'must', 'not', 'interfere', 'come', 'what', 'may', 'you', 'understand', 'i', 'am', 'to', 'be', 'neutral', 'to', 'do', 'nothing', 'whatever', 'there', 'will', 'probably', 'be', 'some', 'small', 'unpleasantness', 'do', 'not', 'join', 'in', 'it', 'it', 'will', 'end', 'in', 'my', 'being', 'conveyed', 'into', 'the', 'house', 'four', 'or', 'five', 'minutes', 'afterwards', 'the', 'sittingroom', 'window', 'will', 'open', 'you', 'are', 'to', 'station', 'yourself', 'close', 'to', 'that', 'open', 'window', 'yes', 'you', 'are', 'to', 'watch', 'me', 'for', 'i', 'will', 'be', 'visible', 'to', 'you', 'yes', 'and', 'when', 'i', 'raise', 'my', 'handsoyou', 'will', 'throw', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'what', 'i', 'give', 'you', 'to', 'throw', 'and', 'will', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'raise', 'the', 'cry', 'of', 'fire', 'you', 'quite', 'follow', 'me', 'entirely', 'it', 'is', 'nothing', 'very', 'formidable', 'he', 'said', 'taking', 'a', 'long', 'cigarshaped', 'roll', 'from', 'his', 'pocket', 'it', 'is', 'an', 'ordinary', 'plumbers', 'smokerocket', 'fitted', 'with', 'a', 'cap', 'at', 'either', 'end', 'to', 'make', 'it', 'selflighting', 'your', 'task', 'is', 'confined', 'to', 'that', 'when', 'you', 'raise', 'your', 'cry', 'of', 'fire', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'taken', 'up', 'by', 'quite', 'a', 'number', 'of', 'people', 'you', 'may', 'then', 'walk', 'to', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'street', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'rejoin', 'you', 'in', 'ten', 'minutes', 'i', 'hope', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'made', 'myself', 'clear', 'i', 'am', 'to', 'remain', 'neutral', 'to', 'get', 'near', 'the', 'window', 'to', 'watch', 'you', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'signal', 'to', 'throw', 'in', 'this', 'object', 'then', 'to', 'raise', 'the', 'cry', 'of', 'fire', 'and', 'to', 'wait', 'you', 'at', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'the', 'street', 'precisely', 'then', 'you', 'may', 'entirely', 'rely', 'on', 'me', 'that', 'is', 'excellent', 'i', 'think', 'perhaps', 'it', 'is', 'almost', 'time', 'that', 'i', 'prepare', 'for', 'the', 'new', 'role', 'i', 'have', 'to', 'play', 'he', 'disappeared', 'into', 'his', 'bedroom', 'and', 'returned', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'in', 'the', 'character', 'of', 'an', 'amiable', 'and', 'simpleminded', 'nonconformist', 'clergyman', 'his', 'broad', 'black', 'hat', 'his', 'baggy', 'trousers', 'his', 'white', 'tie', 'his', 'sympathetic', 'smile', 'and', 'general', 'look', 'of', 'peering', 'and', 'benevolent', 'curiosity', 'were', 'such', 'as', 'mr', 'john', 'hare', 'alone', 'could', 'have', 'equalled', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'merely', 'that', 'holmes', 'changed', 'his', 'costume', 'his', 'expression', 'his', 'manner', 'his', 'very', 'soul', 'seemed', 'to', 'vary', 'with', 'every', 'fresh', 'part', 'that', 'he', 'assumed', 'the', 'stage', 'lost', 'a', 'fine', 'actor', 'even', 'as', 'science', 'lost', 'an', 'acute', 'reasoner', 'when', 'he', 'became', 'a', 'specialist', 'in', 'crime', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'quarter', 'past', 'six', 'when', 'we', 'left', 'baker', 'street', 'and', 'it', 'still', 'wanted', 'ten', 'minutes', 'to', 'the', 'hour', 'when', 'we', 'found', 'ourselves', 'in', 'serpentine', 'avenue', 'it', 'was', 'already', 'dusk', 'and', 'the', 'lamps', 'were', 'just', 'being', 'lighted', 'as', 'we', 'paced', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'briony', 'lodge', 'waiting', 'for', 'the', 'coming', 'of', 'its', 'occupant', 'the', 'house', 'was', 'just', 'such', 'as', 'i', 'had', 'pictured', 'it', 'from', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'succinct', 'description', 'but', 'the', 'locality', 'appeared', 'to', 'be', 'less', 'private', 'than', 'i', 'expected', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'for', 'a', 'small', 'street', 'in', 'a', 'quiet', 'neighbourhood', 'it', 'was', 'remarkably', 'animated', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'group', 'of', 'shabbily', 'dressed', 'men', 'smoking', 'and', 'laughing', 'in', 'a', 'corner', 'a', 'scissorsgrinder', 'with', 'his', 'wheel', 'two', 'guardsmen', 'who', 'were', 'flirting', 'with', 'a', 'nursegirl', 'and', 'several', 'welldressed', 'young', 'men', 'who', 'were', 'lounging', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'with', 'cigars', 'in', 'their', 'mouths', 'you', 'see', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'as', 'we', 'paced', 'to', 'and', 'fro', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'this', 'marriage', 'rather', 'simplifies', 'matters', 'the', 'photograph', 'becomes', 'a', 'doubleedged', 'weapon', 'now', 'the', 'chances', 'are', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'be', 'as', 'averse', 'to', 'its', 'being', 'seen', 'by', 'mr', 'godfrey', 'norton', 'as', 'our', 'client', 'is', 'to', 'its', 'coming', 'to', 'the', 'eyes', 'of', 'his', 'princess', 'now', 'the', 'question', 'is', 'where', 'are', 'we', 'to', 'find', 'the', 'photograph', 'where', 'indeed', 'it', 'is', 'most', 'unlikely', 'that', 'she', 'carries', 'it', 'about', 'with', 'her', 'it', 'is', 'cabinet', 'size', 'too', 'large', 'for', 'easy', 'concealment', 'about', 'a', 'womans', 'dress', 'she', 'knows', 'that', 'the', 'king', 'is', 'capable', 'of', 'having', 'her', 'waylaid', 'and', 'searched', 'two', 'attempts', 'of', 'the', 'sort', 'have', 'already', 'been', 'made', 'we', 'may', 'take', 'it', 'then', 'that', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'carry', 'it', 'about', 'with', 'her', 'where', 'then', 'her', 'banker', 'or', 'her', 'lawyer', 'there', 'is', 'that', 'double', 'possibility', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'inclined', 'to', 'think', 'neither', 'women', 'are', 'naturally', 'secretive', 'and', 'they', 'like', 'to', 'do', 'their', 'own', 'secreting', 'why', 'should', 'she', 'hand', 'it', 'over', 'to', 'anyone', 'else', 'she', 'could', 'trust', 'her', 'own', 'guardianship', 'but', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'tell', 'what', 'indirect', 'or', 'political', 'influence', 'might', 'be', 'brought', 'to', 'bear', 'upon', 'a', 'business', 'man', 'besides', 'remember', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'resolved', 'to', 'use', 'it', 'within', 'a', 'few', 'days', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'where', 'she', 'can', 'lay', 'her', 'hands', 'upon', 'it', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'in', 'her', 'own', 'house', 'but', 'it', 'has', 'twice', 'been', 'burgled', 'pshaw', 'they', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'how', 'to', 'look', 'but', 'how', 'will', 'you', 'look', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'look', 'what', 'then', 'i', 'will', 'get', 'her', 'to', 'show', 'me', 'but', 'she', 'will', 'refuse', 'she', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'but', 'i', 'hear', 'the', 'rumble', 'of', 'wheels', 'it', 'is', 'her', 'carriage', 'now', 'carry', 'out', 'my', 'orders', 'to', 'the', 'letter', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'the', 'gleam', 'of', 'the', 'sidelights', 'of', 'a', 'carriage', 'came', 'round', 'the', 'curve', 'of', 'the', 'avenue', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'smart', 'little', 'landau', 'which', 'rattled', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'briony', 'lodge', 'as', 'it', 'pulled', 'up', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'loafing', 'men', 'at', 'the', 'corner', 'dashed', 'forward', 'to', 'open', 'the', 'door', 'in', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'earning', 'a', 'copper', 'but', 'was', 'elbowed', 'away', 'by', 'another', 'loafer', 'who', 'had', 'rushed', 'up', 'with', 'the', 'same', 'intention', 'a', 'fierce', 'quarrel', 'broke', 'out', 'which', 'was', 'increased', 'by', 'the', 'two', 'guardsmen', 'who', 'took', 'sides', 'with', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'loungers', 'and', 'by', 'the', 'scissorsgrinder', 'who', 'was', 'equally', 'hot', 'upon', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'a', 'blow', 'was', 'struck', 'and', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'the', 'lady', 'who', 'had', 'stepped', 'from', 'her', 'carriage', 'was', 'the', 'centre', 'of', 'a', 'little', 'knot', 'of', 'flushed', 'and', 'struggling', 'men', 'who', 'struck', 'savagely', 'at', 'each', 'other', 'with', 'their', 'fists', 'and', 'sticks', 'holmes', 'dashed', 'into', 'the', 'crowd', 'to', 'protect', 'the', 'lady', 'but', 'just', 'as', 'he', 'reached', 'her', 'he', 'gave', 'a', 'cry', 'and', 'dropped', 'to', 'the', 'ground', 'with', 'the', 'blood', 'running', 'freely', 'down', 'his', 'face', 'at', 'his', 'fall', 'the', 'guardsmen', 'took', 'to', 'their', 'heels', 'in', 'one', 'direction', 'and', 'the', 'loungers', 'in', 'the', 'other', 'while', 'a', 'number', 'of', 'better', 'dressed', 'people', 'who', 'had', 'watched', 'the', 'scuffle', 'without', 'taking', 'part', 'in', 'it', 'crowded', 'in', 'to', 'help', 'the', 'lady', 'and', 'to', 'attend', 'to', 'the', 'injured', 'man', 'irene', 'adler', 'as', 'i', 'will', 'still', 'call', 'her', 'had', 'hurried', 'up', 'the', 'steps', 'but', 'she', 'stood', 'at', 'the', 'top', 'with', 'her', 'superb', 'figure', 'outlined', 'against', 'the', 'lights', 'of', 'the', 'hall', 'looking', 'back', 'into', 'the', 'street', 'is', 'the', 'poor', 'gentleman', 'much', 'hurt', 'she', 'asked', 'he', 'is', 'dead', 'cried', 'several', 'voices', 'no', 'no', 'theres', 'life', 'in', 'him', 'shouted', 'another', 'but', 'hell', 'be', 'gone', 'before', 'you', 'can', 'get', 'him', 'to', 'hospital', 'hes', 'a', 'brave', 'fellow', 'said', 'a', 'woman', 'they', 'would', 'have', 'had', 'the', 'ladys', 'purse', 'and', 'watch', 'if', 'it', 'hadnt', 'been', 'for', 'him', 'they', 'were', 'a', 'gang', 'and', 'a', 'rough', 'one', 'too', 'ah', 'hes', 'breathing', 'now', 'he', 'cant', 'lie', 'in', 'the', 'street', 'may', 'we', 'bring', 'him', 'in', 'marm', 'surely', 'bring', 'him', 'into', 'the', 'sittingroom', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'comfortable', 'sofa', 'this', 'way', 'please', 'slowly', 'and', 'solemnly', 'he', 'was', 'borne', 'into', 'briony', 'lodge', 'and', 'laid', 'out', 'in', 'the', 'principal', 'room', 'while', 'i', 'still', 'observed', 'the', 'proceedings', 'from', 'my', 'post', 'by', 'the', 'window', 'the', 'lamps', 'had', 'been', 'lit', 'but', 'the', 'blinds', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'drawn', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'holmes', 'as', 'he', 'lay', 'upon', 'the', 'couch', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'whether', 'he', 'was', 'seized', 'with', 'compunction', 'at', 'that', 'moment', 'for', 'the', 'part', 'he', 'was', 'playing', 'but', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'i', 'never', 'felt', 'more', 'heartily', 'ashamed', 'of', 'myself', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'than', 'when', 'i', 'saw', 'the', 'beautiful', 'creature', 'against', 'whom', 'i', 'was', 'conspiring', 'or', 'the', 'grace', 'and', 'kindliness', 'with', 'which', 'she', 'waited', 'upon', 'the', 'injured', 'man', 'and', 'yet', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'the', 'blackest', 'treachery', 'to', 'holmes', 'to', 'draw', 'back', 'now', 'from', 'the', 'part', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'intrusted', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'hardened', 'my', 'heart', 'and', 'took', 'the', 'smokerocket', 'from', 'under', 'my', 'ulster', 'after', 'all', 'i', 'thought', 'we', 'are', 'not', 'injuring', 'her', 'we', 'are', 'but', 'preventing', 'her', 'from', 'injuring', 'another', 'holmes', 'had', 'sat', 'up', 'upon', 'the', 'couch', 'and', 'i', 'saw', 'him', 'motion', 'like', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'is', 'in', 'need', 'of', 'air', 'a', 'maid', 'rushed', 'across', 'and', 'threw', 'open', 'the', 'window', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'instant', 'i', 'saw', 'him', 'raise', 'his', 'hand', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'signal', 'i', 'tossed', 'my', 'rocket', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'with', 'a', 'cry', 'of', 'fire', 'the', 'word', 'was', 'no', 'sooner', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'mouth', 'than', 'the', 'whole', 'crowd', 'of', 'spectators', 'well', 'dressed', 'and', 'illgentlemen', 'ostlers', 'and', 'servant', 'maidsjoined', 'in', 'a', 'general', 'shriek', 'of', 'fire', 'thick', 'clouds', 'of', 'smoke', 'curled', 'through', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'out', 'at', 'the', 'open', 'window', 'i', 'caught', 'a', 'glimpse', 'of', 'rushing', 'figures', 'and', 'a', 'moment', 'later', 'the', 'voice', 'of', 'holmes', 'from', 'within', 'assuring', 'them', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'false', 'alarm', 'slipping', 'through', 'the', 'shouting', 'crowd', 'i', 'made', 'my', 'way', 'to', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'the', 'street', 'and', 'in', 'ten', 'minutes', 'was', 'rejoiced', 'to', 'find', 'my', 'friends', 'arm', 'in', 'mine', 'and', 'to', 'get', 'away', 'from', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'uproar', 'he', 'walked', 'swiftly', 'and', 'in', 'silence', 'for', 'some', 'few', 'minutes', 'until', 'we', 'had', 'turned', 'down', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'quiet', 'streets', 'which', 'lead', 'towards', 'the', 'edgeware', 'road', 'you', 'did', 'it', 'very', 'nicely', 'doctor', 'he', 'remarked', 'nothing', 'could', 'have', 'been', 'better', 'it', 'is', 'all', 'right', 'you', 'have', 'the', 'photograph', 'i', 'know', 'where', 'it', 'is', 'and', 'how', 'did', 'you', 'find', 'out', 'she', 'showed', 'me', 'as', 'i', 'told', 'you', 'she', 'would', 'i', 'am', 'still', 'in', 'the', 'dark', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'wish', 'to', 'make', 'a', 'mystery', 'said', 'he', 'laughing', 'the', 'matter', 'was', 'perfectly', 'simple', 'you', 'of', 'course', 'saw', 'that', 'everyone', 'in', 'the', 'street', 'was', 'an', 'accomplice', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'engaged', 'for', 'the', 'evening', 'i', 'guessed', 'as', 'much', 'then', 'when', 'the', 'row', 'broke', 'out', 'i', 'had', 'a', 'little', 'moist', 'red', 'paint', 'in', 'the', 'palm', 'of', 'my', 'hand', 'i', 'rushed', 'forward', 'fell', 'down', 'clapped', 'my', 'hand', 'to', 'my', 'face', 'and', 'became', 'a', 'piteous', 'spectacle', 'it', 'is', 'an', 'old', 'trick', 'that', 'also', 'i', 'could', 'fathom', 'then', 'they', 'carried', 'me', 'in', 'she', 'was', 'bound', 'to', 'have', 'me', 'in', 'what', 'else', 'could', 'she', 'do', 'and', 'into', 'her', 'sittingroom', 'which', 'was', 'the', 'very', 'room', 'which', 'i', 'suspected', 'it', 'lay', 'between', 'that', 'and', 'her', 'bedroom', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'determined', 'to', 'see', 'which', 'they', 'laid', 'me', 'on', 'a', 'couch', 'i', 'motioned', 'for', 'air', 'they', 'were', 'compelled', 'to', 'open', 'the', 'window', 'and', 'you', 'had', 'your', 'chance', 'how', 'did', 'that', 'help', 'you', 'it', 'was', 'allimportant', 'when', 'a', 'woman', 'thinks', 'that', 'her', 'house', 'is', 'on', 'fire', 'her', 'instinct', 'is', 'at', 'once', 'to', 'rush', 'to', 'the', 'thing', 'which', 'she', 'values', 'most', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'perfectly', 'overpowering', 'impulse', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'taken', 'advantage', 'of', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'case', 'of', 'the', 'darlington', 'substitution', 'scandal', 'it', 'was', 'of', 'use', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'also', 'in', 'the', 'arnsworth', 'castle', 'business', 'a', 'married', 'woman', 'grabs', 'at', 'her', 'baby', 'an', 'unmarried', 'one', 'reaches', 'for', 'her', 'jewelbox', 'now', 'it', 'was', 'clear', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'our', 'lady', 'of', 'today', 'had', 'nothing', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'more', 'precious', 'to', 'her', 'than', 'what', 'we', 'are', 'in', 'quest', 'of', 'she', 'would', 'rush', 'to', 'secure', 'it', 'the', 'alarm', 'of', 'fire', 'was', 'admirably', 'done', 'the', 'smoke', 'and', 'shouting', 'were', 'enough', 'to', 'shake', 'nerves', 'of', 'steel', 'she', 'responded', 'beautifully', 'the', 'photograph', 'is', 'in', 'a', 'recess', 'behind', 'a', 'sliding', 'panel', 'just', 'above', 'the', 'right', 'bellpull', 'she', 'was', 'there', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'and', 'i', 'caught', 'a', 'glimpse', 'of', 'it', 'as', 'she', 'half', 'drew', 'it', 'out', 'when', 'i', 'cried', 'out', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'false', 'alarm', 'she', 'replaced', 'it', 'glanced', 'at', 'the', 'rocket', 'rushed', 'from', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'seen', 'her', 'since', 'i', 'rose', 'and', 'making', 'my', 'excuses', 'escaped', 'from', 'the', 'house', 'i', 'hesitated', 'whether', 'to', 'attempt', 'to', 'secure', 'the', 'photograph', 'at', 'once', 'but', 'the', 'coachman', 'had', 'come', 'in', 'and', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'watching', 'me', 'narrowly', 'it', 'seemed', 'safer', 'to', 'wait', 'a', 'little', 'overprecipitance', 'may', 'ruin', 'all', 'and', 'now', 'i', 'asked', 'our', 'quest', 'is', 'practically', 'finished', 'i', 'shall', 'call', 'with', 'the', 'king', 'tomorrow', 'and', 'with', 'you', 'if', 'you', 'care', 'to', 'come', 'with', 'us', 'we', 'will', 'be', 'shown', 'into', 'the', 'sittingroom', 'to', 'wait', 'for', 'the', 'lady', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'probable', 'that', 'when', 'she', 'comes', 'she', 'may', 'find', 'neither', 'us', 'nor', 'the', 'photograph', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'a', 'satisfaction', 'to', 'his', 'majesty', 'to', 'regain', 'it', 'with', 'his', 'own', 'hands', 'and', 'when', 'will', 'you', 'call', 'at', 'eight', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'she', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'up', 'so', 'that', 'we', 'shall', 'have', 'a', 'clear', 'field', 'besides', 'we', 'must', 'be', 'prompt', 'for', 'this', 'marriage', 'may', 'mean', 'a', 'complete', 'change', 'in', 'her', 'life', 'and', 'habits', 'i', 'must', 'wire', 'to', 'the', 'king', 'without', 'delay', 'we', 'had', 'reached', 'baker', 'street', 'and', 'had', 'stopped', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'he', 'was', 'searching', 'his', 'pockets', 'for', 'the', 'key', 'when', 'someone', 'passing', 'said', 'goodnight', 'mister', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'there', 'were', 'several', 'people', 'on', 'the', 'pavement', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'but', 'the', 'greeting', 'appeared', 'to', 'come', 'from', 'a', 'slim', 'youth', 'in', 'an', 'ulster', 'who', 'had', 'hurried', 'by', 'ive', 'heard', 'that', 'voice', 'before', 'said', 'holmes', 'staring', 'down', 'the', 'dimly', 'lit', 'street', 'now', 'i', 'wonder', 'who', 'the', 'deuce', 'that', 'could', 'have', 'been', 'iii', 'i', 'slept', 'at', 'baker', 'street', 'that', 'night', 'and', 'we', 'were', 'engaged', 'upon', 'our', 'toast', 'and', 'coffee', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'when', 'the', 'king', 'of', 'bohemia', 'rushed', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'you', 'have', 'really', 'got', 'it', 'he', 'cried', 'grasping', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'by', 'either', 'shoulder', 'and', 'looking', 'eagerly', 'into', 'his', 'face', 'not', 'yet', 'but', 'you', 'have', 'hopes', 'i', 'have', 'hopes', 'then', 'come', 'i', 'am', 'all', 'impatience', 'to', 'be', 'gone', 'we', 'must', 'have', 'a', 'cab', 'no', 'my', 'brougham', 'is', 'waiting', 'then', 'that', 'will', 'simplify', 'matters', 'we', 'descended', 'and', 'started', 'off', 'once', 'more', 'for', 'briony', 'lodge', 'irene', 'adler', 'is', 'married', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'married', 'when', 'yesterday', 'but', 'to', 'whom', 'to', 'an', 'english', 'lawyer', 'named', 'norton', 'but', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'love', 'him', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'hopes', 'that', 'she', 'does', 'and', 'why', 'in', 'hopes', 'because', 'it', 'would', 'spare', 'your', 'majesty', 'all', 'fear', 'of', 'future', 'annoyance', 'if', 'the', 'lady', 'loves', 'her', 'husband', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'love', 'your', 'majesty', 'if', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'love', 'your', 'majesty', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'reason', 'why', 'she', 'should', 'interfere', 'with', 'your', 'majestys', 'plan', 'it', 'is', 'true', 'and', 'yet', 'well', 'i', 'wish', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'of', 'my', 'own', 'station', 'what', 'a', 'queen', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'made', 'he', 'relapsed', 'into', 'a', 'moody', 'silence', 'which', 'was', 'not', 'broken', 'until', 'we', 'drew', 'up', 'in', 'serpentine', 'avenue', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'briony', 'lodge', 'was', 'open', 'and', 'an', 'elderly', 'woman', 'stood', 'upon', 'the', 'steps', 'she', 'watched', 'us', 'with', 'a', 'sardonic', 'eye', 'as', 'we', 'stepped', 'from', 'the', 'brougham', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'i', 'believe', 'said', 'she', 'i', 'am', 'mr', 'holmes', 'answered', 'my', 'companion', 'looking', 'at', 'her', 'with', 'a', 'questioning', 'and', 'rather', 'startled', 'gaze', 'indeed', 'my', 'mistress', 'told', 'me', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'likely', 'to', 'call', 'she', 'left', 'this', 'morning', 'with', 'her', 'husband', 'by', 'the', '515', 'train', 'from', 'charing', 'cross', 'for', 'the', 'continent', 'what', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'staggered', 'back', 'white', 'with', 'chagrin', 'and', 'surprise', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'that', 'she', 'has', 'left', 'england', 'never', 'to', 'return', 'and', 'the', 'papers', 'asked', 'the', 'king', 'hoarsely', 'all', 'is', 'lost', 'we', 'shall', 'see', 'he', 'pushed', 'past', 'the', 'servant', 'and', 'rushed', 'into', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'followed', 'by', 'the', 'king', 'and', 'myself', 'the', 'furniture', 'was', 'scattered', 'about', 'in', 'every', 'direction', 'with', 'dismantled', 'shelves', 'and', 'open', 'drawers', 'as', 'if', 'the', 'lady', 'had', 'hurriedly', 'ransacked', 'them', 'before', 'her', 'flight', 'holmes', 'rushed', 'at', 'the', 'bellpull', 'tore', 'back', 'a', 'small', 'sliding', 'shutter', 'and', 'plunging', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'pulled', 'out', 'a', 'photograph', 'and', 'a', 'letter', 'the', 'photograph', 'was', 'of', 'irene', 'adler', 'herself', 'in', 'evening', 'dress', 'the', 'letter', 'was', 'superscribed', 'to', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'esq', 'to', 'be', 'left', 'till', 'called', 'for', 'my', 'friend', 'tore', 'it', 'open', 'and', 'we', 'all', 'three', 'read', 'it', 'together', 'it', 'was', 'dated', 'at', 'midnight', 'of', 'the', 'preceding', 'night', 'and', 'ran', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'my', 'dear', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmesyou', 'really', 'did', 'it', 'very', 'well', 'you', 'took', 'me', 'in', 'completely', 'until', 'after', 'the', 'alarm', 'of', 'fire', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'a', 'suspicion', 'but', 'then', 'when', 'i', 'found', 'how', 'i', 'had', 'betrayed', 'myself', 'i', 'began', 'to', 'think', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'warned', 'against', 'you', 'months', 'ago', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'told', 'that', 'if', 'the', 'king', 'employed', 'an', 'agent', 'it', 'would', 'certainly', 'be', 'you', 'and', 'your', 'address', 'had', 'been', 'given', 'me', 'yet', 'with', 'all', 'this', 'you', 'made', 'me', 'reveal', 'what', 'you', 'wanted', 'to', 'know', 'even', 'after', 'i', 'became', 'suspicious', 'i', 'found', 'it', 'hard', 'to', 'think', 'evil', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'dear', 'kind', 'old', 'clergyman', 'but', 'you', 'know', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'trained', 'as', 'an', 'actress', 'myself', 'male', 'costume', 'is', 'nothing', 'new', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'often', 'take', 'advantage', 'of', 'the', 'freedom', 'which', 'it', 'gives', 'i', 'sent', 'john', 'the', 'coachman', 'to', 'watch', 'you', 'ran', 'upstairs', 'got', 'into', 'my', 'walking', 'clothes', 'as', 'i', 'call', 'them', 'and', 'came', 'down', 'just', 'as', 'you', 'departed', 'well', 'i', 'followed', 'you', 'to', 'your', 'door', 'and', 'so', 'made', 'sure', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'really', 'an', 'object', 'of', 'interest', 'to', 'the', 'celebrated', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'then', 'i', 'rather', 'imprudently', 'wished', 'you', 'goodnight', 'and', 'started', 'for', 'the', 'temple', 'to', 'see', 'my', 'husband', 'we', 'both', 'thought', 'the', 'best', 'resource', 'was', 'flight', 'when', 'pursued', 'by', 'so', 'formidable', 'an', 'antagonist', 'so', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'the', 'nest', 'empty', 'when', 'you', 'call', 'tomorrow', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'photograph', 'your', 'client', 'may', 'rest', 'in', 'peace', 'i', 'love', 'and', 'am', 'loved', 'by', 'a', 'better', 'man', 'than', 'he', 'the', 'king', 'may', 'do', 'what', 'he', 'will', 'without', 'hindrance', 'from', 'one', 'whom', 'he', 'has', 'cruelly', 'wronged', 'i', 'keep', 'it', 'only', 'to', 'safeguard', 'myself', 'and', 'to', 'preserve', 'a', 'weapon', 'which', 'will', 'always', 'secure', 'me', 'from', 'any', 'steps', 'which', 'he', 'might', 'take', 'in', 'the', 'future', 'i', 'leave', 'a', 'photograph', 'which', 'he', 'might', 'care', 'to', 'possess', 'and', 'i', 'remain', 'dear', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'very', 'truly', 'yours', 'irene', 'norton', 'née', 'adler', 'what', 'a', 'womanoh', 'what', 'a', 'woman', 'cried', 'the', 'king', 'of', 'bohemia', 'when', 'we', 'had', 'all', 'three', 'read', 'this', 'epistle', 'did', 'i', 'not', 'tell', 'you', 'how', 'quick', 'and', 'resolute', 'she', 'was', 'would', 'she', 'not', 'have', 'made', 'an', 'admirable', 'queen', 'is', 'it', 'not', 'a', 'pity', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'not', 'on', 'my', 'level', 'from', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'of', 'the', 'lady', 'she', 'seems', 'indeed', 'to', 'be', 'on', 'a', 'very', 'different', 'level', 'to', 'your', 'majesty', 'said', 'holmes', 'coldly', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'been', 'able', 'to', 'bring', 'your', 'majestys', 'business', 'to', 'a', 'more', 'successful', 'conclusion', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'my', 'dear', 'sir', 'cried', 'the', 'king', 'nothing', 'could', 'be', 'more', 'successful', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'her', 'word', 'is', 'inviolate', 'the', 'photograph', 'is', 'now', 'as', 'safe', 'as', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'in', 'the', 'fire', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'to', 'hear', 'your', 'majesty', 'say', 'so', 'i', 'am', 'immensely', 'indebted', 'to', 'you', 'pray', 'tell', 'me', 'in', 'what', 'way', 'i', 'can', 'reward', 'you', 'this', 'ring', 'he', 'slipped', 'an', 'emerald', 'snake', 'ring', 'from', 'his', 'finger', 'and', 'held', 'it', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'palm', 'of', 'his', 'hand', 'your', 'majesty', 'has', 'something', 'which', 'i', 'should', 'value', 'even', 'more', 'highly', 'said', 'holmes', 'you', 'have', 'but', 'to', 'name', 'it', 'this', 'photograph', 'the', 'king', 'stared', 'at', 'him', 'in', 'amazement', 'irenes', 'photograph', 'he', 'cried', 'certainly', 'if', 'you', 'wish', 'it', 'i', 'thank', 'your', 'majesty', 'then', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'more', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'honour', 'to', 'wish', 'you', 'a', 'very', 'good', 'morning', 'he', 'bowed', 'and', 'turning', 'away', 'without', 'observing', 'the', 'hand', 'which', 'the', 'king', 'had', 'stretched', 'out', 'to', 'him', 'he', 'set', 'off', 'in', 'my', 'company', 'for', 'his', 'chambers', 'and', 'that', 'was', 'how', 'a', 'great', 'scandal', 'threatened', 'to', 'affect', 'the', 'kingdom', 'of', 'bohemia', 'and', 'how', 'the', 'best', 'plans', 'of', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'were', 'beaten', 'by', 'a', 'womans', 'wit', 'he', 'used', 'to', 'make', 'merry', 'over', 'the', 'cleverness', 'of', 'women', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'heard', 'him', 'do', 'it', 'of', 'late', 'and', 'when', 'he', 'speaks', 'of', 'irene', 'adler', 'or', 'when', 'he', 'refers', 'to', 'her', 'photograph', 'it', 'is', 'always', 'under', 'the', 'honourable', 'title', 'of', 'the', 'woman', 'ii', 'the', 'redheaded', 'league', 'i', 'had', 'called', 'upon', 'my', 'friend', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'one', 'day', 'in', 'the', 'autumn', 'of', 'last', 'year', 'and', 'found', 'him', 'in', 'deep', 'conversation', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'stout', 'floridfaced', 'elderly', 'gentleman', 'with', 'fiery', 'red', 'hair', 'with', 'an', 'apology', 'for', 'my', 'intrusion', 'i', 'was', 'about', 'to', 'withdraw', 'when', 'holmes', 'pulled', 'me', 'abruptly', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'closed', 'the', 'door', 'behind', 'me', 'you', 'could', 'not', 'possibly', 'have', 'come', 'at', 'a', 'better', 'time', 'my', 'dear', 'watson', 'he', 'said', 'cordially', 'i', 'was', 'afraid', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'engaged', 'so', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'much', 'so', 'then', 'i', 'can', 'wait', 'in', 'the', 'next', 'room', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'this', 'gentleman', 'mr', 'wilson', 'has', 'been', 'my', 'partner', 'and', 'helper', 'in', 'many', 'of', 'my', 'most', 'successful', 'cases', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'of', 'the', 'utmost', 'use', 'to', 'me', 'in', 'yours', 'also', 'the', 'stout', 'gentleman', 'half', 'rose', 'from', 'his', 'chair', 'and', 'gave', 'a', 'bob', 'of', 'greeting', 'with', 'a', 'quick', 'little', 'questioning', 'glance', 'from', 'his', 'small', 'fatencircled', 'eyes', 'try', 'the', 'settee', 'said', 'holmes', 'relapsing', 'into', 'his', 'armchair', 'and', 'putting', 'his', 'fingertips', 'together', 'as', 'was', 'his', 'custom', 'when', 'in', 'judicial', 'moods', 'i', 'know', 'my', 'dear', 'watson', 'that', 'you', 'share', 'my', 'love', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'is', 'bizarre', 'and', 'outside', 'the', 'conventions', 'and', 'humdrum', 'routine', 'of', 'everyday', 'life', 'you', 'have', 'shown', 'your', 'relish', 'for', 'it', 'by', 'the', 'enthusiasm', 'which', 'has', 'prompted', 'you', 'to', 'chronicle', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'excuse', 'my', 'saying', 'so', 'somewhat', 'to', 'embellish', 'so', 'many', 'of', 'my', 'own', 'little', 'adventures', 'your', 'cases', 'have', 'indeed', 'been', 'of', 'the', 'greatest', 'interest', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'observed', 'you', 'will', 'remember', 'that', 'i', 'remarked', 'the', 'other', 'day', 'just', 'before', 'we', 'went', 'into', 'the', 'very', 'simple', 'problem', 'presented', 'by', 'miss', 'mary', 'sutherland', 'that', 'for', 'strange', 'effects', 'and', 'extraordinary', 'combinations', 'we', 'must', 'go', 'to', 'life', 'itself', 'which', 'is', 'always', 'far', 'more', 'daring', 'than', 'any', 'effort', 'of', 'the', 'imagination', 'a', 'proposition', 'which', 'i', 'took', 'the', 'liberty', 'of', 'doubting', 'you', 'did', 'doctor', 'but', 'none', 'the', 'less', 'you', 'must', 'come', 'round', 'to', 'my', 'view', 'for', 'otherwise', 'i', 'shall', 'keep', 'on', 'piling', 'fact', 'upon', 'fact', 'on', 'you', 'until', 'your', 'reason', 'breaks', 'down', 'under', 'them', 'and', 'acknowledges', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'right', 'now', 'mr', 'jabez', 'wilson', 'here', 'has', 'been', 'good', 'enough', 'to', 'call', 'upon', 'me', 'this', 'morning', 'and', 'to', 'begin', 'a', 'narrative', 'which', 'promises', 'to', 'be', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'singular', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'listened', 'to', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'you', 'have', 'heard', 'me', 'remark', 'that', 'the', 'strangest', 'and', 'most', 'unique', 'things', 'are', 'very', 'often', 'connected', 'not', 'with', 'the', 'larger', 'but', 'with', 'the', 'smaller', 'crimes', 'and', 'occasionally', 'indeed', 'where', 'there', 'is', 'room', 'for', 'doubt', 'whether', 'any', 'positive', 'crime', 'has', 'been', 'committed', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'it', 'is', 'impossible', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'say', 'whether', 'the', 'present', 'case', 'is', 'an', 'instance', 'of', 'crime', 'or', 'not', 'but', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'events', 'is', 'certainly', 'among', 'the', 'most', 'singular', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'ever', 'listened', 'to', 'perhaps', 'mr', 'wilson', 'you', 'would', 'have', 'the', 'great', 'kindness', 'to', 'recommence', 'your', 'narrative', 'i', 'ask', 'you', 'not', 'merely', 'because', 'my', 'friend', 'dr', 'watson', 'has', 'not', 'heard', 'the', 'opening', 'part', 'but', 'also', 'because', 'the', 'peculiar', 'nature', 'of', 'the', 'story', 'makes', 'me', 'anxious', 'to', 'have', 'every', 'possible', 'detail', 'from', 'your', 'lips', 'as', 'a', 'rule', 'when', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'some', 'slight', 'indication', 'of', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'events', 'i', 'am', 'able', 'to', 'guide', 'myself', 'by', 'the', 'thousands', 'of', 'other', 'similar', 'cases', 'which', 'occur', 'to', 'my', 'memory', 'in', 'the', 'present', 'instance', 'i', 'am', 'forced', 'to', 'admit', 'that', 'the', 'facts', 'are', 'to', 'the', 'best', 'of', 'my', 'belief', 'unique', 'the', 'portly', 'client', 'puffed', 'out', 'his', 'chest', 'with', 'an', 'appearance', 'of', 'some', 'little', 'pride', 'and', 'pulled', 'a', 'dirty', 'and', 'wrinkled', 'newspaper', 'from', 'the', 'inside', 'pocket', 'of', 'his', 'greatcoat', 'as', 'he', 'glanced', 'down', 'the', 'advertisement', 'column', 'with', 'his', 'head', 'thrust', 'forward', 'and', 'the', 'paper', 'flattened', 'out', 'upon', 'his', 'knee', 'i', 'took', 'a', 'good', 'look', 'at', 'the', 'man', 'and', 'endeavoured', 'after', 'the', 'fashion', 'of', 'my', 'companion', 'to', 'read', 'the', 'indications', 'which', 'might', 'be', 'presented', 'by', 'his', 'dress', 'or', 'appearance', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'gain', 'very', 'much', 'however', 'by', 'my', 'inspection', 'our', 'visitor', 'bore', 'every', 'mark', 'of', 'being', 'an', 'average', 'commonplace', 'british', 'tradesman', 'obese', 'pompous', 'and', 'slow', 'he', 'wore', 'rather', 'baggy', 'grey', 'shepherds', 'check', 'trousers', 'a', 'not', 'overclean', 'black', 'frockcoat', 'unbuttoned', 'in', 'the', 'front', 'and', 'a', 'drab', 'waistcoat', 'with', 'a', 'heavy', 'brassy', 'albert', 'chain', 'and', 'a', 'square', 'pierced', 'bit', 'of', 'metal', 'dangling', 'down', 'as', 'an', 'ornament', 'a', 'frayed', 'tophat', 'and', 'a', 'faded', 'brown', 'overcoat', 'with', 'a', 'wrinkled', 'velvet', 'collar', 'lay', 'upon', 'a', 'chair', 'beside', 'him', 'altogether', 'look', 'as', 'i', 'would', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'remarkable', 'about', 'the', 'man', 'save', 'his', 'blazing', 'red', 'head', 'and', 'the', 'expression', 'of', 'extreme', 'chagrin', 'and', 'discontent', 'upon', 'his', 'features', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'quick', 'eye', 'took', 'in', 'my', 'occupation', 'and', 'he', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'with', 'a', 'smile', 'as', 'he', 'noticed', 'my', 'questioning', 'glances', 'beyond', 'the', 'obvious', 'facts', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'at', 'some', 'time', 'done', 'manual', 'labour', 'that', 'he', 'takes', 'snuff', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'freemason', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'in', 'china', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'done', 'a', 'considerable', 'amount', 'of', 'writing', 'lately', 'i', 'can', 'deduce', 'nothing', 'else', 'mr', 'jabez', 'wilson', 'started', 'up', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'with', 'his', 'forefinger', 'upon', 'the', 'paper', 'but', 'his', 'eyes', 'upon', 'my', 'companion', 'how', 'in', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'goodfortune', 'did', 'you', 'know', 'all', 'that', 'mr', 'holmes', 'he', 'asked', 'how', 'did', 'you', 'know', 'for', 'example', 'that', 'i', 'did', 'manual', 'labour', 'its', 'as', 'true', 'as', 'gospel', 'for', 'i', 'began', 'as', 'a', 'ships', 'carpenter', 'your', 'hands', 'my', 'dear', 'sir', 'your', 'right', 'hand', 'is', 'quite', 'a', 'size', 'larger', 'than', 'your', 'left', 'you', 'have', 'worked', 'with', 'it', 'and', 'the', 'muscles', 'are', 'more', 'developed', 'well', 'the', 'snuff', 'then', 'and', 'the', 'freemasonry', 'i', 'wont', 'insult', 'your', 'intelligence', 'by', 'telling', 'you', 'how', 'i', 'read', 'that', 'especially', 'as', 'rather', 'against', 'the', 'strict', 'rules', 'of', 'your', 'order', 'you', 'use', 'an', 'arcandcompass', 'breastpin', 'ah', 'of', 'course', 'i', 'forgot', 'that', 'but', 'the', 'writing', 'what', 'else', 'can', 'be', 'indicated', 'by', 'that', 'right', 'cuff', 'so', 'very', 'shiny', 'for', 'five', 'inches', 'and', 'the', 'left', 'one', 'with', 'the', 'smooth', 'patch', 'near', 'the', 'elbow', 'where', 'you', 'rest', 'it', 'upon', 'the', 'desk', 'well', 'but', 'china', 'the', 'fish', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'tattooed', 'immediately', 'above', 'your', 'right', 'wrist', 'could', 'only', 'have', 'been', 'done', 'in', 'china', 'i', 'have', 'made', 'a', 'small', 'study', 'of', 'tattoo', 'marks', 'and', 'have', 'even', 'contributed', 'to', 'the', 'literature', 'of', 'the', 'subject', 'that', 'trick', 'of', 'staining', 'the', 'fishes', 'scales', 'of', 'a', 'delicate', 'pink', 'is', 'quite', 'peculiar', 'to', 'china', 'when', 'in', 'addition', 'i', 'see', 'a', 'chinese', 'coin', 'hanging', 'from', 'your', 'watchchain', 'the', 'matter', 'becomes', 'even', 'more', 'simple', 'mr', 'jabez', 'wilson', 'laughed', 'heavily', 'well', 'i', 'never', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'thought', 'at', 'first', 'that', 'you', 'had', 'done', 'something', 'clever', 'but', 'i', 'see', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'in', 'it', 'after', 'all', 'i', 'begin', 'to', 'think', 'watson', 'said', 'holmes', 'that', 'i', 'make', 'a', 'mistake', 'in', 'explaining', 'omne', 'ignotum', 'pro', 'magnifico', 'you', 'know', 'and', 'my', 'poor', 'little', 'reputation', 'such', 'as', 'it', 'is', 'will', 'suffer', 'shipwreck', 'if', 'i', 'am', 'so', 'candid', 'can', 'you', 'not', 'find', 'the', 'advertisement', 'mr', 'wilson', 'yes', 'i', 'have', 'got', 'it', 'now', 'he', 'answered', 'with', 'his', 'thick', 'red', 'finger', 'planted', 'halfway', 'down', 'the', 'column', 'here', 'it', 'is', 'this', 'is', 'what', 'began', 'it', 'all', 'you', 'just', 'read', 'it', 'for', 'yourself', 'sir', 'i', 'took', 'the', 'paper', 'from', 'him', 'and', 'read', 'as', 'follows', 'to', 'the', 'redheaded', 'league', 'on', 'account', 'of', 'the', 'bequest', 'of', 'the', 'late', 'ezekiah', 'hopkins', 'of', 'lebanon', 'pennsylvania', 'usa', 'there', 'is', 'now', 'another', 'vacancy', 'open', 'which', 'entitles', 'a', 'member', 'of', 'the', 'league', 'to', 'a', 'salary', 'of', '4', 'a', 'week', 'for', 'purely', 'nominal', 'services', 'all', 'redheaded', 'men', 'who', 'are', 'sound', 'in', 'body', 'and', 'mind', 'and', 'above', 'the', 'age', 'of', 'twentyone', 'years', 'are', 'eligible', 'apply', 'in', 'person', 'on', 'monday', 'at', 'eleven', 'oclock', 'to', 'duncan', 'ross', 'at', 'the', 'offices', 'of', 'the', 'league', '7', 'popes', 'court', 'fleet', 'street', 'what', 'on', 'earth', 'does', 'this', 'mean', 'i', 'ejaculated', 'after', 'i', 'had', 'twice', 'read', 'over', 'the', 'extraordinary', 'announcement', 'holmes', 'chuckled', 'and', 'wriggled', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'as', 'was', 'his', 'habit', 'when', 'in', 'high', 'spirits', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'off', 'the', 'beaten', 'track', 'isnt', 'it', 'said', 'he', 'and', 'now', 'mr', 'wilson', 'off', 'you', 'go', 'at', 'scratch', 'and', 'tell', 'us', 'all', 'about', 'yourself', 'your', 'household', 'and', 'the', 'effect', 'which', 'this', 'advertisement', 'had', 'upon', 'your', 'fortunes', 'you', 'will', 'first', 'make', 'a', 'note', 'doctor', 'of', 'the', 'paper', 'and', 'the', 'date', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'morning', 'chronicle', 'of', 'april', '27', '1890', 'just', 'two', 'months', 'ago', 'very', 'good', 'now', 'mr', 'wilson', 'well', 'it', 'is', 'just', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'telling', 'you', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'said', 'jabez', 'wilson', 'mopping', 'his', 'forehead', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'small', 'pawnbrokers', 'business', 'at', 'coburg', 'square', 'near', 'the', 'city', 'its', 'not', 'a', 'very', 'large', 'affair', 'and', 'of', 'late', 'years', 'it', 'has', 'not', 'done', 'more', 'than', 'just', 'give', 'me', 'a', 'living', 'i', 'used', 'to', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'keep', 'two', 'assistants', 'but', 'now', 'i', 'only', 'keep', 'one', 'and', 'i', 'would', 'have', 'a', 'job', 'to', 'pay', 'him', 'but', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'willing', 'to', 'come', 'for', 'half', 'wages', 'so', 'as', 'to', 'learn', 'the', 'business', 'what', 'is', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'this', 'obliging', 'youth', 'asked', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'his', 'name', 'is', 'vincent', 'spaulding', 'and', 'hes', 'not', 'such', 'a', 'youth', 'either', 'its', 'hard', 'to', 'say', 'his', 'age', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'wish', 'a', 'smarter', 'assistant', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'i', 'know', 'very', 'well', 'that', 'he', 'could', 'better', 'himself', 'and', 'earn', 'twice', 'what', 'i', 'am', 'able', 'to', 'give', 'him', 'but', 'after', 'all', 'if', 'he', 'is', 'satisfied', 'why', 'should', 'i', 'put', 'ideas', 'in', 'his', 'head', 'why', 'indeed', 'you', 'seem', 'most', 'fortunate', 'in', 'having', 'an', 'employé', 'who', 'comes', 'under', 'the', 'full', 'market', 'price', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'a', 'common', 'experience', 'among', 'employers', 'in', 'this', 'age', 'i', 'dont', 'know', 'that', 'your', 'assistant', 'is', 'not', 'as', 'remarkable', 'as', 'your', 'advertisement', 'oh', 'he', 'has', 'his', 'faults', 'too', 'said', 'mr', 'wilson', 'never', 'was', 'such', 'a', 'fellow', 'for', 'photography', 'snapping', 'away', 'with', 'a', 'camera', 'when', 'he', 'ought', 'to', 'be', 'improving', 'his', 'mind', 'and', 'then', 'diving', 'down', 'into', 'the', 'cellar', 'like', 'a', 'rabbit', 'into', 'its', 'hole', 'to', 'develop', 'his', 'pictures', 'that', 'is', 'his', 'main', 'fault', 'but', 'on', 'the', 'whole', 'hes', 'a', 'good', 'worker', 'theres', 'no', 'vice', 'in', 'him', 'he', 'is', 'still', 'with', 'you', 'i', 'presume', 'yes', 'sir', 'he', 'and', 'a', 'girl', 'of', 'fourteen', 'who', 'does', 'a', 'bit', 'of', 'simple', 'cooking', 'and', 'keeps', 'the', 'place', 'cleanthats', 'all', 'i', 'have', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'for', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'widower', 'and', 'never', 'had', 'any', 'family', 'we', 'live', 'very', 'quietly', 'sir', 'the', 'three', 'of', 'us', 'and', 'we', 'keep', 'a', 'roof', 'over', 'our', 'heads', 'and', 'pay', 'our', 'debts', 'if', 'we', 'do', 'nothing', 'more', 'the', 'first', 'thing', 'that', 'put', 'us', 'out', 'was', 'that', 'advertisement', 'spaulding', 'he', 'came', 'down', 'into', 'the', 'office', 'just', 'this', 'day', 'eight', 'weeks', 'with', 'this', 'very', 'paper', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'and', 'he', 'says', 'i', 'wish', 'to', 'the', 'lord', 'mr', 'wilson', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'a', 'redheaded', 'man', 'why', 'that', 'i', 'asks', 'why', 'says', 'he', 'heres', 'another', 'vacancy', 'on', 'the', 'league', 'of', 'the', 'redheaded', 'men', 'its', 'worth', 'quite', 'a', 'little', 'fortune', 'to', 'any', 'man', 'who', 'gets', 'it', 'and', 'i', 'understand', 'that', 'there', 'are', 'more', 'vacancies', 'than', 'there', 'are', 'men', 'so', 'that', 'the', 'trustees', 'are', 'at', 'their', 'wits', 'end', 'what', 'to', 'do', 'with', 'the', 'money', 'if', 'my', 'hair', 'would', 'only', 'change', 'colour', 'heres', 'a', 'nice', 'little', 'crib', 'all', 'ready', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'step', 'into', 'why', 'what', 'is', 'it', 'then', 'i', 'asked', 'you', 'see', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'very', 'stayathome', 'man', 'and', 'as', 'my', 'business', 'came', 'to', 'me', 'instead', 'of', 'my', 'having', 'to', 'go', 'to', 'it', 'i', 'was', 'often', 'weeks', 'on', 'end', 'without', 'putting', 'my', 'foot', 'over', 'the', 'doormat', 'in', 'that', 'way', 'i', 'didnt', 'know', 'much', 'of', 'what', 'was', 'going', 'on', 'outside', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'always', 'glad', 'of', 'a', 'bit', 'of', 'news', 'have', 'you', 'never', 'heard', 'of', 'the', 'league', 'of', 'the', 'redheaded', 'men', 'he', 'asked', 'with', 'his', 'eyes', 'open', 'never', 'why', 'i', 'wonder', 'at', 'that', 'for', 'you', 'are', 'eligible', 'yourself', 'for', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'vacancies', 'and', 'what', 'are', 'they', 'worth', 'i', 'asked', 'oh', 'merely', 'a', 'couple', 'of', 'hundred', 'a', 'year', 'but', 'the', 'work', 'is', 'slight', 'and', 'it', 'need', 'not', 'interfere', 'very', 'much', 'with', 'ones', 'other', 'occupations', 'well', 'you', 'can', 'easily', 'think', 'that', 'that', 'made', 'me', 'prick', 'up', 'my', 'ears', 'for', 'the', 'business', 'has', 'not', 'been', 'over', 'good', 'for', 'some', 'years', 'and', 'an', 'extra', 'couple', 'of', 'hundred', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'very', 'handy', 'tell', 'me', 'all', 'about', 'it', 'said', 'i', 'well', 'said', 'he', 'showing', 'me', 'the', 'advertisement', 'you', 'can', 'see', 'for', 'yourself', 'that', 'the', 'league', 'has', 'a', 'vacancy', 'and', 'there', 'is', 'the', 'address', 'where', 'you', 'should', 'apply', 'for', 'particulars', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'i', 'can', 'make', 'out', 'the', 'league', 'was', 'founded', 'by', 'an', 'american', 'millionaire', 'ezekiah', 'hopkins', 'who', 'was', 'very', 'peculiar', 'in', 'his', 'ways', 'he', 'was', 'himself', 'redheaded', 'and', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'great', 'sympathy', 'for', 'all', 'redheaded', 'men', 'so', 'when', 'he', 'died', 'it', 'was', 'found', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'left', 'his', 'enormous', 'fortune', 'in', 'the', 'hands', 'of', 'trustees', 'with', 'instructions', 'to', 'apply', 'the', 'interest', 'to', 'the', 'providing', 'of', 'easy', 'berths', 'to', 'men', 'whose', 'hair', 'is', 'of', 'that', 'colour', 'from', 'all', 'i', 'hear', 'it', 'is', 'splendid', 'pay', 'and', 'very', 'little', 'to', 'do', 'but', 'said', 'i', 'there', 'would', 'be', 'millions', 'of', 'redheaded', 'men', 'who', 'would', 'apply', 'not', 'so', 'many', 'as', 'you', 'might', 'think', 'he', 'answered', 'you', 'see', 'it', 'is', 'really', 'confined', 'to', 'londoners', 'and', 'to', 'grown', 'men', 'this', 'american', 'had', 'started', 'from', 'london', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'young', 'and', 'he', 'wanted', 'to', 'do', 'the', 'old', 'town', 'a', 'good', 'turn', 'then', 'again', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'it', 'is', 'no', 'use', 'your', 'applying', 'if', 'your', 'hair', 'is', 'light', 'red', 'or', 'dark', 'red', 'or', 'anything', 'but', 'real', 'bright', 'blazing', 'fiery', 'red', 'now', 'if', 'you', 'cared', 'to', 'apply', 'mr', 'wilson', 'you', 'would', 'just', 'walk', 'in', 'but', 'perhaps', 'it', 'would', 'hardly', 'be', 'worth', 'your', 'while', 'to', 'put', 'yourself', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'way', 'for', 'the', 'sake', 'of', 'a', 'few', 'hundred', 'pounds', 'now', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'fact', 'gentlemen', 'as', 'you', 'may', 'see', 'for', 'yourselves', 'that', 'my', 'hair', 'is', 'of', 'a', 'very', 'full', 'and', 'rich', 'tint', 'so', 'that', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'if', 'there', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'any', 'competition', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'i', 'stood', 'as', 'good', 'a', 'chance', 'as', 'any', 'man', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'ever', 'met', 'vincent', 'spaulding', 'seemed', 'to', 'know', 'so', 'much', 'about', 'it', 'that', 'i', 'thought', 'he', 'might', 'prove', 'useful', 'so', 'i', 'just', 'ordered', 'him', 'to', 'put', 'up', 'the', 'shutters', 'for', 'the', 'day', 'and', 'to', 'come', 'right', 'away', 'with', 'me', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'willing', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'holiday', 'so', 'we', 'shut', 'the', 'business', 'up', 'and', 'started', 'off', 'for', 'the', 'address', 'that', 'was', 'given', 'us', 'in', 'the', 'advertisement', 'i', 'never', 'hope', 'to', 'see', 'such', 'a', 'sight', 'as', 'that', 'again', 'mr', 'holmes', 'from', 'north', 'south', 'east', 'and', 'west', 'every', 'man', 'who', 'had', 'a', 'shade', 'of', 'red', 'in', 'his', 'hair', 'had', 'tramped', 'into', 'the', 'city', 'to', 'answer', 'the', 'advertisement', 'fleet', 'street', 'was', 'choked', 'with', 'redheaded', 'folk', 'and', 'popes', 'court', 'looked', 'like', 'a', 'costers', 'orange', 'barrow', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'have', 'thought', 'there', 'were', 'so', 'many', 'in', 'the', 'whole', 'country', 'as', 'were', 'brought', 'together', 'by', 'that', 'single', 'advertisement', 'every', 'shade', 'of', 'colour', 'they', 'werestraw', 'lemon', 'orange', 'brick', 'irishsetter', 'liver', 'clay', 'but', 'as', 'spaulding', 'said', 'there', 'were', 'not', 'many', 'who', 'had', 'the', 'real', 'vivid', 'flamecoloured', 'tint', 'when', 'i', 'saw', 'how', 'many', 'were', 'waiting', 'i', 'would', 'have', 'given', 'it', 'up', 'in', 'despair', 'but', 'spaulding', 'would', 'not', 'hear', 'of', 'it', 'how', 'he', 'did', 'it', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'imagine', 'but', 'he', 'pushed', 'and', 'pulled', 'and', 'butted', 'until', 'he', 'got', 'me', 'through', 'the', 'crowd', 'and', 'right', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'steps', 'which', 'led', 'to', 'the', 'office', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'double', 'stream', 'upon', 'the', 'stair', 'some', 'going', 'up', 'in', 'hope', 'and', 'some', 'coming', 'back', 'dejected', 'but', 'we', 'wedged', 'in', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'we', 'could', 'and', 'soon', 'found', 'ourselves', 'in', 'the', 'office', 'your', 'experience', 'has', 'been', 'a', 'most', 'entertaining', 'one', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'as', 'his', 'client', 'paused', 'and', 'refreshed', 'his', 'memory', 'with', 'a', 'huge', 'pinch', 'of', 'snuff', 'pray', 'continue', 'your', 'very', 'interesting', 'statement', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'in', 'the', 'office', 'but', 'a', 'couple', 'of', 'wooden', 'chairs', 'and', 'a', 'deal', 'table', 'behind', 'which', 'sat', 'a', 'small', 'man', 'with', 'a', 'head', 'that', 'was', 'even', 'redder', 'than', 'mine', 'he', 'said', 'a', 'few', 'words', 'to', 'each', 'candidate', 'as', 'he', 'came', 'up', 'and', 'then', 'he', 'always', 'managed', 'to', 'find', 'some', 'fault', 'in', 'them', 'which', 'would', 'disqualify', 'them', 'getting', 'a', 'vacancy', 'did', 'not', 'seem', 'to', 'be', 'such', 'a', 'very', 'easy', 'matter', 'after', 'all', 'however', 'when', 'our', 'turn', 'came', 'the', 'little', 'man', 'was', 'much', 'more', 'favourable', 'to', 'me', 'than', 'to', 'any', 'of', 'the', 'others', 'and', 'he', 'closed', 'the', 'door', 'as', 'we', 'entered', 'so', 'that', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'a', 'private', 'word', 'with', 'us', 'this', 'is', 'mr', 'jabez', 'wilson', 'said', 'my', 'assistant', 'and', 'he', 'is', 'willing', 'to', 'fill', 'a', 'vacancy', 'in', 'the', 'league', 'and', 'he', 'is', 'admirably', 'suited', 'for', 'it', 'the', 'other', 'answered', 'he', 'has', 'every', 'requirement', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'recall', 'when', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'anything', 'so', 'fine', 'he', 'took', 'a', 'step', 'backward', 'cocked', 'his', 'head', 'on', 'one', 'side', 'and', 'gazed', 'at', 'my', 'hair', 'until', 'i', 'felt', 'quite', 'bashful', 'then', 'suddenly', 'he', 'plunged', 'forward', 'wrung', 'my', 'hand', 'and', 'congratulated', 'me', 'warmly', 'on', 'my', 'success', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'injustice', 'to', 'hesitate', 'said', 'he', 'you', 'will', 'however', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'excuse', 'me', 'for', 'taking', 'an', 'obvious', 'precaution', 'with', 'that', 'he', 'seized', 'my', 'hair', 'in', 'both', 'his', 'hands', 'and', 'tugged', 'until', 'i', 'yelled', 'with', 'the', 'pain', 'there', 'is', 'water', 'in', 'your', 'eyes', 'said', 'he', 'as', 'he', 'released', 'me', 'i', 'perceive', 'that', 'all', 'is', 'as', 'it', 'should', 'be', 'but', 'we', 'have', 'to', 'be', 'careful', 'for', 'we', 'have', 'twice', 'been', 'deceived', 'by', 'wigs', 'and', 'once', 'by', 'paint', 'i', 'could', 'tell', 'you', 'tales', 'of', 'cobblers', 'wax', 'which', 'would', 'disgust', 'you', 'with', 'human', 'nature', 'he', 'stepped', 'over', 'to', 'the', 'window', 'and', 'shouted', 'through', 'it', 'at', 'the', 'top', 'of', 'his', 'voice', 'that', 'the', 'vacancy', 'was', 'filled', 'a', 'groan', 'of', 'disappointment', 'came', 'up', 'from', 'below', 'and', 'the', 'folk', 'all', 'trooped', 'away', 'in', 'different', 'directions', 'until', 'there', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'redhead', 'to', 'be', 'seen', 'except', 'my', 'own', 'and', 'that', 'of', 'the', 'manager', 'my', 'name', 'said', 'he', 'is', 'mr', 'duncan', 'ross', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'myself', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'pensioners', 'upon', 'the', 'fund', 'left', 'by', 'our', 'noble', 'benefactor', 'are', 'you', 'a', 'married', 'man', 'mr', 'wilson', 'have', 'you', 'a', 'family', 'i', 'answered', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'his', 'face', 'fell', 'immediately', 'dear', 'me', 'he', 'said', 'gravely', 'that', 'is', 'very', 'serious', 'indeed', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'to', 'hear', 'you', 'say', 'that', 'the', 'fund', 'was', 'of', 'course', 'for', 'the', 'propagation', 'and', 'spread', 'of', 'the', 'redheads', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'for', 'their', 'maintenance', 'it', 'is', 'exceedingly', 'unfortunate', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'be', 'a', 'bachelor', 'my', 'face', 'lengthened', 'at', 'this', 'mr', 'holmes', 'for', 'i', 'thought', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'have', 'the', 'vacancy', 'after', 'all', 'but', 'after', 'thinking', 'it', 'over', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'he', 'said', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'all', 'right', 'in', 'the', 'case', 'of', 'another', 'said', 'he', 'the', 'objection', 'might', 'be', 'fatal', 'but', 'we', 'must', 'stretch', 'a', 'point', 'in', 'favour', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'with', 'such', 'a', 'head', 'of', 'hair', 'as', 'yours', 'when', 'shall', 'you', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'enter', 'upon', 'your', 'new', 'duties', 'well', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'awkward', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'business', 'already', 'said', 'i', 'oh', 'never', 'mind', 'about', 'that', 'mr', 'wilson', 'said', 'vincent', 'spaulding', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'look', 'after', 'that', 'for', 'you', 'what', 'would', 'be', 'the', 'hours', 'i', 'asked', 'ten', 'to', 'two', 'now', 'a', 'pawnbrokers', 'business', 'is', 'mostly', 'done', 'of', 'an', 'evening', 'mr', 'holmes', 'especially', 'thursday', 'and', 'friday', 'evening', 'which', 'is', 'just', 'before', 'payday', 'so', 'it', 'would', 'suit', 'me', 'very', 'well', 'to', 'earn', 'a', 'little', 'in', 'the', 'mornings', 'besides', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'my', 'assistant', 'was', 'a', 'good', 'man', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'see', 'to', 'anything', 'that', 'turned', 'up', 'that', 'would', 'suit', 'me', 'very', 'well', 'said', 'i', 'and', 'the', 'pay', 'is', '4', 'a', 'week', 'and', 'the', 'work', 'is', 'purely', 'nominal', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'call', 'purely', 'nominal', 'well', 'you', 'have', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'office', 'or', 'at', 'least', 'in', 'the', 'building', 'the', 'whole', 'time', 'if', 'you', 'leave', 'you', 'forfeit', 'your', 'whole', 'position', 'forever', 'the', 'will', 'is', 'very', 'clear', 'upon', 'that', 'point', 'you', 'dont', 'comply', 'with', 'the', 'conditions', 'if', 'you', 'budge', 'from', 'the', 'office', 'during', 'that', 'time', 'its', 'only', 'four', 'hours', 'a', 'day', 'and', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'think', 'of', 'leaving', 'said', 'i', 'no', 'excuse', 'will', 'avail', 'said', 'mr', 'duncan', 'ross', 'neither', 'sickness', 'nor', 'business', 'nor', 'anything', 'else', 'there', 'you', 'must', 'stay', 'or', 'you', 'lose', 'your', 'billet', 'and', 'the', 'work', 'is', 'to', 'copy', 'out', 'the', 'encyclopædia', 'britannica', 'there', 'is', 'the', 'first', 'volume', 'of', 'it', 'in', 'that', 'press', 'you', 'must', 'find', 'your', 'own', 'ink', 'pens', 'and', 'blottingpaper', 'but', 'we', 'provide', 'this', 'table', 'and', 'chair', 'will', 'you', 'be', 'ready', 'tomorrow', 'certainly', 'i', 'answered', 'then', 'goodbye', 'mr', 'jabez', 'wilson', 'and', 'let', 'me', 'congratulate', 'you', 'once', 'more', 'on', 'the', 'important', 'position', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'fortunate', 'enough', 'to', 'gain', 'he', 'bowed', 'me', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'i', 'went', 'home', 'with', 'my', 'assistant', 'hardly', 'knowing', 'what', 'to', 'say', 'or', 'do', 'i', 'was', 'so', 'pleased', 'at', 'my', 'own', 'good', 'fortune', 'well', 'i', 'thought', 'over', 'the', 'matter', 'all', 'day', 'and', 'by', 'evening', 'i', 'was', 'in', 'low', 'spirits', 'again', 'for', 'i', 'had', 'quite', 'persuaded', 'myself', 'that', 'the', 'whole', 'affair', 'must', 'be', 'some', 'great', 'hoax', 'or', 'fraud', 'though', 'what', 'its', 'object', 'might', 'be', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'imagine', 'it', 'seemed', 'altogether', 'past', 'belief', 'that', 'anyone', 'could', 'make', 'such', 'a', 'will', 'or', 'that', 'they', 'would', 'pay', 'such', 'a', 'sum', 'for', 'doing', 'anything', 'so', 'simple', 'as', 'copying', 'out', 'the', 'encyclopædia', 'britannica', 'vincent', 'spaulding', 'did', 'what', 'he', 'could', 'to', 'cheer', 'me', 'up', 'but', 'by', 'bedtime', 'i', 'had', 'reasoned', 'myself', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'whole', 'thing', 'however', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'i', 'determined', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'look', 'at', 'it', 'anyhow', 'so', 'i', 'bought', 'a', 'penny', 'bottle', 'of', 'ink', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'quillpen', 'and', 'seven', 'sheets', 'of', 'foolscap', 'paper', 'i', 'started', 'off', 'for', 'popes', 'court', 'well', 'to', 'my', 'surprise', 'and', 'delight', 'everything', 'was', 'as', 'right', 'as', 'possible', 'the', 'table', 'was', 'set', 'out', 'ready', 'for', 'me', 'and', 'mr', 'duncan', 'ross', 'was', 'there', 'to', 'see', 'that', 'i', 'got', 'fairly', 'to', 'work', 'he', 'started', 'me', 'off', 'upon', 'the', 'letter', 'a', 'and', 'then', 'he', 'left', 'me', 'but', 'he', 'would', 'drop', 'in', 'from', 'time', 'to', 'time', 'to', 'see', 'that', 'all', 'was', 'right', 'with', 'me', 'at', 'two', 'oclock', 'he', 'bade', 'me', 'goodday', 'complimented', 'me', 'upon', 'the', 'amount', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'written', 'and', 'locked', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'the', 'office', 'after', 'me', 'this', 'went', 'on', 'day', 'after', 'day', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'on', 'saturday', 'the', 'manager', 'came', 'in', 'and', 'planked', 'down', 'four', 'golden', 'sovereigns', 'for', 'my', 'weeks', 'work', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'same', 'next', 'week', 'and', 'the', 'same', 'the', 'week', 'after', 'every', 'morning', 'i', 'was', 'there', 'at', 'ten', 'and', 'every', 'afternoon', 'i', 'left', 'at', 'two', 'by', 'degrees', 'mr', 'duncan', 'ross', 'took', 'to', 'coming', 'in', 'only', 'once', 'of', 'a', 'morning', 'and', 'then', 'after', 'a', 'time', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'come', 'in', 'at', 'all', 'still', 'of', 'course', 'i', 'never', 'dared', 'to', 'leave', 'the', 'room', 'for', 'an', 'instant', 'for', 'i', 'was', 'not', 'sure', 'when', 'he', 'might', 'come', 'and', 'the', 'billet', 'was', 'such', 'a', 'good', 'one', 'and', 'suited', 'me', 'so', 'well', 'that', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'risk', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'it', 'eight', 'weeks', 'passed', 'away', 'like', 'this', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'written', 'about', 'abbots', 'and', 'archery', 'and', 'armour', 'and', 'architecture', 'and', 'attica', 'and', 'hoped', 'with', 'diligence', 'that', 'i', 'might', 'get', 'on', 'to', 'the', 'bs', 'before', 'very', 'long', 'it', 'cost', 'me', 'something', 'in', 'foolscap', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'pretty', 'nearly', 'filled', 'a', 'shelf', 'with', 'my', 'writings', 'and', 'then', 'suddenly', 'the', 'whole', 'business', 'came', 'to', 'an', 'end', 'to', 'an', 'end', 'yes', 'sir', 'and', 'no', 'later', 'than', 'this', 'morning', 'i', 'went', 'to', 'my', 'work', 'as', 'usual', 'at', 'ten', 'oclock', 'but', 'the', 'door', 'was', 'shut', 'and', 'locked', 'with', 'a', 'little', 'square', 'of', 'cardboard', 'hammered', 'on', 'to', 'the', 'middle', 'of', 'the', 'panel', 'with', 'a', 'tack', 'here', 'it', 'is', 'and', 'you', 'can', 'read', 'for', 'yourself', 'he', 'held', 'up', 'a', 'piece', 'of', 'white', 'cardboard', 'about', 'the', 'size', 'of', 'a', 'sheet', 'of', 'notepaper', 'it', 'read', 'in', 'this', 'fashion', 'the', 'redheaded', 'league', 'is', 'dissolved', 'october', '9', '1890', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'and', 'i', 'surveyed', 'this', 'curt', 'announcement', 'and', 'the', 'rueful', 'face', 'behind', 'it', 'until', 'the', 'comical', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'affair', 'so', 'completely', 'overtopped', 'every', 'other', 'consideration', 'that', 'we', 'both', 'burst', 'out', 'into', 'a', 'roar', 'of', 'laughter', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'see', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'anything', 'very', 'funny', 'cried', 'our', 'client', 'flushing', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'roots', 'of', 'his', 'flaming', 'head', 'if', 'you', 'can', 'do', 'nothing', 'better', 'than', 'laugh', 'at', 'me', 'i', 'can', 'go', 'elsewhere', 'no', 'no', 'cried', 'holmes', 'shoving', 'him', 'back', 'into', 'the', 'chair', 'from', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'half', 'risen', 'i', 'really', 'wouldnt', 'miss', 'your', 'case', 'for', 'the', 'world', 'it', 'is', 'most', 'refreshingly', 'unusual', 'but', 'there', 'is', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'excuse', 'my', 'saying', 'so', 'something', 'just', 'a', 'little', 'funny', 'about', 'it', 'pray', 'what', 'steps', 'did', 'you', 'take', 'when', 'you', 'found', 'the', 'card', 'upon', 'the', 'door', 'i', 'was', 'staggered', 'sir', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'to', 'do', 'then', 'i', 'called', 'at', 'the', 'offices', 'round', 'but', 'none', 'of', 'them', 'seemed', 'to', 'know', 'anything', 'about', 'it', 'finally', 'i', 'went', 'to', 'the', 'landlord', 'who', 'is', 'an', 'accountant', 'living', 'on', 'the', 'ground', 'floor', 'and', 'i', 'asked', 'him', 'if', 'he', 'could', 'tell', 'me', 'what', 'had', 'become', 'of', 'the', 'redheaded', 'league', 'he', 'said', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'never', 'heard', 'of', 'any', 'such', 'body', 'then', 'i', 'asked', 'him', 'who', 'mr', 'duncan', 'ross', 'was', 'he', 'answered', 'that', 'the', 'name', 'was', 'new', 'to', 'him', 'well', 'said', 'i', 'the', 'gentleman', 'at', 'no', '4', 'what', 'the', 'redheaded', 'man', 'yes', 'oh', 'said', 'he', 'his', 'name', 'was', 'william', 'morris', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'solicitor', 'and', 'was', 'using', 'my', 'room', 'as', 'a', 'temporary', 'convenience', 'until', 'his', 'new', 'premises', 'were', 'ready', 'he', 'moved', 'out', 'yesterday', 'where', 'could', 'i', 'find', 'him', 'oh', 'at', 'his', 'new', 'offices', 'he', 'did', 'tell', 'me', 'the', 'address', 'yes', '17', 'king', 'edward', 'street', 'near', 'st', 'pauls', 'i', 'started', 'off', 'mr', 'holmes', 'but', 'when', 'i', 'got', 'to', 'that', 'address', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'manufactory', 'of', 'artificial', 'kneecaps', 'and', 'no', 'one', 'in', 'it', 'had', 'ever', 'heard', 'of', 'either', 'mr', 'william', 'morris', 'or', 'mr', 'duncan', 'ross', 'and', 'what', 'did', 'you', 'do', 'then', 'asked', 'holmes', 'i', 'went', 'home', 'to', 'saxecoburg', 'square', 'and', 'i', 'took', 'the', 'advice', 'of', 'my', 'assistant', 'but', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'me', 'in', 'any', 'way', 'he', 'could', 'only', 'say', 'that', 'if', 'i', 'waited', 'i', 'should', 'hear', 'by', 'post', 'but', 'that', 'was', 'not', 'quite', 'good', 'enough', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'wish', 'to', 'lose', 'such', 'a', 'place', 'without', 'a', 'struggle', 'so', 'as', 'i', 'had', 'heard', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'good', 'enough', 'to', 'give', 'advice', 'to', 'poor', 'folk', 'who', 'were', 'in', 'need', 'of', 'it', 'i', 'came', 'right', 'away', 'to', 'you', 'and', 'you', 'did', 'very', 'wisely', 'said', 'holmes', 'your', 'case', 'is', 'an', 'exceedingly', 'remarkable', 'one', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'happy', 'to', 'look', 'into', 'it', 'from', 'what', 'you', 'have', 'told', 'me', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'possible', 'that', 'graver', 'issues', 'hang', 'from', 'it', 'than', 'might', 'at', 'first', 'sight', 'appear', 'grave', 'enough', 'said', 'mr', 'jabez', 'wilson', 'why', 'i', 'have', 'lost', 'four', 'pound', 'a', 'week', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'you', 'are', 'personally', 'concerned', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'see', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'any', 'grievance', 'against', 'this', 'extraordinary', 'league', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'you', 'are', 'as', 'i', 'understand', 'richer', 'by', 'some', '30', 'to', 'say', 'nothing', 'of', 'the', 'minute', 'knowledge', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'gained', 'on', 'every', 'subject', 'which', 'comes', 'under', 'the', 'letter', 'a', 'you', 'have', 'lost', 'nothing', 'by', 'them', 'no', 'sir', 'but', 'i', 'want', 'to', 'find', 'out', 'about', 'them', 'and', 'who', 'they', 'are', 'and', 'what', 'their', 'object', 'was', 'in', 'playing', 'this', 'prankif', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'prankupon', 'me', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'pretty', 'expensive', 'joke', 'for', 'them', 'for', 'it', 'cost', 'them', 'two', 'and', 'thirty', 'pounds', 'we', 'shall', 'endeavour', 'to', 'clear', 'up', 'these', 'points', 'for', 'you', 'and', 'first', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'questions', 'mr', 'wilson', 'this', 'assistant', 'of', 'yours', 'who', 'first', 'called', 'your', 'attention', 'to', 'the', 'advertisementhow', 'long', 'had', 'he', 'been', 'with', 'you', 'about', 'a', 'month', 'then', 'how', 'did', 'he', 'come', 'in', 'answer', 'to', 'an', 'advertisement', 'was', 'he', 'the', 'only', 'applicant', 'no', 'i', 'had', 'a', 'dozen', 'why', 'did', 'you', 'pick', 'him', 'because', 'he', 'was', 'handy', 'and', 'would', 'come', 'cheap', 'at', 'half', 'wages', 'in', 'fact', 'yes', 'what', 'is', 'he', 'like', 'this', 'vincent', 'spaulding', 'small', 'stoutbuilt', 'very', 'quick', 'in', 'his', 'ways', 'no', 'hair', 'on', 'his', 'face', 'though', 'hes', 'not', 'short', 'of', 'thirty', 'has', 'a', 'white', 'splash', 'of', 'acid', 'upon', 'his', 'forehead', 'holmes', 'sat', 'up', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'in', 'considerable', 'excitement', 'i', 'thought', 'as', 'much', 'said', 'he', 'have', 'you', 'ever', 'observed', 'that', 'his', 'ears', 'are', 'pierced', 'for', 'earrings', 'yes', 'sir', 'he', 'told', 'me', 'that', 'a', 'gipsy', 'had', 'done', 'it', 'for', 'him', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'lad', 'hum', 'said', 'holmes', 'sinking', 'back', 'in', 'deep', 'thought', 'he', 'is', 'still', 'with', 'you', 'oh', 'yes', 'sir', 'i', 'have', 'only', 'just', 'left', 'him', 'and', 'has', 'your', 'business', 'been', 'attended', 'to', 'in', 'your', 'absence', 'nothing', 'to', 'complain', 'of', 'sir', 'theres', 'never', 'very', 'much', 'to', 'do', 'of', 'a', 'morning', 'that', 'will', 'do', 'mr', 'wilson', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'happy', 'to', 'give', 'you', 'an', 'opinion', 'upon', 'the', 'subject', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'a', 'day', 'or', 'two', 'today', 'is', 'saturday', 'and', 'i', 'hope', 'that', 'by', 'monday', 'we', 'may', 'come', 'to', 'a', 'conclusion', 'well', 'watson', 'said', 'holmes', 'when', 'our', 'visitor', 'had', 'left', 'us', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'make', 'of', 'it', 'all', 'i', 'make', 'nothing', 'of', 'it', 'i', 'answered', 'frankly', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'most', 'mysterious', 'business', 'as', 'a', 'rule', 'said', 'holmes', 'the', 'more', 'bizarre', 'a', 'thing', 'is', 'the', 'less', 'mysterious', 'it', 'proves', 'to', 'be', 'it', 'is', 'your', 'commonplace', 'featureless', 'crimes', 'which', 'are', 'really', 'puzzling', 'just', 'as', 'a', 'commonplace', 'face', 'is', 'the', 'most', 'difficult', 'to', 'identify', 'but', 'i', 'must', 'be', 'prompt', 'over', 'this', 'matter', 'what', 'are', 'you', 'going', 'to', 'do', 'then', 'i', 'asked', 'to', 'smoke', 'he', 'answered', 'it', 'is', 'quite', 'a', 'three', 'pipe', 'problem', 'and', 'i', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'wont', 'speak', 'to', 'me', 'for', 'fifty', 'minutes', 'he', 'curled', 'himself', 'up', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'with', 'his', 'thin', 'knees', 'drawn', 'up', 'to', 'his', 'hawklike', 'nose', 'and', 'there', 'he', 'sat', 'with', 'his', 'eyes', 'closed', 'and', 'his', 'black', 'clay', 'pipe', 'thrusting', 'out', 'like', 'the', 'bill', 'of', 'some', 'strange', 'bird', 'i', 'had', 'come', 'to', 'the', 'conclusion', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'dropped', 'asleep', 'and', 'indeed', 'was', 'nodding', 'myself', 'when', 'he', 'suddenly', 'sprang', 'out', 'of', 'his', 'chair', 'with', 'the', 'gesture', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'has', 'made', 'up', 'his', 'mind', 'and', 'put', 'his', 'pipe', 'down', 'upon', 'the', 'mantelpiece', 'sarasate', 'plays', 'at', 'the', 'st', 'jamess', 'hall', 'this', 'afternoon', 'he', 'remarked', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'watson', 'could', 'your', 'patients', 'spare', 'you', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'hours', 'i', 'have', 'nothing', 'to', 'do', 'today', 'my', 'practice', 'is', 'never', 'very', 'absorbing', 'then', 'put', 'on', 'your', 'hat', 'and', 'come', 'i', 'am', 'going', 'through', 'the', 'city', 'first', 'and', 'we', 'can', 'have', 'some', 'lunch', 'on', 'the', 'way', 'i', 'observe', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'of', 'german', 'music', 'on', 'the', 'programme', 'which', 'is', 'rather', 'more', 'to', 'my', 'taste', 'than', 'italian', 'or', 'french', 'it', 'is', 'introspective', 'and', 'i', 'want', 'to', 'introspect', 'come', 'along', 'we', 'travelled', 'by', 'the', 'underground', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'aldersgate', 'and', 'a', 'short', 'walk', 'took', 'us', 'to', 'saxecoburg', 'square', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'the', 'singular', 'story', 'which', 'we', 'had', 'listened', 'to', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'poky', 'little', 'shabbygenteel', 'place', 'where', 'four', 'lines', 'of', 'dingy', 'twostoried', 'brick', 'houses', 'looked', 'out', 'into', 'a', 'small', 'railedin', 'enclosure', 'where', 'a', 'lawn', 'of', 'weedy', 'grass', 'and', 'a', 'few', 'clumps', 'of', 'faded', 'laurel', 'bushes', 'made', 'a', 'hard', 'fight', 'against', 'a', 'smokeladen', 'and', 'uncongenial', 'atmosphere', 'three', 'gilt', 'balls', 'and', 'a', 'brown', 'board', 'with', 'jabez', 'wilson', 'in', 'white', 'letters', 'upon', 'a', 'corner', 'house', 'announced', 'the', 'place', 'where', 'our', 'redheaded', 'client', 'carried', 'on', 'his', 'business', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'stopped', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'it', 'with', 'his', 'head', 'on', 'one', 'side', 'and', 'looked', 'it', 'all', 'over', 'with', 'his', 'eyes', 'shining', 'brightly', 'between', 'puckered', 'lids', 'then', 'he', 'walked', 'slowly', 'up', 'the', 'street', 'and', 'then', 'down', 'again', 'to', 'the', 'corner', 'still', 'looking', 'keenly', 'at', 'the', 'houses', 'finally', 'he', 'returned', 'to', 'the', 'pawnbrokers', 'and', 'having', 'thumped', 'vigorously', 'upon', 'the', 'pavement', 'with', 'his', 'stick', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'times', 'he', 'went', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'knocked', 'it', 'was', 'instantly', 'opened', 'by', 'a', 'brightlooking', 'cleanshaven', 'young', 'fellow', 'who', 'asked', 'him', 'to', 'step', 'in', 'thank', 'you', 'said', 'holmes', 'i', 'only', 'wished', 'to', 'ask', 'you', 'how', 'you', 'would', 'go', 'from', 'here', 'to', 'the', 'strand', 'third', 'right', 'fourth', 'left', 'answered', 'the', 'assistant', 'promptly', 'closing', 'the', 'door', 'smart', 'fellow', 'that', 'observed', 'holmes', 'as', 'we', 'walked', 'away', 'he', 'is', 'in', 'my', 'judgment', 'the', 'fourth', 'smartest', 'man', 'in', 'london', 'and', 'for', 'daring', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'sure', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'not', 'a', 'claim', 'to', 'be', 'third', 'i', 'have', 'known', 'something', 'of', 'him', 'before', 'evidently', 'said', 'i', 'mr', 'wilsons', 'assistant', 'counts', 'for', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'in', 'this', 'mystery', 'of', 'the', 'redheaded', 'league', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'that', 'you', 'inquired', 'your', 'way', 'merely', 'in', 'order', 'that', 'you', 'might', 'see', 'him', 'not', 'him', 'what', 'then', 'the', 'knees', 'of', 'his', 'trousers', 'and', 'what', 'did', 'you', 'see', 'what', 'i', 'expected', 'to', 'see', 'why', 'did', 'you', 'beat', 'the', 'pavement', 'my', 'dear', 'doctor', 'this', 'is', 'a', 'time', 'for', 'observation', 'not', 'for', 'talk', 'we', 'are', 'spies', 'in', 'an', 'enemys', 'country', 'we', 'know', 'something', 'of', 'saxecoburg', 'square', 'let', 'us', 'now', 'explore', 'the', 'parts', 'which', 'lie', 'behind', 'it', 'the', 'road', 'in', 'which', 'we', 'found', 'ourselves', 'as', 'we', 'turned', 'round', 'the', 'corner', 'from', 'the', 'retired', 'saxecoburg', 'square', 'presented', 'as', 'great', 'a', 'contrast', 'to', 'it', 'as', 'the', 'front', 'of', 'a', 'picture', 'does', 'to', 'the', 'back', 'it', 'was', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'main', 'arteries', 'which', 'conveyed', 'the', 'traffic', 'of', 'the', 'city', 'to', 'the', 'north', 'and', 'west', 'the', 'roadway', 'was', 'blocked', 'with', 'the', 'immense', 'stream', 'of', 'commerce', 'flowing', 'in', 'a', 'double', 'tide', 'inward', 'and', 'outward', 'while', 'the', 'footpaths', 'were', 'black', 'with', 'the', 'hurrying', 'swarm', 'of', 'pedestrians', 'it', 'was', 'difficult', 'to', 'realise', 'as', 'we', 'looked', 'at', 'the', 'line', 'of', 'fine', 'shops', 'and', 'stately', 'business', 'premises', 'that', 'they', 'really', 'abutted', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'upon', 'the', 'faded', 'and', 'stagnant', 'square', 'which', 'we', 'had', 'just', 'quitted', 'let', 'me', 'see', 'said', 'holmes', 'standing', 'at', 'the', 'corner', 'and', 'glancing', 'along', 'the', 'line', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'just', 'to', 'remember', 'the', 'order', 'of', 'the', 'houses', 'here', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'hobby', 'of', 'mine', 'to', 'have', 'an', 'exact', 'knowledge', 'of', 'london', 'there', 'is', 'mortimers', 'the', 'tobacconist', 'the', 'little', 'newspaper', 'shop', 'the', 'coburg', 'branch', 'of', 'the', 'city', 'and', 'suburban', 'bank', 'the', 'vegetarian', 'restaurant', 'and', 'mcfarlanes', 'carriagebuilding', 'depot', 'that', 'carries', 'us', 'right', 'on', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'block', 'and', 'now', 'doctor', 'weve', 'done', 'our', 'work', 'so', 'its', 'time', 'we', 'had', 'some', 'play', 'a', 'sandwich', 'and', 'a', 'cup', 'of', 'coffee', 'and', 'then', 'off', 'to', 'violinland', 'where', 'all', 'is', 'sweetness', 'and', 'delicacy', 'and', 'harmony', 'and', 'there', 'are', 'no', 'redheaded', 'clients', 'to', 'vex', 'us', 'with', 'their', 'conundrums', 'my', 'friend', 'was', 'an', 'enthusiastic', 'musician', 'being', 'himself', 'not', 'only', 'a', 'very', 'capable', 'performer', 'but', 'a', 'composer', 'of', 'no', 'ordinary', 'merit', 'all', 'the', 'afternoon', 'he', 'sat', 'in', 'the', 'stalls', 'wrapped', 'in', 'the', 'most', 'perfect', 'happiness', 'gently', 'waving', 'his', 'long', 'thin', 'fingers', 'in', 'time', 'to', 'the', 'music', 'while', 'his', 'gently', 'smiling', 'face', 'and', 'his', 'languid', 'dreamy', 'eyes', 'were', 'as', 'unlike', 'those', 'of', 'holmes', 'the', 'sleuthhound', 'holmes', 'the', 'relentless', 'keenwitted', 'readyhanded', 'criminal', 'agent', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'possible', 'to', 'conceive', 'in', 'his', 'singular', 'character', 'the', 'dual', 'nature', 'alternately', 'asserted', 'itself', 'and', 'his', 'extreme', 'exactness', 'and', 'astuteness', 'represented', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'often', 'thought', 'the', 'reaction', 'against', 'the', 'poetic', 'and', 'contemplative', 'mood', 'which', 'occasionally', 'predominated', 'in', 'him', 'the', 'swing', 'of', 'his', 'nature', 'took', 'him', 'from', 'extreme', 'languor', 'to', 'devouring', 'energy', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'knew', 'well', 'he', 'was', 'never', 'so', 'truly', 'formidable', 'as', 'when', 'for', 'days', 'on', 'end', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'lounging', 'in', 'his', 'armchair', 'amid', 'his', 'improvisations', 'and', 'his', 'blackletter', 'editions', 'then', 'it', 'was', 'that', 'the', 'lust', 'of', 'the', 'chase', 'would', 'suddenly', 'come', 'upon', 'him', 'and', 'that', 'his', 'brilliant', 'reasoning', 'power', 'would', 'rise', 'to', 'the', 'level', 'of', 'intuition', 'until', 'those', 'who', 'were', 'unacquainted', 'with', 'his', 'methods', 'would', 'look', 'askance', 'at', 'him', 'as', 'on', 'a', 'man', 'whose', 'knowledge', 'was', 'not', 'that', 'of', 'other', 'mortals', 'when', 'i', 'saw', 'him', 'that', 'afternoon', 'so', 'enwrapped', 'in', 'the', 'music', 'at', 'st', 'jamess', 'hall', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'an', 'evil', 'time', 'might', 'be', 'coming', 'upon', 'those', 'whom', 'he', 'had', 'set', 'himself', 'to', 'hunt', 'down', 'you', 'want', 'to', 'go', 'home', 'no', 'doubt', 'doctor', 'he', 'remarked', 'as', 'we', 'emerged', 'yes', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'as', 'well', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'some', 'business', 'to', 'do', 'which', 'will', 'take', 'some', 'hours', 'this', 'business', 'at', 'coburg', 'square', 'is', 'serious', 'why', 'serious', 'a', 'considerable', 'crime', 'is', 'in', 'contemplation', 'i', 'have', 'every', 'reason', 'to', 'believe', 'that', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'in', 'time', 'to', 'stop', 'it', 'but', 'today', 'being', 'saturday', 'rather', 'complicates', 'matters', 'i', 'shall', 'want', 'your', 'help', 'tonight', 'at', 'what', 'time', 'ten', 'will', 'be', 'early', 'enough', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'at', 'baker', 'street', 'at', 'ten', 'very', 'well', 'and', 'i', 'say', 'doctor', 'there', 'may', 'be', 'some', 'little', 'danger', 'so', 'kindly', 'put', 'your', 'army', 'revolver', 'in', 'your', 'pocket', 'he', 'waved', 'his', 'hand', 'turned', 'on', 'his', 'heel', 'and', 'disappeared', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'among', 'the', 'crowd', 'i', 'trust', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'more', 'dense', 'than', 'my', 'neighbours', 'but', 'i', 'was', 'always', 'oppressed', 'with', 'a', 'sense', 'of', 'my', 'own', 'stupidity', 'in', 'my', 'dealings', 'with', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'here', 'i', 'had', 'heard', 'what', 'he', 'had', 'heard', 'i', 'had', 'seen', 'what', 'he', 'had', 'seen', 'and', 'yet', 'from', 'his', 'words', 'it', 'was', 'evident', 'that', 'he', 'saw', 'clearly', 'not', 'only', 'what', 'had', 'happened', 'but', 'what', 'was', 'about', 'to', 'happen', 'while', 'to', 'me', 'the', 'whole', 'business', 'was', 'still', 'confused', 'and', 'grotesque', 'as', 'i', 'drove', 'home', 'to', 'my', 'house', 'in', 'kensington', 'i', 'thought', 'over', 'it', 'all', 'from', 'the', 'extraordinary', 'story', 'of', 'the', 'redheaded', 'copier', 'of', 'the', 'encyclopædia', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'visit', 'to', 'saxecoburg', 'square', 'and', 'the', 'ominous', 'words', 'with', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'parted', 'from', 'me', 'what', 'was', 'this', 'nocturnal', 'expedition', 'and', 'why', 'should', 'i', 'go', 'armed', 'where', 'were', 'we', 'going', 'and', 'what', 'were', 'we', 'to', 'do', 'i', 'had', 'the', 'hint', 'from', 'holmes', 'that', 'this', 'smoothfaced', 'pawnbrokers', 'assistant', 'was', 'a', 'formidable', 'mana', 'man', 'who', 'might', 'play', 'a', 'deep', 'game', 'i', 'tried', 'to', 'puzzle', 'it', 'out', 'but', 'gave', 'it', 'up', 'in', 'despair', 'and', 'set', 'the', 'matter', 'aside', 'until', 'night', 'should', 'bring', 'an', 'explanation', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'quarterpast', 'nine', 'when', 'i', 'started', 'from', 'home', 'and', 'made', 'my', 'way', 'across', 'the', 'park', 'and', 'so', 'through', 'oxford', 'street', 'to', 'baker', 'street', 'two', 'hansoms', 'were', 'standing', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'entered', 'the', 'passage', 'i', 'heard', 'the', 'sound', 'of', 'voices', 'from', 'above', 'on', 'entering', 'his', 'room', 'i', 'found', 'holmes', 'in', 'animated', 'conversation', 'with', 'two', 'men', 'one', 'of', 'whom', 'i', 'recognised', 'as', 'peter', 'jones', 'the', 'official', 'police', 'agent', 'while', 'the', 'other', 'was', 'a', 'long', 'thin', 'sadfaced', 'man', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'shiny', 'hat', 'and', 'oppressively', 'respectable', 'frockcoat', 'ha', 'our', 'party', 'is', 'complete', 'said', 'holmes', 'buttoning', 'up', 'his', 'peajacket', 'and', 'taking', 'his', 'heavy', 'hunting', 'crop', 'from', 'the', 'rack', 'watson', 'i', 'think', 'you', 'know', 'mr', 'jones', 'of', 'scotland', 'yard', 'let', 'me', 'introduce', 'you', 'to', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'who', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'our', 'companion', 'in', 'tonights', 'adventure', 'were', 'hunting', 'in', 'couples', 'again', 'doctor', 'you', 'see', 'said', 'jones', 'in', 'his', 'consequential', 'way', 'our', 'friend', 'here', 'is', 'a', 'wonderful', 'man', 'for', 'starting', 'a', 'chase', 'all', 'he', 'wants', 'is', 'an', 'old', 'dog', 'to', 'help', 'him', 'to', 'do', 'the', 'running', 'down', 'i', 'hope', 'a', 'wild', 'goose', 'may', 'not', 'prove', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'our', 'chase', 'observed', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'gloomily', 'you', 'may', 'place', 'considerable', 'confidence', 'in', 'mr', 'holmes', 'sir', 'said', 'the', 'police', 'agent', 'loftily', 'he', 'has', 'his', 'own', 'little', 'methods', 'which', 'are', 'if', 'he', 'wont', 'mind', 'my', 'saying', 'so', 'just', 'a', 'little', 'too', 'theoretical', 'and', 'fantastic', 'but', 'he', 'has', 'the', 'makings', 'of', 'a', 'detective', 'in', 'him', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'too', 'much', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'once', 'or', 'twice', 'as', 'in', 'that', 'business', 'of', 'the', 'sholto', 'murder', 'and', 'the', 'agra', 'treasure', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'more', 'nearly', 'correct', 'than', 'the', 'official', 'force', 'oh', 'if', 'you', 'say', 'so', 'mr', 'jones', 'it', 'is', 'all', 'right', 'said', 'the', 'stranger', 'with', 'deference', 'still', 'i', 'confess', 'that', 'i', 'miss', 'my', 'rubber', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'first', 'saturday', 'night', 'for', 'sevenandtwenty', 'years', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'had', 'my', 'rubber', 'i', 'think', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'said', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'play', 'for', 'a', 'higher', 'stake', 'tonight', 'than', 'you', 'have', 'ever', 'done', 'yet', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'play', 'will', 'be', 'more', 'exciting', 'for', 'you', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'the', 'stake', 'will', 'be', 'some', '30000', 'and', 'for', 'you', 'jones', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'the', 'man', 'upon', 'whom', 'you', 'wish', 'to', 'lay', 'your', 'hands', 'john', 'clay', 'the', 'murderer', 'thief', 'smasher', 'and', 'forger', 'hes', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'but', 'he', 'is', 'at', 'the', 'head', 'of', 'his', 'profession', 'and', 'i', 'would', 'rather', 'have', 'my', 'bracelets', 'on', 'him', 'than', 'on', 'any', 'criminal', 'in', 'london', 'hes', 'a', 'remarkable', 'man', 'is', 'young', 'john', 'clay', 'his', 'grandfather', 'was', 'a', 'royal', 'duke', 'and', 'he', 'himself', 'has', 'been', 'to', 'eton', 'and', 'oxford', 'his', 'brain', 'is', 'as', 'cunning', 'as', 'his', 'fingers', 'and', 'though', 'we', 'meet', 'signs', 'of', 'him', 'at', 'every', 'turn', 'we', 'never', 'know', 'where', 'to', 'find', 'the', 'man', 'himself', 'hell', 'crack', 'a', 'crib', 'in', 'scotland', 'one', 'week', 'and', 'be', 'raising', 'money', 'to', 'build', 'an', 'orphanage', 'in', 'cornwall', 'the', 'next', 'ive', 'been', 'on', 'his', 'track', 'for', 'years', 'and', 'have', 'never', 'set', 'eyes', 'on', 'him', 'yet', 'i', 'hope', 'that', 'i', 'may', 'have', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'introducing', 'you', 'tonight', 'ive', 'had', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'little', 'turns', 'also', 'with', 'mr', 'john', 'clay', 'and', 'i', 'agree', 'with', 'you', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'at', 'the', 'head', 'of', 'his', 'profession', 'it', 'is', 'past', 'ten', 'however', 'and', 'quite', 'time', 'that', 'we', 'started', 'if', 'you', 'two', 'will', 'take', 'the', 'first', 'hansom', 'watson', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'follow', 'in', 'the', 'second', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'was', 'not', 'very', 'communicative', 'during', 'the', 'long', 'drive', 'and', 'lay', 'back', 'in', 'the', 'cab', 'humming', 'the', 'tunes', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'heard', 'in', 'the', 'afternoon', 'we', 'rattled', 'through', 'an', 'endless', 'labyrinth', 'of', 'gaslit', 'streets', 'until', 'we', 'emerged', 'into', 'farrington', 'street', 'we', 'are', 'close', 'there', 'now', 'my', 'friend', 'remarked', 'this', 'fellow', 'merryweather', 'is', 'a', 'bank', 'director', 'and', 'personally', 'interested', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'i', 'thought', 'it', 'as', 'well', 'to', 'have', 'jones', 'with', 'us', 'also', 'he', 'is', 'not', 'a', 'bad', 'fellow', 'though', 'an', 'absolute', 'imbecile', 'in', 'his', 'profession', 'he', 'has', 'one', 'positive', 'virtue', 'he', 'is', 'as', 'brave', 'as', 'a', 'bulldog', 'and', 'as', 'tenacious', 'as', 'a', 'lobster', 'if', 'he', 'gets', 'his', 'claws', 'upon', 'anyone', 'here', 'we', 'are', 'and', 'they', 'are', 'waiting', 'for', 'us', 'we', 'had', 'reached', 'the', 'same', 'crowded', 'thoroughfare', 'in', 'which', 'we', 'had', 'found', 'ourselves', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'our', 'cabs', 'were', 'dismissed', 'and', 'following', 'the', 'guidance', 'of', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'we', 'passed', 'down', 'a', 'narrow', 'passage', 'and', 'through', 'a', 'side', 'door', 'which', 'he', 'opened', 'for', 'us', 'within', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'small', 'corridor', 'which', 'ended', 'in', 'a', 'very', 'massive', 'iron', 'gate', 'this', 'also', 'was', 'opened', 'and', 'led', 'down', 'a', 'flight', 'of', 'winding', 'stone', 'steps', 'which', 'terminated', 'at', 'another', 'formidable', 'gate', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'stopped', 'to', 'light', 'a', 'lantern', 'and', 'then', 'conducted', 'us', 'down', 'a', 'dark', 'earthsmelling', 'passage', 'and', 'so', 'after', 'opening', 'a', 'third', 'door', 'into', 'a', 'huge', 'vault', 'or', 'cellar', 'which', 'was', 'piled', 'all', 'round', 'with', 'crates', 'and', 'massive', 'boxes', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'very', 'vulnerable', 'from', 'above', 'holmes', 'remarked', 'as', 'he', 'held', 'up', 'the', 'lantern', 'and', 'gazed', 'about', 'him', 'nor', 'from', 'below', 'said', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'striking', 'his', 'stick', 'upon', 'the', 'flags', 'which', 'lined', 'the', 'floor', 'why', 'dear', 'me', 'it', 'sounds', 'quite', 'hollow', 'he', 'remarked', 'looking', 'up', 'in', 'surprise', 'i', 'must', 'really', 'ask', 'you', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'little', 'more', 'quiet', 'said', 'holmes', 'severely', 'you', 'have', 'already', 'imperilled', 'the', 'whole', 'success', 'of', 'our', 'expedition', 'might', 'i', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'would', 'have', 'the', 'goodness', 'to', 'sit', 'down', 'upon', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'boxes', 'and', 'not', 'to', 'interfere', 'the', 'solemn', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'perched', 'himself', 'upon', 'a', 'crate', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'injured', 'expression', 'upon', 'his', 'face', 'while', 'holmes', 'fell', 'upon', 'his', 'knees', 'upon', 'the', 'floor', 'and', 'with', 'the', 'lantern', 'and', 'a', 'magnifying', 'lens', 'began', 'to', 'examine', 'minutely', 'the', 'cracks', 'between', 'the', 'stones', 'a', 'few', 'seconds', 'sufficed', 'to', 'satisfy', 'him', 'for', 'he', 'sprang', 'to', 'his', 'feet', 'again', 'and', 'put', 'his', 'glass', 'in', 'his', 'pocket', 'we', 'have', 'at', 'least', 'an', 'hour', 'before', 'us', 'he', 'remarked', 'for', 'they', 'can', 'hardly', 'take', 'any', 'steps', 'until', 'the', 'good', 'pawnbroker', 'is', 'safely', 'in', 'bed', 'then', 'they', 'will', 'not', 'lose', 'a', 'minute', 'for', 'the', 'sooner', 'they', 'do', 'their', 'work', 'the', 'longer', 'time', 'they', 'will', 'have', 'for', 'their', 'escape', 'we', 'are', 'at', 'present', 'doctoras', 'no', 'doubt', 'you', 'have', 'divinedin', 'the', 'cellar', 'of', 'the', 'city', 'branch', 'of', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'principal', 'london', 'banks', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'is', 'the', 'chairman', 'of', 'directors', 'and', 'he', 'will', 'explain', 'to', 'you', 'that', 'there', 'are', 'reasons', 'why', 'the', 'more', 'daring', 'criminals', 'of', 'london', 'should', 'take', 'a', 'considerable', 'interest', 'in', 'this', 'cellar', 'at', 'present', 'it', 'is', 'our', 'french', 'gold', 'whispered', 'the', 'director', 'we', 'have', 'had', 'several', 'warnings', 'that', 'an', 'attempt', 'might', 'be', 'made', 'upon', 'it', 'your', 'french', 'gold', 'yes', 'we', 'had', 'occasion', 'some', 'months', 'ago', 'to', 'strengthen', 'our', 'resources', 'and', 'borrowed', 'for', 'that', 'purpose', '30000', 'napoleons', 'from', 'the', 'bank', 'of', 'france', 'it', 'has', 'become', 'known', 'that', 'we', 'have', 'never', 'had', 'occasion', 'to', 'unpack', 'the', 'money', 'and', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'still', 'lying', 'in', 'our', 'cellar', 'the', 'crate', 'upon', 'which', 'i', 'sit', 'contains', '2000', 'napoleons', 'packed', 'between', 'layers', 'of', 'lead', 'foil', 'our', 'reserve', 'of', 'bullion', 'is', 'much', 'larger', 'at', 'present', 'than', 'is', 'usually', 'kept', 'in', 'a', 'single', 'branch', 'office', 'and', 'the', 'directors', 'have', 'had', 'misgivings', 'upon', 'the', 'subject', 'which', 'were', 'very', 'well', 'justified', 'observed', 'holmes', 'and', 'now', 'it', 'is', 'time', 'that', 'we', 'arranged', 'our', 'little', 'plans', 'i', 'expect', 'that', 'within', 'an', 'hour', 'matters', 'will', 'come', 'to', 'a', 'head', 'in', 'the', 'meantime', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'we', 'must', 'put', 'the', 'screen', 'over', 'that', 'dark', 'lantern', 'and', 'sit', 'in', 'the', 'dark', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'so', 'i', 'had', 'brought', 'a', 'pack', 'of', 'cards', 'in', 'my', 'pocket', 'and', 'i', 'thought', 'that', 'as', 'we', 'were', 'a', 'partie', 'carrée', 'you', 'might', 'have', 'your', 'rubber', 'after', 'all', 'but', 'i', 'see', 'that', 'the', 'enemys', 'preparations', 'have', 'gone', 'so', 'far', 'that', 'we', 'can', 'not', 'risk', 'the', 'presence', 'of', 'a', 'light', 'and', 'first', 'of', 'all', 'we', 'must', 'choose', 'our', 'positions', 'these', 'are', 'daring', 'men', 'and', 'though', 'we', 'shall', 'take', 'them', 'at', 'a', 'disadvantage', 'they', 'may', 'do', 'us', 'some', 'harm', 'unless', 'we', 'are', 'careful', 'i', 'shall', 'stand', 'behind', 'this', 'crate', 'and', 'do', 'you', 'conceal', 'yourselves', 'behind', 'those', 'then', 'when', 'i', 'flash', 'a', 'light', 'upon', 'them', 'close', 'in', 'swiftly', 'if', 'they', 'fire', 'watson', 'have', 'no', 'compunction', 'about', 'shooting', 'them', 'down', 'i', 'placed', 'my', 'revolver', 'cocked', 'upon', 'the', 'top', 'of', 'the', 'wooden', 'case', 'behind', 'which', 'i', 'crouched', 'holmes', 'shot', 'the', 'slide', 'across', 'the', 'front', 'of', 'his', 'lantern', 'and', 'left', 'us', 'in', 'pitch', 'darknesssuch', 'an', 'absolute', 'darkness', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'never', 'before', 'experienced', 'the', 'smell', 'of', 'hot', 'metal', 'remained', 'to', 'assure', 'us', 'that', 'the', 'light', 'was', 'still', 'there', 'ready', 'to', 'flash', 'out', 'at', 'a', 'moments', 'notice', 'to', 'me', 'with', 'my', 'nerves', 'worked', 'up', 'to', 'a', 'pitch', 'of', 'expectancy', 'there', 'was', 'something', 'depressing', 'and', 'subduing', 'in', 'the', 'sudden', 'gloom', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'cold', 'dank', 'air', 'of', 'the', 'vault', 'they', 'have', 'but', 'one', 'retreat', 'whispered', 'holmes', 'that', 'is', 'back', 'through', 'the', 'house', 'into', 'saxecoburg', 'square', 'i', 'hope', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'done', 'what', 'i', 'asked', 'you', 'jones', 'i', 'have', 'an', 'inspector', 'and', 'two', 'officers', 'waiting', 'at', 'the', 'front', 'door', 'then', 'we', 'have', 'stopped', 'all', 'the', 'holes', 'and', 'now', 'we', 'must', 'be', 'silent', 'and', 'wait', 'what', 'a', 'time', 'it', 'seemed', 'from', 'comparing', 'notes', 'afterwards', 'it', 'was', 'but', 'an', 'hour', 'and', 'a', 'quarter', 'yet', 'it', 'appeared', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'the', 'night', 'must', 'have', 'almost', 'gone', 'and', 'the', 'dawn', 'be', 'breaking', 'above', 'us', 'my', 'limbs', 'were', 'weary', 'and', 'stiff', 'for', 'i', 'feared', 'to', 'change', 'my', 'position', 'yet', 'my', 'nerves', 'were', 'worked', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'highest', 'pitch', 'of', 'tension', 'and', 'my', 'hearing', 'was', 'so', 'acute', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'only', 'hear', 'the', 'gentle', 'breathing', 'of', 'my', 'companions', 'but', 'i', 'could', 'distinguish', 'the', 'deeper', 'heavier', 'inbreath', 'of', 'the', 'bulky', 'jones', 'from', 'the', 'thin', 'sighing', 'note', 'of', 'the', 'bank', 'director', 'from', 'my', 'position', 'i', 'could', 'look', 'over', 'the', 'case', 'in', 'the', 'direction', 'of', 'the', 'floor', 'suddenly', 'my', 'eyes', 'caught', 'the', 'glint', 'of', 'a', 'light', 'at', 'first', 'it', 'was', 'but', 'a', 'lurid', 'spark', 'upon', 'the', 'stone', 'pavement', 'then', 'it', 'lengthened', 'out', 'until', 'it', 'became', 'a', 'yellow', 'line', 'and', 'then', 'without', 'any', 'warning', 'or', 'sound', 'a', 'gash', 'seemed', 'to', 'open', 'and', 'a', 'hand', 'appeared', 'a', 'white', 'almost', 'womanly', 'hand', 'which', 'felt', 'about', 'in', 'the', 'centre', 'of', 'the', 'little', 'area', 'of', 'light', 'for', 'a', 'minute', 'or', 'more', 'the', 'hand', 'with', 'its', 'writhing', 'fingers', 'protruded', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'floor', 'then', 'it', 'was', 'withdrawn', 'as', 'suddenly', 'as', 'it', 'appeared', 'and', 'all', 'was', 'dark', 'again', 'save', 'the', 'single', 'lurid', 'spark', 'which', 'marked', 'a', 'chink', 'between', 'the', 'stones', 'its', 'disappearance', 'however', 'was', 'but', 'momentary', 'with', 'a', 'rending', 'tearing', 'sound', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'broad', 'white', 'stones', 'turned', 'over', 'upon', 'its', 'side', 'and', 'left', 'a', 'square', 'gaping', 'hole', 'through', 'which', 'streamed', 'the', 'light', 'of', 'a', 'lantern', 'over', 'the', 'edge', 'there', 'peeped', 'a', 'cleancut', 'boyish', 'face', 'which', 'looked', 'keenly', 'about', 'it', 'and', 'then', 'with', 'a', 'hand', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'aperture', 'drew', 'itself', 'shoulderhigh', 'and', 'waisthigh', 'until', 'one', 'knee', 'rested', 'upon', 'the', 'edge', 'in', 'another', 'instant', 'he', 'stood', 'at', 'the', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'hole', 'and', 'was', 'hauling', 'after', 'him', 'a', 'companion', 'lithe', 'and', 'small', 'like', 'himself', 'with', 'a', 'pale', 'face', 'and', 'a', 'shock', 'of', 'very', 'red', 'hair', 'its', 'all', 'clear', 'he', 'whispered', 'have', 'you', 'the', 'chisel', 'and', 'the', 'bags', 'great', 'scott', 'jump', 'archie', 'jump', 'and', 'ill', 'swing', 'for', 'it', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'had', 'sprung', 'out', 'and', 'seized', 'the', 'intruder', 'by', 'the', 'collar', 'the', 'other', 'dived', 'down', 'the', 'hole', 'and', 'i', 'heard', 'the', 'sound', 'of', 'rending', 'cloth', 'as', 'jones', 'clutched', 'at', 'his', 'skirts', 'the', 'light', 'flashed', 'upon', 'the', 'barrel', 'of', 'a', 'revolver', 'but', 'holmes', 'hunting', 'crop', 'came', 'down', 'on', 'the', 'mans', 'wrist', 'and', 'the', 'pistol', 'clinked', 'upon', 'the', 'stone', 'floor', 'its', 'no', 'use', 'john', 'clay', 'said', 'holmes', 'blandly', 'you', 'have', 'no', 'chance', 'at', 'all', 'so', 'i', 'see', 'the', 'other', 'answered', 'with', 'the', 'utmost', 'coolness', 'i', 'fancy', 'that', 'my', 'pal', 'is', 'all', 'right', 'though', 'i', 'see', 'you', 'have', 'got', 'his', 'coattails', 'there', 'are', 'three', 'men', 'waiting', 'for', 'him', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'said', 'holmes', 'oh', 'indeed', 'you', 'seem', 'to', 'have', 'done', 'the', 'thing', 'very', 'completely', 'i', 'must', 'compliment', 'you', 'and', 'i', 'you', 'holmes', 'answered', 'your', 'redheaded', 'idea', 'was', 'very', 'new', 'and', 'effective', 'youll', 'see', 'your', 'pal', 'again', 'presently', 'said', 'jones', 'hes', 'quicker', 'at', 'climbing', 'down', 'holes', 'than', 'i', 'am', 'just', 'hold', 'out', 'while', 'i', 'fix', 'the', 'derbies', 'i', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'touch', 'me', 'with', 'your', 'filthy', 'hands', 'remarked', 'our', 'prisoner', 'as', 'the', 'handcuffs', 'clattered', 'upon', 'his', 'wrists', 'you', 'may', 'not', 'be', 'aware', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'royal', 'blood', 'in', 'my', 'veins', 'have', 'the', 'goodness', 'also', 'when', 'you', 'address', 'me', 'always', 'to', 'say', 'sir', 'and', 'please', 'all', 'right', 'said', 'jones', 'with', 'a', 'stare', 'and', 'a', 'snigger', 'well', 'would', 'you', 'please', 'sir', 'march', 'upstairs', 'where', 'we', 'can', 'get', 'a', 'cab', 'to', 'carry', 'your', 'highness', 'to', 'the', 'policestation', 'that', 'is', 'better', 'said', 'john', 'clay', 'serenely', 'he', 'made', 'a', 'sweeping', 'bow', 'to', 'the', 'three', 'of', 'us', 'and', 'walked', 'quietly', 'off', 'in', 'the', 'custody', 'of', 'the', 'detective', 'really', 'mr', 'holmes', 'said', 'mr', 'merryweather', 'as', 'we', 'followed', 'them', 'from', 'the', 'cellar', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'how', 'the', 'bank', 'can', 'thank', 'you', 'or', 'repay', 'you', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'detected', 'and', 'defeated', 'in', 'the', 'most', 'complete', 'manner', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'determined', 'attempts', 'at', 'bank', 'robbery', 'that', 'have', 'ever', 'come', 'within', 'my', 'experience', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'little', 'scores', 'of', 'my', 'own', 'to', 'settle', 'with', 'mr', 'john', 'clay', 'said', 'holmes', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'at', 'some', 'small', 'expense', 'over', 'this', 'matter', 'which', 'i', 'shall', 'expect', 'the', 'bank', 'to', 'refund', 'but', 'beyond', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'amply', 'repaid', 'by', 'having', 'had', 'an', 'experience', 'which', 'is', 'in', 'many', 'ways', 'unique', 'and', 'by', 'hearing', 'the', 'very', 'remarkable', 'narrative', 'of', 'the', 'redheaded', 'league', 'you', 'see', 'watson', 'he', 'explained', 'in', 'the', 'early', 'hours', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'as', 'we', 'sat', 'over', 'a', 'glass', 'of', 'whisky', 'and', 'soda', 'in', 'baker', 'street', 'it', 'was', 'perfectly', 'obvious', 'from', 'the', 'first', 'that', 'the', 'only', 'possible', 'object', 'of', 'this', 'rather', 'fantastic', 'business', 'of', 'the', 'advertisement', 'of', 'the', 'league', 'and', 'the', 'copying', 'of', 'the', 'encyclopædia', 'must', 'be', 'to', 'get', 'this', 'not', 'overbright', 'pawnbroker', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'way', 'for', 'a', 'number', 'of', 'hours', 'every', 'day', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'curious', 'way', 'of', 'managing', 'it', 'but', 'really', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'difficult', 'to', 'suggest', 'a', 'better', 'the', 'method', 'was', 'no', 'doubt', 'suggested', 'to', 'clays', 'ingenious', 'mind', 'by', 'the', 'colour', 'of', 'his', 'accomplices', 'hair', 'the', '4', 'a', 'week', 'was', 'a', 'lure', 'which', 'must', 'draw', 'him', 'and', 'what', 'was', 'it', 'to', 'them', 'who', 'were', 'playing', 'for', 'thousands', 'they', 'put', 'in', 'the', 'advertisement', 'one', 'rogue', 'has', 'the', 'temporary', 'office', 'the', 'other', 'rogue', 'incites', 'the', 'man', 'to', 'apply', 'for', 'it', 'and', 'together', 'they', 'manage', 'to', 'secure', 'his', 'absence', 'every', 'morning', 'in', 'the', 'week', 'from', 'the', 'time', 'that', 'i', 'heard', 'of', 'the', 'assistant', 'having', 'come', 'for', 'half', 'wages', 'it', 'was', 'obvious', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'some', 'strong', 'motive', 'for', 'securing', 'the', 'situation', 'but', 'how', 'could', 'you', 'guess', 'what', 'the', 'motive', 'was', 'had', 'there', 'been', 'women', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'suspected', 'a', 'mere', 'vulgar', 'intrigue', 'that', 'however', 'was', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'question', 'the', 'mans', 'business', 'was', 'a', 'small', 'one', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'in', 'his', 'house', 'which', 'could', 'account', 'for', 'such', 'elaborate', 'preparations', 'and', 'such', 'an', 'expenditure', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'at', 'it', 'must', 'then', 'be', 'something', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'what', 'could', 'it', 'be', 'i', 'thought', 'of', 'the', 'assistants', 'fondness', 'for', 'photography', 'and', 'his', 'trick', 'of', 'vanishing', 'into', 'the', 'cellar', 'the', 'cellar', 'there', 'was', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'this', 'tangled', 'clue', 'then', 'i', 'made', 'inquiries', 'as', 'to', 'this', 'mysterious', 'assistant', 'and', 'found', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'to', 'deal', 'with', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'coolest', 'and', 'most', 'daring', 'criminals', 'in', 'london', 'he', 'was', 'doing', 'something', 'in', 'the', 'cellarsomething', 'which', 'took', 'many', 'hours', 'a', 'day', 'for', 'months', 'on', 'end', 'what', 'could', 'it', 'be', 'once', 'more', 'i', 'could', 'think', 'of', 'nothing', 'save', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'running', 'a', 'tunnel', 'to', 'some', 'other', 'building', 'so', 'far', 'i', 'had', 'got', 'when', 'we', 'went', 'to', 'visit', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'action', 'i', 'surprised', 'you', 'by', 'beating', 'upon', 'the', 'pavement', 'with', 'my', 'stick', 'i', 'was', 'ascertaining', 'whether', 'the', 'cellar', 'stretched', 'out', 'in', 'front', 'or', 'behind', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'in', 'front', 'then', 'i', 'rang', 'the', 'bell', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'hoped', 'the', 'assistant', 'answered', 'it', 'we', 'have', 'had', 'some', 'skirmishes', 'but', 'we', 'had', 'never', 'set', 'eyes', 'upon', 'each', 'other', 'before', 'i', 'hardly', 'looked', 'at', 'his', 'face', 'his', 'knees', 'were', 'what', 'i', 'wished', 'to', 'see', 'you', 'must', 'yourself', 'have', 'remarked', 'how', 'worn', 'wrinkled', 'and', 'stained', 'they', 'were', 'they', 'spoke', 'of', 'those', 'hours', 'of', 'burrowing', 'the', 'only', 'remaining', 'point', 'was', 'what', 'they', 'were', 'burrowing', 'for', 'i', 'walked', 'round', 'the', 'corner', 'saw', 'the', 'city', 'and', 'suburban', 'bank', 'abutted', 'on', 'our', 'friends', 'premises', 'and', 'felt', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'solved', 'my', 'problem', 'when', 'you', 'drove', 'home', 'after', 'the', 'concert', 'i', 'called', 'upon', 'scotland', 'yard', 'and', 'upon', 'the', 'chairman', 'of', 'the', 'bank', 'directors', 'with', 'the', 'result', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'seen', 'and', 'how', 'could', 'you', 'tell', 'that', 'they', 'would', 'make', 'their', 'attempt', 'tonight', 'i', 'asked', 'well', 'when', 'they', 'closed', 'their', 'league', 'offices', 'that', 'was', 'a', 'sign', 'that', 'they', 'cared', 'no', 'longer', 'about', 'mr', 'jabez', 'wilsons', 'presencein', 'other', 'words', 'that', 'they', 'had', 'completed', 'their', 'tunnel', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'essential', 'that', 'they', 'should', 'use', 'it', 'soon', 'as', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'discovered', 'or', 'the', 'bullion', 'might', 'be', 'removed', 'saturday', 'would', 'suit', 'them', 'better', 'than', 'any', 'other', 'day', 'as', 'it', 'would', 'give', 'them', 'two', 'days', 'for', 'their', 'escape', 'for', 'all', 'these', 'reasons', 'i', 'expected', 'them', 'to', 'come', 'tonight', 'you', 'reasoned', 'it', 'out', 'beautifully', 'i', 'exclaimed', 'in', 'unfeigned', 'admiration', 'it', 'is', 'so', 'long', 'a', 'chain', 'and', 'yet', 'every', 'link', 'rings', 'true', 'it', 'saved', 'me', 'from', 'ennui', 'he', 'answered', 'yawning', 'alas', 'i', 'already', 'feel', 'it', 'closing', 'in', 'upon', 'me', 'my', 'life', 'is', 'spent', 'in', 'one', 'long', 'effort', 'to', 'escape', 'from', 'the', 'commonplaces', 'of', 'existence', 'these', 'little', 'problems', 'help', 'me', 'to', 'do', 'so', 'and', 'you', 'are', 'a', 'benefactor', 'of', 'the', 'race', 'said', 'i', 'he', 'shrugged', 'his', 'shoulders', 'well', 'perhaps', 'after', 'all', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'some', 'little', 'use', 'he', 'remarked', 'lhomme', 'cest', 'rienlœuvre', 'cest', 'tout', 'as', 'gustave', 'flaubert', 'wrote', 'to', 'george', 'sand', 'iii', 'a', 'case', 'of', 'identity', 'my', 'dear', 'fellow', 'said', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'as', 'we', 'sat', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'fire', 'in', 'his', 'lodgings', 'at', 'baker', 'street', 'life', 'is', 'infinitely', 'stranger', 'than', 'anything', 'which', 'the', 'mind', 'of', 'man', 'could', 'invent', 'we', 'would', 'not', 'dare', 'to', 'conceive', 'the', 'things', 'which', 'are', 'really', 'mere', 'commonplaces', 'of', 'existence', 'if', 'we', 'could', 'fly', 'out', 'of', 'that', 'window', 'hand', 'in', 'hand', 'hover', 'over', 'this', 'great', 'city', 'gently', 'remove', 'the', 'roofs', 'and', 'peep', 'in', 'at', 'the', 'queer', 'things', 'which', 'are', 'going', 'on', 'the', 'strange', 'coincidences', 'the', 'plannings', 'the', 'crosspurposes', 'the', 'wonderful', 'chains', 'of', 'events', 'working', 'through', 'generations', 'and', 'leading', 'to', 'the', 'most', 'outré', 'results', 'it', 'would', 'make', 'all', 'fiction', 'with', 'its', 'conventionalities', 'and', 'foreseen', 'conclusions', 'most', 'stale', 'and', 'unprofitable', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'convinced', 'of', 'it', 'i', 'answered', 'the', 'cases', 'which', 'come', 'to', 'light', 'in', 'the', 'papers', 'are', 'as', 'a', 'rule', 'bald', 'enough', 'and', 'vulgar', 'enough', 'we', 'have', 'in', 'our', 'police', 'reports', 'realism', 'pushed', 'to', 'its', 'extreme', 'limits', 'and', 'yet', 'the', 'result', 'is', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'confessed', 'neither', 'fascinating', 'nor', 'artistic', 'a', 'certain', 'selection', 'and', 'discretion', 'must', 'be', 'used', 'in', 'producing', 'a', 'realistic', 'effect', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'this', 'is', 'wanting', 'in', 'the', 'police', 'report', 'where', 'more', 'stress', 'is', 'laid', 'perhaps', 'upon', 'the', 'platitudes', 'of', 'the', 'magistrate', 'than', 'upon', 'the', 'details', 'which', 'to', 'an', 'observer', 'contain', 'the', 'vital', 'essence', 'of', 'the', 'whole', 'matter', 'depend', 'upon', 'it', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'so', 'unnatural', 'as', 'the', 'commonplace', 'i', 'smiled', 'and', 'shook', 'my', 'head', 'i', 'can', 'quite', 'understand', 'your', 'thinking', 'so', 'i', 'said', 'of', 'course', 'in', 'your', 'position', 'of', 'unofficial', 'adviser', 'and', 'helper', 'to', 'everybody', 'who', 'is', 'absolutely', 'puzzled', 'throughout', 'three', 'continents', 'you', 'are', 'brought', 'in', 'contact', 'with', 'all', 'that', 'is', 'strange', 'and', 'bizarre', 'but', 'herei', 'picked', 'up', 'the', 'morning', 'paper', 'from', 'the', 'groundlet', 'us', 'put', 'it', 'to', 'a', 'practical', 'test', 'here', 'is', 'the', 'first', 'heading', 'upon', 'which', 'i', 'come', 'a', 'husbands', 'cruelty', 'to', 'his', 'wife', 'there', 'is', 'half', 'a', 'column', 'of', 'print', 'but', 'i', 'know', 'without', 'reading', 'it', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'all', 'perfectly', 'familiar', 'to', 'me', 'there', 'is', 'of', 'course', 'the', 'other', 'woman', 'the', 'drink', 'the', 'push', 'the', 'blow', 'the', 'bruise', 'the', 'sympathetic', 'sister', 'or', 'landlady', 'the', 'crudest', 'of', 'writers', 'could', 'invent', 'nothing', 'more', 'crude', 'indeed', 'your', 'example', 'is', 'an', 'unfortunate', 'one', 'for', 'your', 'argument', 'said', 'holmes', 'taking', 'the', 'paper', 'and', 'glancing', 'his', 'eye', 'down', 'it', 'this', 'is', 'the', 'dundas', 'separation', 'case', 'and', 'as', 'it', 'happens', 'i', 'was', 'engaged', 'in', 'clearing', 'up', 'some', 'small', 'points', 'in', 'connection', 'with', 'it', 'the', 'husband', 'was', 'a', 'teetotaler', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'other', 'woman', 'and', 'the', 'conduct', 'complained', 'of', 'was', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'drifted', 'into', 'the', 'habit', 'of', 'winding', 'up', 'every', 'meal', 'by', 'taking', 'out', 'his', 'false', 'teeth', 'and', 'hurling', 'them', 'at', 'his', 'wife', 'which', 'you', 'will', 'allow', 'is', 'not', 'an', 'action', 'likely', 'to', 'occur', 'to', 'the', 'imagination', 'of', 'the', 'average', 'storyteller', 'take', 'a', 'pinch', 'of', 'snuff', 'doctor', 'and', 'acknowledge', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'scored', 'over', 'you', 'in', 'your', 'example', 'he', 'held', 'out', 'his', 'snuffbox', 'of', 'old', 'gold', 'with', 'a', 'great', 'amethyst', 'in', 'the', 'centre', 'of', 'the', 'lid', 'its', 'splendour', 'was', 'in', 'such', 'contrast', 'to', 'his', 'homely', 'ways', 'and', 'simple', 'life', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'commenting', 'upon', 'it', 'ah', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'forgot', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'seen', 'you', 'for', 'some', 'weeks', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'souvenir', 'from', 'the', 'king', 'of', 'bohemia', 'in', 'return', 'for', 'my', 'assistance', 'in', 'the', 'case', 'of', 'the', 'irene', 'adler', 'papers', 'and', 'the', 'ring', 'i', 'asked', 'glancing', 'at', 'a', 'remarkable', 'brilliant', 'which', 'sparkled', 'upon', 'his', 'finger', 'it', 'was', 'from', 'the', 'reigning', 'family', 'of', 'holland', 'though', 'the', 'matter', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'served', 'them', 'was', 'of', 'such', 'delicacy', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'confide', 'it', 'even', 'to', 'you', 'who', 'have', 'been', 'good', 'enough', 'to', 'chronicle', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'of', 'my', 'little', 'problems', 'and', 'have', 'you', 'any', 'on', 'hand', 'just', 'now', 'i', 'asked', 'with', 'interest', 'some', 'ten', 'or', 'twelve', 'but', 'none', 'which', 'present', 'any', 'feature', 'of', 'interest', 'they', 'are', 'important', 'you', 'understand', 'without', 'being', 'interesting', 'indeed', 'i', 'have', 'found', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'usually', 'in', 'unimportant', 'matters', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'field', 'for', 'the', 'observation', 'and', 'for', 'the', 'quick', 'analysis', 'of', 'cause', 'and', 'effect', 'which', 'gives', 'the', 'charm', 'to', 'an', 'investigation', 'the', 'larger', 'crimes', 'are', 'apt', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'simpler', 'for', 'the', 'bigger', 'the', 'crime', 'the', 'more', 'obvious', 'as', 'a', 'rule', 'is', 'the', 'motive', 'in', 'these', 'cases', 'save', 'for', 'one', 'rather', 'intricate', 'matter', 'which', 'has', 'been', 'referred', 'to', 'me', 'from', 'marseilles', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'which', 'presents', 'any', 'features', 'of', 'interest', 'it', 'is', 'possible', 'however', 'that', 'i', 'may', 'have', 'something', 'better', 'before', 'very', 'many', 'minutes', 'are', 'over', 'for', 'this', 'is', 'one', 'of', 'my', 'clients', 'or', 'i', 'am', 'much', 'mistaken', 'he', 'had', 'risen', 'from', 'his', 'chair', 'and', 'was', 'standing', 'between', 'the', 'parted', 'blinds', 'gazing', 'down', 'into', 'the', 'dull', 'neutraltinted', 'london', 'street', 'looking', 'over', 'his', 'shoulder', 'i', 'saw', 'that', 'on', 'the', 'pavement', 'opposite', 'there', 'stood', 'a', 'large', 'woman', 'with', 'a', 'heavy', 'fur', 'boa', 'round', 'her', 'neck', 'and', 'a', 'large', 'curling', 'red', 'feather', 'in', 'a', 'broadbrimmed', 'hat', 'which', 'was', 'tilted', 'in', 'a', 'coquettish', 'duchess', 'of', 'devonshire', 'fashion', 'over', 'her', 'ear', 'from', 'under', 'this', 'great', 'panoply', 'she', 'peeped', 'up', 'in', 'a', 'nervous', 'hesitating', 'fashion', 'at', 'our', 'windows', 'while', 'her', 'body', 'oscillated', 'backward', 'and', 'forward', 'and', 'her', 'fingers', 'fidgeted', 'with', 'her', 'glove', 'buttons', 'suddenly', 'with', 'a', 'plunge', 'as', 'of', 'the', 'swimmer', 'who', 'leaves', 'the', 'bank', 'she', 'hurried', 'across', 'the', 'road', 'and', 'we', 'heard', 'the', 'sharp', 'clang', 'of', 'the', 'bell', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'those', 'symptoms', 'before', 'said', 'holmes', 'throwing', 'his', 'cigarette', 'into', 'the', 'fire', 'oscillation', 'upon', 'the', 'pavement', 'always', 'means', 'an', 'affaire', 'de', 'cœur', 'she', 'would', 'like', 'advice', 'but', 'is', 'not', 'sure', 'that', 'the', 'matter', 'is', 'not', 'too', 'delicate', 'for', 'communication', 'and', 'yet', 'even', 'here', 'we', 'may', 'discriminate', 'when', 'a', 'woman', 'has', 'been', 'seriously', 'wronged', 'by', 'a', 'man', 'she', 'no', 'longer', 'oscillates', 'and', 'the', 'usual', 'symptom', 'is', 'a', 'broken', 'bell', 'wire', 'here', 'we', 'may', 'take', 'it', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'love', 'matter', 'but', 'that', 'the', 'maiden', 'is', 'not', 'so', 'much', 'angry', 'as', 'perplexed', 'or', 'grieved', 'but', 'here', 'she', 'comes', 'in', 'person', 'to', 'resolve', 'our', 'doubts', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'tap', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'the', 'boy', 'in', 'buttons', 'entered', 'to', 'announce', 'miss', 'mary', 'sutherland', 'while', 'the', 'lady', 'herself', 'loomed', 'behind', 'his', 'small', 'black', 'figure', 'like', 'a', 'fullsailed', 'merchantman', 'behind', 'a', 'tiny', 'pilot', 'boat', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'welcomed', 'her', 'with', 'the', 'easy', 'courtesy', 'for', 'which', 'he', 'was', 'remarkable', 'and', 'having', 'closed', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'bowed', 'her', 'into', 'an', 'armchair', 'he', 'looked', 'her', 'over', 'in', 'the', 'minute', 'and', 'yet', 'abstracted', 'fashion', 'which', 'was', 'peculiar', 'to', 'him', 'do', 'you', 'not', 'find', 'he', 'said', 'that', 'with', 'your', 'short', 'sight', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'trying', 'to', 'do', 'so', 'much', 'typewriting', 'i', 'did', 'at', 'first', 'she', 'answered', 'but', 'now', 'i', 'know', 'where', 'the', 'letters', 'are', 'without', 'looking', 'then', 'suddenly', 'realising', 'the', 'full', 'purport', 'of', 'his', 'words', 'she', 'gave', 'a', 'violent', 'start', 'and', 'looked', 'up', 'with', 'fear', 'and', 'astonishment', 'upon', 'her', 'broad', 'goodhumoured', 'face', 'youve', 'heard', 'about', 'me', 'mr', 'holmes', 'she', 'cried', 'else', 'how', 'could', 'you', 'know', 'all', 'that', 'never', 'mind', 'said', 'holmes', 'laughing', 'it', 'is', 'my', 'business', 'to', 'know', 'things', 'perhaps', 'i', 'have', 'trained', 'myself', 'to', 'see', 'what', 'others', 'overlook', 'if', 'not', 'why', 'should', 'you', 'come', 'to', 'consult', 'me', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'you', 'sir', 'because', 'i', 'heard', 'of', 'you', 'from', 'mrs', 'etherege', 'whose', 'husband', 'you', 'found', 'so', 'easy', 'when', 'the', 'police', 'and', 'everyone', 'had', 'given', 'him', 'up', 'for', 'dead', 'oh', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'wish', 'you', 'would', 'do', 'as', 'much', 'for', 'me', 'im', 'not', 'rich', 'but', 'still', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'hundred', 'a', 'year', 'in', 'my', 'own', 'right', 'besides', 'the', 'little', 'that', 'i', 'make', 'by', 'the', 'machine', 'and', 'i', 'would', 'give', 'it', 'all', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'has', 'become', 'of', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'why', 'did', 'you', 'come', 'away', 'to', 'consult', 'me', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'hurry', 'asked', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'with', 'his', 'fingertips', 'together', 'and', 'his', 'eyes', 'to', 'the', 'ceiling', 'again', 'a', 'startled', 'look', 'came', 'over', 'the', 'somewhat', 'vacuous', 'face', 'of', 'miss', 'mary', 'sutherland', 'yes', 'i', 'did', 'bang', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'she', 'said', 'for', 'it', 'made', 'me', 'angry', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'easy', 'way', 'in', 'which', 'mr', 'windibankthat', 'is', 'my', 'fathertook', 'it', 'all', 'he', 'would', 'not', 'go', 'to', 'the', 'police', 'and', 'he', 'would', 'not', 'go', 'to', 'you', 'and', 'so', 'at', 'last', 'as', 'he', 'would', 'do', 'nothing', 'and', 'kept', 'on', 'saying', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'harm', 'done', 'it', 'made', 'me', 'mad', 'and', 'i', 'just', 'on', 'with', 'my', 'things', 'and', 'came', 'right', 'away', 'to', 'you', 'your', 'father', 'said', 'holmes', 'your', 'stepfather', 'surely', 'since', 'the', 'name', 'is', 'different', 'yes', 'my', 'stepfather', 'i', 'call', 'him', 'father', 'though', 'it', 'sounds', 'funny', 'too', 'for', 'he', 'is', 'only', 'five', 'years', 'and', 'two', 'months', 'older', 'than', 'myself', 'and', 'your', 'mother', 'is', 'alive', 'oh', 'yes', 'mother', 'is', 'alive', 'and', 'well', 'i', 'wasnt', 'best', 'pleased', 'mr', 'holmes', 'when', 'she', 'married', 'again', 'so', 'soon', 'after', 'fathers', 'death', 'and', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'was', 'nearly', 'fifteen', 'years', 'younger', 'than', 'herself', 'father', 'was', 'a', 'plumber', 'in', 'the', 'tottenham', 'court', 'road', 'and', 'he', 'left', 'a', 'tidy', 'business', 'behind', 'him', 'which', 'mother', 'carried', 'on', 'with', 'mr', 'hardy', 'the', 'foreman', 'but', 'when', 'mr', 'windibank', 'came', 'he', 'made', 'her', 'sell', 'the', 'business', 'for', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'superior', 'being', 'a', 'traveller', 'in', 'wines', 'they', 'got', '4700', 'for', 'the', 'goodwill', 'and', 'interest', 'which', 'wasnt', 'near', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'father', 'could', 'have', 'got', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'alive', 'i', 'had', 'expected', 'to', 'see', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'impatient', 'under', 'this', 'rambling', 'and', 'inconsequential', 'narrative', 'but', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'he', 'had', 'listened', 'with', 'the', 'greatest', 'concentration', 'of', 'attention', 'your', 'own', 'little', 'income', 'he', 'asked', 'does', 'it', 'come', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'business', 'oh', 'no', 'sir', 'it', 'is', 'quite', 'separate', 'and', 'was', 'left', 'me', 'by', 'my', 'uncle', 'ned', 'in', 'auckland', 'it', 'is', 'in', 'new', 'zealand', 'stock', 'paying', '4½', 'per', 'cent', 'two', 'thousand', 'five', 'hundred', 'pounds', 'was', 'the', 'amount', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'only', 'touch', 'the', 'interest', 'you', 'interest', 'me', 'extremely', 'said', 'holmes', 'and', 'since', 'you', 'draw', 'so', 'large', 'a', 'sum', 'as', 'a', 'hundred', 'a', 'year', 'with', 'what', 'you', 'earn', 'into', 'the', 'bargain', 'you', 'no', 'doubt', 'travel', 'a', 'little', 'and', 'indulge', 'yourself', 'in', 'every', 'way', 'i', 'believe', 'that', 'a', 'single', 'lady', 'can', 'get', 'on', 'very', 'nicely', 'upon', 'an', 'income', 'of', 'about', '60', 'i', 'could', 'do', 'with', 'much', 'less', 'than', 'that', 'mr', 'holmes', 'but', 'you', 'understand', 'that', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'i', 'live', 'at', 'home', 'i', 'dont', 'wish', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'burden', 'to', 'them', 'and', 'so', 'they', 'have', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'the', 'money', 'just', 'while', 'i', 'am', 'staying', 'with', 'them', 'of', 'course', 'that', 'is', 'only', 'just', 'for', 'the', 'time', 'mr', 'windibank', 'draws', 'my', 'interest', 'every', 'quarter', 'and', 'pays', 'it', 'over', 'to', 'mother', 'and', 'i', 'find', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'do', 'pretty', 'well', 'with', 'what', 'i', 'earn', 'at', 'typewriting', 'it', 'brings', 'me', 'twopence', 'a', 'sheet', 'and', 'i', 'can', 'often', 'do', 'from', 'fifteen', 'to', 'twenty', 'sheets', 'in', 'a', 'day', 'you', 'have', 'made', 'your', 'position', 'very', 'clear', 'to', 'me', 'said', 'holmes', 'this', 'is', 'my', 'friend', 'dr', 'watson', 'before', 'whom', 'you', 'can', 'speak', 'as', 'freely', 'as', 'before', 'myself', 'kindly', 'tell', 'us', 'now', 'all', 'about', 'your', 'connection', 'with', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'a', 'flush', 'stole', 'over', 'miss', 'sutherlands', 'face', 'and', 'she', 'picked', 'nervously', 'at', 'the', 'fringe', 'of', 'her', 'jacket', 'i', 'met', 'him', 'first', 'at', 'the', 'gasfitters', 'ball', 'she', 'said', 'they', 'used', 'to', 'send', 'father', 'tickets', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'alive', 'and', 'then', 'afterwards', 'they', 'remembered', 'us', 'and', 'sent', 'them', 'to', 'mother', 'mr', 'windibank', 'did', 'not', 'wish', 'us', 'to', 'go', 'he', 'never', 'did', 'wish', 'us', 'to', 'go', 'anywhere', 'he', 'would', 'get', 'quite', 'mad', 'if', 'i', 'wanted', 'so', 'much', 'as', 'to', 'join', 'a', 'sundayschool', 'treat', 'but', 'this', 'time', 'i', 'was', 'set', 'on', 'going', 'and', 'i', 'would', 'go', 'for', 'what', 'right', 'had', 'he', 'to', 'prevent', 'he', 'said', 'the', 'folk', 'were', 'not', 'fit', 'for', 'us', 'to', 'know', 'when', 'all', 'fathers', 'friends', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'there', 'and', 'he', 'said', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'nothing', 'fit', 'to', 'wear', 'when', 'i', 'had', 'my', 'purple', 'plush', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'never', 'so', 'much', 'as', 'taken', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'drawer', 'at', 'last', 'when', 'nothing', 'else', 'would', 'do', 'he', 'went', 'off', 'to', 'france', 'upon', 'the', 'business', 'of', 'the', 'firm', 'but', 'we', 'went', 'mother', 'and', 'i', 'with', 'mr', 'hardy', 'who', 'used', 'to', 'be', 'our', 'foreman', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'there', 'i', 'met', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'i', 'suppose', 'said', 'holmes', 'that', 'when', 'mr', 'windibank', 'came', 'back', 'from', 'france', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'annoyed', 'at', 'your', 'having', 'gone', 'to', 'the', 'ball', 'oh', 'well', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'good', 'about', 'it', 'he', 'laughed', 'i', 'remember', 'and', 'shrugged', 'his', 'shoulders', 'and', 'said', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'use', 'denying', 'anything', 'to', 'a', 'woman', 'for', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'her', 'way', 'i', 'see', 'then', 'at', 'the', 'gasfitters', 'ball', 'you', 'met', 'as', 'i', 'understand', 'a', 'gentleman', 'called', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'yes', 'sir', 'i', 'met', 'him', 'that', 'night', 'and', 'he', 'called', 'next', 'day', 'to', 'ask', 'if', 'we', 'had', 'got', 'home', 'all', 'safe', 'and', 'after', 'that', 'we', 'met', 'himthat', 'is', 'to', 'say', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'met', 'him', 'twice', 'for', 'walks', 'but', 'after', 'that', 'father', 'came', 'back', 'again', 'and', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'could', 'not', 'come', 'to', 'the', 'house', 'any', 'more', 'no', 'well', 'you', 'know', 'father', 'didnt', 'like', 'anything', 'of', 'the', 'sort', 'he', 'wouldnt', 'have', 'any', 'visitors', 'if', 'he', 'could', 'help', 'it', 'and', 'he', 'used', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'a', 'woman', 'should', 'be', 'happy', 'in', 'her', 'own', 'family', 'circle', 'but', 'then', 'as', 'i', 'used', 'to', 'say', 'to', 'mother', 'a', 'woman', 'wants', 'her', 'own', 'circle', 'to', 'begin', 'with', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'got', 'mine', 'yet', 'but', 'how', 'about', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'did', 'he', 'make', 'no', 'attempt', 'to', 'see', 'you', 'well', 'father', 'was', 'going', 'off', 'to', 'france', 'again', 'in', 'a', 'week', 'and', 'hosmer', 'wrote', 'and', 'said', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'safer', 'and', 'better', 'not', 'to', 'see', 'each', 'other', 'until', 'he', 'had', 'gone', 'we', 'could', 'write', 'in', 'the', 'meantime', 'and', 'he', 'used', 'to', 'write', 'every', 'day', 'i', 'took', 'the', 'letters', 'in', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'so', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'need', 'for', 'father', 'to', 'know', 'were', 'you', 'engaged', 'to', 'the', 'gentleman', 'at', 'this', 'time', 'oh', 'yes', 'mr', 'holmes', 'we', 'were', 'engaged', 'after', 'the', 'first', 'walk', 'that', 'we', 'took', 'hosmermr', 'angelwas', 'a', 'cashier', 'in', 'an', 'office', 'in', 'leadenhall', 'streetand', 'what', 'office', 'thats', 'the', 'worst', 'of', 'it', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'dont', 'know', 'where', 'did', 'he', 'live', 'then', 'he', 'slept', 'on', 'the', 'premises', 'and', 'you', 'dont', 'know', 'his', 'address', 'noexcept', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'leadenhall', 'street', 'where', 'did', 'you', 'address', 'your', 'letters', 'then', 'to', 'the', 'leadenhall', 'street', 'post', 'office', 'to', 'be', 'left', 'till', 'called', 'for', 'he', 'said', 'that', 'if', 'they', 'were', 'sent', 'to', 'the', 'office', 'he', 'would', 'be', 'chaffed', 'by', 'all', 'the', 'other', 'clerks', 'about', 'having', 'letters', 'from', 'a', 'lady', 'so', 'i', 'offered', 'to', 'typewrite', 'them', 'like', 'he', 'did', 'his', 'but', 'he', 'wouldnt', 'have', 'that', 'for', 'he', 'said', 'that', 'when', 'i', 'wrote', 'them', 'they', 'seemed', 'to', 'come', 'from', 'me', 'but', 'when', 'they', 'were', 'typewritten', 'he', 'always', 'felt', 'that', 'the', 'machine', 'had', 'come', 'between', 'us', 'that', 'will', 'just', 'show', 'you', 'how', 'fond', 'he', 'was', 'of', 'me', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'the', 'little', 'things', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'think', 'of', 'it', 'was', 'most', 'suggestive', 'said', 'holmes', 'it', 'has', 'long', 'been', 'an', 'axiom', 'of', 'mine', 'that', 'the', 'little', 'things', 'are', 'infinitely', 'the', 'most', 'important', 'can', 'you', 'remember', 'any', 'other', 'little', 'things', 'about', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'shy', 'man', 'mr', 'holmes', 'he', 'would', 'rather', 'walk', 'with', 'me', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'than', 'in', 'the', 'daylight', 'for', 'he', 'said', 'that', 'he', 'hated', 'to', 'be', 'conspicuous', 'very', 'retiring', 'and', 'gentlemanly', 'he', 'was', 'even', 'his', 'voice', 'was', 'gentle', 'hed', 'had', 'the', 'quinsy', 'and', 'swollen', 'glands', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'young', 'he', 'told', 'me', 'and', 'it', 'had', 'left', 'him', 'with', 'a', 'weak', 'throat', 'and', 'a', 'hesitating', 'whispering', 'fashion', 'of', 'speech', 'he', 'was', 'always', 'well', 'dressed', 'very', 'neat', 'and', 'plain', 'but', 'his', 'eyes', 'were', 'weak', 'just', 'as', 'mine', 'are', 'and', 'he', 'wore', 'tinted', 'glasses', 'against', 'the', 'glare', 'well', 'and', 'what', 'happened', 'when', 'mr', 'windibank', 'your', 'stepfather', 'returned', 'to', 'france', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'house', 'again', 'and', 'proposed', 'that', 'we', 'should', 'marry', 'before', 'father', 'came', 'back', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'dreadful', 'earnest', 'and', 'made', 'me', 'swear', 'with', 'my', 'hands', 'on', 'the', 'testament', 'that', 'whatever', 'happened', 'i', 'would', 'always', 'be', 'true', 'to', 'him', 'mother', 'said', 'he', 'was', 'quite', 'right', 'to', 'make', 'me', 'swear', 'and', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'sign', 'of', 'his', 'passion', 'mother', 'was', 'all', 'in', 'his', 'favour', 'from', 'the', 'first', 'and', 'was', 'even', 'fonder', 'of', 'him', 'than', 'i', 'was', 'then', 'when', 'they', 'talked', 'of', 'marrying', 'within', 'the', 'week', 'i', 'began', 'to', 'ask', 'about', 'father', 'but', 'they', 'both', 'said', 'never', 'to', 'mind', 'about', 'father', 'but', 'just', 'to', 'tell', 'him', 'afterwards', 'and', 'mother', 'said', 'she', 'would', 'make', 'it', 'all', 'right', 'with', 'him', 'i', 'didnt', 'quite', 'like', 'that', 'mr', 'holmes', 'it', 'seemed', 'funny', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'ask', 'his', 'leave', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'only', 'a', 'few', 'years', 'older', 'than', 'me', 'but', 'i', 'didnt', 'want', 'to', 'do', 'anything', 'on', 'the', 'sly', 'so', 'i', 'wrote', 'to', 'father', 'at', 'bordeaux', 'where', 'the', 'company', 'has', 'its', 'french', 'offices', 'but', 'the', 'letter', 'came', 'back', 'to', 'me', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'morning', 'of', 'the', 'wedding', 'it', 'missed', 'him', 'then', 'yes', 'sir', 'for', 'he', 'had', 'started', 'to', 'england', 'just', 'before', 'it', 'arrived', 'ha', 'that', 'was', 'unfortunate', 'your', 'wedding', 'was', 'arranged', 'then', 'for', 'the', 'friday', 'was', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'church', 'yes', 'sir', 'but', 'very', 'quietly', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'at', 'st', 'saviours', 'near', 'kings', 'cross', 'and', 'we', 'were', 'to', 'have', 'breakfast', 'afterwards', 'at', 'the', 'st', 'pancras', 'hotel', 'hosmer', 'came', 'for', 'us', 'in', 'a', 'hansom', 'but', 'as', 'there', 'were', 'two', 'of', 'us', 'he', 'put', 'us', 'both', 'into', 'it', 'and', 'stepped', 'himself', 'into', 'a', 'fourwheeler', 'which', 'happened', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'only', 'other', 'cab', 'in', 'the', 'street', 'we', 'got', 'to', 'the', 'church', 'first', 'and', 'when', 'the', 'fourwheeler', 'drove', 'up', 'we', 'waited', 'for', 'him', 'to', 'step', 'out', 'but', 'he', 'never', 'did', 'and', 'when', 'the', 'cabman', 'got', 'down', 'from', 'the', 'box', 'and', 'looked', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'one', 'there', 'the', 'cabman', 'said', 'that', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'imagine', 'what', 'had', 'become', 'of', 'him', 'for', 'he', 'had', 'seen', 'him', 'get', 'in', 'with', 'his', 'own', 'eyes', 'that', 'was', 'last', 'friday', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'never', 'seen', 'or', 'heard', 'anything', 'since', 'then', 'to', 'throw', 'any', 'light', 'upon', 'what', 'became', 'of', 'him', 'it', 'seems', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'very', 'shamefully', 'treated', 'said', 'holmes', 'oh', 'no', 'sir', 'he', 'was', 'too', 'good', 'and', 'kind', 'to', 'leave', 'me', 'so', 'why', 'all', 'the', 'morning', 'he', 'was', 'saying', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'whatever', 'happened', 'i', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'true', 'and', 'that', 'even', 'if', 'something', 'quite', 'unforeseen', 'occurred', 'to', 'separate', 'us', 'i', 'was', 'always', 'to', 'remember', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'pledged', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'claim', 'his', 'pledge', 'sooner', 'or', 'later', 'it', 'seemed', 'strange', 'talk', 'for', 'a', 'weddingmorning', 'but', 'what', 'has', 'happened', 'since', 'gives', 'a', 'meaning', 'to', 'it', 'most', 'certainly', 'it', 'does', 'your', 'own', 'opinion', 'is', 'then', 'that', 'some', 'unforeseen', 'catastrophe', 'has', 'occurred', 'to', 'him', 'yes', 'sir', 'i', 'believe', 'that', 'he', 'foresaw', 'some', 'danger', 'or', 'else', 'he', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'talked', 'so', 'and', 'then', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'what', 'he', 'foresaw', 'happened', 'but', 'you', 'have', 'no', 'notion', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'it', 'could', 'have', 'been', 'none', 'one', 'more', 'question', 'how', 'did', 'your', 'mother', 'take', 'the', 'matter', 'she', 'was', 'angry', 'and', 'said', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'never', 'to', 'speak', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'again', 'and', 'your', 'father', 'did', 'you', 'tell', 'him', 'yes', 'and', 'he', 'seemed', 'to', 'think', 'with', 'me', 'that', 'something', 'had', 'happened', 'and', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'hear', 'of', 'hosmer', 'again', 'as', 'he', 'said', 'what', 'interest', 'could', 'anyone', 'have', 'in', 'bringing', 'me', 'to', 'the', 'doors', 'of', 'the', 'church', 'and', 'then', 'leaving', 'me', 'now', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'borrowed', 'my', 'money', 'or', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'married', 'me', 'and', 'got', 'my', 'money', 'settled', 'on', 'him', 'there', 'might', 'be', 'some', 'reason', 'but', 'hosmer', 'was', 'very', 'independent', 'about', 'money', 'and', 'never', 'would', 'look', 'at', 'a', 'shilling', 'of', 'mine', 'and', 'yet', 'what', 'could', 'have', 'happened', 'and', 'why', 'could', 'he', 'not', 'write', 'oh', 'it', 'drives', 'me', 'halfmad', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'i', 'cant', 'sleep', 'a', 'wink', 'at', 'night', 'she', 'pulled', 'a', 'little', 'handkerchief', 'out', 'of', 'her', 'muff', 'and', 'began', 'to', 'sob', 'heavily', 'into', 'it', 'i', 'shall', 'glance', 'into', 'the', 'case', 'for', 'you', 'said', 'holmes', 'rising', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'we', 'shall', 'reach', 'some', 'definite', 'result', 'let', 'the', 'weight', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'rest', 'upon', 'me', 'now', 'and', 'do', 'not', 'let', 'your', 'mind', 'dwell', 'upon', 'it', 'further', 'above', 'all', 'try', 'to', 'let', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'vanish', 'from', 'your', 'memory', 'as', 'he', 'has', 'done', 'from', 'your', 'life', 'then', 'you', 'dont', 'think', 'ill', 'see', 'him', 'again', 'i', 'fear', 'not', 'then', 'what', 'has', 'happened', 'to', 'him', 'you', 'will', 'leave', 'that', 'question', 'in', 'my', 'hands', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'an', 'accurate', 'description', 'of', 'him', 'and', 'any', 'letters', 'of', 'his', 'which', 'you', 'can', 'spare', 'i', 'advertised', 'for', 'him', 'in', 'last', 'saturdays', 'chronicle', 'said', 'she', 'here', 'is', 'the', 'slip', 'and', 'here', 'are', 'four', 'letters', 'from', 'him', 'thank', 'you', 'and', 'your', 'address', 'no', '31', 'lyon', 'place', 'camberwell', 'mr', 'angels', 'address', 'you', 'never', 'had', 'i', 'understand', 'where', 'is', 'your', 'fathers', 'place', 'of', 'business', 'he', 'travels', 'for', 'westhouse', 'marbank', 'the', 'great', 'claret', 'importers', 'of', 'fenchurch', 'street', 'thank', 'you', 'you', 'have', 'made', 'your', 'statement', 'very', 'clearly', 'you', 'will', 'leave', 'the', 'papers', 'here', 'and', 'remember', 'the', 'advice', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'given', 'you', 'let', 'the', 'whole', 'incident', 'be', 'a', 'sealed', 'book', 'and', 'do', 'not', 'allow', 'it', 'to', 'affect', 'your', 'life', 'you', 'are', 'very', 'kind', 'mr', 'holmes', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'do', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'true', 'to', 'hosmer', 'he', 'shall', 'find', 'me', 'ready', 'when', 'he', 'comes', 'back', 'for', 'all', 'the', 'preposterous', 'hat', 'and', 'the', 'vacuous', 'face', 'there', 'was', 'something', 'noble', 'in', 'the', 'simple', 'faith', 'of', 'our', 'visitor', 'which', 'compelled', 'our', 'respect', 'she', 'laid', 'her', 'little', 'bundle', 'of', 'papers', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'and', 'went', 'her', 'way', 'with', 'a', 'promise', 'to', 'come', 'again', 'whenever', 'she', 'might', 'be', 'summoned', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'sat', 'silent', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'with', 'his', 'fingertips', 'still', 'pressed', 'together', 'his', 'legs', 'stretched', 'out', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'him', 'and', 'his', 'gaze', 'directed', 'upward', 'to', 'the', 'ceiling', 'then', 'he', 'took', 'down', 'from', 'the', 'rack', 'the', 'old', 'and', 'oily', 'clay', 'pipe', 'which', 'was', 'to', 'him', 'as', 'a', 'counsellor', 'and', 'having', 'lit', 'it', 'he', 'leaned', 'back', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'with', 'the', 'thick', 'blue', 'cloudwreaths', 'spinning', 'up', 'from', 'him', 'and', 'a', 'look', 'of', 'infinite', 'languor', 'in', 'his', 'face', 'quite', 'an', 'interesting', 'study', 'that', 'maiden', 'he', 'observed', 'i', 'found', 'her', 'more', 'interesting', 'than', 'her', 'little', 'problem', 'which', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'is', 'rather', 'a', 'trite', 'one', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'parallel', 'cases', 'if', 'you', 'consult', 'my', 'index', 'in', 'andover', 'in', '77', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'something', 'of', 'the', 'sort', 'at', 'the', 'hague', 'last', 'year', 'old', 'as', 'is', 'the', 'idea', 'however', 'there', 'were', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'details', 'which', 'were', 'new', 'to', 'me', 'but', 'the', 'maiden', 'herself', 'was', 'most', 'instructive', 'you', 'appeared', 'to', 'read', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'upon', 'her', 'which', 'was', 'quite', 'invisible', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'remarked', 'not', 'invisible', 'but', 'unnoticed', 'watson', 'you', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'where', 'to', 'look', 'and', 'so', 'you', 'missed', 'all', 'that', 'was', 'important', 'i', 'can', 'never', 'bring', 'you', 'to', 'realise', 'the', 'importance', 'of', 'sleeves', 'the', 'suggestiveness', 'of', 'thumbnails', 'or', 'the', 'great', 'issues', 'that', 'may', 'hang', 'from', 'a', 'bootlace', 'now', 'what', 'did', 'you', 'gather', 'from', 'that', 'womans', 'appearance', 'describe', 'it', 'well', 'she', 'had', 'a', 'slatecoloured', 'broadbrimmed', 'straw', 'hat', 'with', 'a', 'feather', 'of', 'a', 'brickish', 'red', 'her', 'jacket', 'was', 'black', 'with', 'black', 'beads', 'sewn', 'upon', 'it', 'and', 'a', 'fringe', 'of', 'little', 'black', 'jet', 'ornaments', 'her', 'dress', 'was', 'brown', 'rather', 'darker', 'than', 'coffee', 'colour', 'with', 'a', 'little', 'purple', 'plush', 'at', 'the', 'neck', 'and', 'sleeves', 'her', 'gloves', 'were', 'greyish', 'and', 'were', 'worn', 'through', 'at', 'the', 'right', 'forefinger', 'her', 'boots', 'i', 'didnt', 'observe', 'she', 'had', 'small', 'round', 'hanging', 'gold', 'earrings', 'and', 'a', 'general', 'air', 'of', 'being', 'fairly', 'welltodo', 'in', 'a', 'vulgar', 'comfortable', 'easygoing', 'way', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'clapped', 'his', 'hands', 'softly', 'together', 'and', 'chuckled', 'pon', 'my', 'word', 'watson', 'you', 'are', 'coming', 'along', 'wonderfully', 'you', 'have', 'really', 'done', 'very', 'well', 'indeed', 'it', 'is', 'true', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'missed', 'everything', 'of', 'importance', 'but', 'you', 'have', 'hit', 'upon', 'the', 'method', 'and', 'you', 'have', 'a', 'quick', 'eye', 'for', 'colour', 'never', 'trust', 'to', 'general', 'impressions', 'my', 'boy', 'but', 'concentrate', 'yourself', 'upon', 'details', 'my', 'first', 'glance', 'is', 'always', 'at', 'a', 'womans', 'sleeve', 'in', 'a', 'man', 'it', 'is', 'perhaps', 'better', 'first', 'to', 'take', 'the', 'knee', 'of', 'the', 'trouser', 'as', 'you', 'observe', 'this', 'woman', 'had', 'plush', 'upon', 'her', 'sleeves', 'which', 'is', 'a', 'most', 'useful', 'material', 'for', 'showing', 'traces', 'the', 'double', 'line', 'a', 'little', 'above', 'the', 'wrist', 'where', 'the', 'typewritist', 'presses', 'against', 'the', 'table', 'was', 'beautifully', 'defined', 'the', 'sewingmachine', 'of', 'the', 'hand', 'type', 'leaves', 'a', 'similar', 'mark', 'but', 'only', 'on', 'the', 'left', 'arm', 'and', 'on', 'the', 'side', 'of', 'it', 'farthest', 'from', 'the', 'thumb', 'instead', 'of', 'being', 'right', 'across', 'the', 'broadest', 'part', 'as', 'this', 'was', 'i', 'then', 'glanced', 'at', 'her', 'face', 'and', 'observing', 'the', 'dint', 'of', 'a', 'pincenez', 'at', 'either', 'side', 'of', 'her', 'nose', 'i', 'ventured', 'a', 'remark', 'upon', 'short', 'sight', 'and', 'typewriting', 'which', 'seemed', 'to', 'surprise', 'her', 'it', 'surprised', 'me', 'but', 'surely', 'it', 'was', 'obvious', 'i', 'was', 'then', 'much', 'surprised', 'and', 'interested', 'on', 'glancing', 'down', 'to', 'observe', 'that', 'though', 'the', 'boots', 'which', 'she', 'was', 'wearing', 'were', 'not', 'unlike', 'each', 'other', 'they', 'were', 'really', 'odd', 'ones', 'the', 'one', 'having', 'a', 'slightly', 'decorated', 'toecap', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'a', 'plain', 'one', 'one', 'was', 'buttoned', 'only', 'in', 'the', 'two', 'lower', 'buttons', 'out', 'of', 'five', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'at', 'the', 'first', 'third', 'and', 'fifth', 'now', 'when', 'you', 'see', 'that', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'otherwise', 'neatly', 'dressed', 'has', 'come', 'away', 'from', 'home', 'with', 'odd', 'boots', 'halfbuttoned', 'it', 'is', 'no', 'great', 'deduction', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'she', 'came', 'away', 'in', 'a', 'hurry', 'and', 'what', 'else', 'i', 'asked', 'keenly', 'interested', 'as', 'i', 'always', 'was', 'by', 'my', 'friends', 'incisive', 'reasoning', 'i', 'noted', 'in', 'passing', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'written', 'a', 'note', 'before', 'leaving', 'home', 'but', 'after', 'being', 'fully', 'dressed', 'you', 'observed', 'that', 'her', 'right', 'glove', 'was', 'torn', 'at', 'the', 'forefinger', 'but', 'you', 'did', 'not', 'apparently', 'see', 'that', 'both', 'glove', 'and', 'finger', 'were', 'stained', 'with', 'violet', 'ink', 'she', 'had', 'written', 'in', 'a', 'hurry', 'and', 'dipped', 'her', 'pen', 'too', 'deep', 'it', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'this', 'morning', 'or', 'the', 'mark', 'would', 'not', 'remain', 'clear', 'upon', 'the', 'finger', 'all', 'this', 'is', 'amusing', 'though', 'rather', 'elementary', 'but', 'i', 'must', 'go', 'back', 'to', 'business', 'watson', 'would', 'you', 'mind', 'reading', 'me', 'the', 'advertised', 'description', 'of', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'i', 'held', 'the', 'little', 'printed', 'slip', 'to', 'the', 'light', 'missing', 'it', 'said', 'on', 'the', 'morning', 'of', 'the', 'fourteenth', 'a', 'gentleman', 'named', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'about', 'five', 'ft', 'seven', 'in', 'in', 'height', 'strongly', 'built', 'sallow', 'complexion', 'black', 'hair', 'a', 'little', 'bald', 'in', 'the', 'centre', 'bushy', 'black', 'sidewhiskers', 'and', 'moustache', 'tinted', 'glasses', 'slight', 'infirmity', 'of', 'speech', 'was', 'dressed', 'when', 'last', 'seen', 'in', 'black', 'frockcoat', 'faced', 'with', 'silk', 'black', 'waistcoat', 'gold', 'albert', 'chain', 'and', 'grey', 'harris', 'tweed', 'trousers', 'with', 'brown', 'gaiters', 'over', 'elasticsided', 'boots', 'known', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'employed', 'in', 'an', 'office', 'in', 'leadenhall', 'street', 'anybody', 'bringing', 'c', 'c', 'that', 'will', 'do', 'said', 'holmes', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'letters', 'he', 'continued', 'glancing', 'over', 'them', 'they', 'are', 'very', 'commonplace', 'absolutely', 'no', 'clue', 'in', 'them', 'to', 'mr', 'angel', 'save', 'that', 'he', 'quotes', 'balzac', 'once', 'there', 'is', 'one', 'remarkable', 'point', 'however', 'which', 'will', 'no', 'doubt', 'strike', 'you', 'they', 'are', 'typewritten', 'i', 'remarked', 'not', 'only', 'that', 'but', 'the', 'signature', 'is', 'typewritten', 'look', 'at', 'the', 'neat', 'little', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'at', 'the', 'bottom', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'date', 'you', 'see', 'but', 'no', 'superscription', 'except', 'leadenhall', 'street', 'which', 'is', 'rather', 'vague', 'the', 'point', 'about', 'the', 'signature', 'is', 'very', 'suggestivein', 'fact', 'we', 'may', 'call', 'it', 'conclusive', 'of', 'what', 'my', 'dear', 'fellow', 'is', 'it', 'possible', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'see', 'how', 'strongly', 'it', 'bears', 'upon', 'the', 'case', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'do', 'unless', 'it', 'were', 'that', 'he', 'wished', 'to', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'deny', 'his', 'signature', 'if', 'an', 'action', 'for', 'breach', 'of', 'promise', 'were', 'instituted', 'no', 'that', 'was', 'not', 'the', 'point', 'however', 'i', 'shall', 'write', 'two', 'letters', 'which', 'should', 'settle', 'the', 'matter', 'one', 'is', 'to', 'a', 'firm', 'in', 'the', 'city', 'the', 'other', 'is', 'to', 'the', 'young', 'ladys', 'stepfather', 'mr', 'windibank', 'asking', 'him', 'whether', 'he', 'could', 'meet', 'us', 'here', 'at', 'six', 'oclock', 'tomorrow', 'evening', 'it', 'is', 'just', 'as', 'well', 'that', 'we', 'should', 'do', 'business', 'with', 'the', 'male', 'relatives', 'and', 'now', 'doctor', 'we', 'can', 'do', 'nothing', 'until', 'the', 'answers', 'to', 'those', 'letters', 'come', 'so', 'we', 'may', 'put', 'our', 'little', 'problem', 'upon', 'the', 'shelf', 'for', 'the', 'interim', 'i', 'had', 'had', 'so', 'many', 'reasons', 'to', 'believe', 'in', 'my', 'friends', 'subtle', 'powers', 'of', 'reasoning', 'and', 'extraordinary', 'energy', 'in', 'action', 'that', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'he', 'must', 'have', 'some', 'solid', 'grounds', 'for', 'the', 'assured', 'and', 'easy', 'demeanour', 'with', 'which', 'he', 'treated', 'the', 'singular', 'mystery', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'called', 'upon', 'to', 'fathom', 'once', 'only', 'had', 'i', 'known', 'him', 'to', 'fail', 'in', 'the', 'case', 'of', 'the', 'king', 'of', 'bohemia', 'and', 'of', 'the', 'irene', 'adler', 'photograph', 'but', 'when', 'i', 'looked', 'back', 'to', 'the', 'weird', 'business', 'of', 'the', 'sign', 'of', 'four', 'and', 'the', 'extraordinary', 'circumstances', 'connected', 'with', 'the', 'study', 'in', 'scarlet', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'strange', 'tangle', 'indeed', 'which', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'unravel', 'i', 'left', 'him', 'then', 'still', 'puffing', 'at', 'his', 'black', 'clay', 'pipe', 'with', 'the', 'conviction', 'that', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'again', 'on', 'the', 'next', 'evening', 'i', 'would', 'find', 'that', 'he', 'held', 'in', 'his', 'hands', 'all', 'the', 'clues', 'which', 'would', 'lead', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'identity', 'of', 'the', 'disappearing', 'bridegroom', 'of', 'miss', 'mary', 'sutherland', 'a', 'professional', 'case', 'of', 'great', 'gravity', 'was', 'engaging', 'my', 'own', 'attention', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'and', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'next', 'day', 'i', 'was', 'busy', 'at', 'the', 'bedside', 'of', 'the', 'sufferer', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'until', 'close', 'upon', 'six', 'oclock', 'that', 'i', 'found', 'myself', 'free', 'and', 'was', 'able', 'to', 'spring', 'into', 'a', 'hansom', 'and', 'drive', 'to', 'baker', 'street', 'half', 'afraid', 'that', 'i', 'might', 'be', 'too', 'late', 'to', 'assist', 'at', 'the', 'dénouement', 'of', 'the', 'little', 'mystery', 'i', 'found', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'alone', 'however', 'half', 'asleep', 'with', 'his', 'long', 'thin', 'form', 'curled', 'up', 'in', 'the', 'recesses', 'of', 'his', 'armchair', 'a', 'formidable', 'array', 'of', 'bottles', 'and', 'testtubes', 'with', 'the', 'pungent', 'cleanly', 'smell', 'of', 'hydrochloric', 'acid', 'told', 'me', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'spent', 'his', 'day', 'in', 'the', 'chemical', 'work', 'which', 'was', 'so', 'dear', 'to', 'him', 'well', 'have', 'you', 'solved', 'it', 'i', 'asked', 'as', 'i', 'entered', 'yes', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'bisulphate', 'of', 'baryta', 'no', 'no', 'the', 'mystery', 'i', 'cried', 'oh', 'that', 'i', 'thought', 'of', 'the', 'salt', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'working', 'upon', 'there', 'was', 'never', 'any', 'mystery', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'though', 'as', 'i', 'said', 'yesterday', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'details', 'are', 'of', 'interest', 'the', 'only', 'drawback', 'is', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'law', 'i', 'fear', 'that', 'can', 'touch', 'the', 'scoundrel', 'who', 'was', 'he', 'then', 'and', 'what', 'was', 'his', 'object', 'in', 'deserting', 'miss', 'sutherland', 'the', 'question', 'was', 'hardly', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'mouth', 'and', 'holmes', 'had', 'not', 'yet', 'opened', 'his', 'lips', 'to', 'reply', 'when', 'we', 'heard', 'a', 'heavy', 'footfall', 'in', 'the', 'passage', 'and', 'a', 'tap', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'this', 'is', 'the', 'girls', 'stepfather', 'mr', 'james', 'windibank', 'said', 'holmes', 'he', 'has', 'written', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'be', 'here', 'at', 'six', 'come', 'in', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'entered', 'was', 'a', 'sturdy', 'middlesized', 'fellow', 'some', 'thirty', 'years', 'of', 'age', 'cleanshaven', 'and', 'sallowskinned', 'with', 'a', 'bland', 'insinuating', 'manner', 'and', 'a', 'pair', 'of', 'wonderfully', 'sharp', 'and', 'penetrating', 'grey', 'eyes', 'he', 'shot', 'a', 'questioning', 'glance', 'at', 'each', 'of', 'us', 'placed', 'his', 'shiny', 'tophat', 'upon', 'the', 'sideboard', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'slight', 'bow', 'sidled', 'down', 'into', 'the', 'nearest', 'chair', 'goodevening', 'mr', 'james', 'windibank', 'said', 'holmes', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'this', 'typewritten', 'letter', 'is', 'from', 'you', 'in', 'which', 'you', 'made', 'an', 'appointment', 'with', 'me', 'for', 'six', 'oclock', 'yes', 'sir', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'little', 'late', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'quite', 'my', 'own', 'master', 'you', 'know', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'that', 'miss', 'sutherland', 'has', 'troubled', 'you', 'about', 'this', 'little', 'matter', 'for', 'i', 'think', 'it', 'is', 'far', 'better', 'not', 'to', 'wash', 'linen', 'of', 'the', 'sort', 'in', 'public', 'it', 'was', 'quite', 'against', 'my', 'wishes', 'that', 'she', 'came', 'but', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'excitable', 'impulsive', 'girl', 'as', 'you', 'may', 'have', 'noticed', 'and', 'she', 'is', 'not', 'easily', 'controlled', 'when', 'she', 'has', 'made', 'up', 'her', 'mind', 'on', 'a', 'point', 'of', 'course', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'mind', 'you', 'so', 'much', 'as', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'connected', 'with', 'the', 'official', 'police', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'pleasant', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'family', 'misfortune', 'like', 'this', 'noised', 'abroad', 'besides', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'useless', 'expense', 'for', 'how', 'could', 'you', 'possibly', 'find', 'this', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'said', 'holmes', 'quietly', 'i', 'have', 'every', 'reason', 'to', 'believe', 'that', 'i', 'will', 'succeed', 'in', 'discovering', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'mr', 'windibank', 'gave', 'a', 'violent', 'start', 'and', 'dropped', 'his', 'gloves', 'i', 'am', 'delighted', 'to', 'hear', 'it', 'he', 'said', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'curious', 'thing', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'that', 'a', 'typewriter', 'has', 'really', 'quite', 'as', 'much', 'individuality', 'as', 'a', 'mans', 'handwriting', 'unless', 'they', 'are', 'quite', 'new', 'no', 'two', 'of', 'them', 'write', 'exactly', 'alike', 'some', 'letters', 'get', 'more', 'worn', 'than', 'others', 'and', 'some', 'wear', 'only', 'on', 'one', 'side', 'now', 'you', 'remark', 'in', 'this', 'note', 'of', 'yours', 'mr', 'windibank', 'that', 'in', 'every', 'case', 'there', 'is', 'some', 'little', 'slurring', 'over', 'of', 'the', 'e', 'and', 'a', 'slight', 'defect', 'in', 'the', 'tail', 'of', 'the', 'r', 'there', 'are', 'fourteen', 'other', 'characteristics', 'but', 'those', 'are', 'the', 'more', 'obvious', 'we', 'do', 'all', 'our', 'correspondence', 'with', 'this', 'machine', 'at', 'the', 'office', 'and', 'no', 'doubt', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'worn', 'our', 'visitor', 'answered', 'glancing', 'keenly', 'at', 'holmes', 'with', 'his', 'bright', 'little', 'eyes', 'and', 'now', 'i', 'will', 'show', 'you', 'what', 'is', 'really', 'a', 'very', 'interesting', 'study', 'mr', 'windibank', 'holmes', 'continued', 'i', 'think', 'of', 'writing', 'another', 'little', 'monograph', 'some', 'of', 'these', 'days', 'on', 'the', 'typewriter', 'and', 'its', 'relation', 'to', 'crime', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'subject', 'to', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'devoted', 'some', 'little', 'attention', 'i', 'have', 'here', 'four', 'letters', 'which', 'purport', 'to', 'come', 'from', 'the', 'missing', 'man', 'they', 'are', 'all', 'typewritten', 'in', 'each', 'case', 'not', 'only', 'are', 'the', 'es', 'slurred', 'and', 'the', 'rs', 'tailless', 'but', 'you', 'will', 'observe', 'if', 'you', 'care', 'to', 'use', 'my', 'magnifying', 'lens', 'that', 'the', 'fourteen', 'other', 'characteristics', 'to', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'alluded', 'are', 'there', 'as', 'well', 'mr', 'windibank', 'sprang', 'out', 'of', 'his', 'chair', 'and', 'picked', 'up', 'his', 'hat', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'waste', 'time', 'over', 'this', 'sort', 'of', 'fantastic', 'talk', 'mr', 'holmes', 'he', 'said', 'if', 'you', 'can', 'catch', 'the', 'man', 'catch', 'him', 'and', 'let', 'me', 'know', 'when', 'you', 'have', 'done', 'it', 'certainly', 'said', 'holmes', 'stepping', 'over', 'and', 'turning', 'the', 'key', 'in', 'the', 'door', 'i', 'let', 'you', 'know', 'then', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'caught', 'him', 'what', 'where', 'shouted', 'mr', 'windibank', 'turning', 'white', 'to', 'his', 'lips', 'and', 'glancing', 'about', 'him', 'like', 'a', 'rat', 'in', 'a', 'trap', 'oh', 'it', 'wont', 'doreally', 'it', 'wont', 'said', 'holmes', 'suavely', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'possible', 'getting', 'out', 'of', 'it', 'mr', 'windibank', 'it', 'is', 'quite', 'too', 'transparent', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'bad', 'compliment', 'when', 'you', 'said', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'impossible', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'solve', 'so', 'simple', 'a', 'question', 'thats', 'right', 'sit', 'down', 'and', 'let', 'us', 'talk', 'it', 'over', 'our', 'visitor', 'collapsed', 'into', 'a', 'chair', 'with', 'a', 'ghastly', 'face', 'and', 'a', 'glitter', 'of', 'moisture', 'on', 'his', 'brow', 'itits', 'not', 'actionable', 'he', 'stammered', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'much', 'afraid', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'but', 'between', 'ourselves', 'windibank', 'it', 'was', 'as', 'cruel', 'and', 'selfish', 'and', 'heartless', 'a', 'trick', 'in', 'a', 'petty', 'way', 'as', 'ever', 'came', 'before', 'me', 'now', 'let', 'me', 'just', 'run', 'over', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'events', 'and', 'you', 'will', 'contradict', 'me', 'if', 'i', 'go', 'wrong', 'the', 'man', 'sat', 'huddled', 'up', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'with', 'his', 'head', 'sunk', 'upon', 'his', 'breast', 'like', 'one', 'who', 'is', 'utterly', 'crushed', 'holmes', 'stuck', 'his', 'feet', 'up', 'on', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'the', 'mantelpiece', 'and', 'leaning', 'back', 'with', 'his', 'hands', 'in', 'his', 'pockets', 'began', 'talking', 'rather', 'to', 'himself', 'as', 'it', 'seemed', 'than', 'to', 'us', 'the', 'man', 'married', 'a', 'woman', 'very', 'much', 'older', 'than', 'himself', 'for', 'her', 'money', 'said', 'he', 'and', 'he', 'enjoyed', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'the', 'money', 'of', 'the', 'daughter', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'she', 'lived', 'with', 'them', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'considerable', 'sum', 'for', 'people', 'in', 'their', 'position', 'and', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'made', 'a', 'serious', 'difference', 'it', 'was', 'worth', 'an', 'effort', 'to', 'preserve', 'it', 'the', 'daughter', 'was', 'of', 'a', 'good', 'amiable', 'disposition', 'but', 'affectionate', 'and', 'warmhearted', 'in', 'her', 'ways', 'so', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'evident', 'that', 'with', 'her', 'fair', 'personal', 'advantages', 'and', 'her', 'little', 'income', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'allowed', 'to', 'remain', 'single', 'long', 'now', 'her', 'marriage', 'would', 'mean', 'of', 'course', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'a', 'hundred', 'a', 'year', 'so', 'what', 'does', 'her', 'stepfather', 'do', 'to', 'prevent', 'it', 'he', 'takes', 'the', 'obvious', 'course', 'of', 'keeping', 'her', 'at', 'home', 'and', 'forbidding', 'her', 'to', 'seek', 'the', 'company', 'of', 'people', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'age', 'but', 'soon', 'he', 'found', 'that', 'that', 'would', 'not', 'answer', 'forever', 'she', 'became', 'restive', 'insisted', 'upon', 'her', 'rights', 'and', 'finally', 'announced', 'her', 'positive', 'intention', 'of', 'going', 'to', 'a', 'certain', 'ball', 'what', 'does', 'her', 'clever', 'stepfather', 'do', 'then', 'he', 'conceives', 'an', 'idea', 'more', 'creditable', 'to', 'his', 'head', 'than', 'to', 'his', 'heart', 'with', 'the', 'connivance', 'and', 'assistance', 'of', 'his', 'wife', 'he', 'disguised', 'himself', 'covered', 'those', 'keen', 'eyes', 'with', 'tinted', 'glasses', 'masked', 'the', 'face', 'with', 'a', 'moustache', 'and', 'a', 'pair', 'of', 'bushy', 'whiskers', 'sunk', 'that', 'clear', 'voice', 'into', 'an', 'insinuating', 'whisper', 'and', 'doubly', 'secure', 'on', 'account', 'of', 'the', 'girls', 'short', 'sight', 'he', 'appears', 'as', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'and', 'keeps', 'off', 'other', 'lovers', 'by', 'making', 'love', 'himself', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'a', 'joke', 'at', 'first', 'groaned', 'our', 'visitor', 'we', 'never', 'thought', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'so', 'carried', 'away', 'very', 'likely', 'not', 'however', 'that', 'may', 'be', 'the', 'young', 'lady', 'was', 'very', 'decidedly', 'carried', 'away', 'and', 'having', 'quite', 'made', 'up', 'her', 'mind', 'that', 'her', 'stepfather', 'was', 'in', 'france', 'the', 'suspicion', 'of', 'treachery', 'never', 'for', 'an', 'instant', 'entered', 'her', 'mind', 'she', 'was', 'flattered', 'by', 'the', 'gentlemans', 'attentions', 'and', 'the', 'effect', 'was', 'increased', 'by', 'the', 'loudly', 'expressed', 'admiration', 'of', 'her', 'mother', 'then', 'mr', 'angel', 'began', 'to', 'call', 'for', 'it', 'was', 'obvious', 'that', 'the', 'matter', 'should', 'be', 'pushed', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'it', 'would', 'go', 'if', 'a', 'real', 'effect', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'produced', 'there', 'were', 'meetings', 'and', 'an', 'engagement', 'which', 'would', 'finally', 'secure', 'the', 'girls', 'affections', 'from', 'turning', 'towards', 'anyone', 'else', 'but', 'the', 'deception', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'kept', 'up', 'forever', 'these', 'pretended', 'journeys', 'to', 'france', 'were', 'rather', 'cumbrous', 'the', 'thing', 'to', 'do', 'was', 'clearly', 'to', 'bring', 'the', 'business', 'to', 'an', 'end', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'dramatic', 'manner', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'leave', 'a', 'permanent', 'impression', 'upon', 'the', 'young', 'ladys', 'mind', 'and', 'prevent', 'her', 'from', 'looking', 'upon', 'any', 'other', 'suitor', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'to', 'come', 'hence', 'those', 'vows', 'of', 'fidelity', 'exacted', 'upon', 'a', 'testament', 'and', 'hence', 'also', 'the', 'allusions', 'to', 'a', 'possibility', 'of', 'something', 'happening', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'morning', 'of', 'the', 'wedding', 'james', 'windibank', 'wished', 'miss', 'sutherland', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'bound', 'to', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'and', 'so', 'uncertain', 'as', 'to', 'his', 'fate', 'that', 'for', 'ten', 'years', 'to', 'come', 'at', 'any', 'rate', 'she', 'would', 'not', 'listen', 'to', 'another', 'man', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'the', 'church', 'door', 'he', 'brought', 'her', 'and', 'then', 'as', 'he', 'could', 'go', 'no', 'farther', 'he', 'conveniently', 'vanished', 'away', 'by', 'the', 'old', 'trick', 'of', 'stepping', 'in', 'at', 'one', 'door', 'of', 'a', 'fourwheeler', 'and', 'out', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'was', 'the', 'chain', 'of', 'events', 'mr', 'windibank', 'our', 'visitor', 'had', 'recovered', 'something', 'of', 'his', 'assurance', 'while', 'holmes', 'had', 'been', 'talking', 'and', 'he', 'rose', 'from', 'his', 'chair', 'now', 'with', 'a', 'cold', 'sneer', 'upon', 'his', 'pale', 'face', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'so', 'or', 'it', 'may', 'not', 'mr', 'holmes', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'so', 'very', 'sharp', 'you', 'ought', 'to', 'be', 'sharp', 'enough', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'you', 'who', 'are', 'breaking', 'the', 'law', 'now', 'and', 'not', 'me', 'i', 'have', 'done', 'nothing', 'actionable', 'from', 'the', 'first', 'but', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'you', 'keep', 'that', 'door', 'locked', 'you', 'lay', 'yourself', 'open', 'to', 'an', 'action', 'for', 'assault', 'and', 'illegal', 'constraint', 'the', 'law', 'can', 'not', 'as', 'you', 'say', 'touch', 'you', 'said', 'holmes', 'unlocking', 'and', 'throwing', 'open', 'the', 'door', 'yet', 'there', 'never', 'was', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'deserved', 'punishment', 'more', 'if', 'the', 'young', 'lady', 'has', 'a', 'brother', 'or', 'a', 'friend', 'he', 'ought', 'to', 'lay', 'a', 'whip', 'across', 'your', 'shoulders', 'by', 'jove', 'he', 'continued', 'flushing', 'up', 'at', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'the', 'bitter', 'sneer', 'upon', 'the', 'mans', 'face', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'part', 'of', 'my', 'duties', 'to', 'my', 'client', 'but', 'heres', 'a', 'hunting', 'crop', 'handy', 'and', 'i', 'think', 'i', 'shall', 'just', 'treat', 'myself', 'to', 'he', 'took', 'two', 'swift', 'steps', 'to', 'the', 'whip', 'but', 'before', 'he', 'could', 'grasp', 'it', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'wild', 'clatter', 'of', 'steps', 'upon', 'the', 'stairs', 'the', 'heavy', 'hall', 'door', 'banged', 'and', 'from', 'the', 'window', 'we', 'could', 'see', 'mr', 'james', 'windibank', 'running', 'at', 'the', 'top', 'of', 'his', 'speed', 'down', 'the', 'road', 'theres', 'a', 'coldblooded', 'scoundrel', 'said', 'holmes', 'laughing', 'as', 'he', 'threw', 'himself', 'down', 'into', 'his', 'chair', 'once', 'more', 'that', 'fellow', 'will', 'rise', 'from', 'crime', 'to', 'crime', 'until', 'he', 'does', 'something', 'very', 'bad', 'and', 'ends', 'on', 'a', 'gallows', 'the', 'case', 'has', 'in', 'some', 'respects', 'been', 'not', 'entirely', 'devoid', 'of', 'interest', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'now', 'entirely', 'see', 'all', 'the', 'steps', 'of', 'your', 'reasoning', 'i', 'remarked', 'well', 'of', 'course', 'it', 'was', 'obvious', 'from', 'the', 'first', 'that', 'this', 'mr', 'hosmer', 'angel', 'must', 'have', 'some', 'strong', 'object', 'for', 'his', 'curious', 'conduct', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'equally', 'clear', 'that', 'the', 'only', 'man', 'who', 'really', 'profited', 'by', 'the', 'incident', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'we', 'could', 'see', 'was', 'the', 'stepfather', 'then', 'the', 'fact', 'that', 'the', 'two', 'men', 'were', 'never', 'together', 'but', 'that', 'the', 'one', 'always', 'appeared', 'when', 'the', 'other', 'was', 'away', 'was', 'suggestive', 'so', 'were', 'the', 'tinted', 'spectacles', 'and', 'the', 'curious', 'voice', 'which', 'both', 'hinted', 'at', 'a', 'disguise', 'as', 'did', 'the', 'bushy', 'whiskers', 'my', 'suspicions', 'were', 'all', 'confirmed', 'by', 'his', 'peculiar', 'action', 'in', 'typewriting', 'his', 'signature', 'which', 'of', 'course', 'inferred', 'that', 'his', 'handwriting', 'was', 'so', 'familiar', 'to', 'her', 'that', 'she', 'would', 'recognise', 'even', 'the', 'smallest', 'sample', 'of', 'it', 'you', 'see', 'all', 'these', 'isolated', 'facts', 'together', 'with', 'many', 'minor', 'ones', 'all', 'pointed', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'direction', 'and', 'how', 'did', 'you', 'verify', 'them', 'having', 'once', 'spotted', 'my', 'man', 'it', 'was', 'easy', 'to', 'get', 'corroboration', 'i', 'knew', 'the', 'firm', 'for', 'which', 'this', 'man', 'worked', 'having', 'taken', 'the', 'printed', 'description', 'i', 'eliminated', 'everything', 'from', 'it', 'which', 'could', 'be', 'the', 'result', 'of', 'a', 'disguisethe', 'whiskers', 'the', 'glasses', 'the', 'voice', 'and', 'i', 'sent', 'it', 'to', 'the', 'firm', 'with', 'a', 'request', 'that', 'they', 'would', 'inform', 'me', 'whether', 'it', 'answered', 'to', 'the', 'description', 'of', 'any', 'of', 'their', 'travellers', 'i', 'had', 'already', 'noticed', 'the', 'peculiarities', 'of', 'the', 'typewriter', 'and', 'i', 'wrote', 'to', 'the', 'man', 'himself', 'at', 'his', 'business', 'address', 'asking', 'him', 'if', 'he', 'would', 'come', 'here', 'as', 'i', 'expected', 'his', 'reply', 'was', 'typewritten', 'and', 'revealed', 'the', 'same', 'trivial', 'but', 'characteristic', 'defects', 'the', 'same', 'post', 'brought', 'me', 'a', 'letter', 'from', 'westhouse', 'marbank', 'of', 'fenchurch', 'street', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'the', 'description', 'tallied', 'in', 'every', 'respect', 'with', 'that', 'of', 'their', 'employé', 'james', 'windibank', 'voilà', 'tout', 'and', 'miss', 'sutherland', 'if', 'i', 'tell', 'her', 'she', 'will', 'not', 'believe', 'me', 'you', 'may', 'remember', 'the', 'old', 'persian', 'saying', 'there', 'is', 'danger', 'for', 'him', 'who', 'taketh', 'the', 'tiger', 'cub', 'and', 'danger', 'also', 'for', 'whoso', 'snatches', 'a', 'delusion', 'from', 'a', 'woman', 'there', 'is', 'as', 'much', 'sense', 'in', 'hafiz', 'as', 'in', 'horace', 'and', 'as', 'much', 'knowledge', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'iv', 'the', 'boscombe', 'valley', 'mystery', 'we', 'were', 'seated', 'at', 'breakfast', 'one', 'morning', 'my', 'wife', 'and', 'i', 'when', 'the', 'maid', 'brought', 'in', 'a', 'telegram', 'it', 'was', 'from', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'and', 'ran', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'have', 'you', 'a', 'couple', 'of', 'days', 'to', 'spare', 'have', 'just', 'been', 'wired', 'for', 'from', 'the', 'west', 'of', 'england', 'in', 'connection', 'with', 'boscombe', 'valley', 'tragedy', 'shall', 'be', 'glad', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'come', 'with', 'me', 'air', 'and', 'scenery', 'perfect', 'leave', 'paddington', 'by', 'the', '1115', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'say', 'dear', 'said', 'my', 'wife', 'looking', 'across', 'at', 'me', 'will', 'you', 'go', 'i', 'really', 'dont', 'know', 'what', 'to', 'say', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'fairly', 'long', 'list', 'at', 'present', 'oh', 'anstruther', 'would', 'do', 'your', 'work', 'for', 'you', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'looking', 'a', 'little', 'pale', 'lately', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'the', 'change', 'would', 'do', 'you', 'good', 'and', 'you', 'are', 'always', 'so', 'interested', 'in', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'cases', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'ungrateful', 'if', 'i', 'were', 'not', 'seeing', 'what', 'i', 'gained', 'through', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'i', 'answered', 'but', 'if', 'i', 'am', 'to', 'go', 'i', 'must', 'pack', 'at', 'once', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'only', 'half', 'an', 'hour', 'my', 'experience', 'of', 'camp', 'life', 'in', 'afghanistan', 'had', 'at', 'least', 'had', 'the', 'effect', 'of', 'making', 'me', 'a', 'prompt', 'and', 'ready', 'traveller', 'my', 'wants', 'were', 'few', 'and', 'simple', 'so', 'that', 'in', 'less', 'than', 'the', 'time', 'stated', 'i', 'was', 'in', 'a', 'cab', 'with', 'my', 'valise', 'rattling', 'away', 'to', 'paddington', 'station', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'was', 'pacing', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'platform', 'his', 'tall', 'gaunt', 'figure', 'made', 'even', 'gaunter', 'and', 'taller', 'by', 'his', 'long', 'grey', 'travellingcloak', 'and', 'closefitting', 'cloth', 'cap', 'it', 'is', 'really', 'very', 'good', 'of', 'you', 'to', 'come', 'watson', 'said', 'he', 'it', 'makes', 'a', 'considerable', 'difference', 'to', 'me', 'having', 'someone', 'with', 'me', 'on', 'whom', 'i', 'can', 'thoroughly', 'rely', 'local', 'aid', 'is', 'always', 'either', 'worthless', 'or', 'else', 'biassed', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'keep', 'the', 'two', 'corner', 'seats', 'i', 'shall', 'get', 'the', 'tickets', 'we', 'had', 'the', 'carriage', 'to', 'ourselves', 'save', 'for', 'an', 'immense', 'litter', 'of', 'papers', 'which', 'holmes', 'had', 'brought', 'with', 'him', 'among', 'these', 'he', 'rummaged', 'and', 'read', 'with', 'intervals', 'of', 'notetaking', 'and', 'of', 'meditation', 'until', 'we', 'were', 'past', 'reading', 'then', 'he', 'suddenly', 'rolled', 'them', 'all', 'into', 'a', 'gigantic', 'ball', 'and', 'tossed', 'them', 'up', 'onto', 'the', 'rack', 'have', 'you', 'heard', 'anything', 'of', 'the', 'case', 'he', 'asked', 'not', 'a', 'word', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'seen', 'a', 'paper', 'for', 'some', 'days', 'the', 'london', 'press', 'has', 'not', 'had', 'very', 'full', 'accounts', 'i', 'have', 'just', 'been', 'looking', 'through', 'all', 'the', 'recent', 'papers', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'master', 'the', 'particulars', 'it', 'seems', 'from', 'what', 'i', 'gather', 'to', 'be', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'simple', 'cases', 'which', 'are', 'so', 'extremely', 'difficult', 'that', 'sounds', 'a', 'little', 'paradoxical', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'profoundly', 'true', 'singularity', 'is', 'almost', 'invariably', 'a', 'clue', 'the', 'more', 'featureless', 'and', 'commonplace', 'a', 'crime', 'is', 'the', 'more', 'difficult', 'it', 'is', 'to', 'bring', 'it', 'home', 'in', 'this', 'case', 'however', 'they', 'have', 'established', 'a', 'very', 'serious', 'case', 'against', 'the', 'son', 'of', 'the', 'murdered', 'man', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'murder', 'then', 'well', 'it', 'is', 'conjectured', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'i', 'shall', 'take', 'nothing', 'for', 'granted', 'until', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'opportunity', 'of', 'looking', 'personally', 'into', 'it', 'i', 'will', 'explain', 'the', 'state', 'of', 'things', 'to', 'you', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'able', 'to', 'understand', 'it', 'in', 'a', 'very', 'few', 'words', 'boscombe', 'valley', 'is', 'a', 'country', 'district', 'not', 'very', 'far', 'from', 'ross', 'in', 'herefordshire', 'the', 'largest', 'landed', 'proprietor', 'in', 'that', 'part', 'is', 'a', 'mr', 'john', 'turner', 'who', 'made', 'his', 'money', 'in', 'australia', 'and', 'returned', 'some', 'years', 'ago', 'to', 'the', 'old', 'country', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'farms', 'which', 'he', 'held', 'that', 'of', 'hatherley', 'was', 'let', 'to', 'mr', 'charles', 'mccarthy', 'who', 'was', 'also', 'an', 'exaustralian', 'the', 'men', 'had', 'known', 'each', 'other', 'in', 'the', 'colonies', 'so', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'unnatural', 'that', 'when', 'they', 'came', 'to', 'settle', 'down', 'they', 'should', 'do', 'so', 'as', 'near', 'each', 'other', 'as', 'possible', 'turner', 'was', 'apparently', 'the', 'richer', 'man', 'so', 'mccarthy', 'became', 'his', 'tenant', 'but', 'still', 'remained', 'it', 'seems', 'upon', 'terms', 'of', 'perfect', 'equality', 'as', 'they', 'were', 'frequently', 'together', 'mccarthy', 'had', 'one', 'son', 'a', 'lad', 'of', 'eighteen', 'and', 'turner', 'had', 'an', 'only', 'daughter', 'of', 'the', 'same', 'age', 'but', 'neither', 'of', 'them', 'had', 'wives', 'living', 'they', 'appear', 'to', 'have', 'avoided', 'the', 'society', 'of', 'the', 'neighbouring', 'english', 'families', 'and', 'to', 'have', 'led', 'retired', 'lives', 'though', 'both', 'the', 'mccarthys', 'were', 'fond', 'of', 'sport', 'and', 'were', 'frequently', 'seen', 'at', 'the', 'racemeetings', 'of', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'mccarthy', 'kept', 'two', 'servantsa', 'man', 'and', 'a', 'girl', 'turner', 'had', 'a', 'considerable', 'household', 'some', 'halfdozen', 'at', 'the', 'least', 'that', 'is', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'able', 'to', 'gather', 'about', 'the', 'families', 'now', 'for', 'the', 'facts', 'on', 'june', '3rd', 'that', 'is', 'on', 'monday', 'last', 'mccarthy', 'left', 'his', 'house', 'at', 'hatherley', 'about', 'three', 'in', 'the', 'afternoon', 'and', 'walked', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'boscombe', 'pool', 'which', 'is', 'a', 'small', 'lake', 'formed', 'by', 'the', 'spreading', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'stream', 'which', 'runs', 'down', 'the', 'boscombe', 'valley', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'out', 'with', 'his', 'servingman', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'at', 'ross', 'and', 'he', 'had', 'told', 'the', 'man', 'that', 'he', 'must', 'hurry', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'an', 'appointment', 'of', 'importance', 'to', 'keep', 'at', 'three', 'from', 'that', 'appointment', 'he', 'never', 'came', 'back', 'alive', 'from', 'hatherley', 'farmhouse', 'to', 'the', 'boscombe', 'pool', 'is', 'a', 'quarter', 'of', 'a', 'mile', 'and', 'two', 'people', 'saw', 'him', 'as', 'he', 'passed', 'over', 'this', 'ground', 'one', 'was', 'an', 'old', 'woman', 'whose', 'name', 'is', 'not', 'mentioned', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'was', 'william', 'crowder', 'a', 'gamekeeper', 'in', 'the', 'employ', 'of', 'mr', 'turner', 'both', 'these', 'witnesses', 'depose', 'that', 'mr', 'mccarthy', 'was', 'walking', 'alone', 'the', 'gamekeeper', 'adds', 'that', 'within', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'of', 'his', 'seeing', 'mr', 'mccarthy', 'pass', 'he', 'had', 'seen', 'his', 'son', 'mr', 'james', 'mccarthy', 'going', 'the', 'same', 'way', 'with', 'a', 'gun', 'under', 'his', 'arm', 'to', 'the', 'best', 'of', 'his', 'belief', 'the', 'father', 'was', 'actually', 'in', 'sight', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'and', 'the', 'son', 'was', 'following', 'him', 'he', 'thought', 'no', 'more', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'until', 'he', 'heard', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'of', 'the', 'tragedy', 'that', 'had', 'occurred', 'the', 'two', 'mccarthys', 'were', 'seen', 'after', 'the', 'time', 'when', 'william', 'crowder', 'the', 'gamekeeper', 'lost', 'sight', 'of', 'them', 'the', 'boscombe', 'pool', 'is', 'thickly', 'wooded', 'round', 'with', 'just', 'a', 'fringe', 'of', 'grass', 'and', 'of', 'reeds', 'round', 'the', 'edge', 'a', 'girl', 'of', 'fourteen', 'patience', 'moran', 'who', 'is', 'the', 'daughter', 'of', 'the', 'lodgekeeper', 'of', 'the', 'boscombe', 'valley', 'estate', 'was', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'woods', 'picking', 'flowers', 'she', 'states', 'that', 'while', 'she', 'was', 'there', 'she', 'saw', 'at', 'the', 'border', 'of', 'the', 'wood', 'and', 'close', 'by', 'the', 'lake', 'mr', 'mccarthy', 'and', 'his', 'son', 'and', 'that', 'they', 'appeared', 'to', 'be', 'having', 'a', 'violent', 'quarrel', 'she', 'heard', 'mr', 'mccarthy', 'the', 'elder', 'using', 'very', 'strong', 'language', 'to', 'his', 'son', 'and', 'she', 'saw', 'the', 'latter', 'raise', 'up', 'his', 'hand', 'as', 'if', 'to', 'strike', 'his', 'father', 'she', 'was', 'so', 'frightened', 'by', 'their', 'violence', 'that', 'she', 'ran', 'away', 'and', 'told', 'her', 'mother', 'when', 'she', 'reached', 'home', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'left', 'the', 'two', 'mccarthys', 'quarrelling', 'near', 'boscombe', 'pool', 'and', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'afraid', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'going', 'to', 'fight', 'she', 'had', 'hardly', 'said', 'the', 'words', 'when', 'young', 'mr', 'mccarthy', 'came', 'running', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'lodge', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'found', 'his', 'father', 'dead', 'in', 'the', 'wood', 'and', 'to', 'ask', 'for', 'the', 'help', 'of', 'the', 'lodgekeeper', 'he', 'was', 'much', 'excited', 'without', 'either', 'his', 'gun', 'or', 'his', 'hat', 'and', 'his', 'right', 'hand', 'and', 'sleeve', 'were', 'observed', 'to', 'be', 'stained', 'with', 'fresh', 'blood', 'on', 'following', 'him', 'they', 'found', 'the', 'dead', 'body', 'stretched', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'grass', 'beside', 'the', 'pool', 'the', 'head', 'had', 'been', 'beaten', 'in', 'by', 'repeated', 'blows', 'of', 'some', 'heavy', 'and', 'blunt', 'weapon', 'the', 'injuries', 'were', 'such', 'as', 'might', 'very', 'well', 'have', 'been', 'inflicted', 'by', 'the', 'buttend', 'of', 'his', 'sons', 'gun', 'which', 'was', 'found', 'lying', 'on', 'the', 'grass', 'within', 'a', 'few', 'paces', 'of', 'the', 'body', 'under', 'these', 'circumstances', 'the', 'young', 'man', 'was', 'instantly', 'arrested', 'and', 'a', 'verdict', 'of', 'wilful', 'murder', 'having', 'been', 'returned', 'at', 'the', 'inquest', 'on', 'tuesday', 'he', 'was', 'on', 'wednesday', 'brought', 'before', 'the', 'magistrates', 'at', 'ross', 'who', 'have', 'referred', 'the', 'case', 'to', 'the', 'next', 'assizes', 'those', 'are', 'the', 'main', 'facts', 'of', 'the', 'case', 'as', 'they', 'came', 'out', 'before', 'the', 'coroner', 'and', 'the', 'policecourt', 'i', 'could', 'hardly', 'imagine', 'a', 'more', 'damning', 'case', 'i', 'remarked', 'if', 'ever', 'circumstantial', 'evidence', 'pointed', 'to', 'a', 'criminal', 'it', 'does', 'so', 'here', 'circumstantial', 'evidence', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'tricky', 'thing', 'answered', 'holmes', 'thoughtfully', 'it', 'may', 'seem', 'to', 'point', 'very', 'straight', 'to', 'one', 'thing', 'but', 'if', 'you', 'shift', 'your', 'own', 'point', 'of', 'view', 'a', 'little', 'you', 'may', 'find', 'it', 'pointing', 'in', 'an', 'equally', 'uncompromising', 'manner', 'to', 'something', 'entirely', 'different', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'confessed', 'however', 'that', 'the', 'case', 'looks', 'exceedingly', 'grave', 'against', 'the', 'young', 'man', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'possible', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'indeed', 'the', 'culprit', 'there', 'are', 'several', 'people', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'however', 'and', 'among', 'them', 'miss', 'turner', 'the', 'daughter', 'of', 'the', 'neighbouring', 'landowner', 'who', 'believe', 'in', 'his', 'innocence', 'and', 'who', 'have', 'retained', 'lestrade', 'whom', 'you', 'may', 'recollect', 'in', 'connection', 'with', 'the', 'study', 'in', 'scarlet', 'to', 'work', 'out', 'the', 'case', 'in', 'his', 'interest', 'lestrade', 'being', 'rather', 'puzzled', 'has', 'referred', 'the', 'case', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'hence', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'two', 'middleaged', 'gentlemen', 'are', 'flying', 'westward', 'at', 'fifty', 'miles', 'an', 'hour', 'instead', 'of', 'quietly', 'digesting', 'their', 'breakfasts', 'at', 'home', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'said', 'i', 'that', 'the', 'facts', 'are', 'so', 'obvious', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'little', 'credit', 'to', 'be', 'gained', 'out', 'of', 'this', 'case', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'more', 'deceptive', 'than', 'an', 'obvious', 'fact', 'he', 'answered', 'laughing', 'besides', 'we', 'may', 'chance', 'to', 'hit', 'upon', 'some', 'other', 'obvious', 'facts', 'which', 'may', 'have', 'been', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'obvious', 'to', 'mr', 'lestrade', 'you', 'know', 'me', 'too', 'well', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'boasting', 'when', 'i', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'either', 'confirm', 'or', 'destroy', 'his', 'theory', 'by', 'means', 'which', 'he', 'is', 'quite', 'incapable', 'of', 'employing', 'or', 'even', 'of', 'understanding', 'to', 'take', 'the', 'first', 'example', 'to', 'hand', 'i', 'very', 'clearly', 'perceive', 'that', 'in', 'your', 'bedroom', 'the', 'window', 'is', 'upon', 'the', 'righthand', 'side', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'question', 'whether', 'mr', 'lestrade', 'would', 'have', 'noted', 'even', 'so', 'selfevident', 'a', 'thing', 'as', 'that', 'how', 'on', 'earth', 'my', 'dear', 'fellow', 'i', 'know', 'you', 'well', 'i', 'know', 'the', 'military', 'neatness', 'which', 'characterises', 'you', 'you', 'shave', 'every', 'morning', 'and', 'in', 'this', 'season', 'you', 'shave', 'by', 'the', 'sunlight', 'but', 'since', 'your', 'shaving', 'is', 'less', 'and', 'less', 'complete', 'as', 'we', 'get', 'farther', 'back', 'on', 'the', 'left', 'side', 'until', 'it', 'becomes', 'positively', 'slovenly', 'as', 'we', 'get', 'round', 'the', 'angle', 'of', 'the', 'jaw', 'it', 'is', 'surely', 'very', 'clear', 'that', 'that', 'side', 'is', 'less', 'illuminated', 'than', 'the', 'other', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'imagine', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'your', 'habits', 'looking', 'at', 'himself', 'in', 'an', 'equal', 'light', 'and', 'being', 'satisfied', 'with', 'such', 'a', 'result', 'i', 'only', 'quote', 'this', 'as', 'a', 'trivial', 'example', 'of', 'observation', 'and', 'inference', 'therein', 'lies', 'my', 'métier', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'just', 'possible', 'that', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'of', 'some', 'service', 'in', 'the', 'investigation', 'which', 'lies', 'before', 'us', 'there', 'are', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'minor', 'points', 'which', 'were', 'brought', 'out', 'in', 'the', 'inquest', 'and', 'which', 'are', 'worth', 'considering', 'what', 'are', 'they', 'it', 'appears', 'that', 'his', 'arrest', 'did', 'not', 'take', 'place', 'at', 'once', 'but', 'after', 'the', 'return', 'to', 'hatherley', 'farm', 'on', 'the', 'inspector', 'of', 'constabulary', 'informing', 'him', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'prisoner', 'he', 'remarked', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'surprised', 'to', 'hear', 'it', 'and', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'no', 'more', 'than', 'his', 'deserts', 'this', 'observation', 'of', 'his', 'had', 'the', 'natural', 'effect', 'of', 'removing', 'any', 'traces', 'of', 'doubt', 'which', 'might', 'have', 'remained', 'in', 'the', 'minds', 'of', 'the', 'coroners', 'jury', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'confession', 'i', 'ejaculated', 'no', 'for', 'it', 'was', 'followed', 'by', 'a', 'protestation', 'of', 'innocence', 'coming', 'on', 'the', 'top', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'damning', 'series', 'of', 'events', 'it', 'was', 'at', 'least', 'a', 'most', 'suspicious', 'remark', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'said', 'holmes', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'brightest', 'rift', 'which', 'i', 'can', 'at', 'present', 'see', 'in', 'the', 'clouds', 'however', 'innocent', 'he', 'might', 'be', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'such', 'an', 'absolute', 'imbecile', 'as', 'not', 'to', 'see', 'that', 'the', 'circumstances', 'were', 'very', 'black', 'against', 'him', 'had', 'he', 'appeared', 'surprised', 'at', 'his', 'own', 'arrest', 'or', 'feigned', 'indignation', 'at', 'it', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'looked', 'upon', 'it', 'as', 'highly', 'suspicious', 'because', 'such', 'surprise', 'or', 'anger', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'natural', 'under', 'the', 'circumstances', 'and', 'yet', 'might', 'appear', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'best', 'policy', 'to', 'a', 'scheming', 'man', 'his', 'frank', 'acceptance', 'of', 'the', 'situation', 'marks', 'him', 'as', 'either', 'an', 'innocent', 'man', 'or', 'else', 'as', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'considerable', 'selfrestraint', 'and', 'firmness', 'as', 'to', 'his', 'remark', 'about', 'his', 'deserts', 'it', 'was', 'also', 'not', 'unnatural', 'if', 'you', 'consider', 'that', 'he', 'stood', 'beside', 'the', 'dead', 'body', 'of', 'his', 'father', 'and', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'that', 'very', 'day', 'so', 'far', 'forgotten', 'his', 'filial', 'duty', 'as', 'to', 'bandy', 'words', 'with', 'him', 'and', 'even', 'according', 'to', 'the', 'little', 'girl', 'whose', 'evidence', 'is', 'so', 'important', 'to', 'raise', 'his', 'hand', 'as', 'if', 'to', 'strike', 'him', 'the', 'selfreproach', 'and', 'contrition', 'which', 'are', 'displayed', 'in', 'his', 'remark', 'appear', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'signs', 'of', 'a', 'healthy', 'mind', 'rather', 'than', 'of', 'a', 'guilty', 'one', 'i', 'shook', 'my', 'head', 'many', 'men', 'have', 'been', 'hanged', 'on', 'far', 'slighter', 'evidence', 'i', 'remarked', 'so', 'they', 'have', 'and', 'many', 'men', 'have', 'been', 'wrongfully', 'hanged', 'what', 'is', 'the', 'young', 'mans', 'own', 'account', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'it', 'is', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'not', 'very', 'encouraging', 'to', 'his', 'supporters', 'though', 'there', 'are', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'points', 'in', 'it', 'which', 'are', 'suggestive', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'it', 'here', 'and', 'may', 'read', 'it', 'for', 'yourself', 'he', 'picked', 'out', 'from', 'his', 'bundle', 'a', 'copy', 'of', 'the', 'local', 'herefordshire', 'paper', 'and', 'having', 'turned', 'down', 'the', 'sheet', 'he', 'pointed', 'out', 'the', 'paragraph', 'in', 'which', 'the', 'unfortunate', 'young', 'man', 'had', 'given', 'his', 'own', 'statement', 'of', 'what', 'had', 'occurred', 'i', 'settled', 'myself', 'down', 'in', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'the', 'carriage', 'and', 'read', 'it', 'very', 'carefully', 'it', 'ran', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'mr', 'james', 'mccarthy', 'the', 'only', 'son', 'of', 'the', 'deceased', 'was', 'then', 'called', 'and', 'gave', 'evidence', 'as', 'follows', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'away', 'from', 'home', 'for', 'three', 'days', 'at', 'bristol', 'and', 'had', 'only', 'just', 'returned', 'upon', 'the', 'morning', 'of', 'last', 'monday', 'the', '3rd', 'my', 'father', 'was', 'absent', 'from', 'home', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'my', 'arrival', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'informed', 'by', 'the', 'maid', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'driven', 'over', 'to', 'ross', 'with', 'john', 'cobb', 'the', 'groom', 'shortly', 'after', 'my', 'return', 'i', 'heard', 'the', 'wheels', 'of', 'his', 'trap', 'in', 'the', 'yard', 'and', 'looking', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'window', 'i', 'saw', 'him', 'get', 'out', 'and', 'walk', 'rapidly', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'yard', 'though', 'i', 'was', 'not', 'aware', 'in', 'which', 'direction', 'he', 'was', 'going', 'i', 'then', 'took', 'my', 'gun', 'and', 'strolled', 'out', 'in', 'the', 'direction', 'of', 'the', 'boscombe', 'pool', 'with', 'the', 'intention', 'of', 'visiting', 'the', 'rabbit', 'warren', 'which', 'is', 'upon', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'on', 'my', 'way', 'i', 'saw', 'william', 'crowder', 'the', 'gamekeeper', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'stated', 'in', 'his', 'evidence', 'but', 'he', 'is', 'mistaken', 'in', 'thinking', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'following', 'my', 'father', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'idea', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'me', 'when', 'about', 'a', 'hundred', 'yards', 'from', 'the', 'pool', 'i', 'heard', 'a', 'cry', 'of', 'cooee', 'which', 'was', 'a', 'usual', 'signal', 'between', 'my', 'father', 'and', 'myself', 'i', 'then', 'hurried', 'forward', 'and', 'found', 'him', 'standing', 'by', 'the', 'pool', 'he', 'appeared', 'to', 'be', 'much', 'surprised', 'at', 'seeing', 'me', 'and', 'asked', 'me', 'rather', 'roughly', 'what', 'i', 'was', 'doing', 'there', 'a', 'conversation', 'ensued', 'which', 'led', 'to', 'high', 'words', 'and', 'almost', 'to', 'blows', 'for', 'my', 'father', 'was', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'a', 'very', 'violent', 'temper', 'seeing', 'that', 'his', 'passion', 'was', 'becoming', 'ungovernable', 'i', 'left', 'him', 'and', 'returned', 'towards', 'hatherley', 'farm', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'gone', 'more', 'than', '150', 'yards', 'however', 'when', 'i', 'heard', 'a', 'hideous', 'outcry', 'behind', 'me', 'which', 'caused', 'me', 'to', 'run', 'back', 'again', 'i', 'found', 'my', 'father', 'expiring', 'upon', 'the', 'ground', 'with', 'his', 'head', 'terribly', 'injured', 'i', 'dropped', 'my', 'gun', 'and', 'held', 'him', 'in', 'my', 'arms', 'but', 'he', 'almost', 'instantly', 'expired', 'i', 'knelt', 'beside', 'him', 'for', 'some', 'minutes', 'and', 'then', 'made', 'my', 'way', 'to', 'mr', 'turners', 'lodgekeeper', 'his', 'house', 'being', 'the', 'nearest', 'to', 'ask', 'for', 'assistance', 'i', 'saw', 'no', 'one', 'near', 'my', 'father', 'when', 'i', 'returned', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'idea', 'how', 'he', 'came', 'by', 'his', 'injuries', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'popular', 'man', 'being', 'somewhat', 'cold', 'and', 'forbidding', 'in', 'his', 'manners', 'but', 'he', 'had', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'i', 'know', 'no', 'active', 'enemies', 'i', 'know', 'nothing', 'further', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'the', 'coroner', 'did', 'your', 'father', 'make', 'any', 'statement', 'to', 'you', 'before', 'he', 'died', 'witness', 'he', 'mumbled', 'a', 'few', 'words', 'but', 'i', 'could', 'only', 'catch', 'some', 'allusion', 'to', 'a', 'rat', 'the', 'coroner', 'what', 'did', 'you', 'understand', 'by', 'that', 'witness', 'it', 'conveyed', 'no', 'meaning', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'thought', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'delirious', 'the', 'coroner', 'what', 'was', 'the', 'point', 'upon', 'which', 'you', 'and', 'your', 'father', 'had', 'this', 'final', 'quarrel', 'witness', 'i', 'should', 'prefer', 'not', 'to', 'answer', 'the', 'coroner', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'that', 'i', 'must', 'press', 'it', 'witness', 'it', 'is', 'really', 'impossible', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'i', 'can', 'assure', 'you', 'that', 'it', 'has', 'nothing', 'to', 'do', 'with', 'the', 'sad', 'tragedy', 'which', 'followed', 'the', 'coroner', 'that', 'is', 'for', 'the', 'court', 'to', 'decide', 'i', 'need', 'not', 'point', 'out', 'to', 'you', 'that', 'your', 'refusal', 'to', 'answer', 'will', 'prejudice', 'your', 'case', 'considerably', 'in', 'any', 'future', 'proceedings', 'which', 'may', 'arise', 'witness', 'i', 'must', 'still', 'refuse', 'the', 'coroner', 'i', 'understand', 'that', 'the', 'cry', 'of', 'cooee', 'was', 'a', 'common', 'signal', 'between', 'you', 'and', 'your', 'father', 'witness', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'coroner', 'how', 'was', 'it', 'then', 'that', 'he', 'uttered', 'it', 'before', 'he', 'saw', 'you', 'and', 'before', 'he', 'even', 'knew', 'that', 'you', 'had', 'returned', 'from', 'bristol', 'witness', 'with', 'considerable', 'confusion', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'a', 'juryman', 'did', 'you', 'see', 'nothing', 'which', 'aroused', 'your', 'suspicions', 'when', 'you', 'returned', 'on', 'hearing', 'the', 'cry', 'and', 'found', 'your', 'father', 'fatally', 'injured', 'witness', 'nothing', 'definite', 'the', 'coroner', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'witness', 'i', 'was', 'so', 'disturbed', 'and', 'excited', 'as', 'i', 'rushed', 'out', 'into', 'the', 'open', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'think', 'of', 'nothing', 'except', 'of', 'my', 'father', 'yet', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'vague', 'impression', 'that', 'as', 'i', 'ran', 'forward', 'something', 'lay', 'upon', 'the', 'ground', 'to', 'the', 'left', 'of', 'me', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'something', 'grey', 'in', 'colour', 'a', 'coat', 'of', 'some', 'sort', 'or', 'a', 'plaid', 'perhaps', 'when', 'i', 'rose', 'from', 'my', 'father', 'i', 'looked', 'round', 'for', 'it', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'gone', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'that', 'it', 'disappeared', 'before', 'you', 'went', 'for', 'help', 'yes', 'it', 'was', 'gone', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'say', 'what', 'it', 'was', 'no', 'i', 'had', 'a', 'feeling', 'something', 'was', 'there', 'how', 'far', 'from', 'the', 'body', 'a', 'dozen', 'yards', 'or', 'so', 'and', 'how', 'far', 'from', 'the', 'edge', 'of', 'the', 'wood', 'about', 'the', 'same', 'then', 'if', 'it', 'was', 'removed', 'it', 'was', 'while', 'you', 'were', 'within', 'a', 'dozen', 'yards', 'of', 'it', 'yes', 'but', 'with', 'my', 'back', 'towards', 'it', 'this', 'concluded', 'the', 'examination', 'of', 'the', 'witness', 'i', 'see', 'said', 'i', 'as', 'i', 'glanced', 'down', 'the', 'column', 'that', 'the', 'coroner', 'in', 'his', 'concluding', 'remarks', 'was', 'rather', 'severe', 'upon', 'young', 'mccarthy', 'he', 'calls', 'attention', 'and', 'with', 'reason', 'to', 'the', 'discrepancy', 'about', 'his', 'father', 'having', 'signalled', 'to', 'him', 'before', 'seeing', 'him', 'also', 'to', 'his', 'refusal', 'to', 'give', 'details', 'of', 'his', 'conversation', 'with', 'his', 'father', 'and', 'his', 'singular', 'account', 'of', 'his', 'fathers', 'dying', 'words', 'they', 'are', 'all', 'as', 'he', 'remarks', 'very', 'much', 'against', 'the', 'son', 'holmes', 'laughed', 'softly', 'to', 'himself', 'and', 'stretched', 'himself', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'cushioned', 'seat', 'both', 'you', 'and', 'the', 'coroner', 'have', 'been', 'at', 'some', 'pains', 'said', 'he', 'to', 'single', 'out', 'the', 'very', 'strongest', 'points', 'in', 'the', 'young', 'mans', 'favour', 'dont', 'you', 'see', 'that', 'you', 'alternately', 'give', 'him', 'credit', 'for', 'having', 'too', 'much', 'imagination', 'and', 'too', 'little', 'too', 'little', 'if', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'invent', 'a', 'cause', 'of', 'quarrel', 'which', 'would', 'give', 'him', 'the', 'sympathy', 'of', 'the', 'jury', 'too', 'much', 'if', 'he', 'evolved', 'from', 'his', 'own', 'inner', 'consciousness', 'anything', 'so', 'outré', 'as', 'a', 'dying', 'reference', 'to', 'a', 'rat', 'and', 'the', 'incident', 'of', 'the', 'vanishing', 'cloth', 'no', 'sir', 'i', 'shall', 'approach', 'this', 'case', 'from', 'the', 'point', 'of', 'view', 'that', 'what', 'this', 'young', 'man', 'says', 'is', 'true', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'see', 'whither', 'that', 'hypothesis', 'will', 'lead', 'us', 'and', 'now', 'here', 'is', 'my', 'pocket', 'petrarch', 'and', 'not', 'another', 'word', 'shall', 'i', 'say', 'of', 'this', 'case', 'until', 'we', 'are', 'on', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'action', 'we', 'lunch', 'at', 'swindon', 'and', 'i', 'see', 'that', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'there', 'in', 'twenty', 'minutes', 'it', 'was', 'nearly', 'four', 'oclock', 'when', 'we', 'at', 'last', 'after', 'passing', 'through', 'the', 'beautiful', 'stroud', 'valley', 'and', 'over', 'the', 'broad', 'gleaming', 'severn', 'found', 'ourselves', 'at', 'the', 'pretty', 'little', 'countrytown', 'of', 'ross', 'a', 'lean', 'ferretlike', 'man', 'furtive', 'and', 'slylooking', 'was', 'waiting', 'for', 'us', 'upon', 'the', 'platform', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'the', 'light', 'brown', 'dustcoat', 'and', 'leatherleggings', 'which', 'he', 'wore', 'in', 'deference', 'to', 'his', 'rustic', 'surroundings', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'difficulty', 'in', 'recognising', 'lestrade', 'of', 'scotland', 'yard', 'with', 'him', 'we', 'drove', 'to', 'the', 'hereford', 'arms', 'where', 'a', 'room', 'had', 'already', 'been', 'engaged', 'for', 'us', 'i', 'have', 'ordered', 'a', 'carriage', 'said', 'lestrade', 'as', 'we', 'sat', 'over', 'a', 'cup', 'of', 'tea', 'i', 'knew', 'your', 'energetic', 'nature', 'and', 'that', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'happy', 'until', 'you', 'had', 'been', 'on', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'the', 'crime', 'it', 'was', 'very', 'nice', 'and', 'complimentary', 'of', 'you', 'holmes', 'answered', 'it', 'is', 'entirely', 'a', 'question', 'of', 'barometric', 'pressure', 'lestrade', 'looked', 'startled', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'quite', 'follow', 'he', 'said', 'how', 'is', 'the', 'glass', 'twentynine', 'i', 'see', 'no', 'wind', 'and', 'not', 'a', 'cloud', 'in', 'the', 'sky', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'caseful', 'of', 'cigarettes', 'here', 'which', 'need', 'smoking', 'and', 'the', 'sofa', 'is', 'very', 'much', 'superior', 'to', 'the', 'usual', 'country', 'hotel', 'abomination', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'probable', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'use', 'the', 'carriage', 'tonight', 'lestrade', 'laughed', 'indulgently', 'you', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'already', 'formed', 'your', 'conclusions', 'from', 'the', 'newspapers', 'he', 'said', 'the', 'case', 'is', 'as', 'plain', 'as', 'a', 'pikestaff', 'and', 'the', 'more', 'one', 'goes', 'into', 'it', 'the', 'plainer', 'it', 'becomes', 'still', 'of', 'course', 'one', 'cant', 'refuse', 'a', 'lady', 'and', 'such', 'a', 'very', 'positive', 'one', 'too', 'she', 'has', 'heard', 'of', 'you', 'and', 'would', 'have', 'your', 'opinion', 'though', 'i', 'repeatedly', 'told', 'her', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'which', 'you', 'could', 'do', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'already', 'done', 'why', 'bless', 'my', 'soul', 'here', 'is', 'her', 'carriage', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'he', 'had', 'hardly', 'spoken', 'before', 'there', 'rushed', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'lovely', 'young', 'women', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'ever', 'seen', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'her', 'violet', 'eyes', 'shining', 'her', 'lips', 'parted', 'a', 'pink', 'flush', 'upon', 'her', 'cheeks', 'all', 'thought', 'of', 'her', 'natural', 'reserve', 'lost', 'in', 'her', 'overpowering', 'excitement', 'and', 'concern', 'oh', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'she', 'cried', 'glancing', 'from', 'one', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'of', 'us', 'and', 'finally', 'with', 'a', 'womans', 'quick', 'intuition', 'fastening', 'upon', 'my', 'companion', 'i', 'am', 'so', 'glad', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'come', 'i', 'have', 'driven', 'down', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'so', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'james', 'didnt', 'do', 'it', 'i', 'know', 'it', 'and', 'i', 'want', 'you', 'to', 'start', 'upon', 'your', 'work', 'knowing', 'it', 'too', 'never', 'let', 'yourself', 'doubt', 'upon', 'that', 'point', 'we', 'have', 'known', 'each', 'other', 'since', 'we', 'were', 'little', 'children', 'and', 'i', 'know', 'his', 'faults', 'as', 'no', 'one', 'else', 'does', 'but', 'he', 'is', 'too', 'tenderhearted', 'to', 'hurt', 'a', 'fly', 'such', 'a', 'charge', 'is', 'absurd', 'to', 'anyone', 'who', 'really', 'knows', 'him', 'i', 'hope', 'we', 'may', 'clear', 'him', 'miss', 'turner', 'said', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'you', 'may', 'rely', 'upon', 'my', 'doing', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'but', 'you', 'have', 'read', 'the', 'evidence', 'you', 'have', 'formed', 'some', 'conclusion', 'do', 'you', 'not', 'see', 'some', 'loophole', 'some', 'flaw', 'do', 'you', 'not', 'yourself', 'think', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'innocent', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'probable', 'there', 'now', 'she', 'cried', 'throwing', 'back', 'her', 'head', 'and', 'looking', 'defiantly', 'at', 'lestrade', 'you', 'hear', 'he', 'gives', 'me', 'hopes', 'lestrade', 'shrugged', 'his', 'shoulders', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'that', 'my', 'colleague', 'has', 'been', 'a', 'little', 'quick', 'in', 'forming', 'his', 'conclusions', 'he', 'said', 'but', 'he', 'is', 'right', 'oh', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'right', 'james', 'never', 'did', 'it', 'and', 'about', 'his', 'quarrel', 'with', 'his', 'father', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'that', 'the', 'reason', 'why', 'he', 'would', 'not', 'speak', 'about', 'it', 'to', 'the', 'coroner', 'was', 'because', 'i', 'was', 'concerned', 'in', 'it', 'in', 'what', 'way', 'asked', 'holmes', 'it', 'is', 'no', 'time', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'hide', 'anything', 'james', 'and', 'his', 'father', 'had', 'many', 'disagreements', 'about', 'me', 'mr', 'mccarthy', 'was', 'very', 'anxious', 'that', 'there', 'should', 'be', 'a', 'marriage', 'between', 'us', 'james', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'always', 'loved', 'each', 'other', 'as', 'brother', 'and', 'sister', 'but', 'of', 'course', 'he', 'is', 'young', 'and', 'has', 'seen', 'very', 'little', 'of', 'life', 'yet', 'andandwell', 'he', 'naturally', 'did', 'not', 'wish', 'to', 'do', 'anything', 'like', 'that', 'yet', 'so', 'there', 'were', 'quarrels', 'and', 'this', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'was', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'and', 'your', 'father', 'asked', 'holmes', 'was', 'he', 'in', 'favour', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'union', 'no', 'he', 'was', 'averse', 'to', 'it', 'also', 'no', 'one', 'but', 'mr', 'mccarthy', 'was', 'in', 'favour', 'of', 'it', 'a', 'quick', 'blush', 'passed', 'over', 'her', 'fresh', 'young', 'face', 'as', 'holmes', 'shot', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'keen', 'questioning', 'glances', 'at', 'her', 'thank', 'you', 'for', 'this', 'information', 'said', 'he', 'may', 'i', 'see', 'your', 'father', 'if', 'i', 'call', 'tomorrow', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'the', 'doctor', 'wont', 'allow', 'it', 'the', 'doctor', 'yes', 'have', 'you', 'not', 'heard', 'poor', 'father', 'has', 'never', 'been', 'strong', 'for', 'years', 'back', 'but', 'this', 'has', 'broken', 'him', 'down', 'completely', 'he', 'has', 'taken', 'to', 'his', 'bed', 'and', 'dr', 'willows', 'says', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'wreck', 'and', 'that', 'his', 'nervous', 'system', 'is', 'shattered', 'mr', 'mccarthy', 'was', 'the', 'only', 'man', 'alive', 'who', 'had', 'known', 'dad', 'in', 'the', 'old', 'days', 'in', 'victoria', 'ha', 'in', 'victoria', 'that', 'is', 'important', 'yes', 'at', 'the', 'mines', 'quite', 'so', 'at', 'the', 'goldmines', 'where', 'as', 'i', 'understand', 'mr', 'turner', 'made', 'his', 'money', 'yes', 'certainly', 'thank', 'you', 'miss', 'turner', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'of', 'material', 'assistance', 'to', 'me', 'you', 'will', 'tell', 'me', 'if', 'you', 'have', 'any', 'news', 'tomorrow', 'no', 'doubt', 'you', 'will', 'go', 'to', 'the', 'prison', 'to', 'see', 'james', 'oh', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'mr', 'holmes', 'do', 'tell', 'him', 'that', 'i', 'know', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'innocent', 'i', 'will', 'miss', 'turner', 'i', 'must', 'go', 'home', 'now', 'for', 'dad', 'is', 'very', 'ill', 'and', 'he', 'misses', 'me', 'so', 'if', 'i', 'leave', 'him', 'goodbye', 'and', 'god', 'help', 'you', 'in', 'your', 'undertaking', 'she', 'hurried', 'from', 'the', 'room', 'as', 'impulsively', 'as', 'she', 'had', 'entered', 'and', 'we', 'heard', 'the', 'wheels', 'of', 'her', 'carriage', 'rattle', 'off', 'down', 'the', 'street', 'i', 'am', 'ashamed', 'of', 'you', 'holmes', 'said', 'lestrade', 'with', 'dignity', 'after', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'silence', 'why', 'should', 'you', 'raise', 'up', 'hopes', 'which', 'you', 'are', 'bound', 'to', 'disappoint', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'overtender', 'of', 'heart', 'but', 'i', 'call', 'it', 'cruel', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'see', 'my', 'way', 'to', 'clearing', 'james', 'mccarthy', 'said', 'holmes', 'have', 'you', 'an', 'order', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'in', 'prison', 'yes', 'but', 'only', 'for', 'you', 'and', 'me', 'then', 'i', 'shall', 'reconsider', 'my', 'resolution', 'about', 'going', 'out', 'we', 'have', 'still', 'time', 'to', 'take', 'a', 'train', 'to', 'hereford', 'and', 'see', 'him', 'tonight', 'ample', 'then', 'let', 'us', 'do', 'so', 'watson', 'i', 'fear', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'it', 'very', 'slow', 'but', 'i', 'shall', 'only', 'be', 'away', 'a', 'couple', 'of', 'hours', 'i', 'walked', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'station', 'with', 'them', 'and', 'then', 'wandered', 'through', 'the', 'streets', 'of', 'the', 'little', 'town', 'finally', 'returning', 'to', 'the', 'hotel', 'where', 'i', 'lay', 'upon', 'the', 'sofa', 'and', 'tried', 'to', 'interest', 'myself', 'in', 'a', 'yellowbacked', 'novel', 'the', 'puny', 'plot', 'of', 'the', 'story', 'was', 'so', 'thin', 'however', 'when', 'compared', 'to', 'the', 'deep', 'mystery', 'through', 'which', 'we', 'were', 'groping', 'and', 'i', 'found', 'my', 'attention', 'wander', 'so', 'continually', 'from', 'the', 'action', 'to', 'the', 'fact', 'that', 'i', 'at', 'last', 'flung', 'it', 'across', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'gave', 'myself', 'up', 'entirely', 'to', 'a', 'consideration', 'of', 'the', 'events', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'supposing', 'that', 'this', 'unhappy', 'young', 'mans', 'story', 'were', 'absolutely', 'true', 'then', 'what', 'hellish', 'thing', 'what', 'absolutely', 'unforeseen', 'and', 'extraordinary', 'calamity', 'could', 'have', 'occurred', 'between', 'the', 'time', 'when', 'he', 'parted', 'from', 'his', 'father', 'and', 'the', 'moment', 'when', 'drawn', 'back', 'by', 'his', 'screams', 'he', 'rushed', 'into', 'the', 'glade', 'it', 'was', 'something', 'terrible', 'and', 'deadly', 'what', 'could', 'it', 'be', 'might', 'not', 'the', 'nature', 'of', 'the', 'injuries', 'reveal', 'something', 'to', 'my', 'medical', 'instincts', 'i', 'rang', 'the', 'bell', 'and', 'called', 'for', 'the', 'weekly', 'county', 'paper', 'which', 'contained', 'a', 'verbatim', 'account', 'of', 'the', 'inquest', 'in', 'the', 'surgeons', 'deposition', 'it', 'was', 'stated', 'that', 'the', 'posterior', 'third', 'of', 'the', 'left', 'parietal', 'bone', 'and', 'the', 'left', 'half', 'of', 'the', 'occipital', 'bone', 'had', 'been', 'shattered', 'by', 'a', 'heavy', 'blow', 'from', 'a', 'blunt', 'weapon', 'i', 'marked', 'the', 'spot', 'upon', 'my', 'own', 'head', 'clearly', 'such', 'a', 'blow', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'struck', 'from', 'behind', 'that', 'was', 'to', 'some', 'extent', 'in', 'favour', 'of', 'the', 'accused', 'as', 'when', 'seen', 'quarrelling', 'he', 'was', 'face', 'to', 'face', 'with', 'his', 'father', 'still', 'it', 'did', 'not', 'go', 'for', 'very', 'much', 'for', 'the', 'older', 'man', 'might', 'have', 'turned', 'his', 'back', 'before', 'the', 'blow', 'fell', 'still', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'worth', 'while', 'to', 'call', 'holmes', 'attention', 'to', 'it', 'then', 'there', 'was', 'the', 'peculiar', 'dying', 'reference', 'to', 'a', 'rat', 'what', 'could', 'that', 'mean', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'delirium', 'a', 'man', 'dying', 'from', 'a', 'sudden', 'blow', 'does', 'not', 'commonly', 'become', 'delirious', 'no', 'it', 'was', 'more', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'an', 'attempt', 'to', 'explain', 'how', 'he', 'met', 'his', 'fate', 'but', 'what', 'could', 'it', 'indicate', 'i', 'cudgelled', 'my', 'brains', 'to', 'find', 'some', 'possible', 'explanation', 'and', 'then', 'the', 'incident', 'of', 'the', 'grey', 'cloth', 'seen', 'by', 'young', 'mccarthy', 'if', 'that', 'were', 'true', 'the', 'murderer', 'must', 'have', 'dropped', 'some', 'part', 'of', 'his', 'dress', 'presumably', 'his', 'overcoat', 'in', 'his', 'flight', 'and', 'must', 'have', 'had', 'the', 'hardihood', 'to', 'return', 'and', 'to', 'carry', 'it', 'away', 'at', 'the', 'instant', 'when', 'the', 'son', 'was', 'kneeling', 'with', 'his', 'back', 'turned', 'not', 'a', 'dozen', 'paces', 'off', 'what', 'a', 'tissue', 'of', 'mysteries', 'and', 'improbabilities', 'the', 'whole', 'thing', 'was', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'wonder', 'at', 'lestrades', 'opinion', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'had', 'so', 'much', 'faith', 'in', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'insight', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'lose', 'hope', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'every', 'fresh', 'fact', 'seemed', 'to', 'strengthen', 'his', 'conviction', 'of', 'young', 'mccarthys', 'innocence', 'it', 'was', 'late', 'before', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'returned', 'he', 'came', 'back', 'alone', 'for', 'lestrade', 'was', 'staying', 'in', 'lodgings', 'in', 'the', 'town', 'the', 'glass', 'still', 'keeps', 'very', 'high', 'he', 'remarked', 'as', 'he', 'sat', 'down', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'importance', 'that', 'it', 'should', 'not', 'rain', 'before', 'we', 'are', 'able', 'to', 'go', 'over', 'the', 'ground', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'hand', 'a', 'man', 'should', 'be', 'at', 'his', 'very', 'best', 'and', 'keenest', 'for', 'such', 'nice', 'work', 'as', 'that', 'and', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'wish', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'when', 'fagged', 'by', 'a', 'long', 'journey', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'young', 'mccarthy', 'and', 'what', 'did', 'you', 'learn', 'from', 'him', 'nothing', 'could', 'he', 'throw', 'no', 'light', 'none', 'at', 'all', 'i', 'was', 'inclined', 'to', 'think', 'at', 'one', 'time', 'that', 'he', 'knew', 'who', 'had', 'done', 'it', 'and', 'was', 'screening', 'him', 'or', 'her', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'convinced', 'now', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'as', 'puzzled', 'as', 'everyone', 'else', 'he', 'is', 'not', 'a', 'very', 'quickwitted', 'youth', 'though', 'comely', 'to', 'look', 'at', 'and', 'i', 'should', 'think', 'sound', 'at', 'heart', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'admire', 'his', 'taste', 'i', 'remarked', 'if', 'it', 'is', 'indeed', 'a', 'fact', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'averse', 'to', 'a', 'marriage', 'with', 'so', 'charming', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'as', 'this', 'miss', 'turner', 'ah', 'thereby', 'hangs', 'a', 'rather', 'painful', 'tale', 'this', 'fellow', 'is', 'madly', 'insanely', 'in', 'love', 'with', 'her', 'but', 'some', 'two', 'years', 'ago', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'only', 'a', 'lad', 'and', 'before', 'he', 'really', 'knew', 'her', 'for', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'away', 'five', 'years', 'at', 'a', 'boardingschool', 'what', 'does', 'the', 'idiot', 'do', 'but', 'get', 'into', 'the', 'clutches', 'of', 'a', 'barmaid', 'in', 'bristol', 'and', 'marry', 'her', 'at', 'a', 'registry', 'office', 'no', 'one', 'knows', 'a', 'word', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'but', 'you', 'can', 'imagine', 'how', 'maddening', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'to', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'upbraided', 'for', 'not', 'doing', 'what', 'he', 'would', 'give', 'his', 'very', 'eyes', 'to', 'do', 'but', 'what', 'he', 'knows', 'to', 'be', 'absolutely', 'impossible', 'it', 'was', 'sheer', 'frenzy', 'of', 'this', 'sort', 'which', 'made', 'him', 'throw', 'his', 'hands', 'up', 'into', 'the', 'air', 'when', 'his', 'father', 'at', 'their', 'last', 'interview', 'was', 'goading', 'him', 'on', 'to', 'propose', 'to', 'miss', 'turner', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'hand', 'he', 'had', 'no', 'means', 'of', 'supporting', 'himself', 'and', 'his', 'father', 'who', 'was', 'by', 'all', 'accounts', 'a', 'very', 'hard', 'man', 'would', 'have', 'thrown', 'him', 'over', 'utterly', 'had', 'he', 'known', 'the', 'truth', 'it', 'was', 'with', 'his', 'barmaid', 'wife', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'spent', 'the', 'last', 'three', 'days', 'in', 'bristol', 'and', 'his', 'father', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'where', 'he', 'was', 'mark', 'that', 'point', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'importance', 'good', 'has', 'come', 'out', 'of', 'evil', 'however', 'for', 'the', 'barmaid', 'finding', 'from', 'the', 'papers', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'in', 'serious', 'trouble', 'and', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'hanged', 'has', 'thrown', 'him', 'over', 'utterly', 'and', 'has', 'written', 'to', 'him', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'she', 'has', 'a', 'husband', 'already', 'in', 'the', 'bermuda', 'dockyard', 'so', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'really', 'no', 'tie', 'between', 'them', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'that', 'bit', 'of', 'news', 'has', 'consoled', 'young', 'mccarthy', 'for', 'all', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'suffered', 'but', 'if', 'he', 'is', 'innocent', 'who', 'has', 'done', 'it', 'ah', 'who', 'i', 'would', 'call', 'your', 'attention', 'very', 'particularly', 'to', 'two', 'points', 'one', 'is', 'that', 'the', 'murdered', 'man', 'had', 'an', 'appointment', 'with', 'someone', 'at', 'the', 'pool', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'someone', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'his', 'son', 'for', 'his', 'son', 'was', 'away', 'and', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'when', 'he', 'would', 'return', 'the', 'second', 'is', 'that', 'the', 'murdered', 'man', 'was', 'heard', 'to', 'cry', 'cooee', 'before', 'he', 'knew', 'that', 'his', 'son', 'had', 'returned', 'those', 'are', 'the', 'crucial', 'points', 'upon', 'which', 'the', 'case', 'depends', 'and', 'now', 'let', 'us', 'talk', 'about', 'george', 'meredith', 'if', 'you', 'please', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'leave', 'all', 'minor', 'matters', 'until', 'tomorrow', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'rain', 'as', 'holmes', 'had', 'foretold', 'and', 'the', 'morning', 'broke', 'bright', 'and', 'cloudless', 'at', 'nine', 'oclock', 'lestrade', 'called', 'for', 'us', 'with', 'the', 'carriage', 'and', 'we', 'set', 'off', 'for', 'hatherley', 'farm', 'and', 'the', 'boscombe', 'pool', 'there', 'is', 'serious', 'news', 'this', 'morning', 'lestrade', 'observed', 'it', 'is', 'said', 'that', 'mr', 'turner', 'of', 'the', 'hall', 'is', 'so', 'ill', 'that', 'his', 'life', 'is', 'despaired', 'of', 'an', 'elderly', 'man', 'i', 'presume', 'said', 'holmes', 'about', 'sixty', 'but', 'his', 'constitution', 'has', 'been', 'shattered', 'by', 'his', 'life', 'abroad', 'and', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'in', 'failing', 'health', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'this', 'business', 'has', 'had', 'a', 'very', 'bad', 'effect', 'upon', 'him', 'he', 'was', 'an', 'old', 'friend', 'of', 'mccarthys', 'and', 'i', 'may', 'add', 'a', 'great', 'benefactor', 'to', 'him', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'learned', 'that', 'he', 'gave', 'him', 'hatherley', 'farm', 'rent', 'free', 'indeed', 'that', 'is', 'interesting', 'said', 'holmes', 'oh', 'yes', 'in', 'a', 'hundred', 'other', 'ways', 'he', 'has', 'helped', 'him', 'everybody', 'about', 'here', 'speaks', 'of', 'his', 'kindness', 'to', 'him', 'really', 'does', 'it', 'not', 'strike', 'you', 'as', 'a', 'little', 'singular', 'that', 'this', 'mccarthy', 'who', 'appears', 'to', 'have', 'had', 'little', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'and', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'under', 'such', 'obligations', 'to', 'turner', 'should', 'still', 'talk', 'of', 'marrying', 'his', 'son', 'to', 'turners', 'daughter', 'who', 'is', 'presumably', 'heiress', 'to', 'the', 'estate', 'and', 'that', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'very', 'cocksure', 'manner', 'as', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'merely', 'a', 'case', 'of', 'a', 'proposal', 'and', 'all', 'else', 'would', 'follow', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'more', 'strange', 'since', 'we', 'know', 'that', 'turner', 'himself', 'was', 'averse', 'to', 'the', 'idea', 'the', 'daughter', 'told', 'us', 'as', 'much', 'do', 'you', 'not', 'deduce', 'something', 'from', 'that', 'we', 'have', 'got', 'to', 'the', 'deductions', 'and', 'the', 'inferences', 'said', 'lestrade', 'winking', 'at', 'me', 'i', 'find', 'it', 'hard', 'enough', 'to', 'tackle', 'facts', 'holmes', 'without', 'flying', 'away', 'after', 'theories', 'and', 'fancies', 'you', 'are', 'right', 'said', 'holmes', 'demurely', 'you', 'do', 'find', 'it', 'very', 'hard', 'to', 'tackle', 'the', 'facts', 'anyhow', 'i', 'have', 'grasped', 'one', 'fact', 'which', 'you', 'seem', 'to', 'find', 'it', 'difficult', 'to', 'get', 'hold', 'of', 'replied', 'lestrade', 'with', 'some', 'warmth', 'and', 'that', 'is', 'that', 'mccarthy', 'senior', 'met', 'his', 'death', 'from', 'mccarthy', 'junior', 'and', 'that', 'all', 'theories', 'to', 'the', 'contrary', 'are', 'the', 'merest', 'moonshine', 'well', 'moonshine', 'is', 'a', 'brighter', 'thing', 'than', 'fog', 'said', 'holmes', 'laughing', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'much', 'mistaken', 'if', 'this', 'is', 'not', 'hatherley', 'farm', 'upon', 'the', 'left', 'yes', 'that', 'is', 'it', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'widespread', 'comfortablelooking', 'building', 'twostoried', 'slateroofed', 'with', 'great', 'yellow', 'blotches', 'of', 'lichen', 'upon', 'the', 'grey', 'walls', 'the', 'drawn', 'blinds', 'and', 'the', 'smokeless', 'chimneys', 'however', 'gave', 'it', 'a', 'stricken', 'look', 'as', 'though', 'the', 'weight', 'of', 'this', 'horror', 'still', 'lay', 'heavy', 'upon', 'it', 'we', 'called', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'when', 'the', 'maid', 'at', 'holmes', 'request', 'showed', 'us', 'the', 'boots', 'which', 'her', 'master', 'wore', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'his', 'death', 'and', 'also', 'a', 'pair', 'of', 'the', 'sons', 'though', 'not', 'the', 'pair', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'then', 'had', 'having', 'measured', 'these', 'very', 'carefully', 'from', 'seven', 'or', 'eight', 'different', 'points', 'holmes', 'desired', 'to', 'be', 'led', 'to', 'the', 'courtyard', 'from', 'which', 'we', 'all', 'followed', 'the', 'winding', 'track', 'which', 'led', 'to', 'boscombe', 'pool', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'was', 'transformed', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'hot', 'upon', 'such', 'a', 'scent', 'as', 'this', 'men', 'who', 'had', 'only', 'known', 'the', 'quiet', 'thinker', 'and', 'logician', 'of', 'baker', 'street', 'would', 'have', 'failed', 'to', 'recognise', 'him', 'his', 'face', 'flushed', 'and', 'darkened', 'his', 'brows', 'were', 'drawn', 'into', 'two', 'hard', 'black', 'lines', 'while', 'his', 'eyes', 'shone', 'out', 'from', 'beneath', 'them', 'with', 'a', 'steely', 'glitter', 'his', 'face', 'was', 'bent', 'downward', 'his', 'shoulders', 'bowed', 'his', 'lips', 'compressed', 'and', 'the', 'veins', 'stood', 'out', 'like', 'whipcord', 'in', 'his', 'long', 'sinewy', 'neck', 'his', 'nostrils', 'seemed', 'to', 'dilate', 'with', 'a', 'purely', 'animal', 'lust', 'for', 'the', 'chase', 'and', 'his', 'mind', 'was', 'so', 'absolutely', 'concentrated', 'upon', 'the', 'matter', 'before', 'him', 'that', 'a', 'question', 'or', 'remark', 'fell', 'unheeded', 'upon', 'his', 'ears', 'or', 'at', 'the', 'most', 'only', 'provoked', 'a', 'quick', 'impatient', 'snarl', 'in', 'reply', 'swiftly', 'and', 'silently', 'he', 'made', 'his', 'way', 'along', 'the', 'track', 'which', 'ran', 'through', 'the', 'meadows', 'and', 'so', 'by', 'way', 'of', 'the', 'woods', 'to', 'the', 'boscombe', 'pool', 'it', 'was', 'damp', 'marshy', 'ground', 'as', 'is', 'all', 'that', 'district', 'and', 'there', 'were', 'marks', 'of', 'many', 'feet', 'both', 'upon', 'the', 'path', 'and', 'amid', 'the', 'short', 'grass', 'which', 'bounded', 'it', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'sometimes', 'holmes', 'would', 'hurry', 'on', 'sometimes', 'stop', 'dead', 'and', 'once', 'he', 'made', 'quite', 'a', 'little', 'detour', 'into', 'the', 'meadow', 'lestrade', 'and', 'i', 'walked', 'behind', 'him', 'the', 'detective', 'indifferent', 'and', 'contemptuous', 'while', 'i', 'watched', 'my', 'friend', 'with', 'the', 'interest', 'which', 'sprang', 'from', 'the', 'conviction', 'that', 'every', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'actions', 'was', 'directed', 'towards', 'a', 'definite', 'end', 'the', 'boscombe', 'pool', 'which', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'reedgirt', 'sheet', 'of', 'water', 'some', 'fifty', 'yards', 'across', 'is', 'situated', 'at', 'the', 'boundary', 'between', 'the', 'hatherley', 'farm', 'and', 'the', 'private', 'park', 'of', 'the', 'wealthy', 'mr', 'turner', 'above', 'the', 'woods', 'which', 'lined', 'it', 'upon', 'the', 'farther', 'side', 'we', 'could', 'see', 'the', 'red', 'jutting', 'pinnacles', 'which', 'marked', 'the', 'site', 'of', 'the', 'rich', 'landowners', 'dwelling', 'on', 'the', 'hatherley', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'pool', 'the', 'woods', 'grew', 'very', 'thick', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'narrow', 'belt', 'of', 'sodden', 'grass', 'twenty', 'paces', 'across', 'between', 'the', 'edge', 'of', 'the', 'trees', 'and', 'the', 'reeds', 'which', 'lined', 'the', 'lake', 'lestrade', 'showed', 'us', 'the', 'exact', 'spot', 'at', 'which', 'the', 'body', 'had', 'been', 'found', 'and', 'indeed', 'so', 'moist', 'was', 'the', 'ground', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'plainly', 'see', 'the', 'traces', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'left', 'by', 'the', 'fall', 'of', 'the', 'stricken', 'man', 'to', 'holmes', 'as', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'by', 'his', 'eager', 'face', 'and', 'peering', 'eyes', 'very', 'many', 'other', 'things', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'read', 'upon', 'the', 'trampled', 'grass', 'he', 'ran', 'round', 'like', 'a', 'dog', 'who', 'is', 'picking', 'up', 'a', 'scent', 'and', 'then', 'turned', 'upon', 'my', 'companion', 'what', 'did', 'you', 'go', 'into', 'the', 'pool', 'for', 'he', 'asked', 'i', 'fished', 'about', 'with', 'a', 'rake', 'i', 'thought', 'there', 'might', 'be', 'some', 'weapon', 'or', 'other', 'trace', 'but', 'how', 'on', 'earth', 'oh', 'tut', 'tut', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'time', 'that', 'left', 'foot', 'of', 'yours', 'with', 'its', 'inward', 'twist', 'is', 'all', 'over', 'the', 'place', 'a', 'mole', 'could', 'trace', 'it', 'and', 'there', 'it', 'vanishes', 'among', 'the', 'reeds', 'oh', 'how', 'simple', 'it', 'would', 'all', 'have', 'been', 'had', 'i', 'been', 'here', 'before', 'they', 'came', 'like', 'a', 'herd', 'of', 'buffalo', 'and', 'wallowed', 'all', 'over', 'it', 'here', 'is', 'where', 'the', 'party', 'with', 'the', 'lodgekeeper', 'came', 'and', 'they', 'have', 'covered', 'all', 'tracks', 'for', 'six', 'or', 'eight', 'feet', 'round', 'the', 'body', 'but', 'here', 'are', 'three', 'separate', 'tracks', 'of', 'the', 'same', 'feet', 'he', 'drew', 'out', 'a', 'lens', 'and', 'lay', 'down', 'upon', 'his', 'waterproof', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'better', 'view', 'talking', 'all', 'the', 'time', 'rather', 'to', 'himself', 'than', 'to', 'us', 'these', 'are', 'young', 'mccarthys', 'feet', 'twice', 'he', 'was', 'walking', 'and', 'once', 'he', 'ran', 'swiftly', 'so', 'that', 'the', 'soles', 'are', 'deeply', 'marked', 'and', 'the', 'heels', 'hardly', 'visible', 'that', 'bears', 'out', 'his', 'story', 'he', 'ran', 'when', 'he', 'saw', 'his', 'father', 'on', 'the', 'ground', 'then', 'here', 'are', 'the', 'fathers', 'feet', 'as', 'he', 'paced', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'what', 'is', 'this', 'then', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'buttend', 'of', 'the', 'gun', 'as', 'the', 'son', 'stood', 'listening', 'and', 'this', 'ha', 'ha', 'what', 'have', 'we', 'here', 'tiptoes', 'tiptoes', 'square', 'too', 'quite', 'unusual', 'boots', 'they', 'come', 'they', 'go', 'they', 'come', 'againof', 'course', 'that', 'was', 'for', 'the', 'cloak', 'now', 'where', 'did', 'they', 'come', 'from', 'he', 'ran', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'sometimes', 'losing', 'sometimes', 'finding', 'the', 'track', 'until', 'we', 'were', 'well', 'within', 'the', 'edge', 'of', 'the', 'wood', 'and', 'under', 'the', 'shadow', 'of', 'a', 'great', 'beech', 'the', 'largest', 'tree', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'holmes', 'traced', 'his', 'way', 'to', 'the', 'farther', 'side', 'of', 'this', 'and', 'lay', 'down', 'once', 'more', 'upon', 'his', 'face', 'with', 'a', 'little', 'cry', 'of', 'satisfaction', 'for', 'a', 'long', 'time', 'he', 'remained', 'there', 'turning', 'over', 'the', 'leaves', 'and', 'dried', 'sticks', 'gathering', 'up', 'what', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'dust', 'into', 'an', 'envelope', 'and', 'examining', 'with', 'his', 'lens', 'not', 'only', 'the', 'ground', 'but', 'even', 'the', 'bark', 'of', 'the', 'tree', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'he', 'could', 'reach', 'a', 'jagged', 'stone', 'was', 'lying', 'among', 'the', 'moss', 'and', 'this', 'also', 'he', 'carefully', 'examined', 'and', 'retained', 'then', 'he', 'followed', 'a', 'pathway', 'through', 'the', 'wood', 'until', 'he', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'highroad', 'where', 'all', 'traces', 'were', 'lost', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'a', 'case', 'of', 'considerable', 'interest', 'he', 'remarked', 'returning', 'to', 'his', 'natural', 'manner', 'i', 'fancy', 'that', 'this', 'grey', 'house', 'on', 'the', 'right', 'must', 'be', 'the', 'lodge', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'will', 'go', 'in', 'and', 'have', 'a', 'word', 'with', 'moran', 'and', 'perhaps', 'write', 'a', 'little', 'note', 'having', 'done', 'that', 'we', 'may', 'drive', 'back', 'to', 'our', 'luncheon', 'you', 'may', 'walk', 'to', 'the', 'cab', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'with', 'you', 'presently', 'it', 'was', 'about', 'ten', 'minutes', 'before', 'we', 'regained', 'our', 'cab', 'and', 'drove', 'back', 'into', 'ross', 'holmes', 'still', 'carrying', 'with', 'him', 'the', 'stone', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'picked', 'up', 'in', 'the', 'wood', 'this', 'may', 'interest', 'you', 'lestrade', 'he', 'remarked', 'holding', 'it', 'out', 'the', 'murder', 'was', 'done', 'with', 'it', 'i', 'see', 'no', 'marks', 'there', 'are', 'none', 'how', 'do', 'you', 'know', 'then', 'the', 'grass', 'was', 'growing', 'under', 'it', 'it', 'had', 'only', 'lain', 'there', 'a', 'few', 'days', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'sign', 'of', 'a', 'place', 'whence', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'taken', 'it', 'corresponds', 'with', 'the', 'injuries', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'sign', 'of', 'any', 'other', 'weapon', 'and', 'the', 'murderer', 'is', 'a', 'tall', 'man', 'lefthanded', 'limps', 'with', 'the', 'right', 'leg', 'wears', 'thicksoled', 'shootingboots', 'and', 'a', 'grey', 'cloak', 'smokes', 'indian', 'cigars', 'uses', 'a', 'cigarholder', 'and', 'carries', 'a', 'blunt', 'penknife', 'in', 'his', 'pocket', 'there', 'are', 'several', 'other', 'indications', 'but', 'these', 'may', 'be', 'enough', 'to', 'aid', 'us', 'in', 'our', 'search', 'lestrade', 'laughed', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'still', 'a', 'sceptic', 'he', 'said', 'theories', 'are', 'all', 'very', 'well', 'but', 'we', 'have', 'to', 'deal', 'with', 'a', 'hardheaded', 'british', 'jury', 'nous', 'verrons', 'answered', 'holmes', 'calmly', 'you', 'work', 'your', 'own', 'method', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'work', 'mine', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'busy', 'this', 'afternoon', 'and', 'shall', 'probably', 'return', 'to', 'london', 'by', 'the', 'evening', 'train', 'and', 'leave', 'your', 'case', 'unfinished', 'no', 'finished', 'but', 'the', 'mystery', 'it', 'is', 'solved', 'who', 'was', 'the', 'criminal', 'then', 'the', 'gentleman', 'i', 'describe', 'but', 'who', 'is', 'he', 'surely', 'it', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'difficult', 'to', 'find', 'out', 'this', 'is', 'not', 'such', 'a', 'populous', 'neighbourhood', 'lestrade', 'shrugged', 'his', 'shoulders', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'practical', 'man', 'he', 'said', 'and', 'i', 'really', 'can', 'not', 'undertake', 'to', 'go', 'about', 'the', 'country', 'looking', 'for', 'a', 'lefthanded', 'gentleman', 'with', 'a', 'game', 'leg', 'i', 'should', 'become', 'the', 'laughingstock', 'of', 'scotland', 'yard', 'all', 'right', 'said', 'holmes', 'quietly', 'i', 'have', 'given', 'you', 'the', 'chance', 'here', 'are', 'your', 'lodgings', 'goodbye', 'i', 'shall', 'drop', 'you', 'a', 'line', 'before', 'i', 'leave', 'having', 'left', 'lestrade', 'at', 'his', 'rooms', 'we', 'drove', 'to', 'our', 'hotel', 'where', 'we', 'found', 'lunch', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'holmes', 'was', 'silent', 'and', 'buried', 'in', 'thought', 'with', 'a', 'pained', 'expression', 'upon', 'his', 'face', 'as', 'one', 'who', 'finds', 'himself', 'in', 'a', 'perplexing', 'position', 'look', 'here', 'watson', 'he', 'said', 'when', 'the', 'cloth', 'was', 'cleared', 'just', 'sit', 'down', 'in', 'this', 'chair', 'and', 'let', 'me', 'preach', 'to', 'you', 'for', 'a', 'little', 'i', 'dont', 'know', 'quite', 'what', 'to', 'do', 'and', 'i', 'should', 'value', 'your', 'advice', 'light', 'a', 'cigar', 'and', 'let', 'me', 'expound', 'pray', 'do', 'so', 'well', 'now', 'in', 'considering', 'this', 'case', 'there', 'are', 'two', 'points', 'about', 'young', 'mccarthys', 'narrative', 'which', 'struck', 'us', 'both', 'instantly', 'although', 'they', 'impressed', 'me', 'in', 'his', 'favour', 'and', 'you', 'against', 'him', 'one', 'was', 'the', 'fact', 'that', 'his', 'father', 'should', 'according', 'to', 'his', 'account', 'cry', 'cooee', 'before', 'seeing', 'him', 'the', 'other', 'was', 'his', 'singular', 'dying', 'reference', 'to', 'a', 'rat', 'he', 'mumbled', 'several', 'words', 'you', 'understand', 'but', 'that', 'was', 'all', 'that', 'caught', 'the', 'sons', 'ear', 'now', 'from', 'this', 'double', 'point', 'our', 'research', 'must', 'commence', 'and', 'we', 'will', 'begin', 'it', 'by', 'presuming', 'that', 'what', 'the', 'lad', 'says', 'is', 'absolutely', 'true', 'what', 'of', 'this', 'cooee', 'then', 'well', 'obviously', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'meant', 'for', 'the', 'son', 'the', 'son', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'he', 'knew', 'was', 'in', 'bristol', 'it', 'was', 'mere', 'chance', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'within', 'earshot', 'the', 'cooee', 'was', 'meant', 'to', 'attract', 'the', 'attention', 'of', 'whoever', 'it', 'was', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'the', 'appointment', 'with', 'but', 'cooee', 'is', 'a', 'distinctly', 'australian', 'cry', 'and', 'one', 'which', 'is', 'used', 'between', 'australians', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'strong', 'presumption', 'that', 'the', 'person', 'whom', 'mccarthy', 'expected', 'to', 'meet', 'him', 'at', 'boscombe', 'pool', 'was', 'someone', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'in', 'australia', 'what', 'of', 'the', 'rat', 'then', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'took', 'a', 'folded', 'paper', 'from', 'his', 'pocket', 'and', 'flattened', 'it', 'out', 'on', 'the', 'table', 'this', 'is', 'a', 'map', 'of', 'the', 'colony', 'of', 'victoria', 'he', 'said', 'i', 'wired', 'to', 'bristol', 'for', 'it', 'last', 'night', 'he', 'put', 'his', 'hand', 'over', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'map', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'read', 'arat', 'i', 'read', 'and', 'now', 'he', 'raised', 'his', 'hand', 'ballarat', 'quite', 'so', 'that', 'was', 'the', 'word', 'the', 'man', 'uttered', 'and', 'of', 'which', 'his', 'son', 'only', 'caught', 'the', 'last', 'two', 'syllables', 'he', 'was', 'trying', 'to', 'utter', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'his', 'murderer', 'so', 'and', 'so', 'of', 'ballarat', 'it', 'is', 'wonderful', 'i', 'exclaimed', 'it', 'is', 'obvious', 'and', 'now', 'you', 'see', 'i', 'had', 'narrowed', 'the', 'field', 'down', 'considerably', 'the', 'possession', 'of', 'a', 'grey', 'garment', 'was', 'a', 'third', 'point', 'which', 'granting', 'the', 'sons', 'statement', 'to', 'be', 'correct', 'was', 'a', 'certainty', 'we', 'have', 'come', 'now', 'out', 'of', 'mere', 'vagueness', 'to', 'the', 'definite', 'conception', 'of', 'an', 'australian', 'from', 'ballarat', 'with', 'a', 'grey', 'cloak', 'certainly', 'and', 'one', 'who', 'was', 'at', 'home', 'in', 'the', 'district', 'for', 'the', 'pool', 'can', 'only', 'be', 'approached', 'by', 'the', 'farm', 'or', 'by', 'the', 'estate', 'where', 'strangers', 'could', 'hardly', 'wander', 'quite', 'so', 'then', 'comes', 'our', 'expedition', 'of', 'today', 'by', 'an', 'examination', 'of', 'the', 'ground', 'i', 'gained', 'the', 'trifling', 'details', 'which', 'i', 'gave', 'to', 'that', 'imbecile', 'lestrade', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'personality', 'of', 'the', 'criminal', 'but', 'how', 'did', 'you', 'gain', 'them', 'you', 'know', 'my', 'method', 'it', 'is', 'founded', 'upon', 'the', 'observation', 'of', 'trifles', 'his', 'height', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'you', 'might', 'roughly', 'judge', 'from', 'the', 'length', 'of', 'his', 'stride', 'his', 'boots', 'too', 'might', 'be', 'told', 'from', 'their', 'traces', 'yes', 'they', 'were', 'peculiar', 'boots', 'but', 'his', 'lameness', 'the', 'impression', 'of', 'his', 'right', 'foot', 'was', 'always', 'less', 'distinct', 'than', 'his', 'left', 'he', 'put', 'less', 'weight', 'upon', 'it', 'why', 'because', 'he', 'limpedhe', 'was', 'lame', 'but', 'his', 'lefthandedness', 'you', 'were', 'yourself', 'struck', 'by', 'the', 'nature', 'of', 'the', 'injury', 'as', 'recorded', 'by', 'the', 'surgeon', 'at', 'the', 'inquest', 'the', 'blow', 'was', 'struck', 'from', 'immediately', 'behind', 'and', 'yet', 'was', 'upon', 'the', 'left', 'side', 'now', 'how', 'can', 'that', 'be', 'unless', 'it', 'were', 'by', 'a', 'lefthanded', 'man', 'he', 'had', 'stood', 'behind', 'that', 'tree', 'during', 'the', 'interview', 'between', 'the', 'father', 'and', 'son', 'he', 'had', 'even', 'smoked', 'there', 'i', 'found', 'the', 'ash', 'of', 'a', 'cigar', 'which', 'my', 'special', 'knowledge', 'of', 'tobacco', 'ashes', 'enables', 'me', 'to', 'pronounce', 'as', 'an', 'indian', 'cigar', 'i', 'have', 'as', 'you', 'know', 'devoted', 'some', 'attention', 'to', 'this', 'and', 'written', 'a', 'little', 'monograph', 'on', 'the', 'ashes', 'of', '140', 'different', 'varieties', 'of', 'pipe', 'cigar', 'and', 'cigarette', 'tobacco', 'having', 'found', 'the', 'ash', 'i', 'then', 'looked', 'round', 'and', 'discovered', 'the', 'stump', 'among', 'the', 'moss', 'where', 'he', 'had', 'tossed', 'it', 'it', 'was', 'an', 'indian', 'cigar', 'of', 'the', 'variety', 'which', 'are', 'rolled', 'in', 'rotterdam', 'and', 'the', 'cigarholder', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'that', 'the', 'end', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'in', 'his', 'mouth', 'therefore', 'he', 'used', 'a', 'holder', 'the', 'tip', 'had', 'been', 'cut', 'off', 'not', 'bitten', 'off', 'but', 'the', 'cut', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'clean', 'one', 'so', 'i', 'deduced', 'a', 'blunt', 'penknife', 'holmes', 'i', 'said', 'you', 'have', 'drawn', 'a', 'net', 'round', 'this', 'man', 'from', 'which', 'he', 'can', 'not', 'escape', 'and', 'you', 'have', 'saved', 'an', 'innocent', 'human', 'life', 'as', 'truly', 'as', 'if', 'you', 'had', 'cut', 'the', 'cord', 'which', 'was', 'hanging', 'him', 'i', 'see', 'the', 'direction', 'in', 'which', 'all', 'this', 'points', 'the', 'culprit', 'is', 'mr', 'john', 'turner', 'cried', 'the', 'hotel', 'waiter', 'opening', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'our', 'sittingroom', 'and', 'ushering', 'in', 'a', 'visitor', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'entered', 'was', 'a', 'strange', 'and', 'impressive', 'figure', 'his', 'slow', 'limping', 'step', 'and', 'bowed', 'shoulders', 'gave', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'decrepitude', 'and', 'yet', 'his', 'hard', 'deeplined', 'craggy', 'features', 'and', 'his', 'enormous', 'limbs', 'showed', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'possessed', 'of', 'unusual', 'strength', 'of', 'body', 'and', 'of', 'character', 'his', 'tangled', 'beard', 'grizzled', 'hair', 'and', 'outstanding', 'drooping', 'eyebrows', 'combined', 'to', 'give', 'an', 'air', 'of', 'dignity', 'and', 'power', 'to', 'his', 'appearance', 'but', 'his', 'face', 'was', 'of', 'an', 'ashen', 'white', 'while', 'his', 'lips', 'and', 'the', 'corners', 'of', 'his', 'nostrils', 'were', 'tinged', 'with', 'a', 'shade', 'of', 'blue', 'it', 'was', 'clear', 'to', 'me', 'at', 'a', 'glance', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'the', 'grip', 'of', 'some', 'deadly', 'and', 'chronic', 'disease', 'pray', 'sit', 'down', 'on', 'the', 'sofa', 'said', 'holmes', 'gently', 'you', 'had', 'my', 'note', 'yes', 'the', 'lodgekeeper', 'brought', 'it', 'up', 'you', 'said', 'that', 'you', 'wished', 'to', 'see', 'me', 'here', 'to', 'avoid', 'scandal', 'i', 'thought', 'people', 'would', 'talk', 'if', 'i', 'went', 'to', 'the', 'hall', 'and', 'why', 'did', 'you', 'wish', 'to', 'see', 'me', 'he', 'looked', 'across', 'at', 'my', 'companion', 'with', 'despair', 'in', 'his', 'weary', 'eyes', 'as', 'though', 'his', 'question', 'was', 'already', 'answered', 'yes', 'said', 'holmes', 'answering', 'the', 'look', 'rather', 'than', 'the', 'words', 'it', 'is', 'so', 'i', 'know', 'all', 'about', 'mccarthy', 'the', 'old', 'man', 'sank', 'his', 'face', 'in', 'his', 'hands', 'god', 'help', 'me', 'he', 'cried', 'but', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'let', 'the', 'young', 'man', 'come', 'to', 'harm', 'i', 'give', 'you', 'my', 'word', 'that', 'i', 'would', 'have', 'spoken', 'out', 'if', 'it', 'went', 'against', 'him', 'at', 'the', 'assizes', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'to', 'hear', 'you', 'say', 'so', 'said', 'holmes', 'gravely', 'i', 'would', 'have', 'spoken', 'now', 'had', 'it', 'not', 'been', 'for', 'my', 'dear', 'girl', 'it', 'would', 'break', 'her', 'heartit', 'will', 'break', 'her', 'heart', 'when', 'she', 'hears', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'arrested', 'it', 'may', 'not', 'come', 'to', 'that', 'said', 'holmes', 'what', 'i', 'am', 'no', 'official', 'agent', 'i', 'understand', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'your', 'daughter', 'who', 'required', 'my', 'presence', 'here', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'acting', 'in', 'her', 'interests', 'young', 'mccarthy', 'must', 'be', 'got', 'off', 'however', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'dying', 'man', 'said', 'old', 'turner', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'diabetes', 'for', 'years', 'my', 'doctor', 'says', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'question', 'whether', 'i', 'shall', 'live', 'a', 'month', 'yet', 'i', 'would', 'rather', 'die', 'under', 'my', 'own', 'roof', 'than', 'in', 'a', 'gaol', 'holmes', 'rose', 'and', 'sat', 'down', 'at', 'the', 'table', 'with', 'his', 'pen', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'and', 'a', 'bundle', 'of', 'paper', 'before', 'him', 'just', 'tell', 'us', 'the', 'truth', 'he', 'said', 'i', 'shall', 'jot', 'down', 'the', 'facts', 'you', 'will', 'sign', 'it', 'and', 'watson', 'here', 'can', 'witness', 'it', 'then', 'i', 'could', 'produce', 'your', 'confession', 'at', 'the', 'last', 'extremity', 'to', 'save', 'young', 'mccarthy', 'i', 'promise', 'you', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'use', 'it', 'unless', 'it', 'is', 'absolutely', 'needed', 'its', 'as', 'well', 'said', 'the', 'old', 'man', 'its', 'a', 'question', 'whether', 'i', 'shall', 'live', 'to', 'the', 'assizes', 'so', 'it', 'matters', 'little', 'to', 'me', 'but', 'i', 'should', 'wish', 'to', 'spare', 'alice', 'the', 'shock', 'and', 'now', 'i', 'will', 'make', 'the', 'thing', 'clear', 'to', 'you', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'a', 'long', 'time', 'in', 'the', 'acting', 'but', 'will', 'not', 'take', 'me', 'long', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'didnt', 'know', 'this', 'dead', 'man', 'mccarthy', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'devil', 'incarnate', 'i', 'tell', 'you', 'that', 'god', 'keep', 'you', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'clutches', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'man', 'as', 'he', 'his', 'grip', 'has', 'been', 'upon', 'me', 'these', 'twenty', 'years', 'and', 'he', 'has', 'blasted', 'my', 'life', 'ill', 'tell', 'you', 'first', 'how', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'his', 'power', 'it', 'was', 'in', 'the', 'early', '60s', 'at', 'the', 'diggings', 'i', 'was', 'a', 'young', 'chap', 'then', 'hotblooded', 'and', 'reckless', 'ready', 'to', 'turn', 'my', 'hand', 'at', 'anything', 'i', 'got', 'among', 'bad', 'companions', 'took', 'to', 'drink', 'had', 'no', 'luck', 'with', 'my', 'claim', 'took', 'to', 'the', 'bush', 'and', 'in', 'a', 'word', 'became', 'what', 'you', 'would', 'call', 'over', 'here', 'a', 'highway', 'robber', 'there', 'were', 'six', 'of', 'us', 'and', 'we', 'had', 'a', 'wild', 'free', 'life', 'of', 'it', 'sticking', 'up', 'a', 'station', 'from', 'time', 'to', 'time', 'or', 'stopping', 'the', 'wagons', 'on', 'the', 'road', 'to', 'the', 'diggings', 'black', 'jack', 'of', 'ballarat', 'was', 'the', 'name', 'i', 'went', 'under', 'and', 'our', 'party', 'is', 'still', 'remembered', 'in', 'the', 'colony', 'as', 'the', 'ballarat', 'gang', 'one', 'day', 'a', 'gold', 'convoy', 'came', 'down', 'from', 'ballarat', 'to', 'melbourne', 'and', 'we', 'lay', 'in', 'wait', 'for', 'it', 'and', 'attacked', 'it', 'there', 'were', 'six', 'troopers', 'and', 'six', 'of', 'us', 'so', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'close', 'thing', 'but', 'we', 'emptied', 'four', 'of', 'their', 'saddles', 'at', 'the', 'first', 'volley', 'three', 'of', 'our', 'boys', 'were', 'killed', 'however', 'before', 'we', 'got', 'the', 'swag', 'i', 'put', 'my', 'pistol', 'to', 'the', 'head', 'of', 'the', 'wagondriver', 'who', 'was', 'this', 'very', 'man', 'mccarthy', 'i', 'wish', 'to', 'the', 'lord', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'shot', 'him', 'then', 'but', 'i', 'spared', 'him', 'though', 'i', 'saw', 'his', 'wicked', 'little', 'eyes', 'fixed', 'on', 'my', 'face', 'as', 'though', 'to', 'remember', 'every', 'feature', 'we', 'got', 'away', 'with', 'the', 'gold', 'became', 'wealthy', 'men', 'and', 'made', 'our', 'way', 'over', 'to', 'england', 'without', 'being', 'suspected', 'there', 'i', 'parted', 'from', 'my', 'old', 'pals', 'and', 'determined', 'to', 'settle', 'down', 'to', 'a', 'quiet', 'and', 'respectable', 'life', 'i', 'bought', 'this', 'estate', 'which', 'chanced', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'market', 'and', 'i', 'set', 'myself', 'to', 'do', 'a', 'little', 'good', 'with', 'my', 'money', 'to', 'make', 'up', 'for', 'the', 'way', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'earned', 'it', 'i', 'married', 'too', 'and', 'though', 'my', 'wife', 'died', 'young', 'she', 'left', 'me', 'my', 'dear', 'little', 'alice', 'even', 'when', 'she', 'was', 'just', 'a', 'baby', 'her', 'wee', 'hand', 'seemed', 'to', 'lead', 'me', 'down', 'the', 'right', 'path', 'as', 'nothing', 'else', 'had', 'ever', 'done', 'in', 'a', 'word', 'i', 'turned', 'over', 'a', 'new', 'leaf', 'and', 'did', 'my', 'best', 'to', 'make', 'up', 'for', 'the', 'past', 'all', 'was', 'going', 'well', 'when', 'mccarthy', 'laid', 'his', 'grip', 'upon', 'me', 'i', 'had', 'gone', 'up', 'to', 'town', 'about', 'an', 'investment', 'and', 'i', 'met', 'him', 'in', 'regent', 'street', 'with', 'hardly', 'a', 'coat', 'to', 'his', 'back', 'or', 'a', 'boot', 'to', 'his', 'foot', 'here', 'we', 'are', 'jack', 'says', 'he', 'touching', 'me', 'on', 'the', 'arm', 'well', 'be', 'as', 'good', 'as', 'a', 'family', 'to', 'you', 'theres', 'two', 'of', 'us', 'me', 'and', 'my', 'son', 'and', 'you', 'can', 'have', 'the', 'keeping', 'of', 'us', 'if', 'you', 'dontits', 'a', 'fine', 'lawabiding', 'country', 'is', 'england', 'and', 'theres', 'always', 'a', 'policeman', 'within', 'hail', 'well', 'down', 'they', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'west', 'country', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'shaking', 'them', 'off', 'and', 'there', 'they', 'have', 'lived', 'rent', 'free', 'on', 'my', 'best', 'land', 'ever', 'since', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'rest', 'for', 'me', 'no', 'peace', 'no', 'forgetfulness', 'turn', 'where', 'i', 'would', 'there', 'was', 'his', 'cunning', 'grinning', 'face', 'at', 'my', 'elbow', 'it', 'grew', 'worse', 'as', 'alice', 'grew', 'up', 'for', 'he', 'soon', 'saw', 'i', 'was', 'more', 'afraid', 'of', 'her', 'knowing', 'my', 'past', 'than', 'of', 'the', 'police', 'whatever', 'he', 'wanted', 'he', 'must', 'have', 'and', 'whatever', 'it', 'was', 'i', 'gave', 'him', 'without', 'question', 'land', 'money', 'houses', 'until', 'at', 'last', 'he', 'asked', 'a', 'thing', 'which', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'give', 'he', 'asked', 'for', 'alice', 'his', 'son', 'you', 'see', 'had', 'grown', 'up', 'and', 'so', 'had', 'my', 'girl', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'was', 'known', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'weak', 'health', 'it', 'seemed', 'a', 'fine', 'stroke', 'to', 'him', 'that', 'his', 'lad', 'should', 'step', 'into', 'the', 'whole', 'property', 'but', 'there', 'i', 'was', 'firm', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'his', 'cursed', 'stock', 'mixed', 'with', 'mine', 'not', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'any', 'dislike', 'to', 'the', 'lad', 'but', 'his', 'blood', 'was', 'in', 'him', 'and', 'that', 'was', 'enough', 'i', 'stood', 'firm', 'mccarthy', 'threatened', 'i', 'braved', 'him', 'to', 'do', 'his', 'worst', 'we', 'were', 'to', 'meet', 'at', 'the', 'pool', 'midway', 'between', 'our', 'houses', 'to', 'talk', 'it', 'over', 'when', 'i', 'went', 'down', 'there', 'i', 'found', 'him', 'talking', 'with', 'his', 'son', 'so', 'i', 'smoked', 'a', 'cigar', 'and', 'waited', 'behind', 'a', 'tree', 'until', 'he', 'should', 'be', 'alone', 'but', 'as', 'i', 'listened', 'to', 'his', 'talk', 'all', 'that', 'was', 'black', 'and', 'bitter', 'in', 'me', 'seemed', 'to', 'come', 'uppermost', 'he', 'was', 'urging', 'his', 'son', 'to', 'marry', 'my', 'daughter', 'with', 'as', 'little', 'regard', 'for', 'what', 'she', 'might', 'think', 'as', 'if', 'she', 'were', 'a', 'slut', 'from', 'off', 'the', 'streets', 'it', 'drove', 'me', 'mad', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'and', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'held', 'most', 'dear', 'should', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'power', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'man', 'as', 'this', 'could', 'i', 'not', 'snap', 'the', 'bond', 'i', 'was', 'already', 'a', 'dying', 'and', 'a', 'desperate', 'man', 'though', 'clear', 'of', 'mind', 'and', 'fairly', 'strong', 'of', 'limb', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'my', 'own', 'fate', 'was', 'sealed', 'but', 'my', 'memory', 'and', 'my', 'girl', 'both', 'could', 'be', 'saved', 'if', 'i', 'could', 'but', 'silence', 'that', 'foul', 'tongue', 'i', 'did', 'it', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'would', 'do', 'it', 'again', 'deeply', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'sinned', 'i', 'have', 'led', 'a', 'life', 'of', 'martyrdom', 'to', 'atone', 'for', 'it', 'but', 'that', 'my', 'girl', 'should', 'be', 'entangled', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'meshes', 'which', 'held', 'me', 'was', 'more', 'than', 'i', 'could', 'suffer', 'i', 'struck', 'him', 'down', 'with', 'no', 'more', 'compunction', 'than', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'some', 'foul', 'and', 'venomous', 'beast', 'his', 'cry', 'brought', 'back', 'his', 'son', 'but', 'i', 'had', 'gained', 'the', 'cover', 'of', 'the', 'wood', 'though', 'i', 'was', 'forced', 'to', 'go', 'back', 'to', 'fetch', 'the', 'cloak', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'dropped', 'in', 'my', 'flight', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'true', 'story', 'gentlemen', 'of', 'all', 'that', 'occurred', 'well', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'judge', 'you', 'said', 'holmes', 'as', 'the', 'old', 'man', 'signed', 'the', 'statement', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'drawn', 'out', 'i', 'pray', 'that', 'we', 'may', 'never', 'be', 'exposed', 'to', 'such', 'a', 'temptation', 'i', 'pray', 'not', 'sir', 'and', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'intend', 'to', 'do', 'in', 'view', 'of', 'your', 'health', 'nothing', 'you', 'are', 'yourself', 'aware', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'soon', 'have', 'to', 'answer', 'for', 'your', 'deed', 'at', 'a', 'higher', 'court', 'than', 'the', 'assizes', 'i', 'will', 'keep', 'your', 'confession', 'and', 'if', 'mccarthy', 'is', 'condemned', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'forced', 'to', 'use', 'it', 'if', 'not', 'it', 'shall', 'never', 'be', 'seen', 'by', 'mortal', 'eye', 'and', 'your', 'secret', 'whether', 'you', 'be', 'alive', 'or', 'dead', 'shall', 'be', 'safe', 'with', 'us', 'farewell', 'then', 'said', 'the', 'old', 'man', 'solemnly', 'your', 'own', 'deathbeds', 'when', 'they', 'come', 'will', 'be', 'the', 'easier', 'for', 'the', 'thought', 'of', 'the', 'peace', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'given', 'to', 'mine', 'tottering', 'and', 'shaking', 'in', 'all', 'his', 'giant', 'frame', 'he', 'stumbled', 'slowly', 'from', 'the', 'room', 'god', 'help', 'us', 'said', 'holmes', 'after', 'a', 'long', 'silence', 'why', 'does', 'fate', 'play', 'such', 'tricks', 'with', 'poor', 'helpless', 'worms', 'i', 'never', 'hear', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'case', 'as', 'this', 'that', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'of', 'baxters', 'words', 'and', 'say', 'there', 'but', 'for', 'the', 'grace', 'of', 'god', 'goes', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'james', 'mccarthy', 'was', 'acquitted', 'at', 'the', 'assizes', 'on', 'the', 'strength', 'of', 'a', 'number', 'of', 'objections', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'drawn', 'out', 'by', 'holmes', 'and', 'submitted', 'to', 'the', 'defending', 'counsel', 'old', 'turner', 'lived', 'for', 'seven', 'months', 'after', 'our', 'interview', 'but', 'he', 'is', 'now', 'dead', 'and', 'there', 'is', 'every', 'prospect', 'that', 'the', 'son', 'and', 'daughter', 'may', 'come', 'to', 'live', 'happily', 'together', 'in', 'ignorance', 'of', 'the', 'black', 'cloud', 'which', 'rests', 'upon', 'their', 'past', 'v', 'the', 'five', 'orange', 'pips', 'when', 'i', 'glance', 'over', 'my', 'notes', 'and', 'records', 'of', 'the', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'cases', 'between', 'the', 'years', '82', 'and', '90', 'i', 'am', 'faced', 'by', 'so', 'many', 'which', 'present', 'strange', 'and', 'interesting', 'features', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'no', 'easy', 'matter', 'to', 'know', 'which', 'to', 'choose', 'and', 'which', 'to', 'leave', 'some', 'however', 'have', 'already', 'gained', 'publicity', 'through', 'the', 'papers', 'and', 'others', 'have', 'not', 'offered', 'a', 'field', 'for', 'those', 'peculiar', 'qualities', 'which', 'my', 'friend', 'possessed', 'in', 'so', 'high', 'a', 'degree', 'and', 'which', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'object', 'of', 'these', 'papers', 'to', 'illustrate', 'some', 'too', 'have', 'baffled', 'his', 'analytical', 'skill', 'and', 'would', 'be', 'as', 'narratives', 'beginnings', 'without', 'an', 'ending', 'while', 'others', 'have', 'been', 'but', 'partially', 'cleared', 'up', 'and', 'have', 'their', 'explanations', 'founded', 'rather', 'upon', 'conjecture', 'and', 'surmise', 'than', 'on', 'that', 'absolute', 'logical', 'proof', 'which', 'was', 'so', 'dear', 'to', 'him', 'there', 'is', 'however', 'one', 'of', 'these', 'last', 'which', 'was', 'so', 'remarkable', 'in', 'its', 'details', 'and', 'so', 'startling', 'in', 'its', 'results', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'tempted', 'to', 'give', 'some', 'account', 'of', 'it', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'the', 'fact', 'that', 'there', 'are', 'points', 'in', 'connection', 'with', 'it', 'which', 'never', 'have', 'been', 'and', 'probably', 'never', 'will', 'be', 'entirely', 'cleared', 'up', 'the', 'year', '87', 'furnished', 'us', 'with', 'a', 'long', 'series', 'of', 'cases', 'of', 'greater', 'or', 'less', 'interest', 'of', 'which', 'i', 'retain', 'the', 'records', 'among', 'my', 'headings', 'under', 'this', 'one', 'twelve', 'months', 'i', 'find', 'an', 'account', 'of', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'paradol', 'chamber', 'of', 'the', 'amateur', 'mendicant', 'society', 'who', 'held', 'a', 'luxurious', 'club', 'in', 'the', 'lower', 'vault', 'of', 'a', 'furniture', 'warehouse', 'of', 'the', 'facts', 'connected', 'with', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'the', 'british', 'barque', 'sophy', 'anderson', 'of', 'the', 'singular', 'adventures', 'of', 'the', 'grice', 'patersons', 'in', 'the', 'island', 'of', 'uffa', 'and', 'finally', 'of', 'the', 'camberwell', 'poisoning', 'case', 'in', 'the', 'latter', 'as', 'may', 'be', 'remembered', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'was', 'able', 'by', 'winding', 'up', 'the', 'dead', 'mans', 'watch', 'to', 'prove', 'that', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'wound', 'up', 'two', 'hours', 'before', 'and', 'that', 'therefore', 'the', 'deceased', 'had', 'gone', 'to', 'bed', 'within', 'that', 'timea', 'deduction', 'which', 'was', 'of', 'the', 'greatest', 'importance', 'in', 'clearing', 'up', 'the', 'case', 'all', 'these', 'i', 'may', 'sketch', 'out', 'at', 'some', 'future', 'date', 'but', 'none', 'of', 'them', 'present', 'such', 'singular', 'features', 'as', 'the', 'strange', 'train', 'of', 'circumstances', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'now', 'taken', 'up', 'my', 'pen', 'to', 'describe', 'it', 'was', 'in', 'the', 'latter', 'days', 'of', 'september', 'and', 'the', 'equinoctial', 'gales', 'had', 'set', 'in', 'with', 'exceptional', 'violence', 'all', 'day', 'the', 'wind', 'had', 'screamed', 'and', 'the', 'rain', 'had', 'beaten', 'against', 'the', 'windows', 'so', 'that', 'even', 'here', 'in', 'the', 'heart', 'of', 'great', 'handmade', 'london', 'we', 'were', 'forced', 'to', 'raise', 'our', 'minds', 'for', 'the', 'instant', 'from', 'the', 'routine', 'of', 'life', 'and', 'to', 'recognise', 'the', 'presence', 'of', 'those', 'great', 'elemental', 'forces', 'which', 'shriek', 'at', 'mankind', 'through', 'the', 'bars', 'of', 'his', 'civilisation', 'like', 'untamed', 'beasts', 'in', 'a', 'cage', 'as', 'evening', 'drew', 'in', 'the', 'storm', 'grew', 'higher', 'and', 'louder', 'and', 'the', 'wind', 'cried', 'and', 'sobbed', 'like', 'a', 'child', 'in', 'the', 'chimney', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'sat', 'moodily', 'at', 'one', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'fireplace', 'crossindexing', 'his', 'records', 'of', 'crime', 'while', 'i', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'was', 'deep', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'clark', 'russells', 'fine', 'seastories', 'until', 'the', 'howl', 'of', 'the', 'gale', 'from', 'without', 'seemed', 'to', 'blend', 'with', 'the', 'text', 'and', 'the', 'splash', 'of', 'the', 'rain', 'to', 'lengthen', 'out', 'into', 'the', 'long', 'swash', 'of', 'the', 'sea', 'waves', 'my', 'wife', 'was', 'on', 'a', 'visit', 'to', 'her', 'mothers', 'and', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'days', 'i', 'was', 'a', 'dweller', 'once', 'more', 'in', 'my', 'old', 'quarters', 'at', 'baker', 'street', 'why', 'said', 'i', 'glancing', 'up', 'at', 'my', 'companion', 'that', 'was', 'surely', 'the', 'bell', 'who', 'could', 'come', 'tonight', 'some', 'friend', 'of', 'yours', 'perhaps', 'except', 'yourself', 'i', 'have', 'none', 'he', 'answered', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'encourage', 'visitors', 'a', 'client', 'then', 'if', 'so', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'serious', 'case', 'nothing', 'less', 'would', 'bring', 'a', 'man', 'out', 'on', 'such', 'a', 'day', 'and', 'at', 'such', 'an', 'hour', 'but', 'i', 'take', 'it', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'more', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'some', 'crony', 'of', 'the', 'landladys', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'was', 'wrong', 'in', 'his', 'conjecture', 'however', 'for', 'there', 'came', 'a', 'step', 'in', 'the', 'passage', 'and', 'a', 'tapping', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'he', 'stretched', 'out', 'his', 'long', 'arm', 'to', 'turn', 'the', 'lamp', 'away', 'from', 'himself', 'and', 'towards', 'the', 'vacant', 'chair', 'upon', 'which', 'a', 'newcomer', 'must', 'sit', 'come', 'in', 'said', 'he', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'entered', 'was', 'young', 'some', 'twoandtwenty', 'at', 'the', 'outside', 'wellgroomed', 'and', 'trimly', 'clad', 'with', 'something', 'of', 'refinement', 'and', 'delicacy', 'in', 'his', 'bearing', 'the', 'streaming', 'umbrella', 'which', 'he', 'held', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'and', 'his', 'long', 'shining', 'waterproof', 'told', 'of', 'the', 'fierce', 'weather', 'through', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'come', 'he', 'looked', 'about', 'him', 'anxiously', 'in', 'the', 'glare', 'of', 'the', 'lamp', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'that', 'his', 'face', 'was', 'pale', 'and', 'his', 'eyes', 'heavy', 'like', 'those', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'is', 'weighed', 'down', 'with', 'some', 'great', 'anxiety', 'i', 'owe', 'you', 'an', 'apology', 'he', 'said', 'raising', 'his', 'golden', 'pincenez', 'to', 'his', 'eyes', 'i', 'trust', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'intruding', 'i', 'fear', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'brought', 'some', 'traces', 'of', 'the', 'storm', 'and', 'rain', 'into', 'your', 'snug', 'chamber', 'give', 'me', 'your', 'coat', 'and', 'umbrella', 'said', 'holmes', 'they', 'may', 'rest', 'here', 'on', 'the', 'hook', 'and', 'will', 'be', 'dry', 'presently', 'you', 'have', 'come', 'up', 'from', 'the', 'southwest', 'i', 'see', 'yes', 'from', 'horsham', 'that', 'clay', 'and', 'chalk', 'mixture', 'which', 'i', 'see', 'upon', 'your', 'toe', 'caps', 'is', 'quite', 'distinctive', 'i', 'have', 'come', 'for', 'advice', 'that', 'is', 'easily', 'got', 'and', 'help', 'that', 'is', 'not', 'always', 'so', 'easy', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'of', 'you', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'heard', 'from', 'major', 'prendergast', 'how', 'you', 'saved', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'tankerville', 'club', 'scandal', 'ah', 'of', 'course', 'he', 'was', 'wrongfully', 'accused', 'of', 'cheating', 'at', 'cards', 'he', 'said', 'that', 'you', 'could', 'solve', 'anything', 'he', 'said', 'too', 'much', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'never', 'beaten', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'beaten', 'four', 'timesthree', 'times', 'by', 'men', 'and', 'once', 'by', 'a', 'woman', 'but', 'what', 'is', 'that', 'compared', 'with', 'the', 'number', 'of', 'your', 'successes', 'it', 'is', 'true', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'generally', 'successful', 'then', 'you', 'may', 'be', 'so', 'with', 'me', 'i', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'draw', 'your', 'chair', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'fire', 'and', 'favour', 'me', 'with', 'some', 'details', 'as', 'to', 'your', 'case', 'it', 'is', 'no', 'ordinary', 'one', 'none', 'of', 'those', 'which', 'come', 'to', 'me', 'are', 'i', 'am', 'the', 'last', 'court', 'of', 'appeal', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'question', 'sir', 'whether', 'in', 'all', 'your', 'experience', 'you', 'have', 'ever', 'listened', 'to', 'a', 'more', 'mysterious', 'and', 'inexplicable', 'chain', 'of', 'events', 'than', 'those', 'which', 'have', 'happened', 'in', 'my', 'own', 'family', 'you', 'fill', 'me', 'with', 'interest', 'said', 'holmes', 'pray', 'give', 'us', 'the', 'essential', 'facts', 'from', 'the', 'commencement', 'and', 'i', 'can', 'afterwards', 'question', 'you', 'as', 'to', 'those', 'details', 'which', 'seem', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'most', 'important', 'the', 'young', 'man', 'pulled', 'his', 'chair', 'up', 'and', 'pushed', 'his', 'wet', 'feet', 'out', 'towards', 'the', 'blaze', 'my', 'name', 'said', 'he', 'is', 'john', 'openshaw', 'but', 'my', 'own', 'affairs', 'have', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'i', 'can', 'understand', 'little', 'to', 'do', 'with', 'this', 'awful', 'business', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'hereditary', 'matter', 'so', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'give', 'you', 'an', 'idea', 'of', 'the', 'facts', 'i', 'must', 'go', 'back', 'to', 'the', 'commencement', 'of', 'the', 'affair', 'you', 'must', 'know', 'that', 'my', 'grandfather', 'had', 'two', 'sonsmy', 'uncle', 'elias', 'and', 'my', 'father', 'joseph', 'my', 'father', 'had', 'a', 'small', 'factory', 'at', 'coventry', 'which', 'he', 'enlarged', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'the', 'invention', 'of', 'bicycling', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'patentee', 'of', 'the', 'openshaw', 'unbreakable', 'tire', 'and', 'his', 'business', 'met', 'with', 'such', 'success', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'able', 'to', 'sell', 'it', 'and', 'to', 'retire', 'upon', 'a', 'handsome', 'competence', 'my', 'uncle', 'elias', 'emigrated', 'to', 'america', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'young', 'man', 'and', 'became', 'a', 'planter', 'in', 'florida', 'where', 'he', 'was', 'reported', 'to', 'have', 'done', 'very', 'well', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'the', 'war', 'he', 'fought', 'in', 'jacksons', 'army', 'and', 'afterwards', 'under', 'hood', 'where', 'he', 'rose', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'colonel', 'when', 'lee', 'laid', 'down', 'his', 'arms', 'my', 'uncle', 'returned', 'to', 'his', 'plantation', 'where', 'he', 'remained', 'for', 'three', 'or', 'four', 'years', 'about', '1869', 'or', '1870', 'he', 'came', 'back', 'to', 'europe', 'and', 'took', 'a', 'small', 'estate', 'in', 'sussex', 'near', 'horsham', 'he', 'had', 'made', 'a', 'very', 'considerable', 'fortune', 'in', 'the', 'states', 'and', 'his', 'reason', 'for', 'leaving', 'them', 'was', 'his', 'aversion', 'to', 'the', 'negroes', 'and', 'his', 'dislike', 'of', 'the', 'republican', 'policy', 'in', 'extending', 'the', 'franchise', 'to', 'them', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'singular', 'man', 'fierce', 'and', 'quicktempered', 'very', 'foulmouthed', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'angry', 'and', 'of', 'a', 'most', 'retiring', 'disposition', 'during', 'all', 'the', 'years', 'that', 'he', 'lived', 'at', 'horsham', 'i', 'doubt', 'if', 'ever', 'he', 'set', 'foot', 'in', 'the', 'town', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'garden', 'and', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'fields', 'round', 'his', 'house', 'and', 'there', 'he', 'would', 'take', 'his', 'exercise', 'though', 'very', 'often', 'for', 'weeks', 'on', 'end', 'he', 'would', 'never', 'leave', 'his', 'room', 'he', 'drank', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'brandy', 'and', 'smoked', 'very', 'heavily', 'but', 'he', 'would', 'see', 'no', 'society', 'and', 'did', 'not', 'want', 'any', 'friends', 'not', 'even', 'his', 'own', 'brother', 'he', 'didnt', 'mind', 'me', 'in', 'fact', 'he', 'took', 'a', 'fancy', 'to', 'me', 'for', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'when', 'he', 'saw', 'me', 'first', 'i', 'was', 'a', 'youngster', 'of', 'twelve', 'or', 'so', 'this', 'would', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'year', '1878', 'after', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'eight', 'or', 'nine', 'years', 'in', 'england', 'he', 'begged', 'my', 'father', 'to', 'let', 'me', 'live', 'with', 'him', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'kind', 'to', 'me', 'in', 'his', 'way', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'sober', 'he', 'used', 'to', 'be', 'fond', 'of', 'playing', 'backgammon', 'and', 'draughts', 'with', 'me', 'and', 'he', 'would', 'make', 'me', 'his', 'representative', 'both', 'with', 'the', 'servants', 'and', 'with', 'the', 'tradespeople', 'so', 'that', 'by', 'the', 'time', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'sixteen', 'i', 'was', 'quite', 'master', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'i', 'kept', 'all', 'the', 'keys', 'and', 'could', 'go', 'where', 'i', 'liked', 'and', 'do', 'what', 'i', 'liked', 'so', 'long', 'as', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'disturb', 'him', 'in', 'his', 'privacy', 'there', 'was', 'one', 'singular', 'exception', 'however', 'for', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'single', 'room', 'a', 'lumberroom', 'up', 'among', 'the', 'attics', 'which', 'was', 'invariably', 'locked', 'and', 'which', 'he', 'would', 'never', 'permit', 'either', 'me', 'or', 'anyone', 'else', 'to', 'enter', 'with', 'a', 'boys', 'curiosity', 'i', 'have', 'peeped', 'through', 'the', 'keyhole', 'but', 'i', 'was', 'never', 'able', 'to', 'see', 'more', 'than', 'such', 'a', 'collection', 'of', 'old', 'trunks', 'and', 'bundles', 'as', 'would', 'be', 'expected', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'room', 'one', 'dayit', 'was', 'in', 'march', '1883a', 'letter', 'with', 'a', 'foreign', 'stamp', 'lay', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'colonels', 'plate', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'common', 'thing', 'for', 'him', 'to', 'receive', 'letters', 'for', 'his', 'bills', 'were', 'all', 'paid', 'in', 'ready', 'money', 'and', 'he', 'had', 'no', 'friends', 'of', 'any', 'sort', 'from', 'india', 'said', 'he', 'as', 'he', 'took', 'it', 'up', 'pondicherry', 'postmark', 'what', 'can', 'this', 'be', 'opening', 'it', 'hurriedly', 'out', 'there', 'jumped', 'five', 'little', 'dried', 'orange', 'pips', 'which', 'pattered', 'down', 'upon', 'his', 'plate', 'i', 'began', 'to', 'laugh', 'at', 'this', 'but', 'the', 'laugh', 'was', 'struck', 'from', 'my', 'lips', 'at', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'his', 'face', 'his', 'lip', 'had', 'fallen', 'his', 'eyes', 'were', 'protruding', 'his', 'skin', 'the', 'colour', 'of', 'putty', 'and', 'he', 'glared', 'at', 'the', 'envelope', 'which', 'he', 'still', 'held', 'in', 'his', 'trembling', 'hand', 'k', 'k', 'k', 'he', 'shrieked', 'and', 'then', 'my', 'god', 'my', 'god', 'my', 'sins', 'have', 'overtaken', 'me', 'what', 'is', 'it', 'uncle', 'i', 'cried', 'death', 'said', 'he', 'and', 'rising', 'from', 'the', 'table', 'he', 'retired', 'to', 'his', 'room', 'leaving', 'me', 'palpitating', 'with', 'horror', 'i', 'took', 'up', 'the', 'envelope', 'and', 'saw', 'scrawled', 'in', 'red', 'ink', 'upon', 'the', 'inner', 'flap', 'just', 'above', 'the', 'gum', 'the', 'letter', 'k', 'three', 'times', 'repeated', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'else', 'save', 'the', 'five', 'dried', 'pips', 'what', 'could', 'be', 'the', 'reason', 'of', 'his', 'overpowering', 'terror', 'i', 'left', 'the', 'breakfasttable', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'ascended', 'the', 'stair', 'i', 'met', 'him', 'coming', 'down', 'with', 'an', 'old', 'rusty', 'key', 'which', 'must', 'have', 'belonged', 'to', 'the', 'attic', 'in', 'one', 'hand', 'and', 'a', 'small', 'brass', 'box', 'like', 'a', 'cashbox', 'in', 'the', 'other', 'they', 'may', 'do', 'what', 'they', 'like', 'but', 'ill', 'checkmate', 'them', 'still', 'said', 'he', 'with', 'an', 'oath', 'tell', 'mary', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'want', 'a', 'fire', 'in', 'my', 'room', 'today', 'and', 'send', 'down', 'to', 'fordham', 'the', 'horsham', 'lawyer', 'i', 'did', 'as', 'he', 'ordered', 'and', 'when', 'the', 'lawyer', 'arrived', 'i', 'was', 'asked', 'to', 'step', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'room', 'the', 'fire', 'was', 'burning', 'brightly', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'grate', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'mass', 'of', 'black', 'fluffy', 'ashes', 'as', 'of', 'burned', 'paper', 'while', 'the', 'brass', 'box', 'stood', 'open', 'and', 'empty', 'beside', 'it', 'as', 'i', 'glanced', 'at', 'the', 'box', 'i', 'noticed', 'with', 'a', 'start', 'that', 'upon', 'the', 'lid', 'was', 'printed', 'the', 'treble', 'k', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'read', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'upon', 'the', 'envelope', 'i', 'wish', 'you', 'john', 'said', 'my', 'uncle', 'to', 'witness', 'my', 'will', 'i', 'leave', 'my', 'estate', 'with', 'all', 'its', 'advantages', 'and', 'all', 'its', 'disadvantages', 'to', 'my', 'brother', 'your', 'father', 'whence', 'it', 'will', 'no', 'doubt', 'descend', 'to', 'you', 'if', 'you', 'can', 'enjoy', 'it', 'in', 'peace', 'well', 'and', 'good', 'if', 'you', 'find', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'take', 'my', 'advice', 'my', 'boy', 'and', 'leave', 'it', 'to', 'your', 'deadliest', 'enemy', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'to', 'give', 'you', 'such', 'a', 'twoedged', 'thing', 'but', 'i', 'cant', 'say', 'what', 'turn', 'things', 'are', 'going', 'to', 'take', 'kindly', 'sign', 'the', 'paper', 'where', 'mr', 'fordham', 'shows', 'you', 'i', 'signed', 'the', 'paper', 'as', 'directed', 'and', 'the', 'lawyer', 'took', 'it', 'away', 'with', 'him', 'the', 'singular', 'incident', 'made', 'as', 'you', 'may', 'think', 'the', 'deepest', 'impression', 'upon', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'pondered', 'over', 'it', 'and', 'turned', 'it', 'every', 'way', 'in', 'my', 'mind', 'without', 'being', 'able', 'to', 'make', 'anything', 'of', 'it', 'yet', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'shake', 'off', 'the', 'vague', 'feeling', 'of', 'dread', 'which', 'it', 'left', 'behind', 'though', 'the', 'sensation', 'grew', 'less', 'keen', 'as', 'the', 'weeks', 'passed', 'and', 'nothing', 'happened', 'to', 'disturb', 'the', 'usual', 'routine', 'of', 'our', 'lives', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'a', 'change', 'in', 'my', 'uncle', 'however', 'he', 'drank', 'more', 'than', 'ever', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'less', 'inclined', 'for', 'any', 'sort', 'of', 'society', 'most', 'of', 'his', 'time', 'he', 'would', 'spend', 'in', 'his', 'room', 'with', 'the', 'door', 'locked', 'upon', 'the', 'inside', 'but', 'sometimes', 'he', 'would', 'emerge', 'in', 'a', 'sort', 'of', 'drunken', 'frenzy', 'and', 'would', 'burst', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'tear', 'about', 'the', 'garden', 'with', 'a', 'revolver', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'screaming', 'out', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'afraid', 'of', 'no', 'man', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'cooped', 'up', 'like', 'a', 'sheep', 'in', 'a', 'pen', 'by', 'man', 'or', 'devil', 'when', 'these', 'hot', 'fits', 'were', 'over', 'however', 'he', 'would', 'rush', 'tumultuously', 'in', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'lock', 'and', 'bar', 'it', 'behind', 'him', 'like', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'can', 'brazen', 'it', 'out', 'no', 'longer', 'against', 'the', 'terror', 'which', 'lies', 'at', 'the', 'roots', 'of', 'his', 'soul', 'at', 'such', 'times', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'his', 'face', 'even', 'on', 'a', 'cold', 'day', 'glisten', 'with', 'moisture', 'as', 'though', 'it', 'were', 'new', 'raised', 'from', 'a', 'basin', 'well', 'to', 'come', 'to', 'an', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'not', 'to', 'abuse', 'your', 'patience', 'there', 'came', 'a', 'night', 'when', 'he', 'made', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'drunken', 'sallies', 'from', 'which', 'he', 'never', 'came', 'back', 'we', 'found', 'him', 'when', 'we', 'went', 'to', 'search', 'for', 'him', 'face', 'downward', 'in', 'a', 'little', 'greenscummed', 'pool', 'which', 'lay', 'at', 'the', 'foot', 'of', 'the', 'garden', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'sign', 'of', 'any', 'violence', 'and', 'the', 'water', 'was', 'but', 'two', 'feet', 'deep', 'so', 'that', 'the', 'jury', 'having', 'regard', 'to', 'his', 'known', 'eccentricity', 'brought', 'in', 'a', 'verdict', 'of', 'suicide', 'but', 'i', 'who', 'knew', 'how', 'he', 'winced', 'from', 'the', 'very', 'thought', 'of', 'death', 'had', 'much', 'ado', 'to', 'persuade', 'myself', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'gone', 'out', 'of', 'his', 'way', 'to', 'meet', 'it', 'the', 'matter', 'passed', 'however', 'and', 'my', 'father', 'entered', 'into', 'possession', 'of', 'the', 'estate', 'and', 'of', 'some', '14000', 'which', 'lay', 'to', 'his', 'credit', 'at', 'the', 'bank', 'one', 'moment', 'holmes', 'interposed', 'your', 'statement', 'is', 'i', 'foresee', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'remarkable', 'to', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'ever', 'listened', 'let', 'me', 'have', 'the', 'date', 'of', 'the', 'reception', 'by', 'your', 'uncle', 'of', 'the', 'letter', 'and', 'the', 'date', 'of', 'his', 'supposed', 'suicide', 'the', 'letter', 'arrived', 'on', 'march', '10', '1883', 'his', 'death', 'was', 'seven', 'weeks', 'later', 'upon', 'the', 'night', 'of', 'may', '2nd', 'thank', 'you', 'pray', 'proceed', 'when', 'my', 'father', 'took', 'over', 'the', 'horsham', 'property', 'he', 'at', 'my', 'request', 'made', 'a', 'careful', 'examination', 'of', 'the', 'attic', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'always', 'locked', 'up', 'we', 'found', 'the', 'brass', 'box', 'there', 'although', 'its', 'contents', 'had', 'been', 'destroyed', 'on', 'the', 'inside', 'of', 'the', 'cover', 'was', 'a', 'paper', 'label', 'with', 'the', 'initials', 'of', 'k', 'k', 'k', 'repeated', 'upon', 'it', 'and', 'letters', 'memoranda', 'receipts', 'and', 'a', 'register', 'written', 'beneath', 'these', 'we', 'presume', 'indicated', 'the', 'nature', 'of', 'the', 'papers', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'destroyed', 'by', 'colonel', 'openshaw', 'for', 'the', 'rest', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'of', 'much', 'importance', 'in', 'the', 'attic', 'save', 'a', 'great', 'many', 'scattered', 'papers', 'and', 'notebooks', 'bearing', 'upon', 'my', 'uncles', 'life', 'in', 'america', 'some', 'of', 'them', 'were', 'of', 'the', 'war', 'time', 'and', 'showed', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'done', 'his', 'duty', 'well', 'and', 'had', 'borne', 'the', 'repute', 'of', 'a', 'brave', 'soldier', 'others', 'were', 'of', 'a', 'date', 'during', 'the', 'reconstruction', 'of', 'the', 'southern', 'states', 'and', 'were', 'mostly', 'concerned', 'with', 'politics', 'for', 'he', 'had', 'evidently', 'taken', 'a', 'strong', 'part', 'in', 'opposing', 'the', 'carpetbag', 'politicians', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'sent', 'down', 'from', 'the', 'north', 'well', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'beginning', 'of', '84', 'when', 'my', 'father', 'came', 'to', 'live', 'at', 'horsham', 'and', 'all', 'went', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'possible', 'with', 'us', 'until', 'the', 'january', 'of', '85', 'on', 'the', 'fourth', 'day', 'after', 'the', 'new', 'year', 'i', 'heard', 'my', 'father', 'give', 'a', 'sharp', 'cry', 'of', 'surprise', 'as', 'we', 'sat', 'together', 'at', 'the', 'breakfasttable', 'there', 'he', 'was', 'sitting', 'with', 'a', 'newly', 'opened', 'envelope', 'in', 'one', 'hand', 'and', 'five', 'dried', 'orange', 'pips', 'in', 'the', 'outstretched', 'palm', 'of', 'the', 'other', 'one', 'he', 'had', 'always', 'laughed', 'at', 'what', 'he', 'called', 'my', 'cockandbull', 'story', 'about', 'the', 'colonel', 'but', 'he', 'looked', 'very', 'scared', 'and', 'puzzled', 'now', 'that', 'the', 'same', 'thing', 'had', 'come', 'upon', 'himself', 'why', 'what', 'on', 'earth', 'does', 'this', 'mean', 'john', 'he', 'stammered', 'my', 'heart', 'had', 'turned', 'to', 'lead', 'it', 'is', 'k', 'k', 'k', 'said', 'i', 'he', 'looked', 'inside', 'the', 'envelope', 'so', 'it', 'is', 'he', 'cried', 'here', 'are', 'the', 'very', 'letters', 'but', 'what', 'is', 'this', 'written', 'above', 'them', 'put', 'the', 'papers', 'on', 'the', 'sundial', 'i', 'read', 'peeping', 'over', 'his', 'shoulder', 'what', 'papers', 'what', 'sundial', 'he', 'asked', 'the', 'sundial', 'in', 'the', 'garden', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'other', 'said', 'i', 'but', 'the', 'papers', 'must', 'be', 'those', 'that', 'are', 'destroyed', 'pooh', 'said', 'he', 'gripping', 'hard', 'at', 'his', 'courage', 'we', 'are', 'in', 'a', 'civilised', 'land', 'here', 'and', 'we', 'cant', 'have', 'tomfoolery', 'of', 'this', 'kind', 'where', 'does', 'the', 'thing', 'come', 'from', 'from', 'dundee', 'i', 'answered', 'glancing', 'at', 'the', 'postmark', 'some', 'preposterous', 'practical', 'joke', 'said', 'he', 'what', 'have', 'i', 'to', 'do', 'with', 'sundials', 'and', 'papers', 'i', 'shall', 'take', 'no', 'notice', 'of', 'such', 'nonsense', 'i', 'should', 'certainly', 'speak', 'to', 'the', 'police', 'i', 'said', 'and', 'be', 'laughed', 'at', 'for', 'my', 'pains', 'nothing', 'of', 'the', 'sort', 'then', 'let', 'me', 'do', 'so', 'no', 'i', 'forbid', 'you', 'i', 'wont', 'have', 'a', 'fuss', 'made', 'about', 'such', 'nonsense', 'it', 'was', 'in', 'vain', 'to', 'argue', 'with', 'him', 'for', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'obstinate', 'man', 'i', 'went', 'about', 'however', 'with', 'a', 'heart', 'which', 'was', 'full', 'of', 'forebodings', 'on', 'the', 'third', 'day', 'after', 'the', 'coming', 'of', 'the', 'letter', 'my', 'father', 'went', 'from', 'home', 'to', 'visit', 'an', 'old', 'friend', 'of', 'his', 'major', 'freebody', 'who', 'is', 'in', 'command', 'of', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'forts', 'upon', 'portsdown', 'hill', 'i', 'was', 'glad', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'go', 'for', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'farther', 'from', 'danger', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'away', 'from', 'home', 'in', 'that', 'however', 'i', 'was', 'in', 'error', 'upon', 'the', 'second', 'day', 'of', 'his', 'absence', 'i', 'received', 'a', 'telegram', 'from', 'the', 'major', 'imploring', 'me', 'to', 'come', 'at', 'once', 'my', 'father', 'had', 'fallen', 'over', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'deep', 'chalkpits', 'which', 'abound', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'and', 'was', 'lying', 'senseless', 'with', 'a', 'shattered', 'skull', 'i', 'hurried', 'to', 'him', 'but', 'he', 'passed', 'away', 'without', 'having', 'ever', 'recovered', 'his', 'consciousness', 'he', 'had', 'as', 'it', 'appears', 'been', 'returning', 'from', 'fareham', 'in', 'the', 'twilight', 'and', 'as', 'the', 'country', 'was', 'unknown', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'the', 'chalkpit', 'unfenced', 'the', 'jury', 'had', 'no', 'hesitation', 'in', 'bringing', 'in', 'a', 'verdict', 'of', 'death', 'from', 'accidental', 'causes', 'carefully', 'as', 'i', 'examined', 'every', 'fact', 'connected', 'with', 'his', 'death', 'i', 'was', 'unable', 'to', 'find', 'anything', 'which', 'could', 'suggest', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'murder', 'there', 'were', 'no', 'signs', 'of', 'violence', 'no', 'footmarks', 'no', 'robbery', 'no', 'record', 'of', 'strangers', 'having', 'been', 'seen', 'upon', 'the', 'roads', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'need', 'not', 'tell', 'you', 'that', 'my', 'mind', 'was', 'far', 'from', 'at', 'ease', 'and', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'wellnigh', 'certain', 'that', 'some', 'foul', 'plot', 'had', 'been', 'woven', 'round', 'him', 'in', 'this', 'sinister', 'way', 'i', 'came', 'into', 'my', 'inheritance', 'you', 'will', 'ask', 'me', 'why', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'dispose', 'of', 'it', 'i', 'answer', 'because', 'i', 'was', 'well', 'convinced', 'that', 'our', 'troubles', 'were', 'in', 'some', 'way', 'dependent', 'upon', 'an', 'incident', 'in', 'my', 'uncles', 'life', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'danger', 'would', 'be', 'as', 'pressing', 'in', 'one', 'house', 'as', 'in', 'another', 'it', 'was', 'in', 'january', '85', 'that', 'my', 'poor', 'father', 'met', 'his', 'end', 'and', 'two', 'years', 'and', 'eight', 'months', 'have', 'elapsed', 'since', 'then', 'during', 'that', 'time', 'i', 'have', 'lived', 'happily', 'at', 'horsham', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'begun', 'to', 'hope', 'that', 'this', 'curse', 'had', 'passed', 'away', 'from', 'the', 'family', 'and', 'that', 'it', 'had', 'ended', 'with', 'the', 'last', 'generation', 'i', 'had', 'begun', 'to', 'take', 'comfort', 'too', 'soon', 'however', 'yesterday', 'morning', 'the', 'blow', 'fell', 'in', 'the', 'very', 'shape', 'in', 'which', 'it', 'had', 'come', 'upon', 'my', 'father', 'the', 'young', 'man', 'took', 'from', 'his', 'waistcoat', 'a', 'crumpled', 'envelope', 'and', 'turning', 'to', 'the', 'table', 'he', 'shook', 'out', 'upon', 'it', 'five', 'little', 'dried', 'orange', 'pips', 'this', 'is', 'the', 'envelope', 'he', 'continued', 'the', 'postmark', 'is', 'londoneastern', 'division', 'within', 'are', 'the', 'very', 'words', 'which', 'were', 'upon', 'my', 'fathers', 'last', 'message', 'k', 'k', 'k', 'and', 'then', 'put', 'the', 'papers', 'on', 'the', 'sundial', 'what', 'have', 'you', 'done', 'asked', 'holmes', 'nothing', 'nothing', 'to', 'tell', 'the', 'truthhe', 'sank', 'his', 'face', 'into', 'his', 'thin', 'white', 'handsi', 'have', 'felt', 'helpless', 'i', 'have', 'felt', 'like', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'poor', 'rabbits', 'when', 'the', 'snake', 'is', 'writhing', 'towards', 'it', 'i', 'seem', 'to', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'grasp', 'of', 'some', 'resistless', 'inexorable', 'evil', 'which', 'no', 'foresight', 'and', 'no', 'precautions', 'can', 'guard', 'against', 'tut', 'tut', 'cried', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'you', 'must', 'act', 'man', 'or', 'you', 'are', 'lost', 'nothing', 'but', 'energy', 'can', 'save', 'you', 'this', 'is', 'no', 'time', 'for', 'despair', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'the', 'police', 'ah', 'but', 'they', 'listened', 'to', 'my', 'story', 'with', 'a', 'smile', 'i', 'am', 'convinced', 'that', 'the', 'inspector', 'has', 'formed', 'the', 'opinion', 'that', 'the', 'letters', 'are', 'all', 'practical', 'jokes', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'deaths', 'of', 'my', 'relations', 'were', 'really', 'accidents', 'as', 'the', 'jury', 'stated', 'and', 'were', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'connected', 'with', 'the', 'warnings', 'holmes', 'shook', 'his', 'clenched', 'hands', 'in', 'the', 'air', 'incredible', 'imbecility', 'he', 'cried', 'they', 'have', 'however', 'allowed', 'me', 'a', 'policeman', 'who', 'may', 'remain', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'with', 'me', 'has', 'he', 'come', 'with', 'you', 'tonight', 'no', 'his', 'orders', 'were', 'to', 'stay', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'again', 'holmes', 'raved', 'in', 'the', 'air', 'why', 'did', 'you', 'come', 'to', 'me', 'he', 'said', 'and', 'above', 'all', 'why', 'did', 'you', 'not', 'come', 'at', 'once', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'today', 'that', 'i', 'spoke', 'to', 'major', 'prendergast', 'about', 'my', 'troubles', 'and', 'was', 'advised', 'by', 'him', 'to', 'come', 'to', 'you', 'it', 'is', 'really', 'two', 'days', 'since', 'you', 'had', 'the', 'letter', 'we', 'should', 'have', 'acted', 'before', 'this', 'you', 'have', 'no', 'further', 'evidence', 'i', 'suppose', 'than', 'that', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'placed', 'before', 'usno', 'suggestive', 'detail', 'which', 'might', 'help', 'us', 'there', 'is', 'one', 'thing', 'said', 'john', 'openshaw', 'he', 'rummaged', 'in', 'his', 'coat', 'pocket', 'and', 'drawing', 'out', 'a', 'piece', 'of', 'discoloured', 'bluetinted', 'paper', 'he', 'laid', 'it', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'i', 'have', 'some', 'remembrance', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'on', 'the', 'day', 'when', 'my', 'uncle', 'burned', 'the', 'papers', 'i', 'observed', 'that', 'the', 'small', 'unburned', 'margins', 'which', 'lay', 'amid', 'the', 'ashes', 'were', 'of', 'this', 'particular', 'colour', 'i', 'found', 'this', 'single', 'sheet', 'upon', 'the', 'floor', 'of', 'his', 'room', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'inclined', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'papers', 'which', 'has', 'perhaps', 'fluttered', 'out', 'from', 'among', 'the', 'others', 'and', 'in', 'that', 'way', 'has', 'escaped', 'destruction', 'beyond', 'the', 'mention', 'of', 'pips', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'see', 'that', 'it', 'helps', 'us', 'much', 'i', 'think', 'myself', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'page', 'from', 'some', 'private', 'diary', 'the', 'writing', 'is', 'undoubtedly', 'my', 'uncles', 'holmes', 'moved', 'the', 'lamp', 'and', 'we', 'both', 'bent', 'over', 'the', 'sheet', 'of', 'paper', 'which', 'showed', 'by', 'its', 'ragged', 'edge', 'that', 'it', 'had', 'indeed', 'been', 'torn', 'from', 'a', 'book', 'it', 'was', 'headed', 'march', '1869', 'and', 'beneath', 'were', 'the', 'following', 'enigmatical', 'notices', '4th', 'hudson', 'came', 'same', 'old', 'platform', '7th', 'set', 'the', 'pips', 'on', 'mccauley', 'paramore', 'and', 'john', 'swain', 'of', 'st', 'augustine', '9th', 'mccauley', 'cleared', '10th', 'john', 'swain', 'cleared', '12th', 'visited', 'paramore', 'all', 'well', 'thank', 'you', 'said', 'holmes', 'folding', 'up', 'the', 'paper', 'and', 'returning', 'it', 'to', 'our', 'visitor', 'and', 'now', 'you', 'must', 'on', 'no', 'account', 'lose', 'another', 'instant', 'we', 'can', 'not', 'spare', 'time', 'even', 'to', 'discuss', 'what', 'you', 'have', 'told', 'me', 'you', 'must', 'get', 'home', 'instantly', 'and', 'act', 'what', 'shall', 'i', 'do', 'there', 'is', 'but', 'one', 'thing', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'done', 'at', 'once', 'you', 'must', 'put', 'this', 'piece', 'of', 'paper', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'shown', 'us', 'into', 'the', 'brass', 'box', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'described', 'you', 'must', 'also', 'put', 'in', 'a', 'note', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'all', 'the', 'other', 'papers', 'were', 'burned', 'by', 'your', 'uncle', 'and', 'that', 'this', 'is', 'the', 'only', 'one', 'which', 'remains', 'you', 'must', 'assert', 'that', 'in', 'such', 'words', 'as', 'will', 'carry', 'conviction', 'with', 'them', 'having', 'done', 'this', 'you', 'must', 'at', 'once', 'put', 'the', 'box', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'sundial', 'as', 'directed', 'do', 'you', 'understand', 'entirely', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'of', 'revenge', 'or', 'anything', 'of', 'the', 'sort', 'at', 'present', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'we', 'may', 'gain', 'that', 'by', 'means', 'of', 'the', 'law', 'but', 'we', 'have', 'our', 'web', 'to', 'weave', 'while', 'theirs', 'is', 'already', 'woven', 'the', 'first', 'consideration', 'is', 'to', 'remove', 'the', 'pressing', 'danger', 'which', 'threatens', 'you', 'the', 'second', 'is', 'to', 'clear', 'up', 'the', 'mystery', 'and', 'to', 'punish', 'the', 'guilty', 'parties', 'i', 'thank', 'you', 'said', 'the', 'young', 'man', 'rising', 'and', 'pulling', 'on', 'his', 'overcoat', 'you', 'have', 'given', 'me', 'fresh', 'life', 'and', 'hope', 'i', 'shall', 'certainly', 'do', 'as', 'you', 'advise', 'do', 'not', 'lose', 'an', 'instant', 'and', 'above', 'all', 'take', 'care', 'of', 'yourself', 'in', 'the', 'meanwhile', 'for', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'that', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'a', 'doubt', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'threatened', 'by', 'a', 'very', 'real', 'and', 'imminent', 'danger', 'how', 'do', 'you', 'go', 'back', 'by', 'train', 'from', 'waterloo', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'yet', 'nine', 'the', 'streets', 'will', 'be', 'crowded', 'so', 'i', 'trust', 'that', 'you', 'may', 'be', 'in', 'safety', 'and', 'yet', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'guard', 'yourself', 'too', 'closely', 'i', 'am', 'armed', 'that', 'is', 'well', 'tomorrow', 'i', 'shall', 'set', 'to', 'work', 'upon', 'your', 'case', 'i', 'shall', 'see', 'you', 'at', 'horsham', 'then', 'no', 'your', 'secret', 'lies', 'in', 'london', 'it', 'is', 'there', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'seek', 'it', 'then', 'i', 'shall', 'call', 'upon', 'you', 'in', 'a', 'day', 'or', 'in', 'two', 'days', 'with', 'news', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'box', 'and', 'the', 'papers', 'i', 'shall', 'take', 'your', 'advice', 'in', 'every', 'particular', 'he', 'shook', 'hands', 'with', 'us', 'and', 'took', 'his', 'leave', 'outside', 'the', 'wind', 'still', 'screamed', 'and', 'the', 'rain', 'splashed', 'and', 'pattered', 'against', 'the', 'windows', 'this', 'strange', 'wild', 'story', 'seemed', 'to', 'have', 'come', 'to', 'us', 'from', 'amid', 'the', 'mad', 'elementsblown', 'in', 'upon', 'us', 'like', 'a', 'sheet', 'of', 'seaweed', 'in', 'a', 'galeand', 'now', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'reabsorbed', 'by', 'them', 'once', 'more', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'sat', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'in', 'silence', 'with', 'his', 'head', 'sunk', 'forward', 'and', 'his', 'eyes', 'bent', 'upon', 'the', 'red', 'glow', 'of', 'the', 'fire', 'then', 'he', 'lit', 'his', 'pipe', 'and', 'leaning', 'back', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'he', 'watched', 'the', 'blue', 'smokerings', 'as', 'they', 'chased', 'each', 'other', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'ceiling', 'i', 'think', 'watson', 'he', 'remarked', 'at', 'last', 'that', 'of', 'all', 'our', 'cases', 'we', 'have', 'had', 'none', 'more', 'fantastic', 'than', 'this', 'save', 'perhaps', 'the', 'sign', 'of', 'four', 'well', 'yes', 'save', 'perhaps', 'that', 'and', 'yet', 'this', 'john', 'openshaw', 'seems', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'walking', 'amid', 'even', 'greater', 'perils', 'than', 'did', 'the', 'sholtos', 'but', 'have', 'you', 'i', 'asked', 'formed', 'any', 'definite', 'conception', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'these', 'perils', 'are', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'no', 'question', 'as', 'to', 'their', 'nature', 'he', 'answered', 'then', 'what', 'are', 'they', 'who', 'is', 'this', 'k', 'k', 'k', 'and', 'why', 'does', 'he', 'pursue', 'this', 'unhappy', 'family', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'closed', 'his', 'eyes', 'and', 'placed', 'his', 'elbows', 'upon', 'the', 'arms', 'of', 'his', 'chair', 'with', 'his', 'fingertips', 'together', 'the', 'ideal', 'reasoner', 'he', 'remarked', 'would', 'when', 'he', 'had', 'once', 'been', 'shown', 'a', 'single', 'fact', 'in', 'all', 'its', 'bearings', 'deduce', 'from', 'it', 'not', 'only', 'all', 'the', 'chain', 'of', 'events', 'which', 'led', 'up', 'to', 'it', 'but', 'also', 'all', 'the', 'results', 'which', 'would', 'follow', 'from', 'it', 'as', 'cuvier', 'could', 'correctly', 'describe', 'a', 'whole', 'animal', 'by', 'the', 'contemplation', 'of', 'a', 'single', 'bone', 'so', 'the', 'observer', 'who', 'has', 'thoroughly', 'understood', 'one', 'link', 'in', 'a', 'series', 'of', 'incidents', 'should', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'accurately', 'state', 'all', 'the', 'other', 'ones', 'both', 'before', 'and', 'after', 'we', 'have', 'not', 'yet', 'grasped', 'the', 'results', 'which', 'the', 'reason', 'alone', 'can', 'attain', 'to', 'problems', 'may', 'be', 'solved', 'in', 'the', 'study', 'which', 'have', 'baffled', 'all', 'those', 'who', 'have', 'sought', 'a', 'solution', 'by', 'the', 'aid', 'of', 'their', 'senses', 'to', 'carry', 'the', 'art', 'however', 'to', 'its', 'highest', 'pitch', 'it', 'is', 'necessary', 'that', 'the', 'reasoner', 'should', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'utilise', 'all', 'the', 'facts', 'which', 'have', 'come', 'to', 'his', 'knowledge', 'and', 'this', 'in', 'itself', 'implies', 'as', 'you', 'will', 'readily', 'see', 'a', 'possession', 'of', 'all', 'knowledge', 'which', 'even', 'in', 'these', 'days', 'of', 'free', 'education', 'and', 'encyclopædias', 'is', 'a', 'somewhat', 'rare', 'accomplishment', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'so', 'impossible', 'however', 'that', 'a', 'man', 'should', 'possess', 'all', 'knowledge', 'which', 'is', 'likely', 'to', 'be', 'useful', 'to', 'him', 'in', 'his', 'work', 'and', 'this', 'i', 'have', 'endeavoured', 'in', 'my', 'case', 'to', 'do', 'if', 'i', 'remember', 'rightly', 'you', 'on', 'one', 'occasion', 'in', 'the', 'early', 'days', 'of', 'our', 'friendship', 'defined', 'my', 'limits', 'in', 'a', 'very', 'precise', 'fashion', 'yes', 'i', 'answered', 'laughing', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'singular', 'document', 'philosophy', 'astronomy', 'and', 'politics', 'were', 'marked', 'at', 'zero', 'i', 'remember', 'botany', 'variable', 'geology', 'profound', 'as', 'regards', 'the', 'mudstains', 'from', 'any', 'region', 'within', 'fifty', 'miles', 'of', 'town', 'chemistry', 'eccentric', 'anatomy', 'unsystematic', 'sensational', 'literature', 'and', 'crime', 'records', 'unique', 'violinplayer', 'boxer', 'swordsman', 'lawyer', 'and', 'selfpoisoner', 'by', 'cocaine', 'and', 'tobacco', 'those', 'i', 'think', 'were', 'the', 'main', 'points', 'of', 'my', 'analysis', 'holmes', 'grinned', 'at', 'the', 'last', 'item', 'well', 'he', 'said', 'i', 'say', 'now', 'as', 'i', 'said', 'then', 'that', 'a', 'man', 'should', 'keep', 'his', 'little', 'brainattic', 'stocked', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'furniture', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'likely', 'to', 'use', 'and', 'the', 'rest', 'he', 'can', 'put', 'away', 'in', 'the', 'lumberroom', 'of', 'his', 'library', 'where', 'he', 'can', 'get', 'it', 'if', 'he', 'wants', 'it', 'now', 'for', 'such', 'a', 'case', 'as', 'the', 'one', 'which', 'has', 'been', 'submitted', 'to', 'us', 'tonight', 'we', 'need', 'certainly', 'to', 'muster', 'all', 'our', 'resources', 'kindly', 'hand', 'me', 'down', 'the', 'letter', 'k', 'of', 'the', 'american', 'encyclopædia', 'which', 'stands', 'upon', 'the', 'shelf', 'beside', 'you', 'thank', 'you', 'now', 'let', 'us', 'consider', 'the', 'situation', 'and', 'see', 'what', 'may', 'be', 'deduced', 'from', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'first', 'place', 'we', 'may', 'start', 'with', 'a', 'strong', 'presumption', 'that', 'colonel', 'openshaw', 'had', 'some', 'very', 'strong', 'reason', 'for', 'leaving', 'america', 'men', 'at', 'his', 'time', 'of', 'life', 'do', 'not', 'change', 'all', 'their', 'habits', 'and', 'exchange', 'willingly', 'the', 'charming', 'climate', 'of', 'florida', 'for', 'the', 'lonely', 'life', 'of', 'an', 'english', 'provincial', 'town', 'his', 'extreme', 'love', 'of', 'solitude', 'in', 'england', 'suggests', 'the', 'idea', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'fear', 'of', 'someone', 'or', 'something', 'so', 'we', 'may', 'assume', 'as', 'a', 'working', 'hypothesis', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'fear', 'of', 'someone', 'or', 'something', 'which', 'drove', 'him', 'from', 'america', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'it', 'was', 'he', 'feared', 'we', 'can', 'only', 'deduce', 'that', 'by', 'considering', 'the', 'formidable', 'letters', 'which', 'were', 'received', 'by', 'himself', 'and', 'his', 'successors', 'did', 'you', 'remark', 'the', 'postmarks', 'of', 'those', 'letters', 'the', 'first', 'was', 'from', 'pondicherry', 'the', 'second', 'from', 'dundee', 'and', 'the', 'third', 'from', 'london', 'from', 'east', 'london', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'deduce', 'from', 'that', 'they', 'are', 'all', 'seaports', 'that', 'the', 'writer', 'was', 'on', 'board', 'of', 'a', 'ship', 'excellent', 'we', 'have', 'already', 'a', 'clue', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'the', 'probabilitythe', 'strong', 'probabilityis', 'that', 'the', 'writer', 'was', 'on', 'board', 'of', 'a', 'ship', 'and', 'now', 'let', 'us', 'consider', 'another', 'point', 'in', 'the', 'case', 'of', 'pondicherry', 'seven', 'weeks', 'elapsed', 'between', 'the', 'threat', 'and', 'its', 'fulfilment', 'in', 'dundee', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'some', 'three', 'or', 'four', 'days', 'does', 'that', 'suggest', 'anything', 'a', 'greater', 'distance', 'to', 'travel', 'but', 'the', 'letter', 'had', 'also', 'a', 'greater', 'distance', 'to', 'come', 'then', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'see', 'the', 'point', 'there', 'is', 'at', 'least', 'a', 'presumption', 'that', 'the', 'vessel', 'in', 'which', 'the', 'man', 'or', 'men', 'are', 'is', 'a', 'sailingship', 'it', 'looks', 'as', 'if', 'they', 'always', 'send', 'their', 'singular', 'warning', 'or', 'token', 'before', 'them', 'when', 'starting', 'upon', 'their', 'mission', 'you', 'see', 'how', 'quickly', 'the', 'deed', 'followed', 'the', 'sign', 'when', 'it', 'came', 'from', 'dundee', 'if', 'they', 'had', 'come', 'from', 'pondicherry', 'in', 'a', 'steamer', 'they', 'would', 'have', 'arrived', 'almost', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'their', 'letter', 'but', 'as', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'fact', 'seven', 'weeks', 'elapsed', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'those', 'seven', 'weeks', 'represented', 'the', 'difference', 'between', 'the', 'mailboat', 'which', 'brought', 'the', 'letter', 'and', 'the', 'sailing', 'vessel', 'which', 'brought', 'the', 'writer', 'it', 'is', 'possible', 'more', 'than', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'probable', 'and', 'now', 'you', 'see', 'the', 'deadly', 'urgency', 'of', 'this', 'new', 'case', 'and', 'why', 'i', 'urged', 'young', 'openshaw', 'to', 'caution', 'the', 'blow', 'has', 'always', 'fallen', 'at', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'time', 'which', 'it', 'would', 'take', 'the', 'senders', 'to', 'travel', 'the', 'distance', 'but', 'this', 'one', 'comes', 'from', 'london', 'and', 'therefore', 'we', 'can', 'not', 'count', 'upon', 'delay', 'good', 'god', 'i', 'cried', 'what', 'can', 'it', 'mean', 'this', 'relentless', 'persecution', 'the', 'papers', 'which', 'openshaw', 'carried', 'are', 'obviously', 'of', 'vital', 'importance', 'to', 'the', 'person', 'or', 'persons', 'in', 'the', 'sailingship', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'quite', 'clear', 'that', 'there', 'must', 'be', 'more', 'than', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'a', 'single', 'man', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'carried', 'out', 'two', 'deaths', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'way', 'as', 'to', 'deceive', 'a', 'coroners', 'jury', 'there', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'several', 'in', 'it', 'and', 'they', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'men', 'of', 'resource', 'and', 'determination', 'their', 'papers', 'they', 'mean', 'to', 'have', 'be', 'the', 'holder', 'of', 'them', 'who', 'it', 'may', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'you', 'see', 'k', 'k', 'k', 'ceases', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'initials', 'of', 'an', 'individual', 'and', 'becomes', 'the', 'badge', 'of', 'a', 'society', 'but', 'of', 'what', 'society', 'have', 'you', 'never', 'said', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'bending', 'forward', 'and', 'sinking', 'his', 'voicehave', 'you', 'never', 'heard', 'of', 'the', 'ku', 'klux', 'klan', 'i', 'never', 'have', 'holmes', 'turned', 'over', 'the', 'leaves', 'of', 'the', 'book', 'upon', 'his', 'knee', 'here', 'it', 'is', 'said', 'he', 'presently', 'ku', 'klux', 'klan', 'a', 'name', 'derived', 'from', 'the', 'fanciful', 'resemblance', 'to', 'the', 'sound', 'produced', 'by', 'cocking', 'a', 'rifle', 'this', 'terrible', 'secret', 'society', 'was', 'formed', 'by', 'some', 'exconfederate', 'soldiers', 'in', 'the', 'southern', 'states', 'after', 'the', 'civil', 'war', 'and', 'it', 'rapidly', 'formed', 'local', 'branches', 'in', 'different', 'parts', 'of', 'the', 'country', 'notably', 'in', 'tennessee', 'louisiana', 'the', 'carolinas', 'georgia', 'and', 'florida', 'its', 'power', 'was', 'used', 'for', 'political', 'purposes', 'principally', 'for', 'the', 'terrorising', 'of', 'the', 'negro', 'voters', 'and', 'the', 'murdering', 'and', 'driving', 'from', 'the', 'country', 'of', 'those', 'who', 'were', 'opposed', 'to', 'its', 'views', 'its', 'outrages', 'were', 'usually', 'preceded', 'by', 'a', 'warning', 'sent', 'to', 'the', 'marked', 'man', 'in', 'some', 'fantastic', 'but', 'generally', 'recognised', 'shapea', 'sprig', 'of', 'oakleaves', 'in', 'some', 'parts', 'melon', 'seeds', 'or', 'orange', 'pips', 'in', 'others', 'on', 'receiving', 'this', 'the', 'victim', 'might', 'either', 'openly', 'abjure', 'his', 'former', 'ways', 'or', 'might', 'fly', 'from', 'the', 'country', 'if', 'he', 'braved', 'the', 'matter', 'out', 'death', 'would', 'unfailingly', 'come', 'upon', 'him', 'and', 'usually', 'in', 'some', 'strange', 'and', 'unforeseen', 'manner', 'so', 'perfect', 'was', 'the', 'organisation', 'of', 'the', 'society', 'and', 'so', 'systematic', 'its', 'methods', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'hardly', 'a', 'case', 'upon', 'record', 'where', 'any', 'man', 'succeeded', 'in', 'braving', 'it', 'with', 'impunity', 'or', 'in', 'which', 'any', 'of', 'its', 'outrages', 'were', 'traced', 'home', 'to', 'the', 'perpetrators', 'for', 'some', 'years', 'the', 'organisation', 'flourished', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'the', 'efforts', 'of', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'government', 'and', 'of', 'the', 'better', 'classes', 'of', 'the', 'community', 'in', 'the', 'south', 'eventually', 'in', 'the', 'year', '1869', 'the', 'movement', 'rather', 'suddenly', 'collapsed', 'although', 'there', 'have', 'been', 'sporadic', 'outbreaks', 'of', 'the', 'same', 'sort', 'since', 'that', 'date', 'you', 'will', 'observe', 'said', 'holmes', 'laying', 'down', 'the', 'volume', 'that', 'the', 'sudden', 'breaking', 'up', 'of', 'the', 'society', 'was', 'coincident', 'with', 'the', 'disappearance', 'of', 'openshaw', 'from', 'america', 'with', 'their', 'papers', 'it', 'may', 'well', 'have', 'been', 'cause', 'and', 'effect', 'it', 'is', 'no', 'wonder', 'that', 'he', 'and', 'his', 'family', 'have', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'more', 'implacable', 'spirits', 'upon', 'their', 'track', 'you', 'can', 'understand', 'that', 'this', 'register', 'and', 'diary', 'may', 'implicate', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'first', 'men', 'in', 'the', 'south', 'and', 'that', 'there', 'may', 'be', 'many', 'who', 'will', 'not', 'sleep', 'easy', 'at', 'night', 'until', 'it', 'is', 'recovered', 'then', 'the', 'page', 'we', 'have', 'seen', 'is', 'such', 'as', 'we', 'might', 'expect', 'it', 'ran', 'if', 'i', 'remember', 'right', 'sent', 'the', 'pips', 'to', 'a', 'b', 'and', 'cthat', 'is', 'sent', 'the', 'societys', 'warning', 'to', 'them', 'then', 'there', 'are', 'successive', 'entries', 'that', 'a', 'and', 'b', 'cleared', 'or', 'left', 'the', 'country', 'and', 'finally', 'that', 'c', 'was', 'visited', 'with', 'i', 'fear', 'a', 'sinister', 'result', 'for', 'c', 'well', 'i', 'think', 'doctor', 'that', 'we', 'may', 'let', 'some', 'light', 'into', 'this', 'dark', 'place', 'and', 'i', 'believe', 'that', 'the', 'only', 'chance', 'young', 'openshaw', 'has', 'in', 'the', 'meantime', 'is', 'to', 'do', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'told', 'him', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'more', 'to', 'be', 'said', 'or', 'to', 'be', 'done', 'tonight', 'so', 'hand', 'me', 'over', 'my', 'violin', 'and', 'let', 'us', 'try', 'to', 'forget', 'for', 'half', 'an', 'hour', 'the', 'miserable', 'weather', 'and', 'the', 'still', 'more', 'miserable', 'ways', 'of', 'our', 'fellow', 'men', 'it', 'had', 'cleared', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'and', 'the', 'sun', 'was', 'shining', 'with', 'a', 'subdued', 'brightness', 'through', 'the', 'dim', 'veil', 'which', 'hangs', 'over', 'the', 'great', 'city', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'was', 'already', 'at', 'breakfast', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'down', 'you', 'will', 'excuse', 'me', 'for', 'not', 'waiting', 'for', 'you', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'have', 'i', 'foresee', 'a', 'very', 'busy', 'day', 'before', 'me', 'in', 'looking', 'into', 'this', 'case', 'of', 'young', 'openshaws', 'what', 'steps', 'will', 'you', 'take', 'i', 'asked', 'it', 'will', 'very', 'much', 'depend', 'upon', 'the', 'results', 'of', 'my', 'first', 'inquiries', 'i', 'may', 'have', 'to', 'go', 'down', 'to', 'horsham', 'after', 'all', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'go', 'there', 'first', 'no', 'i', 'shall', 'commence', 'with', 'the', 'city', 'just', 'ring', 'the', 'bell', 'and', 'the', 'maid', 'will', 'bring', 'up', 'your', 'coffee', 'as', 'i', 'waited', 'i', 'lifted', 'the', 'unopened', 'newspaper', 'from', 'the', 'table', 'and', 'glanced', 'my', 'eye', 'over', 'it', 'it', 'rested', 'upon', 'a', 'heading', 'which', 'sent', 'a', 'chill', 'to', 'my', 'heart', 'holmes', 'i', 'cried', 'you', 'are', 'too', 'late', 'ah', 'said', 'he', 'laying', 'down', 'his', 'cup', 'i', 'feared', 'as', 'much', 'how', 'was', 'it', 'done', 'he', 'spoke', 'calmly', 'but', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'deeply', 'moved', 'my', 'eye', 'caught', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'openshaw', 'and', 'the', 'heading', 'tragedy', 'near', 'waterloo', 'bridge', 'here', 'is', 'the', 'account', 'between', 'nine', 'and', 'ten', 'last', 'night', 'policeconstable', 'cook', 'of', 'the', 'h', 'division', 'on', 'duty', 'near', 'waterloo', 'bridge', 'heard', 'a', 'cry', 'for', 'help', 'and', 'a', 'splash', 'in', 'the', 'water', 'the', 'night', 'however', 'was', 'extremely', 'dark', 'and', 'stormy', 'so', 'that', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'the', 'help', 'of', 'several', 'passersby', 'it', 'was', 'quite', 'impossible', 'to', 'effect', 'a', 'rescue', 'the', 'alarm', 'however', 'was', 'given', 'and', 'by', 'the', 'aid', 'of', 'the', 'waterpolice', 'the', 'body', 'was', 'eventually', 'recovered', 'it', 'proved', 'to', 'be', 'that', 'of', 'a', 'young', 'gentleman', 'whose', 'name', 'as', 'it', 'appears', 'from', 'an', 'envelope', 'which', 'was', 'found', 'in', 'his', 'pocket', 'was', 'john', 'openshaw', 'and', 'whose', 'residence', 'is', 'near', 'horsham', 'it', 'is', 'conjectured', 'that', 'he', 'may', 'have', 'been', 'hurrying', 'down', 'to', 'catch', 'the', 'last', 'train', 'from', 'waterloo', 'station', 'and', 'that', 'in', 'his', 'haste', 'and', 'the', 'extreme', 'darkness', 'he', 'missed', 'his', 'path', 'and', 'walked', 'over', 'the', 'edge', 'of', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'small', 'landingplaces', 'for', 'river', 'steamboats', 'the', 'body', 'exhibited', 'no', 'traces', 'of', 'violence', 'and', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'the', 'deceased', 'had', 'been', 'the', 'victim', 'of', 'an', 'unfortunate', 'accident', 'which', 'should', 'have', 'the', 'effect', 'of', 'calling', 'the', 'attention', 'of', 'the', 'authorities', 'to', 'the', 'condition', 'of', 'the', 'riverside', 'landingstages', 'we', 'sat', 'in', 'silence', 'for', 'some', 'minutes', 'holmes', 'more', 'depressed', 'and', 'shaken', 'than', 'i', 'had', 'ever', 'seen', 'him', 'that', 'hurts', 'my', 'pride', 'watson', 'he', 'said', 'at', 'last', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'petty', 'feeling', 'no', 'doubt', 'but', 'it', 'hurts', 'my', 'pride', 'it', 'becomes', 'a', 'personal', 'matter', 'with', 'me', 'now', 'and', 'if', 'god', 'sends', 'me', 'health', 'i', 'shall', 'set', 'my', 'hand', 'upon', 'this', 'gang', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'come', 'to', 'me', 'for', 'help', 'and', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'send', 'him', 'away', 'to', 'his', 'death', 'he', 'sprang', 'from', 'his', 'chair', 'and', 'paced', 'about', 'the', 'room', 'in', 'uncontrollable', 'agitation', 'with', 'a', 'flush', 'upon', 'his', 'sallow', 'cheeks', 'and', 'a', 'nervous', 'clasping', 'and', 'unclasping', 'of', 'his', 'long', 'thin', 'hands', 'they', 'must', 'be', 'cunning', 'devils', 'he', 'exclaimed', 'at', 'last', 'how', 'could', 'they', 'have', 'decoyed', 'him', 'down', 'there', 'the', 'embankment', 'is', 'not', 'on', 'the', 'direct', 'line', 'to', 'the', 'station', 'the', 'bridge', 'no', 'doubt', 'was', 'too', 'crowded', 'even', 'on', 'such', 'a', 'night', 'for', 'their', 'purpose', 'well', 'watson', 'we', 'shall', 'see', 'who', 'will', 'win', 'in', 'the', 'long', 'run', 'i', 'am', 'going', 'out', 'now', 'to', 'the', 'police', 'no', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'my', 'own', 'police', 'when', 'i', 'have', 'spun', 'the', 'web', 'they', 'may', 'take', 'the', 'flies', 'but', 'not', 'before', 'all', 'day', 'i', 'was', 'engaged', 'in', 'my', 'professional', 'work', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'late', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'before', 'i', 'returned', 'to', 'baker', 'street', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'had', 'not', 'come', 'back', 'yet', 'it', 'was', 'nearly', 'ten', 'oclock', 'before', 'he', 'entered', 'looking', 'pale', 'and', 'worn', 'he', 'walked', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'sideboard', 'and', 'tearing', 'a', 'piece', 'from', 'the', 'loaf', 'he', 'devoured', 'it', 'voraciously', 'washing', 'it', 'down', 'with', 'a', 'long', 'draught', 'of', 'water', 'you', 'are', 'hungry', 'i', 'remarked', 'starving', 'it', 'had', 'escaped', 'my', 'memory', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'nothing', 'since', 'breakfast', 'nothing', 'not', 'a', 'bite', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'time', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'how', 'have', 'you', 'succeeded', 'well', 'you', 'have', 'a', 'clue', 'i', 'have', 'them', 'in', 'the', 'hollow', 'of', 'my', 'hand', 'young', 'openshaw', 'shall', 'not', 'long', 'remain', 'unavenged', 'why', 'watson', 'let', 'us', 'put', 'their', 'own', 'devilish', 'trademark', 'upon', 'them', 'it', 'is', 'well', 'thought', 'of', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'he', 'took', 'an', 'orange', 'from', 'the', 'cupboard', 'and', 'tearing', 'it', 'to', 'pieces', 'he', 'squeezed', 'out', 'the', 'pips', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'of', 'these', 'he', 'took', 'five', 'and', 'thrust', 'them', 'into', 'an', 'envelope', 'on', 'the', 'inside', 'of', 'the', 'flap', 'he', 'wrote', 's', 'h', 'for', 'j', 'o', 'then', 'he', 'sealed', 'it', 'and', 'addressed', 'it', 'to', 'captain', 'james', 'calhoun', 'barque', 'lone', 'star', 'savannah', 'georgia', 'that', 'will', 'await', 'him', 'when', 'he', 'enters', 'port', 'said', 'he', 'chuckling', 'it', 'may', 'give', 'him', 'a', 'sleepless', 'night', 'he', 'will', 'find', 'it', 'as', 'sure', 'a', 'precursor', 'of', 'his', 'fate', 'as', 'openshaw', 'did', 'before', 'him', 'and', 'who', 'is', 'this', 'captain', 'calhoun', 'the', 'leader', 'of', 'the', 'gang', 'i', 'shall', 'have', 'the', 'others', 'but', 'he', 'first', 'how', 'did', 'you', 'trace', 'it', 'then', 'he', 'took', 'a', 'large', 'sheet', 'of', 'paper', 'from', 'his', 'pocket', 'all', 'covered', 'with', 'dates', 'and', 'names', 'i', 'have', 'spent', 'the', 'whole', 'day', 'said', 'he', 'over', 'lloyds', 'registers', 'and', 'files', 'of', 'the', 'old', 'papers', 'following', 'the', 'future', 'career', 'of', 'every', 'vessel', 'which', 'touched', 'at', 'pondicherry', 'in', 'january', 'and', 'february', 'in', '83', 'there', 'were', 'thirtysix', 'ships', 'of', 'fair', 'tonnage', 'which', 'were', 'reported', 'there', 'during', 'those', 'months', 'of', 'these', 'one', 'the', 'lone', 'star', 'instantly', 'attracted', 'my', 'attention', 'since', 'although', 'it', 'was', 'reported', 'as', 'having', 'cleared', 'from', 'london', 'the', 'name', 'is', 'that', 'which', 'is', 'given', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'states', 'of', 'the', 'union', 'texas', 'i', 'think', 'i', 'was', 'not', 'and', 'am', 'not', 'sure', 'which', 'but', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'the', 'ship', 'must', 'have', 'an', 'american', 'origin', 'what', 'then', 'i', 'searched', 'the', 'dundee', 'records', 'and', 'when', 'i', 'found', 'that', 'the', 'barque', 'lone', 'star', 'was', 'there', 'in', 'january', '85', 'my', 'suspicion', 'became', 'a', 'certainty', 'i', 'then', 'inquired', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'vessels', 'which', 'lay', 'at', 'present', 'in', 'the', 'port', 'of', 'london', 'yes', 'the', 'lone', 'star', 'had', 'arrived', 'here', 'last', 'week', 'i', 'went', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'albert', 'dock', 'and', 'found', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'taken', 'down', 'the', 'river', 'by', 'the', 'early', 'tide', 'this', 'morning', 'homeward', 'bound', 'to', 'savannah', 'i', 'wired', 'to', 'gravesend', 'and', 'learned', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'passed', 'some', 'time', 'ago', 'and', 'as', 'the', 'wind', 'is', 'easterly', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'she', 'is', 'now', 'past', 'the', 'goodwins', 'and', 'not', 'very', 'far', 'from', 'the', 'isle', 'of', 'wight', 'what', 'will', 'you', 'do', 'then', 'oh', 'i', 'have', 'my', 'hand', 'upon', 'him', 'he', 'and', 'the', 'two', 'mates', 'are', 'as', 'i', 'learn', 'the', 'only', 'nativeborn', 'americans', 'in', 'the', 'ship', 'the', 'others', 'are', 'finns', 'and', 'germans', 'i', 'know', 'also', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'three', 'away', 'from', 'the', 'ship', 'last', 'night', 'i', 'had', 'it', 'from', 'the', 'stevedore', 'who', 'has', 'been', 'loading', 'their', 'cargo', 'by', 'the', 'time', 'that', 'their', 'sailingship', 'reaches', 'savannah', 'the', 'mailboat', 'will', 'have', 'carried', 'this', 'letter', 'and', 'the', 'cable', 'will', 'have', 'informed', 'the', 'police', 'of', 'savannah', 'that', 'these', 'three', 'gentlemen', 'are', 'badly', 'wanted', 'here', 'upon', 'a', 'charge', 'of', 'murder', 'there', 'is', 'ever', 'a', 'flaw', 'however', 'in', 'the', 'best', 'laid', 'of', 'human', 'plans', 'and', 'the', 'murderers', 'of', 'john', 'openshaw', 'were', 'never', 'to', 'receive', 'the', 'orange', 'pips', 'which', 'would', 'show', 'them', 'that', 'another', 'as', 'cunning', 'and', 'as', 'resolute', 'as', 'themselves', 'was', 'upon', 'their', 'track', 'very', 'long', 'and', 'very', 'severe', 'were', 'the', 'equinoctial', 'gales', 'that', 'year', 'we', 'waited', 'long', 'for', 'news', 'of', 'the', 'lone', 'star', 'of', 'savannah', 'but', 'none', 'ever', 'reached', 'us', 'we', 'did', 'at', 'last', 'hear', 'that', 'somewhere', 'far', 'out', 'in', 'the', 'atlantic', 'a', 'shattered', 'sternpost', 'of', 'a', 'boat', 'was', 'seen', 'swinging', 'in', 'the', 'trough', 'of', 'a', 'wave', 'with', 'the', 'letters', 'l', 's', 'carved', 'upon', 'it', 'and', 'that', 'is', 'all', 'which', 'we', 'shall', 'ever', 'know', 'of', 'the', 'fate', 'of', 'the', 'lone', 'star', 'vi', 'the', 'man', 'with', 'the', 'twisted', 'lip', 'isa', 'whitney', 'brother', 'of', 'the', 'late', 'elias', 'whitney', 'dd', 'principal', 'of', 'the', 'theological', 'college', 'of', 'st', 'georges', 'was', 'much', 'addicted', 'to', 'opium', 'the', 'habit', 'grew', 'upon', 'him', 'as', 'i', 'understand', 'from', 'some', 'foolish', 'freak', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'at', 'college', 'for', 'having', 'read', 'de', 'quinceys', 'description', 'of', 'his', 'dreams', 'and', 'sensations', 'he', 'had', 'drenched', 'his', 'tobacco', 'with', 'laudanum', 'in', 'an', 'attempt', 'to', 'produce', 'the', 'same', 'effects', 'he', 'found', 'as', 'so', 'many', 'more', 'have', 'done', 'that', 'the', 'practice', 'is', 'easier', 'to', 'attain', 'than', 'to', 'get', 'rid', 'of', 'and', 'for', 'many', 'years', 'he', 'continued', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'slave', 'to', 'the', 'drug', 'an', 'object', 'of', 'mingled', 'horror', 'and', 'pity', 'to', 'his', 'friends', 'and', 'relatives', 'i', 'can', 'see', 'him', 'now', 'with', 'yellow', 'pasty', 'face', 'drooping', 'lids', 'and', 'pinpoint', 'pupils', 'all', 'huddled', 'in', 'a', 'chair', 'the', 'wreck', 'and', 'ruin', 'of', 'a', 'noble', 'man', 'one', 'nightit', 'was', 'in', 'june', '89there', 'came', 'a', 'ring', 'to', 'my', 'bell', 'about', 'the', 'hour', 'when', 'a', 'man', 'gives', 'his', 'first', 'yawn', 'and', 'glances', 'at', 'the', 'clock', 'i', 'sat', 'up', 'in', 'my', 'chair', 'and', 'my', 'wife', 'laid', 'her', 'needlework', 'down', 'in', 'her', 'lap', 'and', 'made', 'a', 'little', 'face', 'of', 'disappointment', 'a', 'patient', 'said', 'she', 'youll', 'have', 'to', 'go', 'out', 'i', 'groaned', 'for', 'i', 'was', 'newly', 'come', 'back', 'from', 'a', 'weary', 'day', 'we', 'heard', 'the', 'door', 'open', 'a', 'few', 'hurried', 'words', 'and', 'then', 'quick', 'steps', 'upon', 'the', 'linoleum', 'our', 'own', 'door', 'flew', 'open', 'and', 'a', 'lady', 'clad', 'in', 'some', 'darkcoloured', 'stuff', 'with', 'a', 'black', 'veil', 'entered', 'the', 'room', 'you', 'will', 'excuse', 'my', 'calling', 'so', 'late', 'she', 'began', 'and', 'then', 'suddenly', 'losing', 'her', 'selfcontrol', 'she', 'ran', 'forward', 'threw', 'her', 'arms', 'about', 'my', 'wifes', 'neck', 'and', 'sobbed', 'upon', 'her', 'shoulder', 'oh', 'im', 'in', 'such', 'trouble', 'she', 'cried', 'i', 'do', 'so', 'want', 'a', 'little', 'help', 'why', 'said', 'my', 'wife', 'pulling', 'up', 'her', 'veil', 'it', 'is', 'kate', 'whitney', 'how', 'you', 'startled', 'me', 'kate', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'an', 'idea', 'who', 'you', 'were', 'when', 'you', 'came', 'in', 'i', 'didnt', 'know', 'what', 'to', 'do', 'so', 'i', 'came', 'straight', 'to', 'you', 'that', 'was', 'always', 'the', 'way', 'folk', 'who', 'were', 'in', 'grief', 'came', 'to', 'my', 'wife', 'like', 'birds', 'to', 'a', 'lighthouse', 'it', 'was', 'very', 'sweet', 'of', 'you', 'to', 'come', 'now', 'you', 'must', 'have', 'some', 'wine', 'and', 'water', 'and', 'sit', 'here', 'comfortably', 'and', 'tell', 'us', 'all', 'about', 'it', 'or', 'should', 'you', 'rather', 'that', 'i', 'sent', 'james', 'off', 'to', 'bed', 'oh', 'no', 'no', 'i', 'want', 'the', 'doctors', 'advice', 'and', 'help', 'too', 'its', 'about', 'isa', 'he', 'has', 'not', 'been', 'home', 'for', 'two', 'days', 'i', 'am', 'so', 'frightened', 'about', 'him', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'the', 'first', 'time', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'spoken', 'to', 'us', 'of', 'her', 'husbands', 'trouble', 'to', 'me', 'as', 'a', 'doctor', 'to', 'my', 'wife', 'as', 'an', 'old', 'friend', 'and', 'school', 'companion', 'we', 'soothed', 'and', 'comforted', 'her', 'by', 'such', 'words', 'as', 'we', 'could', 'find', 'did', 'she', 'know', 'where', 'her', 'husband', 'was', 'was', 'it', 'possible', 'that', 'we', 'could', 'bring', 'him', 'back', 'to', 'her', 'it', 'seems', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'she', 'had', 'the', 'surest', 'information', 'that', 'of', 'late', 'he', 'had', 'when', 'the', 'fit', 'was', 'on', 'him', 'made', 'use', 'of', 'an', 'opium', 'den', 'in', 'the', 'farthest', 'east', 'of', 'the', 'city', 'hitherto', 'his', 'orgies', 'had', 'always', 'been', 'confined', 'to', 'one', 'day', 'and', 'he', 'had', 'come', 'back', 'twitching', 'and', 'shattered', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'but', 'now', 'the', 'spell', 'had', 'been', 'upon', 'him', 'eightandforty', 'hours', 'and', 'he', 'lay', 'there', 'doubtless', 'among', 'the', 'dregs', 'of', 'the', 'docks', 'breathing', 'in', 'the', 'poison', 'or', 'sleeping', 'off', 'the', 'effects', 'there', 'he', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'found', 'she', 'was', 'sure', 'of', 'it', 'at', 'the', 'bar', 'of', 'gold', 'in', 'upper', 'swandam', 'lane', 'but', 'what', 'was', 'she', 'to', 'do', 'how', 'could', 'she', 'a', 'young', 'and', 'timid', 'woman', 'make', 'her', 'way', 'into', 'such', 'a', 'place', 'and', 'pluck', 'her', 'husband', 'out', 'from', 'among', 'the', 'ruffians', 'who', 'surrounded', 'him', 'there', 'was', 'the', 'case', 'and', 'of', 'course', 'there', 'was', 'but', 'one', 'way', 'out', 'of', 'it', 'might', 'i', 'not', 'escort', 'her', 'to', 'this', 'place', 'and', 'then', 'as', 'a', 'second', 'thought', 'why', 'should', 'she', 'come', 'at', 'all', 'i', 'was', 'isa', 'whitneys', 'medical', 'adviser', 'and', 'as', 'such', 'i', 'had', 'influence', 'over', 'him', 'i', 'could', 'manage', 'it', 'better', 'if', 'i', 'were', 'alone', 'i', 'promised', 'her', 'on', 'my', 'word', 'that', 'i', 'would', 'send', 'him', 'home', 'in', 'a', 'cab', 'within', 'two', 'hours', 'if', 'he', 'were', 'indeed', 'at', 'the', 'address', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'given', 'me', 'and', 'so', 'in', 'ten', 'minutes', 'i', 'had', 'left', 'my', 'armchair', 'and', 'cheery', 'sittingroom', 'behind', 'me', 'and', 'was', 'speeding', 'eastward', 'in', 'a', 'hansom', 'on', 'a', 'strange', 'errand', 'as', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'though', 'the', 'future', 'only', 'could', 'show', 'how', 'strange', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'great', 'difficulty', 'in', 'the', 'first', 'stage', 'of', 'my', 'adventure', 'upper', 'swandam', 'lane', 'is', 'a', 'vile', 'alley', 'lurking', 'behind', 'the', 'high', 'wharves', 'which', 'line', 'the', 'north', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'river', 'to', 'the', 'east', 'of', 'london', 'bridge', 'between', 'a', 'slopshop', 'and', 'a', 'ginshop', 'approached', 'by', 'a', 'steep', 'flight', 'of', 'steps', 'leading', 'down', 'to', 'a', 'black', 'gap', 'like', 'the', 'mouth', 'of', 'a', 'cave', 'i', 'found', 'the', 'den', 'of', 'which', 'i', 'was', 'in', 'search', 'ordering', 'my', 'cab', 'to', 'wait', 'i', 'passed', 'down', 'the', 'steps', 'worn', 'hollow', 'in', 'the', 'centre', 'by', 'the', 'ceaseless', 'tread', 'of', 'drunken', 'feet', 'and', 'by', 'the', 'light', 'of', 'a', 'flickering', 'oillamp', 'above', 'the', 'door', 'i', 'found', 'the', 'latch', 'and', 'made', 'my', 'way', 'into', 'a', 'long', 'low', 'room', 'thick', 'and', 'heavy', 'with', 'the', 'brown', 'opium', 'smoke', 'and', 'terraced', 'with', 'wooden', 'berths', 'like', 'the', 'forecastle', 'of', 'an', 'emigrant', 'ship', 'through', 'the', 'gloom', 'one', 'could', 'dimly', 'catch', 'a', 'glimpse', 'of', 'bodies', 'lying', 'in', 'strange', 'fantastic', 'poses', 'bowed', 'shoulders', 'bent', 'knees', 'heads', 'thrown', 'back', 'and', 'chins', 'pointing', 'upward', 'with', 'here', 'and', 'there', 'a', 'dark', 'lacklustre', 'eye', 'turned', 'upon', 'the', 'newcomer', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'black', 'shadows', 'there', 'glimmered', 'little', 'red', 'circles', 'of', 'light', 'now', 'bright', 'now', 'faint', 'as', 'the', 'burning', 'poison', 'waxed', 'or', 'waned', 'in', 'the', 'bowls', 'of', 'the', 'metal', 'pipes', 'the', 'most', 'lay', 'silent', 'but', 'some', 'muttered', 'to', 'themselves', 'and', 'others', 'talked', 'together', 'in', 'a', 'strange', 'low', 'monotonous', 'voice', 'their', 'conversation', 'coming', 'in', 'gushes', 'and', 'then', 'suddenly', 'tailing', 'off', 'into', 'silence', 'each', 'mumbling', 'out', 'his', 'own', 'thoughts', 'and', 'paying', 'little', 'heed', 'to', 'the', 'words', 'of', 'his', 'neighbour', 'at', 'the', 'farther', 'end', 'was', 'a', 'small', 'brazier', 'of', 'burning', 'charcoal', 'beside', 'which', 'on', 'a', 'threelegged', 'wooden', 'stool', 'there', 'sat', 'a', 'tall', 'thin', 'old', 'man', 'with', 'his', 'jaw', 'resting', 'upon', 'his', 'two', 'fists', 'and', 'his', 'elbows', 'upon', 'his', 'knees', 'staring', 'into', 'the', 'fire', 'as', 'i', 'entered', 'a', 'sallow', 'malay', 'attendant', 'had', 'hurried', 'up', 'with', 'a', 'pipe', 'for', 'me', 'and', 'a', 'supply', 'of', 'the', 'drug', 'beckoning', 'me', 'to', 'an', 'empty', 'berth', 'thank', 'you', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'come', 'to', 'stay', 'said', 'i', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'friend', 'of', 'mine', 'here', 'mr', 'isa', 'whitney', 'and', 'i', 'wish', 'to', 'speak', 'with', 'him', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'movement', 'and', 'an', 'exclamation', 'from', 'my', 'right', 'and', 'peering', 'through', 'the', 'gloom', 'i', 'saw', 'whitney', 'pale', 'haggard', 'and', 'unkempt', 'staring', 'out', 'at', 'me', 'my', 'god', 'its', 'watson', 'said', 'he', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'a', 'pitiable', 'state', 'of', 'reaction', 'with', 'every', 'nerve', 'in', 'a', 'twitter', 'i', 'say', 'watson', 'what', 'oclock', 'is', 'it', 'nearly', 'eleven', 'of', 'what', 'day', 'of', 'friday', 'june', '19th', 'good', 'heavens', 'i', 'thought', 'it', 'was', 'wednesday', 'it', 'is', 'wednesday', 'what', 'dyou', 'want', 'to', 'frighten', 'a', 'chap', 'for', 'he', 'sank', 'his', 'face', 'onto', 'his', 'arms', 'and', 'began', 'to', 'sob', 'in', 'a', 'high', 'treble', 'key', 'i', 'tell', 'you', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'friday', 'man', 'your', 'wife', 'has', 'been', 'waiting', 'this', 'two', 'days', 'for', 'you', 'you', 'should', 'be', 'ashamed', 'of', 'yourself', 'so', 'i', 'am', 'but', 'youve', 'got', 'mixed', 'watson', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'only', 'been', 'here', 'a', 'few', 'hours', 'three', 'pipes', 'four', 'pipesi', 'forget', 'how', 'many', 'but', 'ill', 'go', 'home', 'with', 'you', 'i', 'wouldnt', 'frighten', 'katepoor', 'little', 'kate', 'give', 'me', 'your', 'hand', 'have', 'you', 'a', 'cab', 'yes', 'i', 'have', 'one', 'waiting', 'then', 'i', 'shall', 'go', 'in', 'it', 'but', 'i', 'must', 'owe', 'something', 'find', 'what', 'i', 'owe', 'watson', 'i', 'am', 'all', 'off', 'colour', 'i', 'can', 'do', 'nothing', 'for', 'myself', 'i', 'walked', 'down', 'the', 'narrow', 'passage', 'between', 'the', 'double', 'row', 'of', 'sleepers', 'holding', 'my', 'breath', 'to', 'keep', 'out', 'the', 'vile', 'stupefying', 'fumes', 'of', 'the', 'drug', 'and', 'looking', 'about', 'for', 'the', 'manager', 'as', 'i', 'passed', 'the', 'tall', 'man', 'who', 'sat', 'by', 'the', 'brazier', 'i', 'felt', 'a', 'sudden', 'pluck', 'at', 'my', 'skirt', 'and', 'a', 'low', 'voice', 'whispered', 'walk', 'past', 'me', 'and', 'then', 'look', 'back', 'at', 'me', 'the', 'words', 'fell', 'quite', 'distinctly', 'upon', 'my', 'ear', 'i', 'glanced', 'down', 'they', 'could', 'only', 'have', 'come', 'from', 'the', 'old', 'man', 'at', 'my', 'side', 'and', 'yet', 'he', 'sat', 'now', 'as', 'absorbed', 'as', 'ever', 'very', 'thin', 'very', 'wrinkled', 'bent', 'with', 'age', 'an', 'opium', 'pipe', 'dangling', 'down', 'from', 'between', 'his', 'knees', 'as', 'though', 'it', 'had', 'dropped', 'in', 'sheer', 'lassitude', 'from', 'his', 'fingers', 'i', 'took', 'two', 'steps', 'forward', 'and', 'looked', 'back', 'it', 'took', 'all', 'my', 'selfcontrol', 'to', 'prevent', 'me', 'from', 'breaking', 'out', 'into', 'a', 'cry', 'of', 'astonishment', 'he', 'had', 'turned', 'his', 'back', 'so', 'that', 'none', 'could', 'see', 'him', 'but', 'i', 'his', 'form', 'had', 'filled', 'out', 'his', 'wrinkles', 'were', 'gone', 'the', 'dull', 'eyes', 'had', 'regained', 'their', 'fire', 'and', 'there', 'sitting', 'by', 'the', 'fire', 'and', 'grinning', 'at', 'my', 'surprise', 'was', 'none', 'other', 'than', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'he', 'made', 'a', 'slight', 'motion', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'approach', 'him', 'and', 'instantly', 'as', 'he', 'turned', 'his', 'face', 'half', 'round', 'to', 'the', 'company', 'once', 'more', 'subsided', 'into', 'a', 'doddering', 'looselipped', 'senility', 'holmes', 'i', 'whispered', 'what', 'on', 'earth', 'are', 'you', 'doing', 'in', 'this', 'den', 'as', 'low', 'as', 'you', 'can', 'he', 'answered', 'i', 'have', 'excellent', 'ears', 'if', 'you', 'would', 'have', 'the', 'great', 'kindness', 'to', 'get', 'rid', 'of', 'that', 'sottish', 'friend', 'of', 'yours', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'exceedingly', 'glad', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'little', 'talk', 'with', 'you', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'cab', 'outside', 'then', 'pray', 'send', 'him', 'home', 'in', 'it', 'you', 'may', 'safely', 'trust', 'him', 'for', 'he', 'appears', 'to', 'be', 'too', 'limp', 'to', 'get', 'into', 'any', 'mischief', 'i', 'should', 'recommend', 'you', 'also', 'to', 'send', 'a', 'note', 'by', 'the', 'cabman', 'to', 'your', 'wife', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'thrown', 'in', 'your', 'lot', 'with', 'me', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'wait', 'outside', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'with', 'you', 'in', 'five', 'minutes', 'it', 'was', 'difficult', 'to', 'refuse', 'any', 'of', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'requests', 'for', 'they', 'were', 'always', 'so', 'exceedingly', 'definite', 'and', 'put', 'forward', 'with', 'such', 'a', 'quiet', 'air', 'of', 'mastery', 'i', 'felt', 'however', 'that', 'when', 'whitney', 'was', 'once', 'confined', 'in', 'the', 'cab', 'my', 'mission', 'was', 'practically', 'accomplished', 'and', 'for', 'the', 'rest', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'wish', 'anything', 'better', 'than', 'to', 'be', 'associated', 'with', 'my', 'friend', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'singular', 'adventures', 'which', 'were', 'the', 'normal', 'condition', 'of', 'his', 'existence', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'i', 'had', 'written', 'my', 'note', 'paid', 'whitneys', 'bill', 'led', 'him', 'out', 'to', 'the', 'cab', 'and', 'seen', 'him', 'driven', 'through', 'the', 'darkness', 'in', 'a', 'very', 'short', 'time', 'a', 'decrepit', 'figure', 'had', 'emerged', 'from', 'the', 'opium', 'den', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'walking', 'down', 'the', 'street', 'with', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'for', 'two', 'streets', 'he', 'shuffled', 'along', 'with', 'a', 'bent', 'back', 'and', 'an', 'uncertain', 'foot', 'then', 'glancing', 'quickly', 'round', 'he', 'straightened', 'himself', 'out', 'and', 'burst', 'into', 'a', 'hearty', 'fit', 'of', 'laughter', 'i', 'suppose', 'watson', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'you', 'imagine', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'added', 'opiumsmoking', 'to', 'cocaine', 'injections', 'and', 'all', 'the', 'other', 'little', 'weaknesses', 'on', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'favoured', 'me', 'with', 'your', 'medical', 'views', 'i', 'was', 'certainly', 'surprised', 'to', 'find', 'you', 'there', 'but', 'not', 'more', 'so', 'than', 'i', 'to', 'find', 'you', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'find', 'a', 'friend', 'and', 'i', 'to', 'find', 'an', 'enemy', 'an', 'enemy', 'yes', 'one', 'of', 'my', 'natural', 'enemies', 'or', 'shall', 'i', 'say', 'my', 'natural', 'prey', 'briefly', 'watson', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'the', 'midst', 'of', 'a', 'very', 'remarkable', 'inquiry', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'hoped', 'to', 'find', 'a', 'clue', 'in', 'the', 'incoherent', 'ramblings', 'of', 'these', 'sots', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'done', 'before', 'now', 'had', 'i', 'been', 'recognised', 'in', 'that', 'den', 'my', 'life', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'worth', 'an', 'hours', 'purchase', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'used', 'it', 'before', 'now', 'for', 'my', 'own', 'purposes', 'and', 'the', 'rascally', 'lascar', 'who', 'runs', 'it', 'has', 'sworn', 'to', 'have', 'vengeance', 'upon', 'me', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'trapdoor', 'at', 'the', 'back', 'of', 'that', 'building', 'near', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'pauls', 'wharf', 'which', 'could', 'tell', 'some', 'strange', 'tales', 'of', 'what', 'has', 'passed', 'through', 'it', 'upon', 'the', 'moonless', 'nights', 'what', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'mean', 'bodies', 'ay', 'bodies', 'watson', 'we', 'should', 'be', 'rich', 'men', 'if', 'we', 'had', '1000', 'for', 'every', 'poor', 'devil', 'who', 'has', 'been', 'done', 'to', 'death', 'in', 'that', 'den', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'vilest', 'murdertrap', 'on', 'the', 'whole', 'riverside', 'and', 'i', 'fear', 'that', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'has', 'entered', 'it', 'never', 'to', 'leave', 'it', 'more', 'but', 'our', 'trap', 'should', 'be', 'here', 'he', 'put', 'his', 'two', 'forefingers', 'between', 'his', 'teeth', 'and', 'whistled', 'shrillya', 'signal', 'which', 'was', 'answered', 'by', 'a', 'similar', 'whistle', 'from', 'the', 'distance', 'followed', 'shortly', 'by', 'the', 'rattle', 'of', 'wheels', 'and', 'the', 'clink', 'of', 'horses', 'hoofs', 'now', 'watson', 'said', 'holmes', 'as', 'a', 'tall', 'dogcart', 'dashed', 'up', 'through', 'the', 'gloom', 'throwing', 'out', 'two', 'golden', 'tunnels', 'of', 'yellow', 'light', 'from', 'its', 'side', 'lanterns', 'youll', 'come', 'with', 'me', 'wont', 'you', 'if', 'i', 'can', 'be', 'of', 'use', 'oh', 'a', 'trusty', 'comrade', 'is', 'always', 'of', 'use', 'and', 'a', 'chronicler', 'still', 'more', 'so', 'my', 'room', 'at', 'the', 'cedars', 'is', 'a', 'doublebedded', 'one', 'the', 'cedars', 'yes', 'that', 'is', 'mr', 'st', 'clairs', 'house', 'i', 'am', 'staying', 'there', 'while', 'i', 'conduct', 'the', 'inquiry', 'where', 'is', 'it', 'then', 'near', 'lee', 'in', 'kent', 'we', 'have', 'a', 'sevenmile', 'drive', 'before', 'us', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'all', 'in', 'the', 'dark', 'of', 'course', 'you', 'are', 'youll', 'know', 'all', 'about', 'it', 'presently', 'jump', 'up', 'here', 'all', 'right', 'john', 'we', 'shall', 'not', 'need', 'you', 'heres', 'half', 'a', 'crown', 'look', 'out', 'for', 'me', 'tomorrow', 'about', 'eleven', 'give', 'her', 'her', 'head', 'so', 'long', 'then', 'he', 'flicked', 'the', 'horse', 'with', 'his', 'whip', 'and', 'we', 'dashed', 'away', 'through', 'the', 'endless', 'succession', 'of', 'sombre', 'and', 'deserted', 'streets', 'which', 'widened', 'gradually', 'until', 'we', 'were', 'flying', 'across', 'a', 'broad', 'balustraded', 'bridge', 'with', 'the', 'murky', 'river', 'flowing', 'sluggishly', 'beneath', 'us', 'beyond', 'lay', 'another', 'dull', 'wilderness', 'of', 'bricks', 'and', 'mortar', 'its', 'silence', 'broken', 'only', 'by', 'the', 'heavy', 'regular', 'footfall', 'of', 'the', 'policeman', 'or', 'the', 'songs', 'and', 'shouts', 'of', 'some', 'belated', 'party', 'of', 'revellers', 'a', 'dull', 'wrack', 'was', 'drifting', 'slowly', 'across', 'the', 'sky', 'and', 'a', 'star', 'or', 'two', 'twinkled', 'dimly', 'here', 'and', 'there', 'through', 'the', 'rifts', 'of', 'the', 'clouds', 'holmes', 'drove', 'in', 'silence', 'with', 'his', 'head', 'sunk', 'upon', 'his', 'breast', 'and', 'the', 'air', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'is', 'lost', 'in', 'thought', 'while', 'i', 'sat', 'beside', 'him', 'curious', 'to', 'learn', 'what', 'this', 'new', 'quest', 'might', 'be', 'which', 'seemed', 'to', 'tax', 'his', 'powers', 'so', 'sorely', 'and', 'yet', 'afraid', 'to', 'break', 'in', 'upon', 'the', 'current', 'of', 'his', 'thoughts', 'we', 'had', 'driven', 'several', 'miles', 'and', 'were', 'beginning', 'to', 'get', 'to', 'the', 'fringe', 'of', 'the', 'belt', 'of', 'suburban', 'villas', 'when', 'he', 'shook', 'himself', 'shrugged', 'his', 'shoulders', 'and', 'lit', 'up', 'his', 'pipe', 'with', 'the', 'air', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'has', 'satisfied', 'himself', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'acting', 'for', 'the', 'best', 'you', 'have', 'a', 'grand', 'gift', 'of', 'silence', 'watson', 'said', 'he', 'it', 'makes', 'you', 'quite', 'invaluable', 'as', 'a', 'companion', 'pon', 'my', 'word', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'great', 'thing', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'have', 'someone', 'to', 'talk', 'to', 'for', 'my', 'own', 'thoughts', 'are', 'not', 'overpleasant', 'i', 'was', 'wondering', 'what', 'i', 'should', 'say', 'to', 'this', 'dear', 'little', 'woman', 'tonight', 'when', 'she', 'meets', 'me', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'you', 'forget', 'that', 'i', 'know', 'nothing', 'about', 'it', 'i', 'shall', 'just', 'have', 'time', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'the', 'facts', 'of', 'the', 'case', 'before', 'we', 'get', 'to', 'lee', 'it', 'seems', 'absurdly', 'simple', 'and', 'yet', 'somehow', 'i', 'can', 'get', 'nothing', 'to', 'go', 'upon', 'theres', 'plenty', 'of', 'thread', 'no', 'doubt', 'but', 'i', 'cant', 'get', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'it', 'into', 'my', 'hand', 'now', 'ill', 'state', 'the', 'case', 'clearly', 'and', 'concisely', 'to', 'you', 'watson', 'and', 'maybe', 'you', 'can', 'see', 'a', 'spark', 'where', 'all', 'is', 'dark', 'to', 'me', 'proceed', 'then', 'some', 'years', 'agoto', 'be', 'definite', 'in', 'may', '1884there', 'came', 'to', 'lee', 'a', 'gentleman', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'by', 'name', 'who', 'appeared', 'to', 'have', 'plenty', 'of', 'money', 'he', 'took', 'a', 'large', 'villa', 'laid', 'out', 'the', 'grounds', 'very', 'nicely', 'and', 'lived', 'generally', 'in', 'good', 'style', 'by', 'degrees', 'he', 'made', 'friends', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'and', 'in', '1887', 'he', 'married', 'the', 'daughter', 'of', 'a', 'local', 'brewer', 'by', 'whom', 'he', 'now', 'has', 'two', 'children', 'he', 'had', 'no', 'occupation', 'but', 'was', 'interested', 'in', 'several', 'companies', 'and', 'went', 'into', 'town', 'as', 'a', 'rule', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'returning', 'by', 'the', '514', 'from', 'cannon', 'street', 'every', 'night', 'mr', 'st', 'clair', 'is', 'now', 'thirtyseven', 'years', 'of', 'age', 'is', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'temperate', 'habits', 'a', 'good', 'husband', 'a', 'very', 'affectionate', 'father', 'and', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'is', 'popular', 'with', 'all', 'who', 'know', 'him', 'i', 'may', 'add', 'that', 'his', 'whole', 'debts', 'at', 'the', 'present', 'moment', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'we', 'have', 'been', 'able', 'to', 'ascertain', 'amount', 'to', '88', '10s', 'while', 'he', 'has', '220', 'standing', 'to', 'his', 'credit', 'in', 'the', 'capital', 'and', 'counties', 'bank', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'reason', 'therefore', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'money', 'troubles', 'have', 'been', 'weighing', 'upon', 'his', 'mind', 'last', 'monday', 'mr', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'went', 'into', 'town', 'rather', 'earlier', 'than', 'usual', 'remarking', 'before', 'he', 'started', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'two', 'important', 'commissions', 'to', 'perform', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'bring', 'his', 'little', 'boy', 'home', 'a', 'box', 'of', 'bricks', 'now', 'by', 'the', 'merest', 'chance', 'his', 'wife', 'received', 'a', 'telegram', 'upon', 'this', 'same', 'monday', 'very', 'shortly', 'after', 'his', 'departure', 'to', 'the', 'effect', 'that', 'a', 'small', 'parcel', 'of', 'considerable', 'value', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'expecting', 'was', 'waiting', 'for', 'her', 'at', 'the', 'offices', 'of', 'the', 'aberdeen', 'shipping', 'company', 'now', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'well', 'up', 'in', 'your', 'london', 'you', 'will', 'know', 'that', 'the', 'office', 'of', 'the', 'company', 'is', 'in', 'fresno', 'street', 'which', 'branches', 'out', 'of', 'upper', 'swandam', 'lane', 'where', 'you', 'found', 'me', 'tonight', 'mrs', 'st', 'clair', 'had', 'her', 'lunch', 'started', 'for', 'the', 'city', 'did', 'some', 'shopping', 'proceeded', 'to', 'the', 'companys', 'office', 'got', 'her', 'packet', 'and', 'found', 'herself', 'at', 'exactly', '435', 'walking', 'through', 'swandam', 'lane', 'on', 'her', 'way', 'back', 'to', 'the', 'station', 'have', 'you', 'followed', 'me', 'so', 'far', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'clear', 'if', 'you', 'remember', 'monday', 'was', 'an', 'exceedingly', 'hot', 'day', 'and', 'mrs', 'st', 'clair', 'walked', 'slowly', 'glancing', 'about', 'in', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'seeing', 'a', 'cab', 'as', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'like', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'in', 'which', 'she', 'found', 'herself', 'while', 'she', 'was', 'walking', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'down', 'swandam', 'lane', 'she', 'suddenly', 'heard', 'an', 'ejaculation', 'or', 'cry', 'and', 'was', 'struck', 'cold', 'to', 'see', 'her', 'husband', 'looking', 'down', 'at', 'her', 'and', 'as', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'her', 'beckoning', 'to', 'her', 'from', 'a', 'secondfloor', 'window', 'the', 'window', 'was', 'open', 'and', 'she', 'distinctly', 'saw', 'his', 'face', 'which', 'she', 'describes', 'as', 'being', 'terribly', 'agitated', 'he', 'waved', 'his', 'hands', 'frantically', 'to', 'her', 'and', 'then', 'vanished', 'from', 'the', 'window', 'so', 'suddenly', 'that', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'her', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'plucked', 'back', 'by', 'some', 'irresistible', 'force', 'from', 'behind', 'one', 'singular', 'point', 'which', 'struck', 'her', 'quick', 'feminine', 'eye', 'was', 'that', 'although', 'he', 'wore', 'some', 'dark', 'coat', 'such', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'started', 'to', 'town', 'in', 'he', 'had', 'on', 'neither', 'collar', 'nor', 'necktie', 'convinced', 'that', 'something', 'was', 'amiss', 'with', 'him', 'she', 'rushed', 'down', 'the', 'stepsfor', 'the', 'house', 'was', 'none', 'other', 'than', 'the', 'opium', 'den', 'in', 'which', 'you', 'found', 'me', 'tonightand', 'running', 'through', 'the', 'front', 'room', 'she', 'attempted', 'to', 'ascend', 'the', 'stairs', 'which', 'led', 'to', 'the', 'first', 'floor', 'at', 'the', 'foot', 'of', 'the', 'stairs', 'however', 'she', 'met', 'this', 'lascar', 'scoundrel', 'of', 'whom', 'i', 'have', 'spoken', 'who', 'thrust', 'her', 'back', 'and', 'aided', 'by', 'a', 'dane', 'who', 'acts', 'as', 'assistant', 'there', 'pushed', 'her', 'out', 'into', 'the', 'street', 'filled', 'with', 'the', 'most', 'maddening', 'doubts', 'and', 'fears', 'she', 'rushed', 'down', 'the', 'lane', 'and', 'by', 'rare', 'goodfortune', 'met', 'in', 'fresno', 'street', 'a', 'number', 'of', 'constables', 'with', 'an', 'inspector', 'all', 'on', 'their', 'way', 'to', 'their', 'beat', 'the', 'inspector', 'and', 'two', 'men', 'accompanied', 'her', 'back', 'and', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'the', 'continued', 'resistance', 'of', 'the', 'proprietor', 'they', 'made', 'their', 'way', 'to', 'the', 'room', 'in', 'which', 'mr', 'st', 'clair', 'had', 'last', 'been', 'seen', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'sign', 'of', 'him', 'there', 'in', 'fact', 'in', 'the', 'whole', 'of', 'that', 'floor', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'one', 'to', 'be', 'found', 'save', 'a', 'crippled', 'wretch', 'of', 'hideous', 'aspect', 'who', 'it', 'seems', 'made', 'his', 'home', 'there', 'both', 'he', 'and', 'the', 'lascar', 'stoutly', 'swore', 'that', 'no', 'one', 'else', 'had', 'been', 'in', 'the', 'front', 'room', 'during', 'the', 'afternoon', 'so', 'determined', 'was', 'their', 'denial', 'that', 'the', 'inspector', 'was', 'staggered', 'and', 'had', 'almost', 'come', 'to', 'believe', 'that', 'mrs', 'st', 'clair', 'had', 'been', 'deluded', 'when', 'with', 'a', 'cry', 'she', 'sprang', 'at', 'a', 'small', 'deal', 'box', 'which', 'lay', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'and', 'tore', 'the', 'lid', 'from', 'it', 'out', 'there', 'fell', 'a', 'cascade', 'of', 'childrens', 'bricks', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'toy', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'promised', 'to', 'bring', 'home', 'this', 'discovery', 'and', 'the', 'evident', 'confusion', 'which', 'the', 'cripple', 'showed', 'made', 'the', 'inspector', 'realise', 'that', 'the', 'matter', 'was', 'serious', 'the', 'rooms', 'were', 'carefully', 'examined', 'and', 'results', 'all', 'pointed', 'to', 'an', 'abominable', 'crime', 'the', 'front', 'room', 'was', 'plainly', 'furnished', 'as', 'a', 'sittingroom', 'and', 'led', 'into', 'a', 'small', 'bedroom', 'which', 'looked', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'back', 'of', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'wharves', 'between', 'the', 'wharf', 'and', 'the', 'bedroom', 'window', 'is', 'a', 'narrow', 'strip', 'which', 'is', 'dry', 'at', 'low', 'tide', 'but', 'is', 'covered', 'at', 'high', 'tide', 'with', 'at', 'least', 'four', 'and', 'a', 'half', 'feet', 'of', 'water', 'the', 'bedroom', 'window', 'was', 'a', 'broad', 'one', 'and', 'opened', 'from', 'below', 'on', 'examination', 'traces', 'of', 'blood', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'seen', 'upon', 'the', 'windowsill', 'and', 'several', 'scattered', 'drops', 'were', 'visible', 'upon', 'the', 'wooden', 'floor', 'of', 'the', 'bedroom', 'thrust', 'away', 'behind', 'a', 'curtain', 'in', 'the', 'front', 'room', 'were', 'all', 'the', 'clothes', 'of', 'mr', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'with', 'the', 'exception', 'of', 'his', 'coat', 'his', 'boots', 'his', 'socks', 'his', 'hat', 'and', 'his', 'watchall', 'were', 'there', 'there', 'were', 'no', 'signs', 'of', 'violence', 'upon', 'any', 'of', 'these', 'garments', 'and', 'there', 'were', 'no', 'other', 'traces', 'of', 'mr', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'window', 'he', 'must', 'apparently', 'have', 'gone', 'for', 'no', 'other', 'exit', 'could', 'be', 'discovered', 'and', 'the', 'ominous', 'bloodstains', 'upon', 'the', 'sill', 'gave', 'little', 'promise', 'that', 'he', 'could', 'save', 'himself', 'by', 'swimming', 'for', 'the', 'tide', 'was', 'at', 'its', 'very', 'highest', 'at', 'the', 'moment', 'of', 'the', 'tragedy', 'and', 'now', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'villains', 'who', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'immediately', 'implicated', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'the', 'lascar', 'was', 'known', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'the', 'vilest', 'antecedents', 'but', 'as', 'by', 'mrs', 'st', 'clairs', 'story', 'he', 'was', 'known', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'at', 'the', 'foot', 'of', 'the', 'stair', 'within', 'a', 'very', 'few', 'seconds', 'of', 'her', 'husbands', 'appearance', 'at', 'the', 'window', 'he', 'could', 'hardly', 'have', 'been', 'more', 'than', 'an', 'accessory', 'to', 'the', 'crime', 'his', 'defence', 'was', 'one', 'of', 'absolute', 'ignorance', 'and', 'he', 'protested', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'no', 'knowledge', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'doings', 'of', 'hugh', 'boone', 'his', 'lodger', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'account', 'in', 'any', 'way', 'for', 'the', 'presence', 'of', 'the', 'missing', 'gentlemans', 'clothes', 'so', 'much', 'for', 'the', 'lascar', 'manager', 'now', 'for', 'the', 'sinister', 'cripple', 'who', 'lives', 'upon', 'the', 'second', 'floor', 'of', 'the', 'opium', 'den', 'and', 'who', 'was', 'certainly', 'the', 'last', 'human', 'being', 'whose', 'eyes', 'rested', 'upon', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'his', 'name', 'is', 'hugh', 'boone', 'and', 'his', 'hideous', 'face', 'is', 'one', 'which', 'is', 'familiar', 'to', 'every', 'man', 'who', 'goes', 'much', 'to', 'the', 'city', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'professional', 'beggar', 'though', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'avoid', 'the', 'police', 'regulations', 'he', 'pretends', 'to', 'a', 'small', 'trade', 'in', 'wax', 'vestas', 'some', 'little', 'distance', 'down', 'threadneedle', 'street', 'upon', 'the', 'lefthand', 'side', 'there', 'is', 'as', 'you', 'may', 'have', 'remarked', 'a', 'small', 'angle', 'in', 'the', 'wall', 'here', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'this', 'creature', 'takes', 'his', 'daily', 'seat', 'crosslegged', 'with', 'his', 'tiny', 'stock', 'of', 'matches', 'on', 'his', 'lap', 'and', 'as', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'piteous', 'spectacle', 'a', 'small', 'rain', 'of', 'charity', 'descends', 'into', 'the', 'greasy', 'leather', 'cap', 'which', 'lies', 'upon', 'the', 'pavement', 'beside', 'him', 'i', 'have', 'watched', 'the', 'fellow', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'before', 'ever', 'i', 'thought', 'of', 'making', 'his', 'professional', 'acquaintance', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'surprised', 'at', 'the', 'harvest', 'which', 'he', 'has', 'reaped', 'in', 'a', 'short', 'time', 'his', 'appearance', 'you', 'see', 'is', 'so', 'remarkable', 'that', 'no', 'one', 'can', 'pass', 'him', 'without', 'observing', 'him', 'a', 'shock', 'of', 'orange', 'hair', 'a', 'pale', 'face', 'disfigured', 'by', 'a', 'horrible', 'scar', 'which', 'by', 'its', 'contraction', 'has', 'turned', 'up', 'the', 'outer', 'edge', 'of', 'his', 'upper', 'lip', 'a', 'bulldog', 'chin', 'and', 'a', 'pair', 'of', 'very', 'penetrating', 'dark', 'eyes', 'which', 'present', 'a', 'singular', 'contrast', 'to', 'the', 'colour', 'of', 'his', 'hair', 'all', 'mark', 'him', 'out', 'from', 'amid', 'the', 'common', 'crowd', 'of', 'mendicants', 'and', 'so', 'too', 'does', 'his', 'wit', 'for', 'he', 'is', 'ever', 'ready', 'with', 'a', 'reply', 'to', 'any', 'piece', 'of', 'chaff', 'which', 'may', 'be', 'thrown', 'at', 'him', 'by', 'the', 'passersby', 'this', 'is', 'the', 'man', 'whom', 'we', 'now', 'learn', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'the', 'lodger', 'at', 'the', 'opium', 'den', 'and', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'the', 'last', 'man', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'gentleman', 'of', 'whom', 'we', 'are', 'in', 'quest', 'but', 'a', 'cripple', 'said', 'i', 'what', 'could', 'he', 'have', 'done', 'singlehanded', 'against', 'a', 'man', 'in', 'the', 'prime', 'of', 'life', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'cripple', 'in', 'the', 'sense', 'that', 'he', 'walks', 'with', 'a', 'limp', 'but', 'in', 'other', 'respects', 'he', 'appears', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'powerful', 'and', 'wellnurtured', 'man', 'surely', 'your', 'medical', 'experience', 'would', 'tell', 'you', 'watson', 'that', 'weakness', 'in', 'one', 'limb', 'is', 'often', 'compensated', 'for', 'by', 'exceptional', 'strength', 'in', 'the', 'others', 'pray', 'continue', 'your', 'narrative', 'mrs', 'st', 'clair', 'had', 'fainted', 'at', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'the', 'blood', 'upon', 'the', 'window', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'escorted', 'home', 'in', 'a', 'cab', 'by', 'the', 'police', 'as', 'her', 'presence', 'could', 'be', 'of', 'no', 'help', 'to', 'them', 'in', 'their', 'investigations', 'inspector', 'barton', 'who', 'had', 'charge', 'of', 'the', 'case', 'made', 'a', 'very', 'careful', 'examination', 'of', 'the', 'premises', 'but', 'without', 'finding', 'anything', 'which', 'threw', 'any', 'light', 'upon', 'the', 'matter', 'one', 'mistake', 'had', 'been', 'made', 'in', 'not', 'arresting', 'boone', 'instantly', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'allowed', 'some', 'few', 'minutes', 'during', 'which', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'communicated', 'with', 'his', 'friend', 'the', 'lascar', 'but', 'this', 'fault', 'was', 'soon', 'remedied', 'and', 'he', 'was', 'seized', 'and', 'searched', 'without', 'anything', 'being', 'found', 'which', 'could', 'incriminate', 'him', 'there', 'were', 'it', 'is', 'true', 'some', 'bloodstains', 'upon', 'his', 'right', 'shirtsleeve', 'but', 'he', 'pointed', 'to', 'his', 'ringfinger', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'cut', 'near', 'the', 'nail', 'and', 'explained', 'that', 'the', 'bleeding', 'came', 'from', 'there', 'adding', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'to', 'the', 'window', 'not', 'long', 'before', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'stains', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'observed', 'there', 'came', 'doubtless', 'from', 'the', 'same', 'source', 'he', 'denied', 'strenuously', 'having', 'ever', 'seen', 'mr', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'and', 'swore', 'that', 'the', 'presence', 'of', 'the', 'clothes', 'in', 'his', 'room', 'was', 'as', 'much', 'a', 'mystery', 'to', 'him', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'police', 'as', 'to', 'mrs', 'st', 'clairs', 'assertion', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'actually', 'seen', 'her', 'husband', 'at', 'the', 'window', 'he', 'declared', 'that', 'she', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'either', 'mad', 'or', 'dreaming', 'he', 'was', 'removed', 'loudly', 'protesting', 'to', 'the', 'policestation', 'while', 'the', 'inspector', 'remained', 'upon', 'the', 'premises', 'in', 'the', 'hope', 'that', 'the', 'ebbing', 'tide', 'might', 'afford', 'some', 'fresh', 'clue', 'and', 'it', 'did', 'though', 'they', 'hardly', 'found', 'upon', 'the', 'mudbank', 'what', 'they', 'had', 'feared', 'to', 'find', 'it', 'was', 'neville', 'st', 'clairs', 'coat', 'and', 'not', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'which', 'lay', 'uncovered', 'as', 'the', 'tide', 'receded', 'and', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'they', 'found', 'in', 'the', 'pockets', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'imagine', 'no', 'i', 'dont', 'think', 'you', 'would', 'guess', 'every', 'pocket', 'stuffed', 'with', 'pennies', 'and', 'halfpennies421', 'pennies', 'and', '270', 'halfpennies', 'it', 'was', 'no', 'wonder', 'that', 'it', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'swept', 'away', 'by', 'the', 'tide', 'but', 'a', 'human', 'body', 'is', 'a', 'different', 'matter', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'fierce', 'eddy', 'between', 'the', 'wharf', 'and', 'the', 'house', 'it', 'seemed', 'likely', 'enough', 'that', 'the', 'weighted', 'coat', 'had', 'remained', 'when', 'the', 'stripped', 'body', 'had', 'been', 'sucked', 'away', 'into', 'the', 'river', 'but', 'i', 'understand', 'that', 'all', 'the', 'other', 'clothes', 'were', 'found', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'would', 'the', 'body', 'be', 'dressed', 'in', 'a', 'coat', 'alone', 'no', 'sir', 'but', 'the', 'facts', 'might', 'be', 'met', 'speciously', 'enough', 'suppose', 'that', 'this', 'man', 'boone', 'had', 'thrust', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'through', 'the', 'window', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'human', 'eye', 'which', 'could', 'have', 'seen', 'the', 'deed', 'what', 'would', 'he', 'do', 'then', 'it', 'would', 'of', 'course', 'instantly', 'strike', 'him', 'that', 'he', 'must', 'get', 'rid', 'of', 'the', 'telltale', 'garments', 'he', 'would', 'seize', 'the', 'coat', 'then', 'and', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'act', 'of', 'throwing', 'it', 'out', 'when', 'it', 'would', 'occur', 'to', 'him', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'swim', 'and', 'not', 'sink', 'he', 'has', 'little', 'time', 'for', 'he', 'has', 'heard', 'the', 'scuffle', 'downstairs', 'when', 'the', 'wife', 'tried', 'to', 'force', 'her', 'way', 'up', 'and', 'perhaps', 'he', 'has', 'already', 'heard', 'from', 'his', 'lascar', 'confederate', 'that', 'the', 'police', 'are', 'hurrying', 'up', 'the', 'street', 'there', 'is', 'not', 'an', 'instant', 'to', 'be', 'lost', 'he', 'rushes', 'to', 'some', 'secret', 'hoard', 'where', 'he', 'has', 'accumulated', 'the', 'fruits', 'of', 'his', 'beggary', 'and', 'he', 'stuffs', 'all', 'the', 'coins', 'upon', 'which', 'he', 'can', 'lay', 'his', 'hands', 'into', 'the', 'pockets', 'to', 'make', 'sure', 'of', 'the', 'coats', 'sinking', 'he', 'throws', 'it', 'out', 'and', 'would', 'have', 'done', 'the', 'same', 'with', 'the', 'other', 'garments', 'had', 'not', 'he', 'heard', 'the', 'rush', 'of', 'steps', 'below', 'and', 'only', 'just', 'had', 'time', 'to', 'close', 'the', 'window', 'when', 'the', 'police', 'appeared', 'it', 'certainly', 'sounds', 'feasible', 'well', 'we', 'will', 'take', 'it', 'as', 'a', 'working', 'hypothesis', 'for', 'want', 'of', 'a', 'better', 'boone', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'told', 'you', 'was', 'arrested', 'and', 'taken', 'to', 'the', 'station', 'but', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'shown', 'that', 'there', 'had', 'ever', 'before', 'been', 'anything', 'against', 'him', 'he', 'had', 'for', 'years', 'been', 'known', 'as', 'a', 'professional', 'beggar', 'but', 'his', 'life', 'appeared', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'very', 'quiet', 'and', 'innocent', 'one', 'there', 'the', 'matter', 'stands', 'at', 'present', 'and', 'the', 'questions', 'which', 'have', 'to', 'be', 'solvedwhat', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'was', 'doing', 'in', 'the', 'opium', 'den', 'what', 'happened', 'to', 'him', 'when', 'there', 'where', 'is', 'he', 'now', 'and', 'what', 'hugh', 'boone', 'had', 'to', 'do', 'with', 'his', 'disappearanceare', 'all', 'as', 'far', 'from', 'a', 'solution', 'as', 'ever', 'i', 'confess', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'recall', 'any', 'case', 'within', 'my', 'experience', 'which', 'looked', 'at', 'the', 'first', 'glance', 'so', 'simple', 'and', 'yet', 'which', 'presented', 'such', 'difficulties', 'while', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'had', 'been', 'detailing', 'this', 'singular', 'series', 'of', 'events', 'we', 'had', 'been', 'whirling', 'through', 'the', 'outskirts', 'of', 'the', 'great', 'town', 'until', 'the', 'last', 'straggling', 'houses', 'had', 'been', 'left', 'behind', 'and', 'we', 'rattled', 'along', 'with', 'a', 'country', 'hedge', 'upon', 'either', 'side', 'of', 'us', 'just', 'as', 'he', 'finished', 'however', 'we', 'drove', 'through', 'two', 'scattered', 'villages', 'where', 'a', 'few', 'lights', 'still', 'glimmered', 'in', 'the', 'windows', 'we', 'are', 'on', 'the', 'outskirts', 'of', 'lee', 'said', 'my', 'companion', 'we', 'have', 'touched', 'on', 'three', 'english', 'counties', 'in', 'our', 'short', 'drive', 'starting', 'in', 'middlesex', 'passing', 'over', 'an', 'angle', 'of', 'surrey', 'and', 'ending', 'in', 'kent', 'see', 'that', 'light', 'among', 'the', 'trees', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'cedars', 'and', 'beside', 'that', 'lamp', 'sits', 'a', 'woman', 'whose', 'anxious', 'ears', 'have', 'already', 'i', 'have', 'little', 'doubt', 'caught', 'the', 'clink', 'of', 'our', 'horses', 'feet', 'but', 'why', 'are', 'you', 'not', 'conducting', 'the', 'case', 'from', 'baker', 'street', 'i', 'asked', 'because', 'there', 'are', 'many', 'inquiries', 'which', 'must', 'be', 'made', 'out', 'here', 'mrs', 'st', 'clair', 'has', 'most', 'kindly', 'put', 'two', 'rooms', 'at', 'my', 'disposal', 'and', 'you', 'may', 'rest', 'assured', 'that', 'she', 'will', 'have', 'nothing', 'but', 'a', 'welcome', 'for', 'my', 'friend', 'and', 'colleague', 'i', 'hate', 'to', 'meet', 'her', 'watson', 'when', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'news', 'of', 'her', 'husband', 'here', 'we', 'are', 'whoa', 'there', 'whoa', 'we', 'had', 'pulled', 'up', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'a', 'large', 'villa', 'which', 'stood', 'within', 'its', 'own', 'grounds', 'a', 'stableboy', 'had', 'run', 'out', 'to', 'the', 'horses', 'head', 'and', 'springing', 'down', 'i', 'followed', 'holmes', 'up', 'the', 'small', 'winding', 'graveldrive', 'which', 'led', 'to', 'the', 'house', 'as', 'we', 'approached', 'the', 'door', 'flew', 'open', 'and', 'a', 'little', 'blonde', 'woman', 'stood', 'in', 'the', 'opening', 'clad', 'in', 'some', 'sort', 'of', 'light', 'mousseline', 'de', 'soie', 'with', 'a', 'touch', 'of', 'fluffy', 'pink', 'chiffon', 'at', 'her', 'neck', 'and', 'wrists', 'she', 'stood', 'with', 'her', 'figure', 'outlined', 'against', 'the', 'flood', 'of', 'light', 'one', 'hand', 'upon', 'the', 'door', 'one', 'halfraised', 'in', 'her', 'eagerness', 'her', 'body', 'slightly', 'bent', 'her', 'head', 'and', 'face', 'protruded', 'with', 'eager', 'eyes', 'and', 'parted', 'lips', 'a', 'standing', 'question', 'well', 'she', 'cried', 'well', 'and', 'then', 'seeing', 'that', 'there', 'were', 'two', 'of', 'us', 'she', 'gave', 'a', 'cry', 'of', 'hope', 'which', 'sank', 'into', 'a', 'groan', 'as', 'she', 'saw', 'that', 'my', 'companion', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'and', 'shrugged', 'his', 'shoulders', 'no', 'good', 'news', 'none', 'no', 'bad', 'no', 'thank', 'god', 'for', 'that', 'but', 'come', 'in', 'you', 'must', 'be', 'weary', 'for', 'you', 'have', 'had', 'a', 'long', 'day', 'this', 'is', 'my', 'friend', 'dr', 'watson', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'of', 'most', 'vital', 'use', 'to', 'me', 'in', 'several', 'of', 'my', 'cases', 'and', 'a', 'lucky', 'chance', 'has', 'made', 'it', 'possible', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'bring', 'him', 'out', 'and', 'associate', 'him', 'with', 'this', 'investigation', 'i', 'am', 'delighted', 'to', 'see', 'you', 'said', 'she', 'pressing', 'my', 'hand', 'warmly', 'you', 'will', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'forgive', 'anything', 'that', 'may', 'be', 'wanting', 'in', 'our', 'arrangements', 'when', 'you', 'consider', 'the', 'blow', 'which', 'has', 'come', 'so', 'suddenly', 'upon', 'us', 'my', 'dear', 'madam', 'said', 'i', 'i', 'am', 'an', 'old', 'campaigner', 'and', 'if', 'i', 'were', 'not', 'i', 'can', 'very', 'well', 'see', 'that', 'no', 'apology', 'is', 'needed', 'if', 'i', 'can', 'be', 'of', 'any', 'assistance', 'either', 'to', 'you', 'or', 'to', 'my', 'friend', 'here', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'indeed', 'happy', 'now', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'said', 'the', 'lady', 'as', 'we', 'entered', 'a', 'welllit', 'diningroom', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'of', 'which', 'a', 'cold', 'supper', 'had', 'been', 'laid', 'out', 'i', 'should', 'very', 'much', 'like', 'to', 'ask', 'you', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'plain', 'questions', 'to', 'which', 'i', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'give', 'a', 'plain', 'answer', 'certainly', 'madam', 'do', 'not', 'trouble', 'about', 'my', 'feelings', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'hysterical', 'nor', 'given', 'to', 'fainting', 'i', 'simply', 'wish', 'to', 'hear', 'your', 'real', 'real', 'opinion', 'upon', 'what', 'point', 'in', 'your', 'heart', 'of', 'hearts', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'neville', 'is', 'alive', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'embarrassed', 'by', 'the', 'question', 'frankly', 'now', 'she', 'repeated', 'standing', 'upon', 'the', 'rug', 'and', 'looking', 'keenly', 'down', 'at', 'him', 'as', 'he', 'leaned', 'back', 'in', 'a', 'basketchair', 'frankly', 'then', 'madam', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'dead', 'i', 'do', 'murdered', 'i', 'dont', 'say', 'that', 'perhaps', 'and', 'on', 'what', 'day', 'did', 'he', 'meet', 'his', 'death', 'on', 'monday', 'then', 'perhaps', 'mr', 'holmes', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'good', 'enough', 'to', 'explain', 'how', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'received', 'a', 'letter', 'from', 'him', 'today', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'sprang', 'out', 'of', 'his', 'chair', 'as', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'galvanised', 'what', 'he', 'roared', 'yes', 'today', 'she', 'stood', 'smiling', 'holding', 'up', 'a', 'little', 'slip', 'of', 'paper', 'in', 'the', 'air', 'may', 'i', 'see', 'it', 'certainly', 'he', 'snatched', 'it', 'from', 'her', 'in', 'his', 'eagerness', 'and', 'smoothing', 'it', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'he', 'drew', 'over', 'the', 'lamp', 'and', 'examined', 'it', 'intently', 'i', 'had', 'left', 'my', 'chair', 'and', 'was', 'gazing', 'at', 'it', 'over', 'his', 'shoulder', 'the', 'envelope', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'coarse', 'one', 'and', 'was', 'stamped', 'with', 'the', 'gravesend', 'postmark', 'and', 'with', 'the', 'date', 'of', 'that', 'very', 'day', 'or', 'rather', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'for', 'it', 'was', 'considerably', 'after', 'midnight', 'coarse', 'writing', 'murmured', 'holmes', 'surely', 'this', 'is', 'not', 'your', 'husbands', 'writing', 'madam', 'no', 'but', 'the', 'enclosure', 'is', 'i', 'perceive', 'also', 'that', 'whoever', 'addressed', 'the', 'envelope', 'had', 'to', 'go', 'and', 'inquire', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'address', 'how', 'can', 'you', 'tell', 'that', 'the', 'name', 'you', 'see', 'is', 'in', 'perfectly', 'black', 'ink', 'which', 'has', 'dried', 'itself', 'the', 'rest', 'is', 'of', 'the', 'greyish', 'colour', 'which', 'shows', 'that', 'blottingpaper', 'has', 'been', 'used', 'if', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'written', 'straight', 'off', 'and', 'then', 'blotted', 'none', 'would', 'be', 'of', 'a', 'deep', 'black', 'shade', 'this', 'man', 'has', 'written', 'the', 'name', 'and', 'there', 'has', 'then', 'been', 'a', 'pause', 'before', 'he', 'wrote', 'the', 'address', 'which', 'can', 'only', 'mean', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'familiar', 'with', 'it', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'course', 'a', 'trifle', 'but', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'so', 'important', 'as', 'trifles', 'let', 'us', 'now', 'see', 'the', 'letter', 'ha', 'there', 'has', 'been', 'an', 'enclosure', 'here', 'yes', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'ring', 'his', 'signetring', 'and', 'you', 'are', 'sure', 'that', 'this', 'is', 'your', 'husbands', 'hand', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'hands', 'one', 'his', 'hand', 'when', 'he', 'wrote', 'hurriedly', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'unlike', 'his', 'usual', 'writing', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'know', 'it', 'well', 'dearest', 'do', 'not', 'be', 'frightened', 'all', 'will', 'come', 'well', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'huge', 'error', 'which', 'it', 'may', 'take', 'some', 'little', 'time', 'to', 'rectify', 'wait', 'in', 'patienceneville', 'written', 'in', 'pencil', 'upon', 'the', 'flyleaf', 'of', 'a', 'book', 'octavo', 'size', 'no', 'watermark', 'hum', 'posted', 'today', 'in', 'gravesend', 'by', 'a', 'man', 'with', 'a', 'dirty', 'thumb', 'ha', 'and', 'the', 'flap', 'has', 'been', 'gummed', 'if', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'very', 'much', 'in', 'error', 'by', 'a', 'person', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'chewing', 'tobacco', 'and', 'you', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'your', 'husbands', 'hand', 'madam', 'none', 'neville', 'wrote', 'those', 'words', 'and', 'they', 'were', 'posted', 'today', 'at', 'gravesend', 'well', 'mrs', 'st', 'clair', 'the', 'clouds', 'lighten', 'though', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'venture', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'the', 'danger', 'is', 'over', 'but', 'he', 'must', 'be', 'alive', 'mr', 'holmes', 'unless', 'this', 'is', 'a', 'clever', 'forgery', 'to', 'put', 'us', 'on', 'the', 'wrong', 'scent', 'the', 'ring', 'after', 'all', 'proves', 'nothing', 'it', 'may', 'have', 'been', 'taken', 'from', 'him', 'no', 'no', 'it', 'is', 'it', 'is', 'his', 'very', 'own', 'writing', 'very', 'well', 'it', 'may', 'however', 'have', 'been', 'written', 'on', 'monday', 'and', 'only', 'posted', 'today', 'that', 'is', 'possible', 'if', 'so', 'much', 'may', 'have', 'happened', 'between', 'oh', 'you', 'must', 'not', 'discourage', 'me', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'all', 'is', 'well', 'with', 'him', 'there', 'is', 'so', 'keen', 'a', 'sympathy', 'between', 'us', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'know', 'if', 'evil', 'came', 'upon', 'him', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'day', 'that', 'i', 'saw', 'him', 'last', 'he', 'cut', 'himself', 'in', 'the', 'bedroom', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'in', 'the', 'diningroom', 'rushed', 'upstairs', 'instantly', 'with', 'the', 'utmost', 'certainty', 'that', 'something', 'had', 'happened', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'would', 'respond', 'to', 'such', 'a', 'trifle', 'and', 'yet', 'be', 'ignorant', 'of', 'his', 'death', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'too', 'much', 'not', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'the', 'impression', 'of', 'a', 'woman', 'may', 'be', 'more', 'valuable', 'than', 'the', 'conclusion', 'of', 'an', 'analytical', 'reasoner', 'and', 'in', 'this', 'letter', 'you', 'certainly', 'have', 'a', 'very', 'strong', 'piece', 'of', 'evidence', 'to', 'corroborate', 'your', 'view', 'but', 'if', 'your', 'husband', 'is', 'alive', 'and', 'able', 'to', 'write', 'letters', 'why', 'should', 'he', 'remain', 'away', 'from', 'you', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'imagine', 'it', 'is', 'unthinkable', 'and', 'on', 'monday', 'he', 'made', 'no', 'remarks', 'before', 'leaving', 'you', 'no', 'and', 'you', 'were', 'surprised', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'in', 'swandam', 'lane', 'very', 'much', 'so', 'was', 'the', 'window', 'open', 'yes', 'then', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'called', 'to', 'you', 'he', 'might', 'he', 'only', 'as', 'i', 'understand', 'gave', 'an', 'inarticulate', 'cry', 'yes', 'a', 'call', 'for', 'help', 'you', 'thought', 'yes', 'he', 'waved', 'his', 'hands', 'but', 'it', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'cry', 'of', 'surprise', 'astonishment', 'at', 'the', 'unexpected', 'sight', 'of', 'you', 'might', 'cause', 'him', 'to', 'throw', 'up', 'his', 'hands', 'it', 'is', 'possible', 'and', 'you', 'thought', 'he', 'was', 'pulled', 'back', 'he', 'disappeared', 'so', 'suddenly', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'leaped', 'back', 'you', 'did', 'not', 'see', 'anyone', 'else', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'no', 'but', 'this', 'horrible', 'man', 'confessed', 'to', 'having', 'been', 'there', 'and', 'the', 'lascar', 'was', 'at', 'the', 'foot', 'of', 'the', 'stairs', 'quite', 'so', 'your', 'husband', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'you', 'could', 'see', 'had', 'his', 'ordinary', 'clothes', 'on', 'but', 'without', 'his', 'collar', 'or', 'tie', 'i', 'distinctly', 'saw', 'his', 'bare', 'throat', 'had', 'he', 'ever', 'spoken', 'of', 'swandam', 'lane', 'never', 'had', 'he', 'ever', 'showed', 'any', 'signs', 'of', 'having', 'taken', 'opium', 'never', 'thank', 'you', 'mrs', 'st', 'clair', 'those', 'are', 'the', 'principal', 'points', 'about', 'which', 'i', 'wished', 'to', 'be', 'absolutely', 'clear', 'we', 'shall', 'now', 'have', 'a', 'little', 'supper', 'and', 'then', 'retire', 'for', 'we', 'may', 'have', 'a', 'very', 'busy', 'day', 'tomorrow', 'a', 'large', 'and', 'comfortable', 'doublebedded', 'room', 'had', 'been', 'placed', 'at', 'our', 'disposal', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'quickly', 'between', 'the', 'sheets', 'for', 'i', 'was', 'weary', 'after', 'my', 'night', 'of', 'adventure', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'was', 'a', 'man', 'however', 'who', 'when', 'he', 'had', 'an', 'unsolved', 'problem', 'upon', 'his', 'mind', 'would', 'go', 'for', 'days', 'and', 'even', 'for', 'a', 'week', 'without', 'rest', 'turning', 'it', 'over', 'rearranging', 'his', 'facts', 'looking', 'at', 'it', 'from', 'every', 'point', 'of', 'view', 'until', 'he', 'had', 'either', 'fathomed', 'it', 'or', 'convinced', 'himself', 'that', 'his', 'data', 'were', 'insufficient', 'it', 'was', 'soon', 'evident', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'now', 'preparing', 'for', 'an', 'allnight', 'sitting', 'he', 'took', 'off', 'his', 'coat', 'and', 'waistcoat', 'put', 'on', 'a', 'large', 'blue', 'dressinggown', 'and', 'then', 'wandered', 'about', 'the', 'room', 'collecting', 'pillows', 'from', 'his', 'bed', 'and', 'cushions', 'from', 'the', 'sofa', 'and', 'armchairs', 'with', 'these', 'he', 'constructed', 'a', 'sort', 'of', 'eastern', 'divan', 'upon', 'which', 'he', 'perched', 'himself', 'crosslegged', 'with', 'an', 'ounce', 'of', 'shag', 'tobacco', 'and', 'a', 'box', 'of', 'matches', 'laid', 'out', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'dim', 'light', 'of', 'the', 'lamp', 'i', 'saw', 'him', 'sitting', 'there', 'an', 'old', 'briar', 'pipe', 'between', 'his', 'lips', 'his', 'eyes', 'fixed', 'vacantly', 'upon', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'the', 'ceiling', 'the', 'blue', 'smoke', 'curling', 'up', 'from', 'him', 'silent', 'motionless', 'with', 'the', 'light', 'shining', 'upon', 'his', 'strongset', 'aquiline', 'features', 'so', 'he', 'sat', 'as', 'i', 'dropped', 'off', 'to', 'sleep', 'and', 'so', 'he', 'sat', 'when', 'a', 'sudden', 'ejaculation', 'caused', 'me', 'to', 'wake', 'up', 'and', 'i', 'found', 'the', 'summer', 'sun', 'shining', 'into', 'the', 'apartment', 'the', 'pipe', 'was', 'still', 'between', 'his', 'lips', 'the', 'smoke', 'still', 'curled', 'upward', 'and', 'the', 'room', 'was', 'full', 'of', 'a', 'dense', 'tobacco', 'haze', 'but', 'nothing', 'remained', 'of', 'the', 'heap', 'of', 'shag', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'seen', 'upon', 'the', 'previous', 'night', 'awake', 'watson', 'he', 'asked', 'yes', 'game', 'for', 'a', 'morning', 'drive', 'certainly', 'then', 'dress', 'no', 'one', 'is', 'stirring', 'yet', 'but', 'i', 'know', 'where', 'the', 'stableboy', 'sleeps', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'soon', 'have', 'the', 'trap', 'out', 'he', 'chuckled', 'to', 'himself', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'his', 'eyes', 'twinkled', 'and', 'he', 'seemed', 'a', 'different', 'man', 'to', 'the', 'sombre', 'thinker', 'of', 'the', 'previous', 'night', 'as', 'i', 'dressed', 'i', 'glanced', 'at', 'my', 'watch', 'it', 'was', 'no', 'wonder', 'that', 'no', 'one', 'was', 'stirring', 'it', 'was', 'twentyfive', 'minutes', 'past', 'four', 'i', 'had', 'hardly', 'finished', 'when', 'holmes', 'returned', 'with', 'the', 'news', 'that', 'the', 'boy', 'was', 'putting', 'in', 'the', 'horse', 'i', 'want', 'to', 'test', 'a', 'little', 'theory', 'of', 'mine', 'said', 'he', 'pulling', 'on', 'his', 'boots', 'i', 'think', 'watson', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'now', 'standing', 'in', 'the', 'presence', 'of', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'absolute', 'fools', 'in', 'europe', 'i', 'deserve', 'to', 'be', 'kicked', 'from', 'here', 'to', 'charing', 'cross', 'but', 'i', 'think', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'key', 'of', 'the', 'affair', 'now', 'and', 'where', 'is', 'it', 'i', 'asked', 'smiling', 'in', 'the', 'bathroom', 'he', 'answered', 'oh', 'yes', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'joking', 'he', 'continued', 'seeing', 'my', 'look', 'of', 'incredulity', 'i', 'have', 'just', 'been', 'there', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'taken', 'it', 'out', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'got', 'it', 'in', 'this', 'gladstone', 'bag', 'come', 'on', 'my', 'boy', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'see', 'whether', 'it', 'will', 'not', 'fit', 'the', 'lock', 'we', 'made', 'our', 'way', 'downstairs', 'as', 'quietly', 'as', 'possible', 'and', 'out', 'into', 'the', 'bright', 'morning', 'sunshine', 'in', 'the', 'road', 'stood', 'our', 'horse', 'and', 'trap', 'with', 'the', 'halfclad', 'stableboy', 'waiting', 'at', 'the', 'head', 'we', 'both', 'sprang', 'in', 'and', 'away', 'we', 'dashed', 'down', 'the', 'london', 'road', 'a', 'few', 'country', 'carts', 'were', 'stirring', 'bearing', 'in', 'vegetables', 'to', 'the', 'metropolis', 'but', 'the', 'lines', 'of', 'villas', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'were', 'as', 'silent', 'and', 'lifeless', 'as', 'some', 'city', 'in', 'a', 'dream', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'in', 'some', 'points', 'a', 'singular', 'case', 'said', 'holmes', 'flicking', 'the', 'horse', 'on', 'into', 'a', 'gallop', 'i', 'confess', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'as', 'blind', 'as', 'a', 'mole', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'better', 'to', 'learn', 'wisdom', 'late', 'than', 'never', 'to', 'learn', 'it', 'at', 'all', 'in', 'town', 'the', 'earliest', 'risers', 'were', 'just', 'beginning', 'to', 'look', 'sleepily', 'from', 'their', 'windows', 'as', 'we', 'drove', 'through', 'the', 'streets', 'of', 'the', 'surrey', 'side', 'passing', 'down', 'the', 'waterloo', 'bridge', 'road', 'we', 'crossed', 'over', 'the', 'river', 'and', 'dashing', 'up', 'wellington', 'street', 'wheeled', 'sharply', 'to', 'the', 'right', 'and', 'found', 'ourselves', 'in', 'bow', 'street', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'was', 'well', 'known', 'to', 'the', 'force', 'and', 'the', 'two', 'constables', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'saluted', 'him', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'held', 'the', 'horses', 'head', 'while', 'the', 'other', 'led', 'us', 'in', 'who', 'is', 'on', 'duty', 'asked', 'holmes', 'inspector', 'bradstreet', 'sir', 'ah', 'bradstreet', 'how', 'are', 'you', 'a', 'tall', 'stout', 'official', 'had', 'come', 'down', 'the', 'stoneflagged', 'passage', 'in', 'a', 'peaked', 'cap', 'and', 'frogged', 'jacket', 'i', 'wish', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'quiet', 'word', 'with', 'you', 'bradstreet', 'certainly', 'mr', 'holmes', 'step', 'into', 'my', 'room', 'here', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'small', 'officelike', 'room', 'with', 'a', 'huge', 'ledger', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'and', 'a', 'telephone', 'projecting', 'from', 'the', 'wall', 'the', 'inspector', 'sat', 'down', 'at', 'his', 'desk', 'what', 'can', 'i', 'do', 'for', 'you', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'called', 'about', 'that', 'beggarman', 'boonethe', 'one', 'who', 'was', 'charged', 'with', 'being', 'concerned', 'in', 'the', 'disappearance', 'of', 'mr', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'of', 'lee', 'yes', 'he', 'was', 'brought', 'up', 'and', 'remanded', 'for', 'further', 'inquiries', 'so', 'i', 'heard', 'you', 'have', 'him', 'here', 'in', 'the', 'cells', 'is', 'he', 'quiet', 'oh', 'he', 'gives', 'no', 'trouble', 'but', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'dirty', 'scoundrel', 'dirty', 'yes', 'it', 'is', 'all', 'we', 'can', 'do', 'to', 'make', 'him', 'wash', 'his', 'hands', 'and', 'his', 'face', 'is', 'as', 'black', 'as', 'a', 'tinkers', 'well', 'when', 'once', 'his', 'case', 'has', 'been', 'settled', 'he', 'will', 'have', 'a', 'regular', 'prison', 'bath', 'and', 'i', 'think', 'if', 'you', 'saw', 'him', 'you', 'would', 'agree', 'with', 'me', 'that', 'he', 'needed', 'it', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'very', 'much', 'would', 'you', 'that', 'is', 'easily', 'done', 'come', 'this', 'way', 'you', 'can', 'leave', 'your', 'bag', 'no', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'ill', 'take', 'it', 'very', 'good', 'come', 'this', 'way', 'if', 'you', 'please', 'he', 'led', 'us', 'down', 'a', 'passage', 'opened', 'a', 'barred', 'door', 'passed', 'down', 'a', 'winding', 'stair', 'and', 'brought', 'us', 'to', 'a', 'whitewashed', 'corridor', 'with', 'a', 'line', 'of', 'doors', 'on', 'each', 'side', 'the', 'third', 'on', 'the', 'right', 'is', 'his', 'said', 'the', 'inspector', 'here', 'it', 'is', 'he', 'quietly', 'shot', 'back', 'a', 'panel', 'in', 'the', 'upper', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'glanced', 'through', 'he', 'is', 'asleep', 'said', 'he', 'you', 'can', 'see', 'him', 'very', 'well', 'we', 'both', 'put', 'our', 'eyes', 'to', 'the', 'grating', 'the', 'prisoner', 'lay', 'with', 'his', 'face', 'towards', 'us', 'in', 'a', 'very', 'deep', 'sleep', 'breathing', 'slowly', 'and', 'heavily', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'middlesized', 'man', 'coarsely', 'clad', 'as', 'became', 'his', 'calling', 'with', 'a', 'coloured', 'shirt', 'protruding', 'through', 'the', 'rent', 'in', 'his', 'tattered', 'coat', 'he', 'was', 'as', 'the', 'inspector', 'had', 'said', 'extremely', 'dirty', 'but', 'the', 'grime', 'which', 'covered', 'his', 'face', 'could', 'not', 'conceal', 'its', 'repulsive', 'ugliness', 'a', 'broad', 'wheal', 'from', 'an', 'old', 'scar', 'ran', 'right', 'across', 'it', 'from', 'eye', 'to', 'chin', 'and', 'by', 'its', 'contraction', 'had', 'turned', 'up', 'one', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'upper', 'lip', 'so', 'that', 'three', 'teeth', 'were', 'exposed', 'in', 'a', 'perpetual', 'snarl', 'a', 'shock', 'of', 'very', 'bright', 'red', 'hair', 'grew', 'low', 'over', 'his', 'eyes', 'and', 'forehead', 'hes', 'a', 'beauty', 'isnt', 'he', 'said', 'the', 'inspector', 'he', 'certainly', 'needs', 'a', 'wash', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'i', 'had', 'an', 'idea', 'that', 'he', 'might', 'and', 'i', 'took', 'the', 'liberty', 'of', 'bringing', 'the', 'tools', 'with', 'me', 'he', 'opened', 'the', 'gladstone', 'bag', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'and', 'took', 'out', 'to', 'my', 'astonishment', 'a', 'very', 'large', 'bathsponge', 'he', 'he', 'you', 'are', 'a', 'funny', 'one', 'chuckled', 'the', 'inspector', 'now', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'have', 'the', 'great', 'goodness', 'to', 'open', 'that', 'door', 'very', 'quietly', 'we', 'will', 'soon', 'make', 'him', 'cut', 'a', 'much', 'more', 'respectable', 'figure', 'well', 'i', 'dont', 'know', 'why', 'not', 'said', 'the', 'inspector', 'he', 'doesnt', 'look', 'a', 'credit', 'to', 'the', 'bow', 'street', 'cells', 'does', 'he', 'he', 'slipped', 'his', 'key', 'into', 'the', 'lock', 'and', 'we', 'all', 'very', 'quietly', 'entered', 'the', 'cell', 'the', 'sleeper', 'half', 'turned', 'and', 'then', 'settled', 'down', 'once', 'more', 'into', 'a', 'deep', 'slumber', 'holmes', 'stooped', 'to', 'the', 'waterjug', 'moistened', 'his', 'sponge', 'and', 'then', 'rubbed', 'it', 'twice', 'vigorously', 'across', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'prisoners', 'face', 'let', 'me', 'introduce', 'you', 'he', 'shouted', 'to', 'mr', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'of', 'lee', 'in', 'the', 'county', 'of', 'kent', 'never', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'have', 'i', 'seen', 'such', 'a', 'sight', 'the', 'mans', 'face', 'peeled', 'off', 'under', 'the', 'sponge', 'like', 'the', 'bark', 'from', 'a', 'tree', 'gone', 'was', 'the', 'coarse', 'brown', 'tint', 'gone', 'too', 'was', 'the', 'horrid', 'scar', 'which', 'had', 'seamed', 'it', 'across', 'and', 'the', 'twisted', 'lip', 'which', 'had', 'given', 'the', 'repulsive', 'sneer', 'to', 'the', 'face', 'a', 'twitch', 'brought', 'away', 'the', 'tangled', 'red', 'hair', 'and', 'there', 'sitting', 'up', 'in', 'his', 'bed', 'was', 'a', 'pale', 'sadfaced', 'refinedlooking', 'man', 'blackhaired', 'and', 'smoothskinned', 'rubbing', 'his', 'eyes', 'and', 'staring', 'about', 'him', 'with', 'sleepy', 'bewilderment', 'then', 'suddenly', 'realising', 'the', 'exposure', 'he', 'broke', 'into', 'a', 'scream', 'and', 'threw', 'himself', 'down', 'with', 'his', 'face', 'to', 'the', 'pillow', 'great', 'heavens', 'cried', 'the', 'inspector', 'it', 'is', 'indeed', 'the', 'missing', 'man', 'i', 'know', 'him', 'from', 'the', 'photograph', 'the', 'prisoner', 'turned', 'with', 'the', 'reckless', 'air', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'abandons', 'himself', 'to', 'his', 'destiny', 'be', 'it', 'so', 'said', 'he', 'and', 'pray', 'what', 'am', 'i', 'charged', 'with', 'with', 'making', 'away', 'with', 'mr', 'neville', 'st', 'oh', 'come', 'you', 'cant', 'be', 'charged', 'with', 'that', 'unless', 'they', 'make', 'a', 'case', 'of', 'attempted', 'suicide', 'of', 'it', 'said', 'the', 'inspector', 'with', 'a', 'grin', 'well', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'twentyseven', 'years', 'in', 'the', 'force', 'but', 'this', 'really', 'takes', 'the', 'cake', 'if', 'i', 'am', 'mr', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'then', 'it', 'is', 'obvious', 'that', 'no', 'crime', 'has', 'been', 'committed', 'and', 'that', 'therefore', 'i', 'am', 'illegally', 'detained', 'no', 'crime', 'but', 'a', 'very', 'great', 'error', 'has', 'been', 'committed', 'said', 'holmes', 'you', 'would', 'have', 'done', 'better', 'to', 'have', 'trusted', 'your', 'wife', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'the', 'wife', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'children', 'groaned', 'the', 'prisoner', 'god', 'help', 'me', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'them', 'ashamed', 'of', 'their', 'father', 'my', 'god', 'what', 'an', 'exposure', 'what', 'can', 'i', 'do', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'sat', 'down', 'beside', 'him', 'on', 'the', 'couch', 'and', 'patted', 'him', 'kindly', 'on', 'the', 'shoulder', 'if', 'you', 'leave', 'it', 'to', 'a', 'court', 'of', 'law', 'to', 'clear', 'the', 'matter', 'up', 'said', 'he', 'of', 'course', 'you', 'can', 'hardly', 'avoid', 'publicity', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'hand', 'if', 'you', 'convince', 'the', 'police', 'authorities', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'possible', 'case', 'against', 'you', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'any', 'reason', 'that', 'the', 'details', 'should', 'find', 'their', 'way', 'into', 'the', 'papers', 'inspector', 'bradstreet', 'would', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'make', 'notes', 'upon', 'anything', 'which', 'you', 'might', 'tell', 'us', 'and', 'submit', 'it', 'to', 'the', 'proper', 'authorities', 'the', 'case', 'would', 'then', 'never', 'go', 'into', 'court', 'at', 'all', 'god', 'bless', 'you', 'cried', 'the', 'prisoner', 'passionately', 'i', 'would', 'have', 'endured', 'imprisonment', 'ay', 'even', 'execution', 'rather', 'than', 'have', 'left', 'my', 'miserable', 'secret', 'as', 'a', 'family', 'blot', 'to', 'my', 'children', 'you', 'are', 'the', 'first', 'who', 'have', 'ever', 'heard', 'my', 'story', 'my', 'father', 'was', 'a', 'schoolmaster', 'in', 'chesterfield', 'where', 'i', 'received', 'an', 'excellent', 'education', 'i', 'travelled', 'in', 'my', 'youth', 'took', 'to', 'the', 'stage', 'and', 'finally', 'became', 'a', 'reporter', 'on', 'an', 'evening', 'paper', 'in', 'london', 'one', 'day', 'my', 'editor', 'wished', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'series', 'of', 'articles', 'upon', 'begging', 'in', 'the', 'metropolis', 'and', 'i', 'volunteered', 'to', 'supply', 'them', 'there', 'was', 'the', 'point', 'from', 'which', 'all', 'my', 'adventures', 'started', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'by', 'trying', 'begging', 'as', 'an', 'amateur', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'get', 'the', 'facts', 'upon', 'which', 'to', 'base', 'my', 'articles', 'when', 'an', 'actor', 'i', 'had', 'of', 'course', 'learned', 'all', 'the', 'secrets', 'of', 'making', 'up', 'and', 'had', 'been', 'famous', 'in', 'the', 'greenroom', 'for', 'my', 'skill', 'i', 'took', 'advantage', 'now', 'of', 'my', 'attainments', 'i', 'painted', 'my', 'face', 'and', 'to', 'make', 'myself', 'as', 'pitiable', 'as', 'possible', 'i', 'made', 'a', 'good', 'scar', 'and', 'fixed', 'one', 'side', 'of', 'my', 'lip', 'in', 'a', 'twist', 'by', 'the', 'aid', 'of', 'a', 'small', 'slip', 'of', 'fleshcoloured', 'plaster', 'then', 'with', 'a', 'red', 'head', 'of', 'hair', 'and', 'an', 'appropriate', 'dress', 'i', 'took', 'my', 'station', 'in', 'the', 'business', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'city', 'ostensibly', 'as', 'a', 'matchseller', 'but', 'really', 'as', 'a', 'beggar', 'for', 'seven', 'hours', 'i', 'plied', 'my', 'trade', 'and', 'when', 'i', 'returned', 'home', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'i', 'found', 'to', 'my', 'surprise', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'received', 'no', 'less', 'than', '26s', '4d', 'i', 'wrote', 'my', 'articles', 'and', 'thought', 'little', 'more', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'until', 'some', 'time', 'later', 'i', 'backed', 'a', 'bill', 'for', 'a', 'friend', 'and', 'had', 'a', 'writ', 'served', 'upon', 'me', 'for', '25', 'i', 'was', 'at', 'my', 'wits', 'end', 'where', 'to', 'get', 'the', 'money', 'but', 'a', 'sudden', 'idea', 'came', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'begged', 'a', 'fortnights', 'grace', 'from', 'the', 'creditor', 'asked', 'for', 'a', 'holiday', 'from', 'my', 'employers', 'and', 'spent', 'the', 'time', 'in', 'begging', 'in', 'the', 'city', 'under', 'my', 'disguise', 'in', 'ten', 'days', 'i', 'had', 'the', 'money', 'and', 'had', 'paid', 'the', 'debt', 'well', 'you', 'can', 'imagine', 'how', 'hard', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'settle', 'down', 'to', 'arduous', 'work', 'at', '2', 'a', 'week', 'when', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'earn', 'as', 'much', 'in', 'a', 'day', 'by', 'smearing', 'my', 'face', 'with', 'a', 'little', 'paint', 'laying', 'my', 'cap', 'on', 'the', 'ground', 'and', 'sitting', 'still', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'long', 'fight', 'between', 'my', 'pride', 'and', 'the', 'money', 'but', 'the', 'dollars', 'won', 'at', 'last', 'and', 'i', 'threw', 'up', 'reporting', 'and', 'sat', 'day', 'after', 'day', 'in', 'the', 'corner', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'first', 'chosen', 'inspiring', 'pity', 'by', 'my', 'ghastly', 'face', 'and', 'filling', 'my', 'pockets', 'with', 'coppers', 'only', 'one', 'man', 'knew', 'my', 'secret', 'he', 'was', 'the', 'keeper', 'of', 'a', 'low', 'den', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'used', 'to', 'lodge', 'in', 'swandam', 'lane', 'where', 'i', 'could', 'every', 'morning', 'emerge', 'as', 'a', 'squalid', 'beggar', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'evenings', 'transform', 'myself', 'into', 'a', 'welldressed', 'man', 'about', 'town', 'this', 'fellow', 'a', 'lascar', 'was', 'well', 'paid', 'by', 'me', 'for', 'his', 'rooms', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'my', 'secret', 'was', 'safe', 'in', 'his', 'possession', 'well', 'very', 'soon', 'i', 'found', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'saving', 'considerable', 'sums', 'of', 'money', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'mean', 'that', 'any', 'beggar', 'in', 'the', 'streets', 'of', 'london', 'could', 'earn', '700', 'a', 'yearwhich', 'is', 'less', 'than', 'my', 'average', 'takingsbut', 'i', 'had', 'exceptional', 'advantages', 'in', 'my', 'power', 'of', 'making', 'up', 'and', 'also', 'in', 'a', 'facility', 'of', 'repartee', 'which', 'improved', 'by', 'practice', 'and', 'made', 'me', 'quite', 'a', 'recognised', 'character', 'in', 'the', 'city', 'all', 'day', 'a', 'stream', 'of', 'pennies', 'varied', 'by', 'silver', 'poured', 'in', 'upon', 'me', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'bad', 'day', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'failed', 'to', 'take', '2', 'as', 'i', 'grew', 'richer', 'i', 'grew', 'more', 'ambitious', 'took', 'a', 'house', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'and', 'eventually', 'married', 'without', 'anyone', 'having', 'a', 'suspicion', 'as', 'to', 'my', 'real', 'occupation', 'my', 'dear', 'wife', 'knew', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'business', 'in', 'the', 'city', 'she', 'little', 'knew', 'what', 'last', 'monday', 'i', 'had', 'finished', 'for', 'the', 'day', 'and', 'was', 'dressing', 'in', 'my', 'room', 'above', 'the', 'opium', 'den', 'when', 'i', 'looked', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'window', 'and', 'saw', 'to', 'my', 'horror', 'and', 'astonishment', 'that', 'my', 'wife', 'was', 'standing', 'in', 'the', 'street', 'with', 'her', 'eyes', 'fixed', 'full', 'upon', 'me', 'i', 'gave', 'a', 'cry', 'of', 'surprise', 'threw', 'up', 'my', 'arms', 'to', 'cover', 'my', 'face', 'and', 'rushing', 'to', 'my', 'confidant', 'the', 'lascar', 'entreated', 'him', 'to', 'prevent', 'anyone', 'from', 'coming', 'up', 'to', 'me', 'i', 'heard', 'her', 'voice', 'downstairs', 'but', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'ascend', 'swiftly', 'i', 'threw', 'off', 'my', 'clothes', 'pulled', 'on', 'those', 'of', 'a', 'beggar', 'and', 'put', 'on', 'my', 'pigments', 'and', 'wig', 'even', 'a', 'wifes', 'eyes', 'could', 'not', 'pierce', 'so', 'complete', 'a', 'disguise', 'but', 'then', 'it', 'occurred', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'there', 'might', 'be', 'a', 'search', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'clothes', 'might', 'betray', 'me', 'i', 'threw', 'open', 'the', 'window', 'reopening', 'by', 'my', 'violence', 'a', 'small', 'cut', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'inflicted', 'upon', 'myself', 'in', 'the', 'bedroom', 'that', 'morning', 'then', 'i', 'seized', 'my', 'coat', 'which', 'was', 'weighted', 'by', 'the', 'coppers', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'just', 'transferred', 'to', 'it', 'from', 'the', 'leather', 'bag', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'carried', 'my', 'takings', 'i', 'hurled', 'it', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'window', 'and', 'it', 'disappeared', 'into', 'the', 'thames', 'the', 'other', 'clothes', 'would', 'have', 'followed', 'but', 'at', 'that', 'moment', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'rush', 'of', 'constables', 'up', 'the', 'stair', 'and', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'after', 'i', 'found', 'rather', 'i', 'confess', 'to', 'my', 'relief', 'that', 'instead', 'of', 'being', 'identified', 'as', 'mr', 'neville', 'st', 'clair', 'i', 'was', 'arrested', 'as', 'his', 'murderer', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'anything', 'else', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'explain', 'i', 'was', 'determined', 'to', 'preserve', 'my', 'disguise', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'possible', 'and', 'hence', 'my', 'preference', 'for', 'a', 'dirty', 'face', 'knowing', 'that', 'my', 'wife', 'would', 'be', 'terribly', 'anxious', 'i', 'slipped', 'off', 'my', 'ring', 'and', 'confided', 'it', 'to', 'the', 'lascar', 'at', 'a', 'moment', 'when', 'no', 'constable', 'was', 'watching', 'me', 'together', 'with', 'a', 'hurried', 'scrawl', 'telling', 'her', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'cause', 'to', 'fear', 'that', 'note', 'only', 'reached', 'her', 'yesterday', 'said', 'holmes', 'good', 'god', 'what', 'a', 'week', 'she', 'must', 'have', 'spent', 'the', 'police', 'have', 'watched', 'this', 'lascar', 'said', 'inspector', 'bradstreet', 'and', 'i', 'can', 'quite', 'understand', 'that', 'he', 'might', 'find', 'it', 'difficult', 'to', 'post', 'a', 'letter', 'unobserved', 'probably', 'he', 'handed', 'it', 'to', 'some', 'sailor', 'customer', 'of', 'his', 'who', 'forgot', 'all', 'about', 'it', 'for', 'some', 'days', 'that', 'was', 'it', 'said', 'holmes', 'nodding', 'approvingly', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'of', 'it', 'but', 'have', 'you', 'never', 'been', 'prosecuted', 'for', 'begging', 'many', 'times', 'but', 'what', 'was', 'a', 'fine', 'to', 'me', 'it', 'must', 'stop', 'here', 'however', 'said', 'bradstreet', 'if', 'the', 'police', 'are', 'to', 'hush', 'this', 'thing', 'up', 'there', 'must', 'be', 'no', 'more', 'of', 'hugh', 'boone', 'i', 'have', 'sworn', 'it', 'by', 'the', 'most', 'solemn', 'oaths', 'which', 'a', 'man', 'can', 'take', 'in', 'that', 'case', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'probable', 'that', 'no', 'further', 'steps', 'may', 'be', 'taken', 'but', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'found', 'again', 'then', 'all', 'must', 'come', 'out', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'mr', 'holmes', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'very', 'much', 'indebted', 'to', 'you', 'for', 'having', 'cleared', 'the', 'matter', 'up', 'i', 'wish', 'i', 'knew', 'how', 'you', 'reach', 'your', 'results', 'i', 'reached', 'this', 'one', 'said', 'my', 'friend', 'by', 'sitting', 'upon', 'five', 'pillows', 'and', 'consuming', 'an', 'ounce', 'of', 'shag', 'i', 'think', 'watson', 'that', 'if', 'we', 'drive', 'to', 'baker', 'street', 'we', 'shall', 'just', 'be', 'in', 'time', 'for', 'breakfast', 'vii', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'blue', 'carbuncle', 'i', 'had', 'called', 'upon', 'my', 'friend', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'upon', 'the', 'second', 'morning', 'after', 'christmas', 'with', 'the', 'intention', 'of', 'wishing', 'him', 'the', 'compliments', 'of', 'the', 'season', 'he', 'was', 'lounging', 'upon', 'the', 'sofa', 'in', 'a', 'purple', 'dressinggown', 'a', 'piperack', 'within', 'his', 'reach', 'upon', 'the', 'right', 'and', 'a', 'pile', 'of', 'crumpled', 'morning', 'papers', 'evidently', 'newly', 'studied', 'near', 'at', 'hand', 'beside', 'the', 'couch', 'was', 'a', 'wooden', 'chair', 'and', 'on', 'the', 'angle', 'of', 'the', 'back', 'hung', 'a', 'very', 'seedy', 'and', 'disreputable', 'hardfelt', 'hat', 'much', 'the', 'worse', 'for', 'wear', 'and', 'cracked', 'in', 'several', 'places', 'a', 'lens', 'and', 'a', 'forceps', 'lying', 'upon', 'the', 'seat', 'of', 'the', 'chair', 'suggested', 'that', 'the', 'hat', 'had', 'been', 'suspended', 'in', 'this', 'manner', 'for', 'the', 'purpose', 'of', 'examination', 'you', 'are', 'engaged', 'said', 'i', 'perhaps', 'i', 'interrupt', 'you', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'friend', 'with', 'whom', 'i', 'can', 'discuss', 'my', 'results', 'the', 'matter', 'is', 'a', 'perfectly', 'trivial', 'onehe', 'jerked', 'his', 'thumb', 'in', 'the', 'direction', 'of', 'the', 'old', 'hatbut', 'there', 'are', 'points', 'in', 'connection', 'with', 'it', 'which', 'are', 'not', 'entirely', 'devoid', 'of', 'interest', 'and', 'even', 'of', 'instruction', 'i', 'seated', 'myself', 'in', 'his', 'armchair', 'and', 'warmed', 'my', 'hands', 'before', 'his', 'crackling', 'fire', 'for', 'a', 'sharp', 'frost', 'had', 'set', 'in', 'and', 'the', 'windows', 'were', 'thick', 'with', 'the', 'ice', 'crystals', 'i', 'suppose', 'i', 'remarked', 'that', 'homely', 'as', 'it', 'looks', 'this', 'thing', 'has', 'some', 'deadly', 'story', 'linked', 'on', 'to', 'itthat', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'clue', 'which', 'will', 'guide', 'you', 'in', 'the', 'solution', 'of', 'some', 'mystery', 'and', 'the', 'punishment', 'of', 'some', 'crime', 'no', 'no', 'no', 'crime', 'said', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'laughing', 'only', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'whimsical', 'little', 'incidents', 'which', 'will', 'happen', 'when', 'you', 'have', 'four', 'million', 'human', 'beings', 'all', 'jostling', 'each', 'other', 'within', 'the', 'space', 'of', 'a', 'few', 'square', 'miles', 'amid', 'the', 'action', 'and', 'reaction', 'of', 'so', 'dense', 'a', 'swarm', 'of', 'humanity', 'every', 'possible', 'combination', 'of', 'events', 'may', 'be', 'expected', 'to', 'take', 'place', 'and', 'many', 'a', 'little', 'problem', 'will', 'be', 'presented', 'which', 'may', 'be', 'striking', 'and', 'bizarre', 'without', 'being', 'criminal', 'we', 'have', 'already', 'had', 'experience', 'of', 'such', 'so', 'much', 'so', 'i', 'remarked', 'that', 'of', 'the', 'last', 'six', 'cases', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'added', 'to', 'my', 'notes', 'three', 'have', 'been', 'entirely', 'free', 'of', 'any', 'legal', 'crime', 'precisely', 'you', 'allude', 'to', 'my', 'attempt', 'to', 'recover', 'the', 'irene', 'adler', 'papers', 'to', 'the', 'singular', 'case', 'of', 'miss', 'mary', 'sutherland', 'and', 'to', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'man', 'with', 'the', 'twisted', 'lip', 'well', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'this', 'small', 'matter', 'will', 'fall', 'into', 'the', 'same', 'innocent', 'category', 'you', 'know', 'peterson', 'the', 'commissionaire', 'yes', 'it', 'is', 'to', 'him', 'that', 'this', 'trophy', 'belongs', 'it', 'is', 'his', 'hat', 'no', 'no', 'he', 'found', 'it', 'its', 'owner', 'is', 'unknown', 'i', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'look', 'upon', 'it', 'not', 'as', 'a', 'battered', 'billycock', 'but', 'as', 'an', 'intellectual', 'problem', 'and', 'first', 'as', 'to', 'how', 'it', 'came', 'here', 'it', 'arrived', 'upon', 'christmas', 'morning', 'in', 'company', 'with', 'a', 'good', 'fat', 'goose', 'which', 'is', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'roasting', 'at', 'this', 'moment', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'petersons', 'fire', 'the', 'facts', 'are', 'these', 'about', 'four', 'oclock', 'on', 'christmas', 'morning', 'peterson', 'who', 'as', 'you', 'know', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'honest', 'fellow', 'was', 'returning', 'from', 'some', 'small', 'jollification', 'and', 'was', 'making', 'his', 'way', 'homeward', 'down', 'tottenham', 'court', 'road', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'him', 'he', 'saw', 'in', 'the', 'gaslight', 'a', 'tallish', 'man', 'walking', 'with', 'a', 'slight', 'stagger', 'and', 'carrying', 'a', 'white', 'goose', 'slung', 'over', 'his', 'shoulder', 'as', 'he', 'reached', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'goodge', 'street', 'a', 'row', 'broke', 'out', 'between', 'this', 'stranger', 'and', 'a', 'little', 'knot', 'of', 'roughs', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'latter', 'knocked', 'off', 'the', 'mans', 'hat', 'on', 'which', 'he', 'raised', 'his', 'stick', 'to', 'defend', 'himself', 'and', 'swinging', 'it', 'over', 'his', 'head', 'smashed', 'the', 'shop', 'window', 'behind', 'him', 'peterson', 'had', 'rushed', 'forward', 'to', 'protect', 'the', 'stranger', 'from', 'his', 'assailants', 'but', 'the', 'man', 'shocked', 'at', 'having', 'broken', 'the', 'window', 'and', 'seeing', 'an', 'officiallooking', 'person', 'in', 'uniform', 'rushing', 'towards', 'him', 'dropped', 'his', 'goose', 'took', 'to', 'his', 'heels', 'and', 'vanished', 'amid', 'the', 'labyrinth', 'of', 'small', 'streets', 'which', 'lie', 'at', 'the', 'back', 'of', 'tottenham', 'court', 'road', 'the', 'roughs', 'had', 'also', 'fled', 'at', 'the', 'appearance', 'of', 'peterson', 'so', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'left', 'in', 'possession', 'of', 'the', 'field', 'of', 'battle', 'and', 'also', 'of', 'the', 'spoils', 'of', 'victory', 'in', 'the', 'shape', 'of', 'this', 'battered', 'hat', 'and', 'a', 'most', 'unimpeachable', 'christmas', 'goose', 'which', 'surely', 'he', 'restored', 'to', 'their', 'owner', 'my', 'dear', 'fellow', 'there', 'lies', 'the', 'problem', 'it', 'is', 'true', 'that', 'for', 'mrs', 'henry', 'baker', 'was', 'printed', 'upon', 'a', 'small', 'card', 'which', 'was', 'tied', 'to', 'the', 'birds', 'left', 'leg', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'also', 'true', 'that', 'the', 'initials', 'h', 'b', 'are', 'legible', 'upon', 'the', 'lining', 'of', 'this', 'hat', 'but', 'as', 'there', 'are', 'some', 'thousands', 'of', 'bakers', 'and', 'some', 'hundreds', 'of', 'henry', 'bakers', 'in', 'this', 'city', 'of', 'ours', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'easy', 'to', 'restore', 'lost', 'property', 'to', 'any', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'what', 'then', 'did', 'peterson', 'do', 'he', 'brought', 'round', 'both', 'hat', 'and', 'goose', 'to', 'me', 'on', 'christmas', 'morning', 'knowing', 'that', 'even', 'the', 'smallest', 'problems', 'are', 'of', 'interest', 'to', 'me', 'the', 'goose', 'we', 'retained', 'until', 'this', 'morning', 'when', 'there', 'were', 'signs', 'that', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'the', 'slight', 'frost', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'well', 'that', 'it', 'should', 'be', 'eaten', 'without', 'unnecessary', 'delay', 'its', 'finder', 'has', 'carried', 'it', 'off', 'therefore', 'to', 'fulfil', 'the', 'ultimate', 'destiny', 'of', 'a', 'goose', 'while', 'i', 'continue', 'to', 'retain', 'the', 'hat', 'of', 'the', 'unknown', 'gentleman', 'who', 'lost', 'his', 'christmas', 'dinner', 'did', 'he', 'not', 'advertise', 'no', 'then', 'what', 'clue', 'could', 'you', 'have', 'as', 'to', 'his', 'identity', 'only', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'we', 'can', 'deduce', 'from', 'his', 'hat', 'precisely', 'but', 'you', 'are', 'joking', 'what', 'can', 'you', 'gather', 'from', 'this', 'old', 'battered', 'felt', 'here', 'is', 'my', 'lens', 'you', 'know', 'my', 'methods', 'what', 'can', 'you', 'gather', 'yourself', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'individuality', 'of', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'has', 'worn', 'this', 'article', 'i', 'took', 'the', 'tattered', 'object', 'in', 'my', 'hands', 'and', 'turned', 'it', 'over', 'rather', 'ruefully', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'ordinary', 'black', 'hat', 'of', 'the', 'usual', 'round', 'shape', 'hard', 'and', 'much', 'the', 'worse', 'for', 'wear', 'the', 'lining', 'had', 'been', 'of', 'red', 'silk', 'but', 'was', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'discoloured', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'makers', 'name', 'but', 'as', 'holmes', 'had', 'remarked', 'the', 'initials', 'h', 'b', 'were', 'scrawled', 'upon', 'one', 'side', 'it', 'was', 'pierced', 'in', 'the', 'brim', 'for', 'a', 'hatsecurer', 'but', 'the', 'elastic', 'was', 'missing', 'for', 'the', 'rest', 'it', 'was', 'cracked', 'exceedingly', 'dusty', 'and', 'spotted', 'in', 'several', 'places', 'although', 'there', 'seemed', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'some', 'attempt', 'to', 'hide', 'the', 'discoloured', 'patches', 'by', 'smearing', 'them', 'with', 'ink', 'i', 'can', 'see', 'nothing', 'said', 'i', 'handing', 'it', 'back', 'to', 'my', 'friend', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'watson', 'you', 'can', 'see', 'everything', 'you', 'fail', 'however', 'to', 'reason', 'from', 'what', 'you', 'see', 'you', 'are', 'too', 'timid', 'in', 'drawing', 'your', 'inferences', 'then', 'pray', 'tell', 'me', 'what', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'you', 'can', 'infer', 'from', 'this', 'hat', 'he', 'picked', 'it', 'up', 'and', 'gazed', 'at', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'peculiar', 'introspective', 'fashion', 'which', 'was', 'characteristic', 'of', 'him', 'it', 'is', 'perhaps', 'less', 'suggestive', 'than', 'it', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'he', 'remarked', 'and', 'yet', 'there', 'are', 'a', 'few', 'inferences', 'which', 'are', 'very', 'distinct', 'and', 'a', 'few', 'others', 'which', 'represent', 'at', 'least', 'a', 'strong', 'balance', 'of', 'probability', 'that', 'the', 'man', 'was', 'highly', 'intellectual', 'is', 'of', 'course', 'obvious', 'upon', 'the', 'face', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'also', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'fairly', 'welltodo', 'within', 'the', 'last', 'three', 'years', 'although', 'he', 'has', 'now', 'fallen', 'upon', 'evil', 'days', 'he', 'had', 'foresight', 'but', 'has', 'less', 'now', 'than', 'formerly', 'pointing', 'to', 'a', 'moral', 'retrogression', 'which', 'when', 'taken', 'with', 'the', 'decline', 'of', 'his', 'fortunes', 'seems', 'to', 'indicate', 'some', 'evil', 'influence', 'probably', 'drink', 'at', 'work', 'upon', 'him', 'this', 'may', 'account', 'also', 'for', 'the', 'obvious', 'fact', 'that', 'his', 'wife', 'has', 'ceased', 'to', 'love', 'him', 'my', 'dear', 'holmes', 'he', 'has', 'however', 'retained', 'some', 'degree', 'of', 'selfrespect', 'he', 'continued', 'disregarding', 'my', 'remonstrance', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'leads', 'a', 'sedentary', 'life', 'goes', 'out', 'little', 'is', 'out', 'of', 'training', 'entirely', 'is', 'middleaged', 'has', 'grizzled', 'hair', 'which', 'he', 'has', 'had', 'cut', 'within', 'the', 'last', 'few', 'days', 'and', 'which', 'he', 'anoints', 'with', 'limecream', 'these', 'are', 'the', 'more', 'patent', 'facts', 'which', 'are', 'to', 'be', 'deduced', 'from', 'his', 'hat', 'also', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'extremely', 'improbable', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'gas', 'laid', 'on', 'in', 'his', 'house', 'you', 'are', 'certainly', 'joking', 'holmes', 'not', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'is', 'it', 'possible', 'that', 'even', 'now', 'when', 'i', 'give', 'you', 'these', 'results', 'you', 'are', 'unable', 'to', 'see', 'how', 'they', 'are', 'attained', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'stupid', 'but', 'i', 'must', 'confess', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'unable', 'to', 'follow', 'you', 'for', 'example', 'how', 'did', 'you', 'deduce', 'that', 'this', 'man', 'was', 'intellectual', 'for', 'answer', 'holmes', 'clapped', 'the', 'hat', 'upon', 'his', 'head', 'it', 'came', 'right', 'over', 'the', 'forehead', 'and', 'settled', 'upon', 'the', 'bridge', 'of', 'his', 'nose', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'question', 'of', 'cubic', 'capacity', 'said', 'he', 'a', 'man', 'with', 'so', 'large', 'a', 'brain', 'must', 'have', 'something', 'in', 'it', 'the', 'decline', 'of', 'his', 'fortunes', 'then', 'this', 'hat', 'is', 'three', 'years', 'old', 'these', 'flat', 'brims', 'curled', 'at', 'the', 'edge', 'came', 'in', 'then', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'hat', 'of', 'the', 'very', 'best', 'quality', 'look', 'at', 'the', 'band', 'of', 'ribbed', 'silk', 'and', 'the', 'excellent', 'lining', 'if', 'this', 'man', 'could', 'afford', 'to', 'buy', 'so', 'expensive', 'a', 'hat', 'three', 'years', 'ago', 'and', 'has', 'had', 'no', 'hat', 'since', 'then', 'he', 'has', 'assuredly', 'gone', 'down', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'well', 'that', 'is', 'clear', 'enough', 'certainly', 'but', 'how', 'about', 'the', 'foresight', 'and', 'the', 'moral', 'retrogression', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'laughed', 'here', 'is', 'the', 'foresight', 'said', 'he', 'putting', 'his', 'finger', 'upon', 'the', 'little', 'disc', 'and', 'loop', 'of', 'the', 'hatsecurer', 'they', 'are', 'never', 'sold', 'upon', 'hats', 'if', 'this', 'man', 'ordered', 'one', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'sign', 'of', 'a', 'certain', 'amount', 'of', 'foresight', 'since', 'he', 'went', 'out', 'of', 'his', 'way', 'to', 'take', 'this', 'precaution', 'against', 'the', 'wind', 'but', 'since', 'we', 'see', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'broken', 'the', 'elastic', 'and', 'has', 'not', 'troubled', 'to', 'replace', 'it', 'it', 'is', 'obvious', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'less', 'foresight', 'now', 'than', 'formerly', 'which', 'is', 'a', 'distinct', 'proof', 'of', 'a', 'weakening', 'nature', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'hand', 'he', 'has', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'conceal', 'some', 'of', 'these', 'stains', 'upon', 'the', 'felt', 'by', 'daubing', 'them', 'with', 'ink', 'which', 'is', 'a', 'sign', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'not', 'entirely', 'lost', 'his', 'selfrespect', 'your', 'reasoning', 'is', 'certainly', 'plausible', 'the', 'further', 'points', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'middleaged', 'that', 'his', 'hair', 'is', 'grizzled', 'that', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'recently', 'cut', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'uses', 'limecream', 'are', 'all', 'to', 'be', 'gathered', 'from', 'a', 'close', 'examination', 'of', 'the', 'lower', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'lining', 'the', 'lens', 'discloses', 'a', 'large', 'number', 'of', 'hairends', 'clean', 'cut', 'by', 'the', 'scissors', 'of', 'the', 'barber', 'they', 'all', 'appear', 'to', 'be', 'adhesive', 'and', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'distinct', 'odour', 'of', 'limecream', 'this', 'dust', 'you', 'will', 'observe', 'is', 'not', 'the', 'gritty', 'grey', 'dust', 'of', 'the', 'street', 'but', 'the', 'fluffy', 'brown', 'dust', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'showing', 'that', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'hung', 'up', 'indoors', 'most', 'of', 'the', 'time', 'while', 'the', 'marks', 'of', 'moisture', 'upon', 'the', 'inside', 'are', 'proof', 'positive', 'that', 'the', 'wearer', 'perspired', 'very', 'freely', 'and', 'could', 'therefore', 'hardly', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'best', 'of', 'training', 'but', 'his', 'wifeyou', 'said', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'ceased', 'to', 'love', 'him', 'this', 'hat', 'has', 'not', 'been', 'brushed', 'for', 'weeks', 'when', 'i', 'see', 'you', 'my', 'dear', 'watson', 'with', 'a', 'weeks', 'accumulation', 'of', 'dust', 'upon', 'your', 'hat', 'and', 'when', 'your', 'wife', 'allows', 'you', 'to', 'go', 'out', 'in', 'such', 'a', 'state', 'i', 'shall', 'fear', 'that', 'you', 'also', 'have', 'been', 'unfortunate', 'enough', 'to', 'lose', 'your', 'wifes', 'affection', 'but', 'he', 'might', 'be', 'a', 'bachelor', 'nay', 'he', 'was', 'bringing', 'home', 'the', 'goose', 'as', 'a', 'peaceoffering', 'to', 'his', 'wife', 'remember', 'the', 'card', 'upon', 'the', 'birds', 'leg', 'you', 'have', 'an', 'answer', 'to', 'everything', 'but', 'how', 'on', 'earth', 'do', 'you', 'deduce', 'that', 'the', 'gas', 'is', 'not', 'laid', 'on', 'in', 'his', 'house', 'one', 'tallow', 'stain', 'or', 'even', 'two', 'might', 'come', 'by', 'chance', 'but', 'when', 'i', 'see', 'no', 'less', 'than', 'five', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'little', 'doubt', 'that', 'the', 'individual', 'must', 'be', 'brought', 'into', 'frequent', 'contact', 'with', 'burning', 'tallowwalks', 'upstairs', 'at', 'night', 'probably', 'with', 'his', 'hat', 'in', 'one', 'hand', 'and', 'a', 'guttering', 'candle', 'in', 'the', 'other', 'anyhow', 'he', 'never', 'got', 'tallowstains', 'from', 'a', 'gasjet', 'are', 'you', 'satisfied', 'well', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'ingenious', 'said', 'i', 'laughing', 'but', 'since', 'as', 'you', 'said', 'just', 'now', 'there', 'has', 'been', 'no', 'crime', 'committed', 'and', 'no', 'harm', 'done', 'save', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'a', 'goose', 'all', 'this', 'seems', 'to', 'be', 'rather', 'a', 'waste', 'of', 'energy', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'had', 'opened', 'his', 'mouth', 'to', 'reply', 'when', 'the', 'door', 'flew', 'open', 'and', 'peterson', 'the', 'commissionaire', 'rushed', 'into', 'the', 'apartment', 'with', 'flushed', 'cheeks', 'and', 'the', 'face', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'is', 'dazed', 'with', 'astonishment', 'the', 'goose', 'mr', 'holmes', 'the', 'goose', 'sir', 'he', 'gasped', 'eh', 'what', 'of', 'it', 'then', 'has', 'it', 'returned', 'to', 'life', 'and', 'flapped', 'off', 'through', 'the', 'kitchen', 'window', 'holmes', 'twisted', 'himself', 'round', 'upon', 'the', 'sofa', 'to', 'get', 'a', 'fairer', 'view', 'of', 'the', 'mans', 'excited', 'face', 'see', 'here', 'sir', 'see', 'what', 'my', 'wife', 'found', 'in', 'its', 'crop', 'he', 'held', 'out', 'his', 'hand', 'and', 'displayed', 'upon', 'the', 'centre', 'of', 'the', 'palm', 'a', 'brilliantly', 'scintillating', 'blue', 'stone', 'rather', 'smaller', 'than', 'a', 'bean', 'in', 'size', 'but', 'of', 'such', 'purity', 'and', 'radiance', 'that', 'it', 'twinkled', 'like', 'an', 'electric', 'point', 'in', 'the', 'dark', 'hollow', 'of', 'his', 'hand', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'sat', 'up', 'with', 'a', 'whistle', 'by', 'jove', 'peterson', 'said', 'he', 'this', 'is', 'treasure', 'trove', 'indeed', 'i', 'suppose', 'you', 'know', 'what', 'you', 'have', 'got', 'a', 'diamond', 'sir', 'a', 'precious', 'stone', 'it', 'cuts', 'into', 'glass', 'as', 'though', 'it', 'were', 'putty', 'its', 'more', 'than', 'a', 'precious', 'stone', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'precious', 'stone', 'not', 'the', 'countess', 'of', 'morcars', 'blue', 'carbuncle', 'i', 'ejaculated', 'precisely', 'so', 'i', 'ought', 'to', 'know', 'its', 'size', 'and', 'shape', 'seeing', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'read', 'the', 'advertisement', 'about', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'times', 'every', 'day', 'lately', 'it', 'is', 'absolutely', 'unique', 'and', 'its', 'value', 'can', 'only', 'be', 'conjectured', 'but', 'the', 'reward', 'offered', 'of', '1000', 'is', 'certainly', 'not', 'within', 'a', 'twentieth', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'market', 'price', 'a', 'thousand', 'pounds', 'great', 'lord', 'of', 'mercy', 'the', 'commissionaire', 'plumped', 'down', 'into', 'a', 'chair', 'and', 'stared', 'from', 'one', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'of', 'us', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'reward', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'reason', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'there', 'are', 'sentimental', 'considerations', 'in', 'the', 'background', 'which', 'would', 'induce', 'the', 'countess', 'to', 'part', 'with', 'half', 'her', 'fortune', 'if', 'she', 'could', 'but', 'recover', 'the', 'gem', 'it', 'was', 'lost', 'if', 'i', 'remember', 'aright', 'at', 'the', 'hotel', 'cosmopolitan', 'i', 'remarked', 'precisely', 'so', 'on', 'december', '22nd', 'just', 'five', 'days', 'ago', 'john', 'horner', 'a', 'plumber', 'was', 'accused', 'of', 'having', 'abstracted', 'it', 'from', 'the', 'ladys', 'jewelcase', 'the', 'evidence', 'against', 'him', 'was', 'so', 'strong', 'that', 'the', 'case', 'has', 'been', 'referred', 'to', 'the', 'assizes', 'i', 'have', 'some', 'account', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'here', 'i', 'believe', 'he', 'rummaged', 'amid', 'his', 'newspapers', 'glancing', 'over', 'the', 'dates', 'until', 'at', 'last', 'he', 'smoothed', 'one', 'out', 'doubled', 'it', 'over', 'and', 'read', 'the', 'following', 'paragraph', 'hotel', 'cosmopolitan', 'jewel', 'robbery', 'john', 'horner', '26', 'plumber', 'was', 'brought', 'up', 'upon', 'the', 'charge', 'of', 'having', 'upon', 'the', '22nd', 'inst', 'abstracted', 'from', 'the', 'jewelcase', 'of', 'the', 'countess', 'of', 'morcar', 'the', 'valuable', 'gem', 'known', 'as', 'the', 'blue', 'carbuncle', 'james', 'ryder', 'upperattendant', 'at', 'the', 'hotel', 'gave', 'his', 'evidence', 'to', 'the', 'effect', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'shown', 'horner', 'up', 'to', 'the', 'dressingroom', 'of', 'the', 'countess', 'of', 'morcar', 'upon', 'the', 'day', 'of', 'the', 'robbery', 'in', 'order', 'that', 'he', 'might', 'solder', 'the', 'second', 'bar', 'of', 'the', 'grate', 'which', 'was', 'loose', 'he', 'had', 'remained', 'with', 'horner', 'some', 'little', 'time', 'but', 'had', 'finally', 'been', 'called', 'away', 'on', 'returning', 'he', 'found', 'that', 'horner', 'had', 'disappeared', 'that', 'the', 'bureau', 'had', 'been', 'forced', 'open', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'small', 'morocco', 'casket', 'in', 'which', 'as', 'it', 'afterwards', 'transpired', 'the', 'countess', 'was', 'accustomed', 'to', 'keep', 'her', 'jewel', 'was', 'lying', 'empty', 'upon', 'the', 'dressingtable', 'ryder', 'instantly', 'gave', 'the', 'alarm', 'and', 'horner', 'was', 'arrested', 'the', 'same', 'evening', 'but', 'the', 'stone', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'found', 'either', 'upon', 'his', 'person', 'or', 'in', 'his', 'rooms', 'catherine', 'cusack', 'maid', 'to', 'the', 'countess', 'deposed', 'to', 'having', 'heard', 'ryders', 'cry', 'of', 'dismay', 'on', 'discovering', 'the', 'robbery', 'and', 'to', 'having', 'rushed', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'where', 'she', 'found', 'matters', 'as', 'described', 'by', 'the', 'last', 'witness', 'inspector', 'bradstreet', 'b', 'division', 'gave', 'evidence', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'arrest', 'of', 'horner', 'who', 'struggled', 'frantically', 'and', 'protested', 'his', 'innocence', 'in', 'the', 'strongest', 'terms', 'evidence', 'of', 'a', 'previous', 'conviction', 'for', 'robbery', 'having', 'been', 'given', 'against', 'the', 'prisoner', 'the', 'magistrate', 'refused', 'to', 'deal', 'summarily', 'with', 'the', 'offence', 'but', 'referred', 'it', 'to', 'the', 'assizes', 'horner', 'who', 'had', 'shown', 'signs', 'of', 'intense', 'emotion', 'during', 'the', 'proceedings', 'fainted', 'away', 'at', 'the', 'conclusion', 'and', 'was', 'carried', 'out', 'of', 'court', 'hum', 'so', 'much', 'for', 'the', 'policecourt', 'said', 'holmes', 'thoughtfully', 'tossing', 'aside', 'the', 'paper', 'the', 'question', 'for', 'us', 'now', 'to', 'solve', 'is', 'the', 'sequence', 'of', 'events', 'leading', 'from', 'a', 'rifled', 'jewelcase', 'at', 'one', 'end', 'to', 'the', 'crop', 'of', 'a', 'goose', 'in', 'tottenham', 'court', 'road', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'you', 'see', 'watson', 'our', 'little', 'deductions', 'have', 'suddenly', 'assumed', 'a', 'much', 'more', 'important', 'and', 'less', 'innocent', 'aspect', 'here', 'is', 'the', 'stone', 'the', 'stone', 'came', 'from', 'the', 'goose', 'and', 'the', 'goose', 'came', 'from', 'mr', 'henry', 'baker', 'the', 'gentleman', 'with', 'the', 'bad', 'hat', 'and', 'all', 'the', 'other', 'characteristics', 'with', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'bored', 'you', 'so', 'now', 'we', 'must', 'set', 'ourselves', 'very', 'seriously', 'to', 'finding', 'this', 'gentleman', 'and', 'ascertaining', 'what', 'part', 'he', 'has', 'played', 'in', 'this', 'little', 'mystery', 'to', 'do', 'this', 'we', 'must', 'try', 'the', 'simplest', 'means', 'first', 'and', 'these', 'lie', 'undoubtedly', 'in', 'an', 'advertisement', 'in', 'all', 'the', 'evening', 'papers', 'if', 'this', 'fail', 'i', 'shall', 'have', 'recourse', 'to', 'other', 'methods', 'what', 'will', 'you', 'say', 'give', 'me', 'a', 'pencil', 'and', 'that', 'slip', 'of', 'paper', 'now', 'then', 'found', 'at', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'goodge', 'street', 'a', 'goose', 'and', 'a', 'black', 'felt', 'hat', 'mr', 'henry', 'baker', 'can', 'have', 'the', 'same', 'by', 'applying', 'at', '630', 'this', 'evening', 'at', '221b', 'baker', 'street', 'that', 'is', 'clear', 'and', 'concise', 'very', 'but', 'will', 'he', 'see', 'it', 'well', 'he', 'is', 'sure', 'to', 'keep', 'an', 'eye', 'on', 'the', 'papers', 'since', 'to', 'a', 'poor', 'man', 'the', 'loss', 'was', 'a', 'heavy', 'one', 'he', 'was', 'clearly', 'so', 'scared', 'by', 'his', 'mischance', 'in', 'breaking', 'the', 'window', 'and', 'by', 'the', 'approach', 'of', 'peterson', 'that', 'he', 'thought', 'of', 'nothing', 'but', 'flight', 'but', 'since', 'then', 'he', 'must', 'have', 'bitterly', 'regretted', 'the', 'impulse', 'which', 'caused', 'him', 'to', 'drop', 'his', 'bird', 'then', 'again', 'the', 'introduction', 'of', 'his', 'name', 'will', 'cause', 'him', 'to', 'see', 'it', 'for', 'everyone', 'who', 'knows', 'him', 'will', 'direct', 'his', 'attention', 'to', 'it', 'here', 'you', 'are', 'peterson', 'run', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'advertising', 'agency', 'and', 'have', 'this', 'put', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'papers', 'in', 'which', 'sir', 'oh', 'in', 'the', 'globe', 'star', 'pall', 'mall', 'st', 'jamess', 'gazette', 'evening', 'news', 'standard', 'echo', 'and', 'any', 'others', 'that', 'occur', 'to', 'you', 'very', 'well', 'sir', 'and', 'this', 'stone', 'ah', 'yes', 'i', 'shall', 'keep', 'the', 'stone', 'thank', 'you', 'and', 'i', 'say', 'peterson', 'just', 'buy', 'a', 'goose', 'on', 'your', 'way', 'back', 'and', 'leave', 'it', 'here', 'with', 'me', 'for', 'we', 'must', 'have', 'one', 'to', 'give', 'to', 'this', 'gentleman', 'in', 'place', 'of', 'the', 'one', 'which', 'your', 'family', 'is', 'now', 'devouring', 'when', 'the', 'commissionaire', 'had', 'gone', 'holmes', 'took', 'up', 'the', 'stone', 'and', 'held', 'it', 'against', 'the', 'light', 'its', 'a', 'bonny', 'thing', 'said', 'he', 'just', 'see', 'how', 'it', 'glints', 'and', 'sparkles', 'of', 'course', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'nucleus', 'and', 'focus', 'of', 'crime', 'every', 'good', 'stone', 'is', 'they', 'are', 'the', 'devils', 'pet', 'baits', 'in', 'the', 'larger', 'and', 'older', 'jewels', 'every', 'facet', 'may', 'stand', 'for', 'a', 'bloody', 'deed', 'this', 'stone', 'is', 'not', 'yet', 'twenty', 'years', 'old', 'it', 'was', 'found', 'in', 'the', 'banks', 'of', 'the', 'amoy', 'river', 'in', 'southern', 'china', 'and', 'is', 'remarkable', 'in', 'having', 'every', 'characteristic', 'of', 'the', 'carbuncle', 'save', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'blue', 'in', 'shade', 'instead', 'of', 'ruby', 'red', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'its', 'youth', 'it', 'has', 'already', 'a', 'sinister', 'history', 'there', 'have', 'been', 'two', 'murders', 'a', 'vitriolthrowing', 'a', 'suicide', 'and', 'several', 'robberies', 'brought', 'about', 'for', 'the', 'sake', 'of', 'this', 'fortygrain', 'weight', 'of', 'crystallised', 'charcoal', 'who', 'would', 'think', 'that', 'so', 'pretty', 'a', 'toy', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'purveyor', 'to', 'the', 'gallows', 'and', 'the', 'prison', 'ill', 'lock', 'it', 'up', 'in', 'my', 'strong', 'box', 'now', 'and', 'drop', 'a', 'line', 'to', 'the', 'countess', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'we', 'have', 'it', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'this', 'man', 'horner', 'is', 'innocent', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'tell', 'well', 'then', 'do', 'you', 'imagine', 'that', 'this', 'other', 'one', 'henry', 'baker', 'had', 'anything', 'to', 'do', 'with', 'the', 'matter', 'it', 'is', 'i', 'think', 'much', 'more', 'likely', 'that', 'henry', 'baker', 'is', 'an', 'absolutely', 'innocent', 'man', 'who', 'had', 'no', 'idea', 'that', 'the', 'bird', 'which', 'he', 'was', 'carrying', 'was', 'of', 'considerably', 'more', 'value', 'than', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'made', 'of', 'solid', 'gold', 'that', 'however', 'i', 'shall', 'determine', 'by', 'a', 'very', 'simple', 'test', 'if', 'we', 'have', 'an', 'answer', 'to', 'our', 'advertisement', 'and', 'you', 'can', 'do', 'nothing', 'until', 'then', 'nothing', 'in', 'that', 'case', 'i', 'shall', 'continue', 'my', 'professional', 'round', 'but', 'i', 'shall', 'come', 'back', 'in', 'the', 'evening', 'at', 'the', 'hour', 'you', 'have', 'mentioned', 'for', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'solution', 'of', 'so', 'tangled', 'a', 'business', 'very', 'glad', 'to', 'see', 'you', 'i', 'dine', 'at', 'seven', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'woodcock', 'i', 'believe', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'in', 'view', 'of', 'recent', 'occurrences', 'perhaps', 'i', 'ought', 'to', 'ask', 'mrs', 'hudson', 'to', 'examine', 'its', 'crop', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'delayed', 'at', 'a', 'case', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'little', 'after', 'halfpast', 'six', 'when', 'i', 'found', 'myself', 'in', 'baker', 'street', 'once', 'more', 'as', 'i', 'approached', 'the', 'house', 'i', 'saw', 'a', 'tall', 'man', 'in', 'a', 'scotch', 'bonnet', 'with', 'a', 'coat', 'which', 'was', 'buttoned', 'up', 'to', 'his', 'chin', 'waiting', 'outside', 'in', 'the', 'bright', 'semicircle', 'which', 'was', 'thrown', 'from', 'the', 'fanlight', 'just', 'as', 'i', 'arrived', 'the', 'door', 'was', 'opened', 'and', 'we', 'were', 'shown', 'up', 'together', 'to', 'holmes', 'room', 'mr', 'henry', 'baker', 'i', 'believe', 'said', 'he', 'rising', 'from', 'his', 'armchair', 'and', 'greeting', 'his', 'visitor', 'with', 'the', 'easy', 'air', 'of', 'geniality', 'which', 'he', 'could', 'so', 'readily', 'assume', 'pray', 'take', 'this', 'chair', 'by', 'the', 'fire', 'mr', 'baker', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'cold', 'night', 'and', 'i', 'observe', 'that', 'your', 'circulation', 'is', 'more', 'adapted', 'for', 'summer', 'than', 'for', 'winter', 'ah', 'watson', 'you', 'have', 'just', 'come', 'at', 'the', 'right', 'time', 'is', 'that', 'your', 'hat', 'mr', 'baker', 'yes', 'sir', 'that', 'is', 'undoubtedly', 'my', 'hat', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'large', 'man', 'with', 'rounded', 'shoulders', 'a', 'massive', 'head', 'and', 'a', 'broad', 'intelligent', 'face', 'sloping', 'down', 'to', 'a', 'pointed', 'beard', 'of', 'grizzled', 'brown', 'a', 'touch', 'of', 'red', 'in', 'nose', 'and', 'cheeks', 'with', 'a', 'slight', 'tremor', 'of', 'his', 'extended', 'hand', 'recalled', 'holmes', 'surmise', 'as', 'to', 'his', 'habits', 'his', 'rusty', 'black', 'frockcoat', 'was', 'buttoned', 'right', 'up', 'in', 'front', 'with', 'the', 'collar', 'turned', 'up', 'and', 'his', 'lank', 'wrists', 'protruded', 'from', 'his', 'sleeves', 'without', 'a', 'sign', 'of', 'cuff', 'or', 'shirt', 'he', 'spoke', 'in', 'a', 'slow', 'staccato', 'fashion', 'choosing', 'his', 'words', 'with', 'care', 'and', 'gave', 'the', 'impression', 'generally', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'learning', 'and', 'letters', 'who', 'had', 'had', 'illusage', 'at', 'the', 'hands', 'of', 'fortune', 'we', 'have', 'retained', 'these', 'things', 'for', 'some', 'days', 'said', 'holmes', 'because', 'we', 'expected', 'to', 'see', 'an', 'advertisement', 'from', 'you', 'giving', 'your', 'address', 'i', 'am', 'at', 'a', 'loss', 'to', 'know', 'now', 'why', 'you', 'did', 'not', 'advertise', 'our', 'visitor', 'gave', 'a', 'rather', 'shamefaced', 'laugh', 'shillings', 'have', 'not', 'been', 'so', 'plentiful', 'with', 'me', 'as', 'they', 'once', 'were', 'he', 'remarked', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'the', 'gang', 'of', 'roughs', 'who', 'assaulted', 'me', 'had', 'carried', 'off', 'both', 'my', 'hat', 'and', 'the', 'bird', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'care', 'to', 'spend', 'more', 'money', 'in', 'a', 'hopeless', 'attempt', 'at', 'recovering', 'them', 'very', 'naturally', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'about', 'the', 'bird', 'we', 'were', 'compelled', 'to', 'eat', 'it', 'to', 'eat', 'it', 'our', 'visitor', 'half', 'rose', 'from', 'his', 'chair', 'in', 'his', 'excitement', 'yes', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'of', 'no', 'use', 'to', 'anyone', 'had', 'we', 'not', 'done', 'so', 'but', 'i', 'presume', 'that', 'this', 'other', 'goose', 'upon', 'the', 'sideboard', 'which', 'is', 'about', 'the', 'same', 'weight', 'and', 'perfectly', 'fresh', 'will', 'answer', 'your', 'purpose', 'equally', 'well', 'oh', 'certainly', 'certainly', 'answered', 'mr', 'baker', 'with', 'a', 'sigh', 'of', 'relief', 'of', 'course', 'we', 'still', 'have', 'the', 'feathers', 'legs', 'crop', 'and', 'so', 'on', 'of', 'your', 'own', 'bird', 'so', 'if', 'you', 'wish', 'the', 'man', 'burst', 'into', 'a', 'hearty', 'laugh', 'they', 'might', 'be', 'useful', 'to', 'me', 'as', 'relics', 'of', 'my', 'adventure', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'beyond', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'hardly', 'see', 'what', 'use', 'the', 'disjecta', 'membra', 'of', 'my', 'late', 'acquaintance', 'are', 'going', 'to', 'be', 'to', 'me', 'no', 'sir', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'with', 'your', 'permission', 'i', 'will', 'confine', 'my', 'attentions', 'to', 'the', 'excellent', 'bird', 'which', 'i', 'perceive', 'upon', 'the', 'sideboard', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'glanced', 'sharply', 'across', 'at', 'me', 'with', 'a', 'slight', 'shrug', 'of', 'his', 'shoulders', 'there', 'is', 'your', 'hat', 'then', 'and', 'there', 'your', 'bird', 'said', 'he', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'would', 'it', 'bore', 'you', 'to', 'tell', 'me', 'where', 'you', 'got', 'the', 'other', 'one', 'from', 'i', 'am', 'somewhat', 'of', 'a', 'fowl', 'fancier', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'seldom', 'seen', 'a', 'better', 'grown', 'goose', 'certainly', 'sir', 'said', 'baker', 'who', 'had', 'risen', 'and', 'tucked', 'his', 'newly', 'gained', 'property', 'under', 'his', 'arm', 'there', 'are', 'a', 'few', 'of', 'us', 'who', 'frequent', 'the', 'alpha', 'inn', 'near', 'the', 'museumwe', 'are', 'to', 'be', 'found', 'in', 'the', 'museum', 'itself', 'during', 'the', 'day', 'you', 'understand', 'this', 'year', 'our', 'good', 'host', 'windigate', 'by', 'name', 'instituted', 'a', 'goose', 'club', 'by', 'which', 'on', 'consideration', 'of', 'some', 'few', 'pence', 'every', 'week', 'we', 'were', 'each', 'to', 'receive', 'a', 'bird', 'at', 'christmas', 'my', 'pence', 'were', 'duly', 'paid', 'and', 'the', 'rest', 'is', 'familiar', 'to', 'you', 'i', 'am', 'much', 'indebted', 'to', 'you', 'sir', 'for', 'a', 'scotch', 'bonnet', 'is', 'fitted', 'neither', 'to', 'my', 'years', 'nor', 'my', 'gravity', 'with', 'a', 'comical', 'pomposity', 'of', 'manner', 'he', 'bowed', 'solemnly', 'to', 'both', 'of', 'us', 'and', 'strode', 'off', 'upon', 'his', 'way', 'so', 'much', 'for', 'mr', 'henry', 'baker', 'said', 'holmes', 'when', 'he', 'had', 'closed', 'the', 'door', 'behind', 'him', 'it', 'is', 'quite', 'certain', 'that', 'he', 'knows', 'nothing', 'whatever', 'about', 'the', 'matter', 'are', 'you', 'hungry', 'watson', 'not', 'particularly', 'then', 'i', 'suggest', 'that', 'we', 'turn', 'our', 'dinner', 'into', 'a', 'supper', 'and', 'follow', 'up', 'this', 'clue', 'while', 'it', 'is', 'still', 'hot', 'by', 'all', 'means', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'bitter', 'night', 'so', 'we', 'drew', 'on', 'our', 'ulsters', 'and', 'wrapped', 'cravats', 'about', 'our', 'throats', 'outside', 'the', 'stars', 'were', 'shining', 'coldly', 'in', 'a', 'cloudless', 'sky', 'and', 'the', 'breath', 'of', 'the', 'passersby', 'blew', 'out', 'into', 'smoke', 'like', 'so', 'many', 'pistol', 'shots', 'our', 'footfalls', 'rang', 'out', 'crisply', 'and', 'loudly', 'as', 'we', 'swung', 'through', 'the', 'doctors', 'quarter', 'wimpole', 'street', 'harley', 'street', 'and', 'so', 'through', 'wigmore', 'street', 'into', 'oxford', 'street', 'in', 'a', 'quarter', 'of', 'an', 'hour', 'we', 'were', 'in', 'bloomsbury', 'at', 'the', 'alpha', 'inn', 'which', 'is', 'a', 'small', 'publichouse', 'at', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'streets', 'which', 'runs', 'down', 'into', 'holborn', 'holmes', 'pushed', 'open', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'the', 'private', 'bar', 'and', 'ordered', 'two', 'glasses', 'of', 'beer', 'from', 'the', 'ruddyfaced', 'whiteaproned', 'landlord', 'your', 'beer', 'should', 'be', 'excellent', 'if', 'it', 'is', 'as', 'good', 'as', 'your', 'geese', 'said', 'he', 'my', 'geese', 'the', 'man', 'seemed', 'surprised', 'yes', 'i', 'was', 'speaking', 'only', 'half', 'an', 'hour', 'ago', 'to', 'mr', 'henry', 'baker', 'who', 'was', 'a', 'member', 'of', 'your', 'goose', 'club', 'ah', 'yes', 'i', 'see', 'but', 'you', 'see', 'sir', 'thems', 'not', 'our', 'geese', 'indeed', 'whose', 'then', 'well', 'i', 'got', 'the', 'two', 'dozen', 'from', 'a', 'salesman', 'in', 'covent', 'garden', 'indeed', 'i', 'know', 'some', 'of', 'them', 'which', 'was', 'it', 'breckinridge', 'is', 'his', 'name', 'ah', 'i', 'dont', 'know', 'him', 'well', 'heres', 'your', 'good', 'health', 'landlord', 'and', 'prosperity', 'to', 'your', 'house', 'goodnight', 'now', 'for', 'mr', 'breckinridge', 'he', 'continued', 'buttoning', 'up', 'his', 'coat', 'as', 'we', 'came', 'out', 'into', 'the', 'frosty', 'air', 'remember', 'watson', 'that', 'though', 'we', 'have', 'so', 'homely', 'a', 'thing', 'as', 'a', 'goose', 'at', 'one', 'end', 'of', 'this', 'chain', 'we', 'have', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'will', 'certainly', 'get', 'seven', 'years', 'penal', 'servitude', 'unless', 'we', 'can', 'establish', 'his', 'innocence', 'it', 'is', 'possible', 'that', 'our', 'inquiry', 'may', 'but', 'confirm', 'his', 'guilt', 'but', 'in', 'any', 'case', 'we', 'have', 'a', 'line', 'of', 'investigation', 'which', 'has', 'been', 'missed', 'by', 'the', 'police', 'and', 'which', 'a', 'singular', 'chance', 'has', 'placed', 'in', 'our', 'hands', 'let', 'us', 'follow', 'it', 'out', 'to', 'the', 'bitter', 'end', 'faces', 'to', 'the', 'south', 'then', 'and', 'quick', 'march', 'we', 'passed', 'across', 'holborn', 'down', 'endell', 'street', 'and', 'so', 'through', 'a', 'zigzag', 'of', 'slums', 'to', 'covent', 'garden', 'market', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'largest', 'stalls', 'bore', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'breckinridge', 'upon', 'it', 'and', 'the', 'proprietor', 'a', 'horseylooking', 'man', 'with', 'a', 'sharp', 'face', 'and', 'trim', 'sidewhiskers', 'was', 'helping', 'a', 'boy', 'to', 'put', 'up', 'the', 'shutters', 'goodevening', 'its', 'a', 'cold', 'night', 'said', 'holmes', 'the', 'salesman', 'nodded', 'and', 'shot', 'a', 'questioning', 'glance', 'at', 'my', 'companion', 'sold', 'out', 'of', 'geese', 'i', 'see', 'continued', 'holmes', 'pointing', 'at', 'the', 'bare', 'slabs', 'of', 'marble', 'let', 'you', 'have', 'five', 'hundred', 'tomorrow', 'morning', 'thats', 'no', 'good', 'well', 'there', 'are', 'some', 'on', 'the', 'stall', 'with', 'the', 'gasflare', 'ah', 'but', 'i', 'was', 'recommended', 'to', 'you', 'who', 'by', 'the', 'landlord', 'of', 'the', 'alpha', 'oh', 'yes', 'i', 'sent', 'him', 'a', 'couple', 'of', 'dozen', 'fine', 'birds', 'they', 'were', 'too', 'now', 'where', 'did', 'you', 'get', 'them', 'from', 'to', 'my', 'surprise', 'the', 'question', 'provoked', 'a', 'burst', 'of', 'anger', 'from', 'the', 'salesman', 'now', 'then', 'mister', 'said', 'he', 'with', 'his', 'head', 'cocked', 'and', 'his', 'arms', 'akimbo', 'what', 'are', 'you', 'driving', 'at', 'lets', 'have', 'it', 'straight', 'now', 'it', 'is', 'straight', 'enough', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'to', 'know', 'who', 'sold', 'you', 'the', 'geese', 'which', 'you', 'supplied', 'to', 'the', 'alpha', 'well', 'then', 'i', 'shant', 'tell', 'you', 'so', 'now', 'oh', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'no', 'importance', 'but', 'i', 'dont', 'know', 'why', 'you', 'should', 'be', 'so', 'warm', 'over', 'such', 'a', 'trifle', 'warm', 'youd', 'be', 'as', 'warm', 'maybe', 'if', 'you', 'were', 'as', 'pestered', 'as', 'i', 'am', 'when', 'i', 'pay', 'good', 'money', 'for', 'a', 'good', 'article', 'there', 'should', 'be', 'an', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'business', 'but', 'its', 'where', 'are', 'the', 'geese', 'and', 'who', 'did', 'you', 'sell', 'the', 'geese', 'to', 'and', 'what', 'will', 'you', 'take', 'for', 'the', 'geese', 'one', 'would', 'think', 'they', 'were', 'the', 'only', 'geese', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'to', 'hear', 'the', 'fuss', 'that', 'is', 'made', 'over', 'them', 'well', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'connection', 'with', 'any', 'other', 'people', 'who', 'have', 'been', 'making', 'inquiries', 'said', 'holmes', 'carelessly', 'if', 'you', 'wont', 'tell', 'us', 'the', 'bet', 'is', 'off', 'that', 'is', 'all', 'but', 'im', 'always', 'ready', 'to', 'back', 'my', 'opinion', 'on', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'fowls', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'fiver', 'on', 'it', 'that', 'the', 'bird', 'i', 'ate', 'is', 'country', 'bred', 'well', 'then', 'youve', 'lost', 'your', 'fiver', 'for', 'its', 'town', 'bred', 'snapped', 'the', 'salesman', 'its', 'nothing', 'of', 'the', 'kind', 'i', 'say', 'it', 'is', 'i', 'dont', 'believe', 'it', 'dyou', 'think', 'you', 'know', 'more', 'about', 'fowls', 'than', 'i', 'who', 'have', 'handled', 'them', 'ever', 'since', 'i', 'was', 'a', 'nipper', 'i', 'tell', 'you', 'all', 'those', 'birds', 'that', 'went', 'to', 'the', 'alpha', 'were', 'town', 'bred', 'youll', 'never', 'persuade', 'me', 'to', 'believe', 'that', 'will', 'you', 'bet', 'then', 'its', 'merely', 'taking', 'your', 'money', 'for', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'right', 'but', 'ill', 'have', 'a', 'sovereign', 'on', 'with', 'you', 'just', 'to', 'teach', 'you', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'obstinate', 'the', 'salesman', 'chuckled', 'grimly', 'bring', 'me', 'the', 'books', 'bill', 'said', 'he', 'the', 'small', 'boy', 'brought', 'round', 'a', 'small', 'thin', 'volume', 'and', 'a', 'great', 'greasybacked', 'one', 'laying', 'them', 'out', 'together', 'beneath', 'the', 'hanging', 'lamp', 'now', 'then', 'mr', 'cocksure', 'said', 'the', 'salesman', 'i', 'thought', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'out', 'of', 'geese', 'but', 'before', 'i', 'finish', 'youll', 'find', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'still', 'one', 'left', 'in', 'my', 'shop', 'you', 'see', 'this', 'little', 'book', 'well', 'thats', 'the', 'list', 'of', 'the', 'folk', 'from', 'whom', 'i', 'buy', 'dyou', 'see', 'well', 'then', 'here', 'on', 'this', 'page', 'are', 'the', 'country', 'folk', 'and', 'the', 'numbers', 'after', 'their', 'names', 'are', 'where', 'their', 'accounts', 'are', 'in', 'the', 'big', 'ledger', 'now', 'then', 'you', 'see', 'this', 'other', 'page', 'in', 'red', 'ink', 'well', 'that', 'is', 'a', 'list', 'of', 'my', 'town', 'suppliers', 'now', 'look', 'at', 'that', 'third', 'name', 'just', 'read', 'it', 'out', 'to', 'me', 'mrs', 'oakshott', '117', 'brixton', 'road249', 'read', 'holmes', 'quite', 'so', 'now', 'turn', 'that', 'up', 'in', 'the', 'ledger', 'holmes', 'turned', 'to', 'the', 'page', 'indicated', 'here', 'you', 'are', 'mrs', 'oakshott', '117', 'brixton', 'road', 'egg', 'and', 'poultry', 'supplier', 'now', 'then', 'whats', 'the', 'last', 'entry', 'december', '22nd', 'twentyfour', 'geese', 'at', '7s', '6d', 'quite', 'so', 'there', 'you', 'are', 'and', 'underneath', 'sold', 'to', 'mr', 'windigate', 'of', 'the', 'alpha', 'at', '12s', 'what', 'have', 'you', 'to', 'say', 'now', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'looked', 'deeply', 'chagrined', 'he', 'drew', 'a', 'sovereign', 'from', 'his', 'pocket', 'and', 'threw', 'it', 'down', 'upon', 'the', 'slab', 'turning', 'away', 'with', 'the', 'air', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'whose', 'disgust', 'is', 'too', 'deep', 'for', 'words', 'a', 'few', 'yards', 'off', 'he', 'stopped', 'under', 'a', 'lamppost', 'and', 'laughed', 'in', 'the', 'hearty', 'noiseless', 'fashion', 'which', 'was', 'peculiar', 'to', 'him', 'when', 'you', 'see', 'a', 'man', 'with', 'whiskers', 'of', 'that', 'cut', 'and', 'the', 'pink', 'un', 'protruding', 'out', 'of', 'his', 'pocket', 'you', 'can', 'always', 'draw', 'him', 'by', 'a', 'bet', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'daresay', 'that', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'put', '100', 'down', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'him', 'that', 'man', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'given', 'me', 'such', 'complete', 'information', 'as', 'was', 'drawn', 'from', 'him', 'by', 'the', 'idea', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'doing', 'me', 'on', 'a', 'wager', 'well', 'watson', 'we', 'are', 'i', 'fancy', 'nearing', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'our', 'quest', 'and', 'the', 'only', 'point', 'which', 'remains', 'to', 'be', 'determined', 'is', 'whether', 'we', 'should', 'go', 'on', 'to', 'this', 'mrs', 'oakshott', 'tonight', 'or', 'whether', 'we', 'should', 'reserve', 'it', 'for', 'tomorrow', 'it', 'is', 'clear', 'from', 'what', 'that', 'surly', 'fellow', 'said', 'that', 'there', 'are', 'others', 'besides', 'ourselves', 'who', 'are', 'anxious', 'about', 'the', 'matter', 'and', 'i', 'should', 'his', 'remarks', 'were', 'suddenly', 'cut', 'short', 'by', 'a', 'loud', 'hubbub', 'which', 'broke', 'out', 'from', 'the', 'stall', 'which', 'we', 'had', 'just', 'left', 'turning', 'round', 'we', 'saw', 'a', 'little', 'ratfaced', 'fellow', 'standing', 'in', 'the', 'centre', 'of', 'the', 'circle', 'of', 'yellow', 'light', 'which', 'was', 'thrown', 'by', 'the', 'swinging', 'lamp', 'while', 'breckinridge', 'the', 'salesman', 'framed', 'in', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'his', 'stall', 'was', 'shaking', 'his', 'fists', 'fiercely', 'at', 'the', 'cringing', 'figure', 'ive', 'had', 'enough', 'of', 'you', 'and', 'your', 'geese', 'he', 'shouted', 'i', 'wish', 'you', 'were', 'all', 'at', 'the', 'devil', 'together', 'if', 'you', 'come', 'pestering', 'me', 'any', 'more', 'with', 'your', 'silly', 'talk', 'ill', 'set', 'the', 'dog', 'at', 'you', 'you', 'bring', 'mrs', 'oakshott', 'here', 'and', 'ill', 'answer', 'her', 'but', 'what', 'have', 'you', 'to', 'do', 'with', 'it', 'did', 'i', 'buy', 'the', 'geese', 'off', 'you', 'no', 'but', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'was', 'mine', 'all', 'the', 'same', 'whined', 'the', 'little', 'man', 'well', 'then', 'ask', 'mrs', 'oakshott', 'for', 'it', 'she', 'told', 'me', 'to', 'ask', 'you', 'well', 'you', 'can', 'ask', 'the', 'king', 'of', 'proosia', 'for', 'all', 'i', 'care', 'ive', 'had', 'enough', 'of', 'it', 'get', 'out', 'of', 'this', 'he', 'rushed', 'fiercely', 'forward', 'and', 'the', 'inquirer', 'flitted', 'away', 'into', 'the', 'darkness', 'ha', 'this', 'may', 'save', 'us', 'a', 'visit', 'to', 'brixton', 'road', 'whispered', 'holmes', 'come', 'with', 'me', 'and', 'we', 'will', 'see', 'what', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'made', 'of', 'this', 'fellow', 'striding', 'through', 'the', 'scattered', 'knots', 'of', 'people', 'who', 'lounged', 'round', 'the', 'flaring', 'stalls', 'my', 'companion', 'speedily', 'overtook', 'the', 'little', 'man', 'and', 'touched', 'him', 'upon', 'the', 'shoulder', 'he', 'sprang', 'round', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'in', 'the', 'gaslight', 'that', 'every', 'vestige', 'of', 'colour', 'had', 'been', 'driven', 'from', 'his', 'face', 'who', 'are', 'you', 'then', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'want', 'he', 'asked', 'in', 'a', 'quavering', 'voice', 'you', 'will', 'excuse', 'me', 'said', 'holmes', 'blandly', 'but', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'overhearing', 'the', 'questions', 'which', 'you', 'put', 'to', 'the', 'salesman', 'just', 'now', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'be', 'of', 'assistance', 'to', 'you', 'you', 'who', 'are', 'you', 'how', 'could', 'you', 'know', 'anything', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'my', 'name', 'is', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'it', 'is', 'my', 'business', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'other', 'people', 'dont', 'know', 'but', 'you', 'can', 'know', 'nothing', 'of', 'this', 'excuse', 'me', 'i', 'know', 'everything', 'of', 'it', 'you', 'are', 'endeavouring', 'to', 'trace', 'some', 'geese', 'which', 'were', 'sold', 'by', 'mrs', 'oakshott', 'of', 'brixton', 'road', 'to', 'a', 'salesman', 'named', 'breckinridge', 'by', 'him', 'in', 'turn', 'to', 'mr', 'windigate', 'of', 'the', 'alpha', 'and', 'by', 'him', 'to', 'his', 'club', 'of', 'which', 'mr', 'henry', 'baker', 'is', 'a', 'member', 'oh', 'sir', 'you', 'are', 'the', 'very', 'man', 'whom', 'i', 'have', 'longed', 'to', 'meet', 'cried', 'the', 'little', 'fellow', 'with', 'outstretched', 'hands', 'and', 'quivering', 'fingers', 'i', 'can', 'hardly', 'explain', 'to', 'you', 'how', 'interested', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'this', 'matter', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'hailed', 'a', 'fourwheeler', 'which', 'was', 'passing', 'in', 'that', 'case', 'we', 'had', 'better', 'discuss', 'it', 'in', 'a', 'cosy', 'room', 'rather', 'than', 'in', 'this', 'windswept', 'marketplace', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'pray', 'tell', 'me', 'before', 'we', 'go', 'farther', 'who', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'assisting', 'the', 'man', 'hesitated', 'for', 'an', 'instant', 'my', 'name', 'is', 'john', 'robinson', 'he', 'answered', 'with', 'a', 'sidelong', 'glance', 'no', 'no', 'the', 'real', 'name', 'said', 'holmes', 'sweetly', 'it', 'is', 'always', 'awkward', 'doing', 'business', 'with', 'an', 'alias', 'a', 'flush', 'sprang', 'to', 'the', 'white', 'cheeks', 'of', 'the', 'stranger', 'well', 'then', 'said', 'he', 'my', 'real', 'name', 'is', 'james', 'ryder', 'precisely', 'so', 'head', 'attendant', 'at', 'the', 'hotel', 'cosmopolitan', 'pray', 'step', 'into', 'the', 'cab', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'soon', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'everything', 'which', 'you', 'would', 'wish', 'to', 'know', 'the', 'little', 'man', 'stood', 'glancing', 'from', 'one', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'of', 'us', 'with', 'halffrightened', 'halfhopeful', 'eyes', 'as', 'one', 'who', 'is', 'not', 'sure', 'whether', 'he', 'is', 'on', 'the', 'verge', 'of', 'a', 'windfall', 'or', 'of', 'a', 'catastrophe', 'then', 'he', 'stepped', 'into', 'the', 'cab', 'and', 'in', 'half', 'an', 'hour', 'we', 'were', 'back', 'in', 'the', 'sittingroom', 'at', 'baker', 'street', 'nothing', 'had', 'been', 'said', 'during', 'our', 'drive', 'but', 'the', 'high', 'thin', 'breathing', 'of', 'our', 'new', 'companion', 'and', 'the', 'claspings', 'and', 'unclaspings', 'of', 'his', 'hands', 'spoke', 'of', 'the', 'nervous', 'tension', 'within', 'him', 'here', 'we', 'are', 'said', 'holmes', 'cheerily', 'as', 'we', 'filed', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'the', 'fire', 'looks', 'very', 'seasonable', 'in', 'this', 'weather', 'you', 'look', 'cold', 'mr', 'ryder', 'pray', 'take', 'the', 'basketchair', 'i', 'will', 'just', 'put', 'on', 'my', 'slippers', 'before', 'we', 'settle', 'this', 'little', 'matter', 'of', 'yours', 'now', 'then', 'you', 'want', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'became', 'of', 'those', 'geese', 'yes', 'sir', 'or', 'rather', 'i', 'fancy', 'of', 'that', 'goose', 'it', 'was', 'one', 'bird', 'i', 'imagine', 'in', 'which', 'you', 'were', 'interestedwhite', 'with', 'a', 'black', 'bar', 'across', 'the', 'tail', 'ryder', 'quivered', 'with', 'emotion', 'oh', 'sir', 'he', 'cried', 'can', 'you', 'tell', 'me', 'where', 'it', 'went', 'to', 'it', 'came', 'here', 'here', 'yes', 'and', 'a', 'most', 'remarkable', 'bird', 'it', 'proved', 'i', 'dont', 'wonder', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'take', 'an', 'interest', 'in', 'it', 'it', 'laid', 'an', 'egg', 'after', 'it', 'was', 'deadthe', 'bonniest', 'brightest', 'little', 'blue', 'egg', 'that', 'ever', 'was', 'seen', 'i', 'have', 'it', 'here', 'in', 'my', 'museum', 'our', 'visitor', 'staggered', 'to', 'his', 'feet', 'and', 'clutched', 'the', 'mantelpiece', 'with', 'his', 'right', 'hand', 'holmes', 'unlocked', 'his', 'strongbox', 'and', 'held', 'up', 'the', 'blue', 'carbuncle', 'which', 'shone', 'out', 'like', 'a', 'star', 'with', 'a', 'cold', 'brilliant', 'manypointed', 'radiance', 'ryder', 'stood', 'glaring', 'with', 'a', 'drawn', 'face', 'uncertain', 'whether', 'to', 'claim', 'or', 'to', 'disown', 'it', 'the', 'games', 'up', 'ryder', 'said', 'holmes', 'quietly', 'hold', 'up', 'man', 'or', 'youll', 'be', 'into', 'the', 'fire', 'give', 'him', 'an', 'arm', 'back', 'into', 'his', 'chair', 'watson', 'hes', 'not', 'got', 'blood', 'enough', 'to', 'go', 'in', 'for', 'felony', 'with', 'impunity', 'give', 'him', 'a', 'dash', 'of', 'brandy', 'so', 'now', 'he', 'looks', 'a', 'little', 'more', 'human', 'what', 'a', 'shrimp', 'it', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'sure', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'he', 'had', 'staggered', 'and', 'nearly', 'fallen', 'but', 'the', 'brandy', 'brought', 'a', 'tinge', 'of', 'colour', 'into', 'his', 'cheeks', 'and', 'he', 'sat', 'staring', 'with', 'frightened', 'eyes', 'at', 'his', 'accuser', 'i', 'have', 'almost', 'every', 'link', 'in', 'my', 'hands', 'and', 'all', 'the', 'proofs', 'which', 'i', 'could', 'possibly', 'need', 'so', 'there', 'is', 'little', 'which', 'you', 'need', 'tell', 'me', 'still', 'that', 'little', 'may', 'as', 'well', 'be', 'cleared', 'up', 'to', 'make', 'the', 'case', 'complete', 'you', 'had', 'heard', 'ryder', 'of', 'this', 'blue', 'stone', 'of', 'the', 'countess', 'of', 'morcars', 'it', 'was', 'catherine', 'cusack', 'who', 'told', 'me', 'of', 'it', 'said', 'he', 'in', 'a', 'crackling', 'voice', 'i', 'seeher', 'ladyships', 'waitingmaid', 'well', 'the', 'temptation', 'of', 'sudden', 'wealth', 'so', 'easily', 'acquired', 'was', 'too', 'much', 'for', 'you', 'as', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'for', 'better', 'men', 'before', 'you', 'but', 'you', 'were', 'not', 'very', 'scrupulous', 'in', 'the', 'means', 'you', 'used', 'it', 'seems', 'to', 'me', 'ryder', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'the', 'making', 'of', 'a', 'very', 'pretty', 'villain', 'in', 'you', 'you', 'knew', 'that', 'this', 'man', 'horner', 'the', 'plumber', 'had', 'been', 'concerned', 'in', 'some', 'such', 'matter', 'before', 'and', 'that', 'suspicion', 'would', 'rest', 'the', 'more', 'readily', 'upon', 'him', 'what', 'did', 'you', 'do', 'then', 'you', 'made', 'some', 'small', 'job', 'in', 'my', 'ladys', 'roomyou', 'and', 'your', 'confederate', 'cusackand', 'you', 'managed', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'be', 'the', 'man', 'sent', 'for', 'then', 'when', 'he', 'had', 'left', 'you', 'rifled', 'the', 'jewelcase', 'raised', 'the', 'alarm', 'and', 'had', 'this', 'unfortunate', 'man', 'arrested', 'you', 'then', 'ryder', 'threw', 'himself', 'down', 'suddenly', 'upon', 'the', 'rug', 'and', 'clutched', 'at', 'my', 'companions', 'knees', 'for', 'gods', 'sake', 'have', 'mercy', 'he', 'shrieked', 'think', 'of', 'my', 'father', 'of', 'my', 'mother', 'it', 'would', 'break', 'their', 'hearts', 'i', 'never', 'went', 'wrong', 'before', 'i', 'never', 'will', 'again', 'i', 'swear', 'it', 'ill', 'swear', 'it', 'on', 'a', 'bible', 'oh', 'dont', 'bring', 'it', 'into', 'court', 'for', 'christs', 'sake', 'dont', 'get', 'back', 'into', 'your', 'chair', 'said', 'holmes', 'sternly', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'well', 'to', 'cringe', 'and', 'crawl', 'now', 'but', 'you', 'thought', 'little', 'enough', 'of', 'this', 'poor', 'horner', 'in', 'the', 'dock', 'for', 'a', 'crime', 'of', 'which', 'he', 'knew', 'nothing', 'i', 'will', 'fly', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'will', 'leave', 'the', 'country', 'sir', 'then', 'the', 'charge', 'against', 'him', 'will', 'break', 'down', 'hum', 'we', 'will', 'talk', 'about', 'that', 'and', 'now', 'let', 'us', 'hear', 'a', 'true', 'account', 'of', 'the', 'next', 'act', 'how', 'came', 'the', 'stone', 'into', 'the', 'goose', 'and', 'how', 'came', 'the', 'goose', 'into', 'the', 'open', 'market', 'tell', 'us', 'the', 'truth', 'for', 'there', 'lies', 'your', 'only', 'hope', 'of', 'safety', 'ryder', 'passed', 'his', 'tongue', 'over', 'his', 'parched', 'lips', 'i', 'will', 'tell', 'you', 'it', 'just', 'as', 'it', 'happened', 'sir', 'said', 'he', 'when', 'horner', 'had', 'been', 'arrested', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'best', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'get', 'away', 'with', 'the', 'stone', 'at', 'once', 'for', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'know', 'at', 'what', 'moment', 'the', 'police', 'might', 'not', 'take', 'it', 'into', 'their', 'heads', 'to', 'search', 'me', 'and', 'my', 'room', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'place', 'about', 'the', 'hotel', 'where', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'safe', 'i', 'went', 'out', 'as', 'if', 'on', 'some', 'commission', 'and', 'i', 'made', 'for', 'my', 'sisters', 'house', 'she', 'had', 'married', 'a', 'man', 'named', 'oakshott', 'and', 'lived', 'in', 'brixton', 'road', 'where', 'she', 'fattened', 'fowls', 'for', 'the', 'market', 'all', 'the', 'way', 'there', 'every', 'man', 'i', 'met', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'policeman', 'or', 'a', 'detective', 'and', 'for', 'all', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'cold', 'night', 'the', 'sweat', 'was', 'pouring', 'down', 'my', 'face', 'before', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'brixton', 'road', 'my', 'sister', 'asked', 'me', 'what', 'was', 'the', 'matter', 'and', 'why', 'i', 'was', 'so', 'pale', 'but', 'i', 'told', 'her', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'upset', 'by', 'the', 'jewel', 'robbery', 'at', 'the', 'hotel', 'then', 'i', 'went', 'into', 'the', 'back', 'yard', 'and', 'smoked', 'a', 'pipe', 'and', 'wondered', 'what', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'best', 'to', 'do', 'i', 'had', 'a', 'friend', 'once', 'called', 'maudsley', 'who', 'went', 'to', 'the', 'bad', 'and', 'has', 'just', 'been', 'serving', 'his', 'time', 'in', 'pentonville', 'one', 'day', 'he', 'had', 'met', 'me', 'and', 'fell', 'into', 'talk', 'about', 'the', 'ways', 'of', 'thieves', 'and', 'how', 'they', 'could', 'get', 'rid', 'of', 'what', 'they', 'stole', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'be', 'true', 'to', 'me', 'for', 'i', 'knew', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'things', 'about', 'him', 'so', 'i', 'made', 'up', 'my', 'mind', 'to', 'go', 'right', 'on', 'to', 'kilburn', 'where', 'he', 'lived', 'and', 'take', 'him', 'into', 'my', 'confidence', 'he', 'would', 'show', 'me', 'how', 'to', 'turn', 'the', 'stone', 'into', 'money', 'but', 'how', 'to', 'get', 'to', 'him', 'in', 'safety', 'i', 'thought', 'of', 'the', 'agonies', 'i', 'had', 'gone', 'through', 'in', 'coming', 'from', 'the', 'hotel', 'i', 'might', 'at', 'any', 'moment', 'be', 'seized', 'and', 'searched', 'and', 'there', 'would', 'be', 'the', 'stone', 'in', 'my', 'waistcoat', 'pocket', 'i', 'was', 'leaning', 'against', 'the', 'wall', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'and', 'looking', 'at', 'the', 'geese', 'which', 'were', 'waddling', 'about', 'round', 'my', 'feet', 'and', 'suddenly', 'an', 'idea', 'came', 'into', 'my', 'head', 'which', 'showed', 'me', 'how', 'i', 'could', 'beat', 'the', 'best', 'detective', 'that', 'ever', 'lived', 'my', 'sister', 'had', 'told', 'me', 'some', 'weeks', 'before', 'that', 'i', 'might', 'have', 'the', 'pick', 'of', 'her', 'geese', 'for', 'a', 'christmas', 'present', 'and', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'always', 'as', 'good', 'as', 'her', 'word', 'i', 'would', 'take', 'my', 'goose', 'now', 'and', 'in', 'it', 'i', 'would', 'carry', 'my', 'stone', 'to', 'kilburn', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'little', 'shed', 'in', 'the', 'yard', 'and', 'behind', 'this', 'i', 'drove', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'birdsa', 'fine', 'big', 'one', 'white', 'with', 'a', 'barred', 'tail', 'i', 'caught', 'it', 'and', 'prying', 'its', 'bill', 'open', 'i', 'thrust', 'the', 'stone', 'down', 'its', 'throat', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'my', 'finger', 'could', 'reach', 'the', 'bird', 'gave', 'a', 'gulp', 'and', 'i', 'felt', 'the', 'stone', 'pass', 'along', 'its', 'gullet', 'and', 'down', 'into', 'its', 'crop', 'but', 'the', 'creature', 'flapped', 'and', 'struggled', 'and', 'out', 'came', 'my', 'sister', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'was', 'the', 'matter', 'as', 'i', 'turned', 'to', 'speak', 'to', 'her', 'the', 'brute', 'broke', 'loose', 'and', 'fluttered', 'off', 'among', 'the', 'others', 'whatever', 'were', 'you', 'doing', 'with', 'that', 'bird', 'jem', 'says', 'she', 'well', 'said', 'i', 'you', 'said', 'youd', 'give', 'me', 'one', 'for', 'christmas', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'feeling', 'which', 'was', 'the', 'fattest', 'oh', 'says', 'she', 'weve', 'set', 'yours', 'aside', 'for', 'youjems', 'bird', 'we', 'call', 'it', 'its', 'the', 'big', 'white', 'one', 'over', 'yonder', 'theres', 'twentysix', 'of', 'them', 'which', 'makes', 'one', 'for', 'you', 'and', 'one', 'for', 'us', 'and', 'two', 'dozen', 'for', 'the', 'market', 'thank', 'you', 'maggie', 'says', 'i', 'but', 'if', 'it', 'is', 'all', 'the', 'same', 'to', 'you', 'id', 'rather', 'have', 'that', 'one', 'i', 'was', 'handling', 'just', 'now', 'the', 'other', 'is', 'a', 'good', 'three', 'pound', 'heavier', 'said', 'she', 'and', 'we', 'fattened', 'it', 'expressly', 'for', 'you', 'never', 'mind', 'ill', 'have', 'the', 'other', 'and', 'ill', 'take', 'it', 'now', 'said', 'i', 'oh', 'just', 'as', 'you', 'like', 'said', 'she', 'a', 'little', 'huffed', 'which', 'is', 'it', 'you', 'want', 'then', 'that', 'white', 'one', 'with', 'the', 'barred', 'tail', 'right', 'in', 'the', 'middle', 'of', 'the', 'flock', 'oh', 'very', 'well', 'kill', 'it', 'and', 'take', 'it', 'with', 'you', 'well', 'i', 'did', 'what', 'she', 'said', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'i', 'carried', 'the', 'bird', 'all', 'the', 'way', 'to', 'kilburn', 'i', 'told', 'my', 'pal', 'what', 'i', 'had', 'done', 'for', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'man', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'easy', 'to', 'tell', 'a', 'thing', 'like', 'that', 'to', 'he', 'laughed', 'until', 'he', 'choked', 'and', 'we', 'got', 'a', 'knife', 'and', 'opened', 'the', 'goose', 'my', 'heart', 'turned', 'to', 'water', 'for', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'sign', 'of', 'the', 'stone', 'and', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'some', 'terrible', 'mistake', 'had', 'occurred', 'i', 'left', 'the', 'bird', 'rushed', 'back', 'to', 'my', 'sisters', 'and', 'hurried', 'into', 'the', 'back', 'yard', 'there', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'bird', 'to', 'be', 'seen', 'there', 'where', 'are', 'they', 'all', 'maggie', 'i', 'cried', 'gone', 'to', 'the', 'dealers', 'jem', 'which', 'dealers', 'breckinridge', 'of', 'covent', 'garden', 'but', 'was', 'there', 'another', 'with', 'a', 'barred', 'tail', 'i', 'asked', 'the', 'same', 'as', 'the', 'one', 'i', 'chose', 'yes', 'jem', 'there', 'were', 'two', 'barredtailed', 'ones', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'never', 'tell', 'them', 'apart', 'well', 'then', 'of', 'course', 'i', 'saw', 'it', 'all', 'and', 'i', 'ran', 'off', 'as', 'hard', 'as', 'my', 'feet', 'would', 'carry', 'me', 'to', 'this', 'man', 'breckinridge', 'but', 'he', 'had', 'sold', 'the', 'lot', 'at', 'once', 'and', 'not', 'one', 'word', 'would', 'he', 'tell', 'me', 'as', 'to', 'where', 'they', 'had', 'gone', 'you', 'heard', 'him', 'yourselves', 'tonight', 'well', 'he', 'has', 'always', 'answered', 'me', 'like', 'that', 'my', 'sister', 'thinks', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'going', 'mad', 'sometimes', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'myself', 'and', 'nowand', 'now', 'i', 'am', 'myself', 'a', 'branded', 'thief', 'without', 'ever', 'having', 'touched', 'the', 'wealth', 'for', 'which', 'i', 'sold', 'my', 'character', 'god', 'help', 'me', 'god', 'help', 'me', 'he', 'burst', 'into', 'convulsive', 'sobbing', 'with', 'his', 'face', 'buried', 'in', 'his', 'hands', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'long', 'silence', 'broken', 'only', 'by', 'his', 'heavy', 'breathing', 'and', 'by', 'the', 'measured', 'tapping', 'of', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'fingertips', 'upon', 'the', 'edge', 'of', 'the', 'table', 'then', 'my', 'friend', 'rose', 'and', 'threw', 'open', 'the', 'door', 'get', 'out', 'said', 'he', 'what', 'sir', 'oh', 'heaven', 'bless', 'you', 'no', 'more', 'words', 'get', 'out', 'and', 'no', 'more', 'words', 'were', 'needed', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'rush', 'a', 'clatter', 'upon', 'the', 'stairs', 'the', 'bang', 'of', 'a', 'door', 'and', 'the', 'crisp', 'rattle', 'of', 'running', 'footfalls', 'from', 'the', 'street', 'after', 'all', 'watson', 'said', 'holmes', 'reaching', 'up', 'his', 'hand', 'for', 'his', 'clay', 'pipe', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'retained', 'by', 'the', 'police', 'to', 'supply', 'their', 'deficiencies', 'if', 'horner', 'were', 'in', 'danger', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'another', 'thing', 'but', 'this', 'fellow', 'will', 'not', 'appear', 'against', 'him', 'and', 'the', 'case', 'must', 'collapse', 'i', 'suppose', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'commuting', 'a', 'felony', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'just', 'possible', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'saving', 'a', 'soul', 'this', 'fellow', 'will', 'not', 'go', 'wrong', 'again', 'he', 'is', 'too', 'terribly', 'frightened', 'send', 'him', 'to', 'gaol', 'now', 'and', 'you', 'make', 'him', 'a', 'gaolbird', 'for', 'life', 'besides', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'season', 'of', 'forgiveness', 'chance', 'has', 'put', 'in', 'our', 'way', 'a', 'most', 'singular', 'and', 'whimsical', 'problem', 'and', 'its', 'solution', 'is', 'its', 'own', 'reward', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'have', 'the', 'goodness', 'to', 'touch', 'the', 'bell', 'doctor', 'we', 'will', 'begin', 'another', 'investigation', 'in', 'which', 'also', 'a', 'bird', 'will', 'be', 'the', 'chief', 'feature', 'viii', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'speckled', 'band', 'on', 'glancing', 'over', 'my', 'notes', 'of', 'the', 'seventy', 'odd', 'cases', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'during', 'the', 'last', 'eight', 'years', 'studied', 'the', 'methods', 'of', 'my', 'friend', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'i', 'find', 'many', 'tragic', 'some', 'comic', 'a', 'large', 'number', 'merely', 'strange', 'but', 'none', 'commonplace', 'for', 'working', 'as', 'he', 'did', 'rather', 'for', 'the', 'love', 'of', 'his', 'art', 'than', 'for', 'the', 'acquirement', 'of', 'wealth', 'he', 'refused', 'to', 'associate', 'himself', 'with', 'any', 'investigation', 'which', 'did', 'not', 'tend', 'towards', 'the', 'unusual', 'and', 'even', 'the', 'fantastic', 'of', 'all', 'these', 'varied', 'cases', 'however', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'recall', 'any', 'which', 'presented', 'more', 'singular', 'features', 'than', 'that', 'which', 'was', 'associated', 'with', 'the', 'wellknown', 'surrey', 'family', 'of', 'the', 'roylotts', 'of', 'stoke', 'moran', 'the', 'events', 'in', 'question', 'occurred', 'in', 'the', 'early', 'days', 'of', 'my', 'association', 'with', 'holmes', 'when', 'we', 'were', 'sharing', 'rooms', 'as', 'bachelors', 'in', 'baker', 'street', 'it', 'is', 'possible', 'that', 'i', 'might', 'have', 'placed', 'them', 'upon', 'record', 'before', 'but', 'a', 'promise', 'of', 'secrecy', 'was', 'made', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'from', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'only', 'been', 'freed', 'during', 'the', 'last', 'month', 'by', 'the', 'untimely', 'death', 'of', 'the', 'lady', 'to', 'whom', 'the', 'pledge', 'was', 'given', 'it', 'is', 'perhaps', 'as', 'well', 'that', 'the', 'facts', 'should', 'now', 'come', 'to', 'light', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'reasons', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'there', 'are', 'widespread', 'rumours', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'death', 'of', 'dr', 'grimesby', 'roylott', 'which', 'tend', 'to', 'make', 'the', 'matter', 'even', 'more', 'terrible', 'than', 'the', 'truth', 'it', 'was', 'early', 'in', 'april', 'in', 'the', 'year', '83', 'that', 'i', 'woke', 'one', 'morning', 'to', 'find', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'standing', 'fully', 'dressed', 'by', 'the', 'side', 'of', 'my', 'bed', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'late', 'riser', 'as', 'a', 'rule', 'and', 'as', 'the', 'clock', 'on', 'the', 'mantelpiece', 'showed', 'me', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'a', 'quarterpast', 'seven', 'i', 'blinked', 'up', 'at', 'him', 'in', 'some', 'surprise', 'and', 'perhaps', 'just', 'a', 'little', 'resentment', 'for', 'i', 'was', 'myself', 'regular', 'in', 'my', 'habits', 'very', 'sorry', 'to', 'knock', 'you', 'up', 'watson', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'its', 'the', 'common', 'lot', 'this', 'morning', 'mrs', 'hudson', 'has', 'been', 'knocked', 'up', 'she', 'retorted', 'upon', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'on', 'you', 'what', 'is', 'it', 'thena', 'fire', 'no', 'a', 'client', 'it', 'seems', 'that', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'has', 'arrived', 'in', 'a', 'considerable', 'state', 'of', 'excitement', 'who', 'insists', 'upon', 'seeing', 'me', 'she', 'is', 'waiting', 'now', 'in', 'the', 'sittingroom', 'now', 'when', 'young', 'ladies', 'wander', 'about', 'the', 'metropolis', 'at', 'this', 'hour', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'and', 'knock', 'sleepy', 'people', 'up', 'out', 'of', 'their', 'beds', 'i', 'presume', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'something', 'very', 'pressing', 'which', 'they', 'have', 'to', 'communicate', 'should', 'it', 'prove', 'to', 'be', 'an', 'interesting', 'case', 'you', 'would', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'wish', 'to', 'follow', 'it', 'from', 'the', 'outset', 'i', 'thought', 'at', 'any', 'rate', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'call', 'you', 'and', 'give', 'you', 'the', 'chance', 'my', 'dear', 'fellow', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'miss', 'it', 'for', 'anything', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'keener', 'pleasure', 'than', 'in', 'following', 'holmes', 'in', 'his', 'professional', 'investigations', 'and', 'in', 'admiring', 'the', 'rapid', 'deductions', 'as', 'swift', 'as', 'intuitions', 'and', 'yet', 'always', 'founded', 'on', 'a', 'logical', 'basis', 'with', 'which', 'he', 'unravelled', 'the', 'problems', 'which', 'were', 'submitted', 'to', 'him', 'i', 'rapidly', 'threw', 'on', 'my', 'clothes', 'and', 'was', 'ready', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'to', 'accompany', 'my', 'friend', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'sittingroom', 'a', 'lady', 'dressed', 'in', 'black', 'and', 'heavily', 'veiled', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'sitting', 'in', 'the', 'window', 'rose', 'as', 'we', 'entered', 'goodmorning', 'madam', 'said', 'holmes', 'cheerily', 'my', 'name', 'is', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'this', 'is', 'my', 'intimate', 'friend', 'and', 'associate', 'dr', 'watson', 'before', 'whom', 'you', 'can', 'speak', 'as', 'freely', 'as', 'before', 'myself', 'ha', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'to', 'see', 'that', 'mrs', 'hudson', 'has', 'had', 'the', 'good', 'sense', 'to', 'light', 'the', 'fire', 'pray', 'draw', 'up', 'to', 'it', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'order', 'you', 'a', 'cup', 'of', 'hot', 'coffee', 'for', 'i', 'observe', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'shivering', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'cold', 'which', 'makes', 'me', 'shiver', 'said', 'the', 'woman', 'in', 'a', 'low', 'voice', 'changing', 'her', 'seat', 'as', 'requested', 'what', 'then', 'it', 'is', 'fear', 'mr', 'holmes', 'it', 'is', 'terror', 'she', 'raised', 'her', 'veil', 'as', 'she', 'spoke', 'and', 'we', 'could', 'see', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'indeed', 'in', 'a', 'pitiable', 'state', 'of', 'agitation', 'her', 'face', 'all', 'drawn', 'and', 'grey', 'with', 'restless', 'frightened', 'eyes', 'like', 'those', 'of', 'some', 'hunted', 'animal', 'her', 'features', 'and', 'figure', 'were', 'those', 'of', 'a', 'woman', 'of', 'thirty', 'but', 'her', 'hair', 'was', 'shot', 'with', 'premature', 'grey', 'and', 'her', 'expression', 'was', 'weary', 'and', 'haggard', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'ran', 'her', 'over', 'with', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'quick', 'allcomprehensive', 'glances', 'you', 'must', 'not', 'fear', 'said', 'he', 'soothingly', 'bending', 'forward', 'and', 'patting', 'her', 'forearm', 'we', 'shall', 'soon', 'set', 'matters', 'right', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'you', 'have', 'come', 'in', 'by', 'train', 'this', 'morning', 'i', 'see', 'you', 'know', 'me', 'then', 'no', 'but', 'i', 'observe', 'the', 'second', 'half', 'of', 'a', 'return', 'ticket', 'in', 'the', 'palm', 'of', 'your', 'left', 'glove', 'you', 'must', 'have', 'started', 'early', 'and', 'yet', 'you', 'had', 'a', 'good', 'drive', 'in', 'a', 'dogcart', 'along', 'heavy', 'roads', 'before', 'you', 'reached', 'the', 'station', 'the', 'lady', 'gave', 'a', 'violent', 'start', 'and', 'stared', 'in', 'bewilderment', 'at', 'my', 'companion', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'mystery', 'my', 'dear', 'madam', 'said', 'he', 'smiling', 'the', 'left', 'arm', 'of', 'your', 'jacket', 'is', 'spattered', 'with', 'mud', 'in', 'no', 'less', 'than', 'seven', 'places', 'the', 'marks', 'are', 'perfectly', 'fresh', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'vehicle', 'save', 'a', 'dogcart', 'which', 'throws', 'up', 'mud', 'in', 'that', 'way', 'and', 'then', 'only', 'when', 'you', 'sit', 'on', 'the', 'lefthand', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'driver', 'whatever', 'your', 'reasons', 'may', 'be', 'you', 'are', 'perfectly', 'correct', 'said', 'she', 'i', 'started', 'from', 'home', 'before', 'six', 'reached', 'leatherhead', 'at', 'twenty', 'past', 'and', 'came', 'in', 'by', 'the', 'first', 'train', 'to', 'waterloo', 'sir', 'i', 'can', 'stand', 'this', 'strain', 'no', 'longer', 'i', 'shall', 'go', 'mad', 'if', 'it', 'continues', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'one', 'to', 'turn', 'tonone', 'save', 'only', 'one', 'who', 'cares', 'for', 'me', 'and', 'he', 'poor', 'fellow', 'can', 'be', 'of', 'little', 'aid', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'of', 'you', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'of', 'you', 'from', 'mrs', 'farintosh', 'whom', 'you', 'helped', 'in', 'the', 'hour', 'of', 'her', 'sore', 'need', 'it', 'was', 'from', 'her', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'your', 'address', 'oh', 'sir', 'do', 'you', 'not', 'think', 'that', 'you', 'could', 'help', 'me', 'too', 'and', 'at', 'least', 'throw', 'a', 'little', 'light', 'through', 'the', 'dense', 'darkness', 'which', 'surrounds', 'me', 'at', 'present', 'it', 'is', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'power', 'to', 'reward', 'you', 'for', 'your', 'services', 'but', 'in', 'a', 'month', 'or', 'six', 'weeks', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'married', 'with', 'the', 'control', 'of', 'my', 'own', 'income', 'and', 'then', 'at', 'least', 'you', 'shall', 'not', 'find', 'me', 'ungrateful', 'holmes', 'turned', 'to', 'his', 'desk', 'and', 'unlocking', 'it', 'drew', 'out', 'a', 'small', 'casebook', 'which', 'he', 'consulted', 'farintosh', 'said', 'he', 'ah', 'yes', 'i', 'recall', 'the', 'case', 'it', 'was', 'concerned', 'with', 'an', 'opal', 'tiara', 'i', 'think', 'it', 'was', 'before', 'your', 'time', 'watson', 'i', 'can', 'only', 'say', 'madam', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'happy', 'to', 'devote', 'the', 'same', 'care', 'to', 'your', 'case', 'as', 'i', 'did', 'to', 'that', 'of', 'your', 'friend', 'as', 'to', 'reward', 'my', 'profession', 'is', 'its', 'own', 'reward', 'but', 'you', 'are', 'at', 'liberty', 'to', 'defray', 'whatever', 'expenses', 'i', 'may', 'be', 'put', 'to', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'which', 'suits', 'you', 'best', 'and', 'now', 'i', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'lay', 'before', 'us', 'everything', 'that', 'may', 'help', 'us', 'in', 'forming', 'an', 'opinion', 'upon', 'the', 'matter', 'alas', 'replied', 'our', 'visitor', 'the', 'very', 'horror', 'of', 'my', 'situation', 'lies', 'in', 'the', 'fact', 'that', 'my', 'fears', 'are', 'so', 'vague', 'and', 'my', 'suspicions', 'depend', 'so', 'entirely', 'upon', 'small', 'points', 'which', 'might', 'seem', 'trivial', 'to', 'another', 'that', 'even', 'he', 'to', 'whom', 'of', 'all', 'others', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'right', 'to', 'look', 'for', 'help', 'and', 'advice', 'looks', 'upon', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'tell', 'him', 'about', 'it', 'as', 'the', 'fancies', 'of', 'a', 'nervous', 'woman', 'he', 'does', 'not', 'say', 'so', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'read', 'it', 'from', 'his', 'soothing', 'answers', 'and', 'averted', 'eyes', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'mr', 'holmes', 'that', 'you', 'can', 'see', 'deeply', 'into', 'the', 'manifold', 'wickedness', 'of', 'the', 'human', 'heart', 'you', 'may', 'advise', 'me', 'how', 'to', 'walk', 'amid', 'the', 'dangers', 'which', 'encompass', 'me', 'i', 'am', 'all', 'attention', 'madam', 'my', 'name', 'is', 'helen', 'stoner', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'living', 'with', 'my', 'stepfather', 'who', 'is', 'the', 'last', 'survivor', 'of', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'oldest', 'saxon', 'families', 'in', 'england', 'the', 'roylotts', 'of', 'stoke', 'moran', 'on', 'the', 'western', 'border', 'of', 'surrey', 'holmes', 'nodded', 'his', 'head', 'the', 'name', 'is', 'familiar', 'to', 'me', 'said', 'he', 'the', 'family', 'was', 'at', 'one', 'time', 'among', 'the', 'richest', 'in', 'england', 'and', 'the', 'estates', 'extended', 'over', 'the', 'borders', 'into', 'berkshire', 'in', 'the', 'north', 'and', 'hampshire', 'in', 'the', 'west', 'in', 'the', 'last', 'century', 'however', 'four', 'successive', 'heirs', 'were', 'of', 'a', 'dissolute', 'and', 'wasteful', 'disposition', 'and', 'the', 'family', 'ruin', 'was', 'eventually', 'completed', 'by', 'a', 'gambler', 'in', 'the', 'days', 'of', 'the', 'regency', 'nothing', 'was', 'left', 'save', 'a', 'few', 'acres', 'of', 'ground', 'and', 'the', 'twohundredyearold', 'house', 'which', 'is', 'itself', 'crushed', 'under', 'a', 'heavy', 'mortgage', 'the', 'last', 'squire', 'dragged', 'out', 'his', 'existence', 'there', 'living', 'the', 'horrible', 'life', 'of', 'an', 'aristocratic', 'pauper', 'but', 'his', 'only', 'son', 'my', 'stepfather', 'seeing', 'that', 'he', 'must', 'adapt', 'himself', 'to', 'the', 'new', 'conditions', 'obtained', 'an', 'advance', 'from', 'a', 'relative', 'which', 'enabled', 'him', 'to', 'take', 'a', 'medical', 'degree', 'and', 'went', 'out', 'to', 'calcutta', 'where', 'by', 'his', 'professional', 'skill', 'and', 'his', 'force', 'of', 'character', 'he', 'established', 'a', 'large', 'practice', 'in', 'a', 'fit', 'of', 'anger', 'however', 'caused', 'by', 'some', 'robberies', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'perpetrated', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'he', 'beat', 'his', 'native', 'butler', 'to', 'death', 'and', 'narrowly', 'escaped', 'a', 'capital', 'sentence', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'he', 'suffered', 'a', 'long', 'term', 'of', 'imprisonment', 'and', 'afterwards', 'returned', 'to', 'england', 'a', 'morose', 'and', 'disappointed', 'man', 'when', 'dr', 'roylott', 'was', 'in', 'india', 'he', 'married', 'my', 'mother', 'mrs', 'stoner', 'the', 'young', 'widow', 'of', 'majorgeneral', 'stoner', 'of', 'the', 'bengal', 'artillery', 'my', 'sister', 'julia', 'and', 'i', 'were', 'twins', 'and', 'we', 'were', 'only', 'two', 'years', 'old', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'my', 'mothers', 'remarriage', 'she', 'had', 'a', 'considerable', 'sum', 'of', 'moneynot', 'less', 'than', '1000', 'a', 'yearand', 'this', 'she', 'bequeathed', 'to', 'dr', 'roylott', 'entirely', 'while', 'we', 'resided', 'with', 'him', 'with', 'a', 'provision', 'that', 'a', 'certain', 'annual', 'sum', 'should', 'be', 'allowed', 'to', 'each', 'of', 'us', 'in', 'the', 'event', 'of', 'our', 'marriage', 'shortly', 'after', 'our', 'return', 'to', 'england', 'my', 'mother', 'diedshe', 'was', 'killed', 'eight', 'years', 'ago', 'in', 'a', 'railway', 'accident', 'near', 'crewe', 'dr', 'roylott', 'then', 'abandoned', 'his', 'attempts', 'to', 'establish', 'himself', 'in', 'practice', 'in', 'london', 'and', 'took', 'us', 'to', 'live', 'with', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'old', 'ancestral', 'house', 'at', 'stoke', 'moran', 'the', 'money', 'which', 'my', 'mother', 'had', 'left', 'was', 'enough', 'for', 'all', 'our', 'wants', 'and', 'there', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'no', 'obstacle', 'to', 'our', 'happiness', 'but', 'a', 'terrible', 'change', 'came', 'over', 'our', 'stepfather', 'about', 'this', 'time', 'instead', 'of', 'making', 'friends', 'and', 'exchanging', 'visits', 'with', 'our', 'neighbours', 'who', 'had', 'at', 'first', 'been', 'overjoyed', 'to', 'see', 'a', 'roylott', 'of', 'stoke', 'moran', 'back', 'in', 'the', 'old', 'family', 'seat', 'he', 'shut', 'himself', 'up', 'in', 'his', 'house', 'and', 'seldom', 'came', 'out', 'save', 'to', 'indulge', 'in', 'ferocious', 'quarrels', 'with', 'whoever', 'might', 'cross', 'his', 'path', 'violence', 'of', 'temper', 'approaching', 'to', 'mania', 'has', 'been', 'hereditary', 'in', 'the', 'men', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'and', 'in', 'my', 'stepfathers', 'case', 'it', 'had', 'i', 'believe', 'been', 'intensified', 'by', 'his', 'long', 'residence', 'in', 'the', 'tropics', 'a', 'series', 'of', 'disgraceful', 'brawls', 'took', 'place', 'two', 'of', 'which', 'ended', 'in', 'the', 'policecourt', 'until', 'at', 'last', 'he', 'became', 'the', 'terror', 'of', 'the', 'village', 'and', 'the', 'folks', 'would', 'fly', 'at', 'his', 'approach', 'for', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'immense', 'strength', 'and', 'absolutely', 'uncontrollable', 'in', 'his', 'anger', 'last', 'week', 'he', 'hurled', 'the', 'local', 'blacksmith', 'over', 'a', 'parapet', 'into', 'a', 'stream', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'by', 'paying', 'over', 'all', 'the', 'money', 'which', 'i', 'could', 'gather', 'together', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'able', 'to', 'avert', 'another', 'public', 'exposure', 'he', 'had', 'no', 'friends', 'at', 'all', 'save', 'the', 'wandering', 'gipsies', 'and', 'he', 'would', 'give', 'these', 'vagabonds', 'leave', 'to', 'encamp', 'upon', 'the', 'few', 'acres', 'of', 'bramblecovered', 'land', 'which', 'represent', 'the', 'family', 'estate', 'and', 'would', 'accept', 'in', 'return', 'the', 'hospitality', 'of', 'their', 'tents', 'wandering', 'away', 'with', 'them', 'sometimes', 'for', 'weeks', 'on', 'end', 'he', 'has', 'a', 'passion', 'also', 'for', 'indian', 'animals', 'which', 'are', 'sent', 'over', 'to', 'him', 'by', 'a', 'correspondent', 'and', 'he', 'has', 'at', 'this', 'moment', 'a', 'cheetah', 'and', 'a', 'baboon', 'which', 'wander', 'freely', 'over', 'his', 'grounds', 'and', 'are', 'feared', 'by', 'the', 'villagers', 'almost', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'their', 'master', 'you', 'can', 'imagine', 'from', 'what', 'i', 'say', 'that', 'my', 'poor', 'sister', 'julia', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'great', 'pleasure', 'in', 'our', 'lives', 'no', 'servant', 'would', 'stay', 'with', 'us', 'and', 'for', 'a', 'long', 'time', 'we', 'did', 'all', 'the', 'work', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'she', 'was', 'but', 'thirty', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'her', 'death', 'and', 'yet', 'her', 'hair', 'had', 'already', 'begun', 'to', 'whiten', 'even', 'as', 'mine', 'has', 'your', 'sister', 'is', 'dead', 'then', 'she', 'died', 'just', 'two', 'years', 'ago', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'her', 'death', 'that', 'i', 'wish', 'to', 'speak', 'to', 'you', 'you', 'can', 'understand', 'that', 'living', 'the', 'life', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'described', 'we', 'were', 'little', 'likely', 'to', 'see', 'anyone', 'of', 'our', 'own', 'age', 'and', 'position', 'we', 'had', 'however', 'an', 'aunt', 'my', 'mothers', 'maiden', 'sister', 'miss', 'honoria', 'westphail', 'who', 'lives', 'near', 'harrow', 'and', 'we', 'were', 'occasionally', 'allowed', 'to', 'pay', 'short', 'visits', 'at', 'this', 'ladys', 'house', 'julia', 'went', 'there', 'at', 'christmas', 'two', 'years', 'ago', 'and', 'met', 'there', 'a', 'halfpay', 'major', 'of', 'marines', 'to', 'whom', 'she', 'became', 'engaged', 'my', 'stepfather', 'learned', 'of', 'the', 'engagement', 'when', 'my', 'sister', 'returned', 'and', 'offered', 'no', 'objection', 'to', 'the', 'marriage', 'but', 'within', 'a', 'fortnight', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'fixed', 'for', 'the', 'wedding', 'the', 'terrible', 'event', 'occurred', 'which', 'has', 'deprived', 'me', 'of', 'my', 'only', 'companion', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'had', 'been', 'leaning', 'back', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'with', 'his', 'eyes', 'closed', 'and', 'his', 'head', 'sunk', 'in', 'a', 'cushion', 'but', 'he', 'half', 'opened', 'his', 'lids', 'now', 'and', 'glanced', 'across', 'at', 'his', 'visitor', 'pray', 'be', 'precise', 'as', 'to', 'details', 'said', 'he', 'it', 'is', 'easy', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'for', 'every', 'event', 'of', 'that', 'dreadful', 'time', 'is', 'seared', 'into', 'my', 'memory', 'the', 'manorhouse', 'is', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'already', 'said', 'very', 'old', 'and', 'only', 'one', 'wing', 'is', 'now', 'inhabited', 'the', 'bedrooms', 'in', 'this', 'wing', 'are', 'on', 'the', 'ground', 'floor', 'the', 'sittingrooms', 'being', 'in', 'the', 'central', 'block', 'of', 'the', 'buildings', 'of', 'these', 'bedrooms', 'the', 'first', 'is', 'dr', 'roylotts', 'the', 'second', 'my', 'sisters', 'and', 'the', 'third', 'my', 'own', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'communication', 'between', 'them', 'but', 'they', 'all', 'open', 'out', 'into', 'the', 'same', 'corridor', 'do', 'i', 'make', 'myself', 'plain', 'perfectly', 'so', 'the', 'windows', 'of', 'the', 'three', 'rooms', 'open', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'lawn', 'that', 'fatal', 'night', 'dr', 'roylott', 'had', 'gone', 'to', 'his', 'room', 'early', 'though', 'we', 'knew', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'retired', 'to', 'rest', 'for', 'my', 'sister', 'was', 'troubled', 'by', 'the', 'smell', 'of', 'the', 'strong', 'indian', 'cigars', 'which', 'it', 'was', 'his', 'custom', 'to', 'smoke', 'she', 'left', 'her', 'room', 'therefore', 'and', 'came', 'into', 'mine', 'where', 'she', 'sat', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'chatting', 'about', 'her', 'approaching', 'wedding', 'at', 'eleven', 'oclock', 'she', 'rose', 'to', 'leave', 'me', 'but', 'she', 'paused', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'looked', 'back', 'tell', 'me', 'helen', 'said', 'she', 'have', 'you', 'ever', 'heard', 'anyone', 'whistle', 'in', 'the', 'dead', 'of', 'the', 'night', 'never', 'said', 'i', 'i', 'suppose', 'that', 'you', 'could', 'not', 'possibly', 'whistle', 'yourself', 'in', 'your', 'sleep', 'certainly', 'not', 'but', 'why', 'because', 'during', 'the', 'last', 'few', 'nights', 'i', 'have', 'always', 'about', 'three', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'heard', 'a', 'low', 'clear', 'whistle', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'light', 'sleeper', 'and', 'it', 'has', 'awakened', 'me', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'tell', 'where', 'it', 'came', 'fromperhaps', 'from', 'the', 'next', 'room', 'perhaps', 'from', 'the', 'lawn', 'i', 'thought', 'that', 'i', 'would', 'just', 'ask', 'you', 'whether', 'you', 'had', 'heard', 'it', 'no', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'those', 'wretched', 'gipsies', 'in', 'the', 'plantation', 'very', 'likely', 'and', 'yet', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'on', 'the', 'lawn', 'i', 'wonder', 'that', 'you', 'did', 'not', 'hear', 'it', 'also', 'ah', 'but', 'i', 'sleep', 'more', 'heavily', 'than', 'you', 'well', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'no', 'great', 'consequence', 'at', 'any', 'rate', 'she', 'smiled', 'back', 'at', 'me', 'closed', 'my', 'door', 'and', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'later', 'i', 'heard', 'her', 'key', 'turn', 'in', 'the', 'lock', 'indeed', 'said', 'holmes', 'was', 'it', 'your', 'custom', 'always', 'to', 'lock', 'yourselves', 'in', 'at', 'night', 'always', 'and', 'why', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'mentioned', 'to', 'you', 'that', 'the', 'doctor', 'kept', 'a', 'cheetah', 'and', 'a', 'baboon', 'we', 'had', 'no', 'feeling', 'of', 'security', 'unless', 'our', 'doors', 'were', 'locked', 'quite', 'so', 'pray', 'proceed', 'with', 'your', 'statement', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'sleep', 'that', 'night', 'a', 'vague', 'feeling', 'of', 'impending', 'misfortune', 'impressed', 'me', 'my', 'sister', 'and', 'i', 'you', 'will', 'recollect', 'were', 'twins', 'and', 'you', 'know', 'how', 'subtle', 'are', 'the', 'links', 'which', 'bind', 'two', 'souls', 'which', 'are', 'so', 'closely', 'allied', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'wild', 'night', 'the', 'wind', 'was', 'howling', 'outside', 'and', 'the', 'rain', 'was', 'beating', 'and', 'splashing', 'against', 'the', 'windows', 'suddenly', 'amid', 'all', 'the', 'hubbub', 'of', 'the', 'gale', 'there', 'burst', 'forth', 'the', 'wild', 'scream', 'of', 'a', 'terrified', 'woman', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'my', 'sisters', 'voice', 'i', 'sprang', 'from', 'my', 'bed', 'wrapped', 'a', 'shawl', 'round', 'me', 'and', 'rushed', 'into', 'the', 'corridor', 'as', 'i', 'opened', 'my', 'door', 'i', 'seemed', 'to', 'hear', 'a', 'low', 'whistle', 'such', 'as', 'my', 'sister', 'described', 'and', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'later', 'a', 'clanging', 'sound', 'as', 'if', 'a', 'mass', 'of', 'metal', 'had', 'fallen', 'as', 'i', 'ran', 'down', 'the', 'passage', 'my', 'sisters', 'door', 'was', 'unlocked', 'and', 'revolved', 'slowly', 'upon', 'its', 'hinges', 'i', 'stared', 'at', 'it', 'horrorstricken', 'not', 'knowing', 'what', 'was', 'about', 'to', 'issue', 'from', 'it', 'by', 'the', 'light', 'of', 'the', 'corridorlamp', 'i', 'saw', 'my', 'sister', 'appear', 'at', 'the', 'opening', 'her', 'face', 'blanched', 'with', 'terror', 'her', 'hands', 'groping', 'for', 'help', 'her', 'whole', 'figure', 'swaying', 'to', 'and', 'fro', 'like', 'that', 'of', 'a', 'drunkard', 'i', 'ran', 'to', 'her', 'and', 'threw', 'my', 'arms', 'round', 'her', 'but', 'at', 'that', 'moment', 'her', 'knees', 'seemed', 'to', 'give', 'way', 'and', 'she', 'fell', 'to', 'the', 'ground', 'she', 'writhed', 'as', 'one', 'who', 'is', 'in', 'terrible', 'pain', 'and', 'her', 'limbs', 'were', 'dreadfully', 'convulsed', 'at', 'first', 'i', 'thought', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'not', 'recognised', 'me', 'but', 'as', 'i', 'bent', 'over', 'her', 'she', 'suddenly', 'shrieked', 'out', 'in', 'a', 'voice', 'which', 'i', 'shall', 'never', 'forget', 'oh', 'my', 'god', 'helen', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'band', 'the', 'speckled', 'band', 'there', 'was', 'something', 'else', 'which', 'she', 'would', 'fain', 'have', 'said', 'and', 'she', 'stabbed', 'with', 'her', 'finger', 'into', 'the', 'air', 'in', 'the', 'direction', 'of', 'the', 'doctors', 'room', 'but', 'a', 'fresh', 'convulsion', 'seized', 'her', 'and', 'choked', 'her', 'words', 'i', 'rushed', 'out', 'calling', 'loudly', 'for', 'my', 'stepfather', 'and', 'i', 'met', 'him', 'hastening', 'from', 'his', 'room', 'in', 'his', 'dressinggown', 'when', 'he', 'reached', 'my', 'sisters', 'side', 'she', 'was', 'unconscious', 'and', 'though', 'he', 'poured', 'brandy', 'down', 'her', 'throat', 'and', 'sent', 'for', 'medical', 'aid', 'from', 'the', 'village', 'all', 'efforts', 'were', 'in', 'vain', 'for', 'she', 'slowly', 'sank', 'and', 'died', 'without', 'having', 'recovered', 'her', 'consciousness', 'such', 'was', 'the', 'dreadful', 'end', 'of', 'my', 'beloved', 'sister', 'one', 'moment', 'said', 'holmes', 'are', 'you', 'sure', 'about', 'this', 'whistle', 'and', 'metallic', 'sound', 'could', 'you', 'swear', 'to', 'it', 'that', 'was', 'what', 'the', 'county', 'coroner', 'asked', 'me', 'at', 'the', 'inquiry', 'it', 'is', 'my', 'strong', 'impression', 'that', 'i', 'heard', 'it', 'and', 'yet', 'among', 'the', 'crash', 'of', 'the', 'gale', 'and', 'the', 'creaking', 'of', 'an', 'old', 'house', 'i', 'may', 'possibly', 'have', 'been', 'deceived', 'was', 'your', 'sister', 'dressed', 'no', 'she', 'was', 'in', 'her', 'nightdress', 'in', 'her', 'right', 'hand', 'was', 'found', 'the', 'charred', 'stump', 'of', 'a', 'match', 'and', 'in', 'her', 'left', 'a', 'matchbox', 'showing', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'struck', 'a', 'light', 'and', 'looked', 'about', 'her', 'when', 'the', 'alarm', 'took', 'place', 'that', 'is', 'important', 'and', 'what', 'conclusions', 'did', 'the', 'coroner', 'come', 'to', 'he', 'investigated', 'the', 'case', 'with', 'great', 'care', 'for', 'dr', 'roylotts', 'conduct', 'had', 'long', 'been', 'notorious', 'in', 'the', 'county', 'but', 'he', 'was', 'unable', 'to', 'find', 'any', 'satisfactory', 'cause', 'of', 'death', 'my', 'evidence', 'showed', 'that', 'the', 'door', 'had', 'been', 'fastened', 'upon', 'the', 'inner', 'side', 'and', 'the', 'windows', 'were', 'blocked', 'by', 'oldfashioned', 'shutters', 'with', 'broad', 'iron', 'bars', 'which', 'were', 'secured', 'every', 'night', 'the', 'walls', 'were', 'carefully', 'sounded', 'and', 'were', 'shown', 'to', 'be', 'quite', 'solid', 'all', 'round', 'and', 'the', 'flooring', 'was', 'also', 'thoroughly', 'examined', 'with', 'the', 'same', 'result', 'the', 'chimney', 'is', 'wide', 'but', 'is', 'barred', 'up', 'by', 'four', 'large', 'staples', 'it', 'is', 'certain', 'therefore', 'that', 'my', 'sister', 'was', 'quite', 'alone', 'when', 'she', 'met', 'her', 'end', 'besides', 'there', 'were', 'no', 'marks', 'of', 'any', 'violence', 'upon', 'her', 'how', 'about', 'poison', 'the', 'doctors', 'examined', 'her', 'for', 'it', 'but', 'without', 'success', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'this', 'unfortunate', 'lady', 'died', 'of', 'then', 'it', 'is', 'my', 'belief', 'that', 'she', 'died', 'of', 'pure', 'fear', 'and', 'nervous', 'shock', 'though', 'what', 'it', 'was', 'that', 'frightened', 'her', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'imagine', 'were', 'there', 'gipsies', 'in', 'the', 'plantation', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'yes', 'there', 'are', 'nearly', 'always', 'some', 'there', 'ah', 'and', 'what', 'did', 'you', 'gather', 'from', 'this', 'allusion', 'to', 'a', 'banda', 'speckled', 'band', 'sometimes', 'i', 'have', 'thought', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'merely', 'the', 'wild', 'talk', 'of', 'delirium', 'sometimes', 'that', 'it', 'may', 'have', 'referred', 'to', 'some', 'band', 'of', 'people', 'perhaps', 'to', 'these', 'very', 'gipsies', 'in', 'the', 'plantation', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'whether', 'the', 'spotted', 'handkerchiefs', 'which', 'so', 'many', 'of', 'them', 'wear', 'over', 'their', 'heads', 'might', 'have', 'suggested', 'the', 'strange', 'adjective', 'which', 'she', 'used', 'holmes', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'like', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'is', 'far', 'from', 'being', 'satisfied', 'these', 'are', 'very', 'deep', 'waters', 'said', 'he', 'pray', 'go', 'on', 'with', 'your', 'narrative', 'two', 'years', 'have', 'passed', 'since', 'then', 'and', 'my', 'life', 'has', 'been', 'until', 'lately', 'lonelier', 'than', 'ever', 'a', 'month', 'ago', 'however', 'a', 'dear', 'friend', 'whom', 'i', 'have', 'known', 'for', 'many', 'years', 'has', 'done', 'me', 'the', 'honour', 'to', 'ask', 'my', 'hand', 'in', 'marriage', 'his', 'name', 'is', 'armitagepercy', 'armitagethe', 'second', 'son', 'of', 'mr', 'armitage', 'of', 'crane', 'water', 'near', 'reading', 'my', 'stepfather', 'has', 'offered', 'no', 'opposition', 'to', 'the', 'match', 'and', 'we', 'are', 'to', 'be', 'married', 'in', 'the', 'course', 'of', 'the', 'spring', 'two', 'days', 'ago', 'some', 'repairs', 'were', 'started', 'in', 'the', 'west', 'wing', 'of', 'the', 'building', 'and', 'my', 'bedroom', 'wall', 'has', 'been', 'pierced', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'to', 'move', 'into', 'the', 'chamber', 'in', 'which', 'my', 'sister', 'died', 'and', 'to', 'sleep', 'in', 'the', 'very', 'bed', 'in', 'which', 'she', 'slept', 'imagine', 'then', 'my', 'thrill', 'of', 'terror', 'when', 'last', 'night', 'as', 'i', 'lay', 'awake', 'thinking', 'over', 'her', 'terrible', 'fate', 'i', 'suddenly', 'heard', 'in', 'the', 'silence', 'of', 'the', 'night', 'the', 'low', 'whistle', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'the', 'herald', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'death', 'i', 'sprang', 'up', 'and', 'lit', 'the', 'lamp', 'but', 'nothing', 'was', 'to', 'be', 'seen', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'i', 'was', 'too', 'shaken', 'to', 'go', 'to', 'bed', 'again', 'however', 'so', 'i', 'dressed', 'and', 'as', 'soon', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'daylight', 'i', 'slipped', 'down', 'got', 'a', 'dogcart', 'at', 'the', 'crown', 'inn', 'which', 'is', 'opposite', 'and', 'drove', 'to', 'leatherhead', 'from', 'whence', 'i', 'have', 'come', 'on', 'this', 'morning', 'with', 'the', 'one', 'object', 'of', 'seeing', 'you', 'and', 'asking', 'your', 'advice', 'you', 'have', 'done', 'wisely', 'said', 'my', 'friend', 'but', 'have', 'you', 'told', 'me', 'all', 'yes', 'all', 'miss', 'roylott', 'you', 'have', 'not', 'you', 'are', 'screening', 'your', 'stepfather', 'why', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'for', 'answer', 'holmes', 'pushed', 'back', 'the', 'frill', 'of', 'black', 'lace', 'which', 'fringed', 'the', 'hand', 'that', 'lay', 'upon', 'our', 'visitors', 'knee', 'five', 'little', 'livid', 'spots', 'the', 'marks', 'of', 'four', 'fingers', 'and', 'a', 'thumb', 'were', 'printed', 'upon', 'the', 'white', 'wrist', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'cruelly', 'used', 'said', 'holmes', 'the', 'lady', 'coloured', 'deeply', 'and', 'covered', 'over', 'her', 'injured', 'wrist', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'hard', 'man', 'she', 'said', 'and', 'perhaps', 'he', 'hardly', 'knows', 'his', 'own', 'strength', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'long', 'silence', 'during', 'which', 'holmes', 'leaned', 'his', 'chin', 'upon', 'his', 'hands', 'and', 'stared', 'into', 'the', 'crackling', 'fire', 'this', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'deep', 'business', 'he', 'said', 'at', 'last', 'there', 'are', 'a', 'thousand', 'details', 'which', 'i', 'should', 'desire', 'to', 'know', 'before', 'i', 'decide', 'upon', 'our', 'course', 'of', 'action', 'yet', 'we', 'have', 'not', 'a', 'moment', 'to', 'lose', 'if', 'we', 'were', 'to', 'come', 'to', 'stoke', 'moran', 'today', 'would', 'it', 'be', 'possible', 'for', 'us', 'to', 'see', 'over', 'these', 'rooms', 'without', 'the', 'knowledge', 'of', 'your', 'stepfather', 'as', 'it', 'happens', 'he', 'spoke', 'of', 'coming', 'into', 'town', 'today', 'upon', 'some', 'most', 'important', 'business', 'it', 'is', 'probable', 'that', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'away', 'all', 'day', 'and', 'that', 'there', 'would', 'be', 'nothing', 'to', 'disturb', 'you', 'we', 'have', 'a', 'housekeeper', 'now', 'but', 'she', 'is', 'old', 'and', 'foolish', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'easily', 'get', 'her', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'way', 'excellent', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'averse', 'to', 'this', 'trip', 'watson', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'then', 'we', 'shall', 'both', 'come', 'what', 'are', 'you', 'going', 'to', 'do', 'yourself', 'i', 'have', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'things', 'which', 'i', 'would', 'wish', 'to', 'do', 'now', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'town', 'but', 'i', 'shall', 'return', 'by', 'the', 'twelve', 'oclock', 'train', 'so', 'as', 'to', 'be', 'there', 'in', 'time', 'for', 'your', 'coming', 'and', 'you', 'may', 'expect', 'us', 'early', 'in', 'the', 'afternoon', 'i', 'have', 'myself', 'some', 'small', 'business', 'matters', 'to', 'attend', 'to', 'will', 'you', 'not', 'wait', 'and', 'breakfast', 'no', 'i', 'must', 'go', 'my', 'heart', 'is', 'lightened', 'already', 'since', 'i', 'have', 'confided', 'my', 'trouble', 'to', 'you', 'i', 'shall', 'look', 'forward', 'to', 'seeing', 'you', 'again', 'this', 'afternoon', 'she', 'dropped', 'her', 'thick', 'black', 'veil', 'over', 'her', 'face', 'and', 'glided', 'from', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'of', 'it', 'all', 'watson', 'asked', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'leaning', 'back', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'it', 'seems', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'most', 'dark', 'and', 'sinister', 'business', 'dark', 'enough', 'and', 'sinister', 'enough', 'yet', 'if', 'the', 'lady', 'is', 'correct', 'in', 'saying', 'that', 'the', 'flooring', 'and', 'walls', 'are', 'sound', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'door', 'window', 'and', 'chimney', 'are', 'impassable', 'then', 'her', 'sister', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'undoubtedly', 'alone', 'when', 'she', 'met', 'her', 'mysterious', 'end', 'what', 'becomes', 'then', 'of', 'these', 'nocturnal', 'whistles', 'and', 'what', 'of', 'the', 'very', 'peculiar', 'words', 'of', 'the', 'dying', 'woman', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'think', 'when', 'you', 'combine', 'the', 'ideas', 'of', 'whistles', 'at', 'night', 'the', 'presence', 'of', 'a', 'band', 'of', 'gipsies', 'who', 'are', 'on', 'intimate', 'terms', 'with', 'this', 'old', 'doctor', 'the', 'fact', 'that', 'we', 'have', 'every', 'reason', 'to', 'believe', 'that', 'the', 'doctor', 'has', 'an', 'interest', 'in', 'preventing', 'his', 'stepdaughters', 'marriage', 'the', 'dying', 'allusion', 'to', 'a', 'band', 'and', 'finally', 'the', 'fact', 'that', 'miss', 'helen', 'stoner', 'heard', 'a', 'metallic', 'clang', 'which', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'caused', 'by', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'metal', 'bars', 'that', 'secured', 'the', 'shutters', 'falling', 'back', 'into', 'its', 'place', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'good', 'ground', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'the', 'mystery', 'may', 'be', 'cleared', 'along', 'those', 'lines', 'but', 'what', 'then', 'did', 'the', 'gipsies', 'do', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'imagine', 'i', 'see', 'many', 'objections', 'to', 'any', 'such', 'theory', 'and', 'so', 'do', 'i', 'it', 'is', 'precisely', 'for', 'that', 'reason', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'going', 'to', 'stoke', 'moran', 'this', 'day', 'i', 'want', 'to', 'see', 'whether', 'the', 'objections', 'are', 'fatal', 'or', 'if', 'they', 'may', 'be', 'explained', 'away', 'but', 'what', 'in', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'the', 'devil', 'the', 'ejaculation', 'had', 'been', 'drawn', 'from', 'my', 'companion', 'by', 'the', 'fact', 'that', 'our', 'door', 'had', 'been', 'suddenly', 'dashed', 'open', 'and', 'that', 'a', 'huge', 'man', 'had', 'framed', 'himself', 'in', 'the', 'aperture', 'his', 'costume', 'was', 'a', 'peculiar', 'mixture', 'of', 'the', 'professional', 'and', 'of', 'the', 'agricultural', 'having', 'a', 'black', 'tophat', 'a', 'long', 'frockcoat', 'and', 'a', 'pair', 'of', 'high', 'gaiters', 'with', 'a', 'huntingcrop', 'swinging', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'so', 'tall', 'was', 'he', 'that', 'his', 'hat', 'actually', 'brushed', 'the', 'cross', 'bar', 'of', 'the', 'doorway', 'and', 'his', 'breadth', 'seemed', 'to', 'span', 'it', 'across', 'from', 'side', 'to', 'side', 'a', 'large', 'face', 'seared', 'with', 'a', 'thousand', 'wrinkles', 'burned', 'yellow', 'with', 'the', 'sun', 'and', 'marked', 'with', 'every', 'evil', 'passion', 'was', 'turned', 'from', 'one', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'of', 'us', 'while', 'his', 'deepset', 'bileshot', 'eyes', 'and', 'his', 'high', 'thin', 'fleshless', 'nose', 'gave', 'him', 'somewhat', 'the', 'resemblance', 'to', 'a', 'fierce', 'old', 'bird', 'of', 'prey', 'which', 'of', 'you', 'is', 'holmes', 'asked', 'this', 'apparition', 'my', 'name', 'sir', 'but', 'you', 'have', 'the', 'advantage', 'of', 'me', 'said', 'my', 'companion', 'quietly', 'i', 'am', 'dr', 'grimesby', 'roylott', 'of', 'stoke', 'moran', 'indeed', 'doctor', 'said', 'holmes', 'blandly', 'pray', 'take', 'a', 'seat', 'i', 'will', 'do', 'nothing', 'of', 'the', 'kind', 'my', 'stepdaughter', 'has', 'been', 'here', 'i', 'have', 'traced', 'her', 'what', 'has', 'she', 'been', 'saying', 'to', 'you', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'cold', 'for', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'the', 'year', 'said', 'holmes', 'what', 'has', 'she', 'been', 'saying', 'to', 'you', 'screamed', 'the', 'old', 'man', 'furiously', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'that', 'the', 'crocuses', 'promise', 'well', 'continued', 'my', 'companion', 'imperturbably', 'ha', 'you', 'put', 'me', 'off', 'do', 'you', 'said', 'our', 'new', 'visitor', 'taking', 'a', 'step', 'forward', 'and', 'shaking', 'his', 'huntingcrop', 'i', 'know', 'you', 'you', 'scoundrel', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'of', 'you', 'before', 'you', 'are', 'holmes', 'the', 'meddler', 'my', 'friend', 'smiled', 'holmes', 'the', 'busybody', 'his', 'smile', 'broadened', 'holmes', 'the', 'scotland', 'yard', 'jackinoffice', 'holmes', 'chuckled', 'heartily', 'your', 'conversation', 'is', 'most', 'entertaining', 'said', 'he', 'when', 'you', 'go', 'out', 'close', 'the', 'door', 'for', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'decided', 'draught', 'i', 'will', 'go', 'when', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'my', 'say', 'dont', 'you', 'dare', 'to', 'meddle', 'with', 'my', 'affairs', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'miss', 'stoner', 'has', 'been', 'here', 'i', 'traced', 'her', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'dangerous', 'man', 'to', 'fall', 'foul', 'of', 'see', 'here', 'he', 'stepped', 'swiftly', 'forward', 'seized', 'the', 'poker', 'and', 'bent', 'it', 'into', 'a', 'curve', 'with', 'his', 'huge', 'brown', 'hands', 'see', 'that', 'you', 'keep', 'yourself', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'grip', 'he', 'snarled', 'and', 'hurling', 'the', 'twisted', 'poker', 'into', 'the', 'fireplace', 'he', 'strode', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'he', 'seems', 'a', 'very', 'amiable', 'person', 'said', 'holmes', 'laughing', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'quite', 'so', 'bulky', 'but', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'remained', 'i', 'might', 'have', 'shown', 'him', 'that', 'my', 'grip', 'was', 'not', 'much', 'more', 'feeble', 'than', 'his', 'own', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'he', 'picked', 'up', 'the', 'steel', 'poker', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'sudden', 'effort', 'straightened', 'it', 'out', 'again', 'fancy', 'his', 'having', 'the', 'insolence', 'to', 'confound', 'me', 'with', 'the', 'official', 'detective', 'force', 'this', 'incident', 'gives', 'zest', 'to', 'our', 'investigation', 'however', 'and', 'i', 'only', 'trust', 'that', 'our', 'little', 'friend', 'will', 'not', 'suffer', 'from', 'her', 'imprudence', 'in', 'allowing', 'this', 'brute', 'to', 'trace', 'her', 'and', 'now', 'watson', 'we', 'shall', 'order', 'breakfast', 'and', 'afterwards', 'i', 'shall', 'walk', 'down', 'to', 'doctors', 'commons', 'where', 'i', 'hope', 'to', 'get', 'some', 'data', 'which', 'may', 'help', 'us', 'in', 'this', 'matter', 'it', 'was', 'nearly', 'one', 'oclock', 'when', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'returned', 'from', 'his', 'excursion', 'he', 'held', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'a', 'sheet', 'of', 'blue', 'paper', 'scrawled', 'over', 'with', 'notes', 'and', 'figures', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'the', 'will', 'of', 'the', 'deceased', 'wife', 'said', 'he', 'to', 'determine', 'its', 'exact', 'meaning', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'obliged', 'to', 'work', 'out', 'the', 'present', 'prices', 'of', 'the', 'investments', 'with', 'which', 'it', 'is', 'concerned', 'the', 'total', 'income', 'which', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'of', 'the', 'wifes', 'death', 'was', 'little', 'short', 'of', '1100', 'is', 'now', 'through', 'the', 'fall', 'in', 'agricultural', 'prices', 'not', 'more', 'than', '750', 'each', 'daughter', 'can', 'claim', 'an', 'income', 'of', '250', 'in', 'case', 'of', 'marriage', 'it', 'is', 'evident', 'therefore', 'that', 'if', 'both', 'girls', 'had', 'married', 'this', 'beauty', 'would', 'have', 'had', 'a', 'mere', 'pittance', 'while', 'even', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'would', 'cripple', 'him', 'to', 'a', 'very', 'serious', 'extent', 'my', 'mornings', 'work', 'has', 'not', 'been', 'wasted', 'since', 'it', 'has', 'proved', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'the', 'very', 'strongest', 'motives', 'for', 'standing', 'in', 'the', 'way', 'of', 'anything', 'of', 'the', 'sort', 'and', 'now', 'watson', 'this', 'is', 'too', 'serious', 'for', 'dawdling', 'especially', 'as', 'the', 'old', 'man', 'is', 'aware', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'interesting', 'ourselves', 'in', 'his', 'affairs', 'so', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'ready', 'we', 'shall', 'call', 'a', 'cab', 'and', 'drive', 'to', 'waterloo', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'very', 'much', 'obliged', 'if', 'you', 'would', 'slip', 'your', 'revolver', 'into', 'your', 'pocket', 'an', 'eleys', 'no', '2', 'is', 'an', 'excellent', 'argument', 'with', 'gentlemen', 'who', 'can', 'twist', 'steel', 'pokers', 'into', 'knots', 'that', 'and', 'a', 'toothbrush', 'are', 'i', 'think', 'all', 'that', 'we', 'need', 'at', 'waterloo', 'we', 'were', 'fortunate', 'in', 'catching', 'a', 'train', 'for', 'leatherhead', 'where', 'we', 'hired', 'a', 'trap', 'at', 'the', 'station', 'inn', 'and', 'drove', 'for', 'four', 'or', 'five', 'miles', 'through', 'the', 'lovely', 'surrey', 'lanes', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'perfect', 'day', 'with', 'a', 'bright', 'sun', 'and', 'a', 'few', 'fleecy', 'clouds', 'in', 'the', 'heavens', 'the', 'trees', 'and', 'wayside', 'hedges', 'were', 'just', 'throwing', 'out', 'their', 'first', 'green', 'shoots', 'and', 'the', 'air', 'was', 'full', 'of', 'the', 'pleasant', 'smell', 'of', 'the', 'moist', 'earth', 'to', 'me', 'at', 'least', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'strange', 'contrast', 'between', 'the', 'sweet', 'promise', 'of', 'the', 'spring', 'and', 'this', 'sinister', 'quest', 'upon', 'which', 'we', 'were', 'engaged', 'my', 'companion', 'sat', 'in', 'the', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'trap', 'his', 'arms', 'folded', 'his', 'hat', 'pulled', 'down', 'over', 'his', 'eyes', 'and', 'his', 'chin', 'sunk', 'upon', 'his', 'breast', 'buried', 'in', 'the', 'deepest', 'thought', 'suddenly', 'however', 'he', 'started', 'tapped', 'me', 'on', 'the', 'shoulder', 'and', 'pointed', 'over', 'the', 'meadows', 'look', 'there', 'said', 'he', 'a', 'heavily', 'timbered', 'park', 'stretched', 'up', 'in', 'a', 'gentle', 'slope', 'thickening', 'into', 'a', 'grove', 'at', 'the', 'highest', 'point', 'from', 'amid', 'the', 'branches', 'there', 'jutted', 'out', 'the', 'grey', 'gables', 'and', 'high', 'rooftree', 'of', 'a', 'very', 'old', 'mansion', 'stoke', 'moran', 'said', 'he', 'yes', 'sir', 'that', 'be', 'the', 'house', 'of', 'dr', 'grimesby', 'roylott', 'remarked', 'the', 'driver', 'there', 'is', 'some', 'building', 'going', 'on', 'there', 'said', 'holmes', 'that', 'is', 'where', 'we', 'are', 'going', 'theres', 'the', 'village', 'said', 'the', 'driver', 'pointing', 'to', 'a', 'cluster', 'of', 'roofs', 'some', 'distance', 'to', 'the', 'left', 'but', 'if', 'you', 'want', 'to', 'get', 'to', 'the', 'house', 'youll', 'find', 'it', 'shorter', 'to', 'get', 'over', 'this', 'stile', 'and', 'so', 'by', 'the', 'footpath', 'over', 'the', 'fields', 'there', 'it', 'is', 'where', 'the', 'lady', 'is', 'walking', 'and', 'the', 'lady', 'i', 'fancy', 'is', 'miss', 'stoner', 'observed', 'holmes', 'shading', 'his', 'eyes', 'yes', 'i', 'think', 'we', 'had', 'better', 'do', 'as', 'you', 'suggest', 'we', 'got', 'off', 'paid', 'our', 'fare', 'and', 'the', 'trap', 'rattled', 'back', 'on', 'its', 'way', 'to', 'leatherhead', 'i', 'thought', 'it', 'as', 'well', 'said', 'holmes', 'as', 'we', 'climbed', 'the', 'stile', 'that', 'this', 'fellow', 'should', 'think', 'we', 'had', 'come', 'here', 'as', 'architects', 'or', 'on', 'some', 'definite', 'business', 'it', 'may', 'stop', 'his', 'gossip', 'goodafternoon', 'miss', 'stoner', 'you', 'see', 'that', 'we', 'have', 'been', 'as', 'good', 'as', 'our', 'word', 'our', 'client', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'had', 'hurried', 'forward', 'to', 'meet', 'us', 'with', 'a', 'face', 'which', 'spoke', 'her', 'joy', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'waiting', 'so', 'eagerly', 'for', 'you', 'she', 'cried', 'shaking', 'hands', 'with', 'us', 'warmly', 'all', 'has', 'turned', 'out', 'splendidly', 'dr', 'roylott', 'has', 'gone', 'to', 'town', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'unlikely', 'that', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'back', 'before', 'evening', 'we', 'have', 'had', 'the', 'pleasure', 'of', 'making', 'the', 'doctors', 'acquaintance', 'said', 'holmes', 'and', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'words', 'he', 'sketched', 'out', 'what', 'had', 'occurred', 'miss', 'stoner', 'turned', 'white', 'to', 'the', 'lips', 'as', 'she', 'listened', 'good', 'heavens', 'she', 'cried', 'he', 'has', 'followed', 'me', 'then', 'so', 'it', 'appears', 'he', 'is', 'so', 'cunning', 'that', 'i', 'never', 'know', 'when', 'i', 'am', 'safe', 'from', 'him', 'what', 'will', 'he', 'say', 'when', 'he', 'returns', 'he', 'must', 'guard', 'himself', 'for', 'he', 'may', 'find', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'someone', 'more', 'cunning', 'than', 'himself', 'upon', 'his', 'track', 'you', 'must', 'lock', 'yourself', 'up', 'from', 'him', 'tonight', 'if', 'he', 'is', 'violent', 'we', 'shall', 'take', 'you', 'away', 'to', 'your', 'aunts', 'at', 'harrow', 'now', 'we', 'must', 'make', 'the', 'best', 'use', 'of', 'our', 'time', 'so', 'kindly', 'take', 'us', 'at', 'once', 'to', 'the', 'rooms', 'which', 'we', 'are', 'to', 'examine', 'the', 'building', 'was', 'of', 'grey', 'lichenblotched', 'stone', 'with', 'a', 'high', 'central', 'portion', 'and', 'two', 'curving', 'wings', 'like', 'the', 'claws', 'of', 'a', 'crab', 'thrown', 'out', 'on', 'each', 'side', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'these', 'wings', 'the', 'windows', 'were', 'broken', 'and', 'blocked', 'with', 'wooden', 'boards', 'while', 'the', 'roof', 'was', 'partly', 'caved', 'in', 'a', 'picture', 'of', 'ruin', 'the', 'central', 'portion', 'was', 'in', 'little', 'better', 'repair', 'but', 'the', 'righthand', 'block', 'was', 'comparatively', 'modern', 'and', 'the', 'blinds', 'in', 'the', 'windows', 'with', 'the', 'blue', 'smoke', 'curling', 'up', 'from', 'the', 'chimneys', 'showed', 'that', 'this', 'was', 'where', 'the', 'family', 'resided', 'some', 'scaffolding', 'had', 'been', 'erected', 'against', 'the', 'end', 'wall', 'and', 'the', 'stonework', 'had', 'been', 'broken', 'into', 'but', 'there', 'were', 'no', 'signs', 'of', 'any', 'workmen', 'at', 'the', 'moment', 'of', 'our', 'visit', 'holmes', 'walked', 'slowly', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'illtrimmed', 'lawn', 'and', 'examined', 'with', 'deep', 'attention', 'the', 'outsides', 'of', 'the', 'windows', 'this', 'i', 'take', 'it', 'belongs', 'to', 'the', 'room', 'in', 'which', 'you', 'used', 'to', 'sleep', 'the', 'centre', 'one', 'to', 'your', 'sisters', 'and', 'the', 'one', 'next', 'to', 'the', 'main', 'building', 'to', 'dr', 'roylotts', 'chamber', 'exactly', 'so', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'now', 'sleeping', 'in', 'the', 'middle', 'one', 'pending', 'the', 'alterations', 'as', 'i', 'understand', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'there', 'does', 'not', 'seem', 'to', 'be', 'any', 'very', 'pressing', 'need', 'for', 'repairs', 'at', 'that', 'end', 'wall', 'there', 'were', 'none', 'i', 'believe', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'an', 'excuse', 'to', 'move', 'me', 'from', 'my', 'room', 'ah', 'that', 'is', 'suggestive', 'now', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'of', 'this', 'narrow', 'wing', 'runs', 'the', 'corridor', 'from', 'which', 'these', 'three', 'rooms', 'open', 'there', 'are', 'windows', 'in', 'it', 'of', 'course', 'yes', 'but', 'very', 'small', 'ones', 'too', 'narrow', 'for', 'anyone', 'to', 'pass', 'through', 'as', 'you', 'both', 'locked', 'your', 'doors', 'at', 'night', 'your', 'rooms', 'were', 'unapproachable', 'from', 'that', 'side', 'now', 'would', 'you', 'have', 'the', 'kindness', 'to', 'go', 'into', 'your', 'room', 'and', 'bar', 'your', 'shutters', 'miss', 'stoner', 'did', 'so', 'and', 'holmes', 'after', 'a', 'careful', 'examination', 'through', 'the', 'open', 'window', 'endeavoured', 'in', 'every', 'way', 'to', 'force', 'the', 'shutter', 'open', 'but', 'without', 'success', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'slit', 'through', 'which', 'a', 'knife', 'could', 'be', 'passed', 'to', 'raise', 'the', 'bar', 'then', 'with', 'his', 'lens', 'he', 'tested', 'the', 'hinges', 'but', 'they', 'were', 'of', 'solid', 'iron', 'built', 'firmly', 'into', 'the', 'massive', 'masonry', 'hum', 'said', 'he', 'scratching', 'his', 'chin', 'in', 'some', 'perplexity', 'my', 'theory', 'certainly', 'presents', 'some', 'difficulties', 'no', 'one', 'could', 'pass', 'these', 'shutters', 'if', 'they', 'were', 'bolted', 'well', 'we', 'shall', 'see', 'if', 'the', 'inside', 'throws', 'any', 'light', 'upon', 'the', 'matter', 'a', 'small', 'side', 'door', 'led', 'into', 'the', 'whitewashed', 'corridor', 'from', 'which', 'the', 'three', 'bedrooms', 'opened', 'holmes', 'refused', 'to', 'examine', 'the', 'third', 'chamber', 'so', 'we', 'passed', 'at', 'once', 'to', 'the', 'second', 'that', 'in', 'which', 'miss', 'stoner', 'was', 'now', 'sleeping', 'and', 'in', 'which', 'her', 'sister', 'had', 'met', 'with', 'her', 'fate', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'homely', 'little', 'room', 'with', 'a', 'low', 'ceiling', 'and', 'a', 'gaping', 'fireplace', 'after', 'the', 'fashion', 'of', 'old', 'countryhouses', 'a', 'brown', 'chest', 'of', 'drawers', 'stood', 'in', 'one', 'corner', 'a', 'narrow', 'whitecounterpaned', 'bed', 'in', 'another', 'and', 'a', 'dressingtable', 'on', 'the', 'lefthand', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'window', 'these', 'articles', 'with', 'two', 'small', 'wickerwork', 'chairs', 'made', 'up', 'all', 'the', 'furniture', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'save', 'for', 'a', 'square', 'of', 'wilton', 'carpet', 'in', 'the', 'centre', 'the', 'boards', 'round', 'and', 'the', 'panelling', 'of', 'the', 'walls', 'were', 'of', 'brown', 'wormeaten', 'oak', 'so', 'old', 'and', 'discoloured', 'that', 'it', 'may', 'have', 'dated', 'from', 'the', 'original', 'building', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'holmes', 'drew', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'chairs', 'into', 'a', 'corner', 'and', 'sat', 'silent', 'while', 'his', 'eyes', 'travelled', 'round', 'and', 'round', 'and', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'taking', 'in', 'every', 'detail', 'of', 'the', 'apartment', 'where', 'does', 'that', 'bell', 'communicate', 'with', 'he', 'asked', 'at', 'last', 'pointing', 'to', 'a', 'thick', 'bellrope', 'which', 'hung', 'down', 'beside', 'the', 'bed', 'the', 'tassel', 'actually', 'lying', 'upon', 'the', 'pillow', 'it', 'goes', 'to', 'the', 'housekeepers', 'room', 'it', 'looks', 'newer', 'than', 'the', 'other', 'things', 'yes', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'put', 'there', 'a', 'couple', 'of', 'years', 'ago', 'your', 'sister', 'asked', 'for', 'it', 'i', 'suppose', 'no', 'i', 'never', 'heard', 'of', 'her', 'using', 'it', 'we', 'used', 'always', 'to', 'get', 'what', 'we', 'wanted', 'for', 'ourselves', 'indeed', 'it', 'seemed', 'unnecessary', 'to', 'put', 'so', 'nice', 'a', 'bellpull', 'there', 'you', 'will', 'excuse', 'me', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'while', 'i', 'satisfy', 'myself', 'as', 'to', 'this', 'floor', 'he', 'threw', 'himself', 'down', 'upon', 'his', 'face', 'with', 'his', 'lens', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'and', 'crawled', 'swiftly', 'backward', 'and', 'forward', 'examining', 'minutely', 'the', 'cracks', 'between', 'the', 'boards', 'then', 'he', 'did', 'the', 'same', 'with', 'the', 'woodwork', 'with', 'which', 'the', 'chamber', 'was', 'panelled', 'finally', 'he', 'walked', 'over', 'to', 'the', 'bed', 'and', 'spent', 'some', 'time', 'in', 'staring', 'at', 'it', 'and', 'in', 'running', 'his', 'eye', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'wall', 'finally', 'he', 'took', 'the', 'bellrope', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'and', 'gave', 'it', 'a', 'brisk', 'tug', 'why', 'its', 'a', 'dummy', 'said', 'he', 'wont', 'it', 'ring', 'no', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'even', 'attached', 'to', 'a', 'wire', 'this', 'is', 'very', 'interesting', 'you', 'can', 'see', 'now', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'fastened', 'to', 'a', 'hook', 'just', 'above', 'where', 'the', 'little', 'opening', 'for', 'the', 'ventilator', 'is', 'how', 'very', 'absurd', 'i', 'never', 'noticed', 'that', 'before', 'very', 'strange', 'muttered', 'holmes', 'pulling', 'at', 'the', 'rope', 'there', 'are', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'very', 'singular', 'points', 'about', 'this', 'room', 'for', 'example', 'what', 'a', 'fool', 'a', 'builder', 'must', 'be', 'to', 'open', 'a', 'ventilator', 'into', 'another', 'room', 'when', 'with', 'the', 'same', 'trouble', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'communicated', 'with', 'the', 'outside', 'air', 'that', 'is', 'also', 'quite', 'modern', 'said', 'the', 'lady', 'done', 'about', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'as', 'the', 'bellrope', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'yes', 'there', 'were', 'several', 'little', 'changes', 'carried', 'out', 'about', 'that', 'time', 'they', 'seem', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'of', 'a', 'most', 'interesting', 'characterdummy', 'bellropes', 'and', 'ventilators', 'which', 'do', 'not', 'ventilate', 'with', 'your', 'permission', 'miss', 'stoner', 'we', 'shall', 'now', 'carry', 'our', 'researches', 'into', 'the', 'inner', 'apartment', 'dr', 'grimesby', 'roylotts', 'chamber', 'was', 'larger', 'than', 'that', 'of', 'his', 'stepdaughter', 'but', 'was', 'as', 'plainly', 'furnished', 'a', 'campbed', 'a', 'small', 'wooden', 'shelf', 'full', 'of', 'books', 'mostly', 'of', 'a', 'technical', 'character', 'an', 'armchair', 'beside', 'the', 'bed', 'a', 'plain', 'wooden', 'chair', 'against', 'the', 'wall', 'a', 'round', 'table', 'and', 'a', 'large', 'iron', 'safe', 'were', 'the', 'principal', 'things', 'which', 'met', 'the', 'eye', 'holmes', 'walked', 'slowly', 'round', 'and', 'examined', 'each', 'and', 'all', 'of', 'them', 'with', 'the', 'keenest', 'interest', 'whats', 'in', 'here', 'he', 'asked', 'tapping', 'the', 'safe', 'my', 'stepfathers', 'business', 'papers', 'oh', 'you', 'have', 'seen', 'inside', 'then', 'only', 'once', 'some', 'years', 'ago', 'i', 'remember', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'full', 'of', 'papers', 'there', 'isnt', 'a', 'cat', 'in', 'it', 'for', 'example', 'no', 'what', 'a', 'strange', 'idea', 'well', 'look', 'at', 'this', 'he', 'took', 'up', 'a', 'small', 'saucer', 'of', 'milk', 'which', 'stood', 'on', 'the', 'top', 'of', 'it', 'no', 'we', 'dont', 'keep', 'a', 'cat', 'but', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'cheetah', 'and', 'a', 'baboon', 'ah', 'yes', 'of', 'course', 'well', 'a', 'cheetah', 'is', 'just', 'a', 'big', 'cat', 'and', 'yet', 'a', 'saucer', 'of', 'milk', 'does', 'not', 'go', 'very', 'far', 'in', 'satisfying', 'its', 'wants', 'i', 'daresay', 'there', 'is', 'one', 'point', 'which', 'i', 'should', 'wish', 'to', 'determine', 'he', 'squatted', 'down', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'wooden', 'chair', 'and', 'examined', 'the', 'seat', 'of', 'it', 'with', 'the', 'greatest', 'attention', 'thank', 'you', 'that', 'is', 'quite', 'settled', 'said', 'he', 'rising', 'and', 'putting', 'his', 'lens', 'in', 'his', 'pocket', 'hullo', 'here', 'is', 'something', 'interesting', 'the', 'object', 'which', 'had', 'caught', 'his', 'eye', 'was', 'a', 'small', 'dog', 'lash', 'hung', 'on', 'one', 'corner', 'of', 'the', 'bed', 'the', 'lash', 'however', 'was', 'curled', 'upon', 'itself', 'and', 'tied', 'so', 'as', 'to', 'make', 'a', 'loop', 'of', 'whipcord', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'make', 'of', 'that', 'watson', 'its', 'a', 'common', 'enough', 'lash', 'but', 'i', 'dont', 'know', 'why', 'it', 'should', 'be', 'tied', 'that', 'is', 'not', 'quite', 'so', 'common', 'is', 'it', 'ah', 'me', 'its', 'a', 'wicked', 'world', 'and', 'when', 'a', 'clever', 'man', 'turns', 'his', 'brains', 'to', 'crime', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'worst', 'of', 'all', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'enough', 'now', 'miss', 'stoner', 'and', 'with', 'your', 'permission', 'we', 'shall', 'walk', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'lawn', 'i', 'had', 'never', 'seen', 'my', 'friends', 'face', 'so', 'grim', 'or', 'his', 'brow', 'so', 'dark', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'when', 'we', 'turned', 'from', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'this', 'investigation', 'we', 'had', 'walked', 'several', 'times', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'lawn', 'neither', 'miss', 'stoner', 'nor', 'myself', 'liking', 'to', 'break', 'in', 'upon', 'his', 'thoughts', 'before', 'he', 'roused', 'himself', 'from', 'his', 'reverie', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'essential', 'miss', 'stoner', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'absolutely', 'follow', 'my', 'advice', 'in', 'every', 'respect', 'i', 'shall', 'most', 'certainly', 'do', 'so', 'the', 'matter', 'is', 'too', 'serious', 'for', 'any', 'hesitation', 'your', 'life', 'may', 'depend', 'upon', 'your', 'compliance', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'in', 'your', 'hands', 'in', 'the', 'first', 'place', 'both', 'my', 'friend', 'and', 'i', 'must', 'spend', 'the', 'night', 'in', 'your', 'room', 'both', 'miss', 'stoner', 'and', 'i', 'gazed', 'at', 'him', 'in', 'astonishment', 'yes', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'so', 'let', 'me', 'explain', 'i', 'believe', 'that', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'village', 'inn', 'over', 'there', 'yes', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'crown', 'very', 'good', 'your', 'windows', 'would', 'be', 'visible', 'from', 'there', 'certainly', 'you', 'must', 'confine', 'yourself', 'to', 'your', 'room', 'on', 'pretence', 'of', 'a', 'headache', 'when', 'your', 'stepfather', 'comes', 'back', 'then', 'when', 'you', 'hear', 'him', 'retire', 'for', 'the', 'night', 'you', 'must', 'open', 'the', 'shutters', 'of', 'your', 'window', 'undo', 'the', 'hasp', 'put', 'your', 'lamp', 'there', 'as', 'a', 'signal', 'to', 'us', 'and', 'then', 'withdraw', 'quietly', 'with', 'everything', 'which', 'you', 'are', 'likely', 'to', 'want', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'which', 'you', 'used', 'to', 'occupy', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'the', 'repairs', 'you', 'could', 'manage', 'there', 'for', 'one', 'night', 'oh', 'yes', 'easily', 'the', 'rest', 'you', 'will', 'leave', 'in', 'our', 'hands', 'but', 'what', 'will', 'you', 'do', 'we', 'shall', 'spend', 'the', 'night', 'in', 'your', 'room', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'investigate', 'the', 'cause', 'of', 'this', 'noise', 'which', 'has', 'disturbed', 'you', 'i', 'believe', 'mr', 'holmes', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'already', 'made', 'up', 'your', 'mind', 'said', 'miss', 'stoner', 'laying', 'her', 'hand', 'upon', 'my', 'companions', 'sleeve', 'perhaps', 'i', 'have', 'then', 'for', 'pitys', 'sake', 'tell', 'me', 'what', 'was', 'the', 'cause', 'of', 'my', 'sisters', 'death', 'i', 'should', 'prefer', 'to', 'have', 'clearer', 'proofs', 'before', 'i', 'speak', 'you', 'can', 'at', 'least', 'tell', 'me', 'whether', 'my', 'own', 'thought', 'is', 'correct', 'and', 'if', 'she', 'died', 'from', 'some', 'sudden', 'fright', 'no', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'so', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'probably', 'some', 'more', 'tangible', 'cause', 'and', 'now', 'miss', 'stoner', 'we', 'must', 'leave', 'you', 'for', 'if', 'dr', 'roylott', 'returned', 'and', 'saw', 'us', 'our', 'journey', 'would', 'be', 'in', 'vain', 'goodbye', 'and', 'be', 'brave', 'for', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'do', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'told', 'you', 'you', 'may', 'rest', 'assured', 'that', 'we', 'shall', 'soon', 'drive', 'away', 'the', 'dangers', 'that', 'threaten', 'you', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'difficulty', 'in', 'engaging', 'a', 'bedroom', 'and', 'sittingroom', 'at', 'the', 'crown', 'inn', 'they', 'were', 'on', 'the', 'upper', 'floor', 'and', 'from', 'our', 'window', 'we', 'could', 'command', 'a', 'view', 'of', 'the', 'avenue', 'gate', 'and', 'of', 'the', 'inhabited', 'wing', 'of', 'stoke', 'moran', 'manor', 'house', 'at', 'dusk', 'we', 'saw', 'dr', 'grimesby', 'roylott', 'drive', 'past', 'his', 'huge', 'form', 'looming', 'up', 'beside', 'the', 'little', 'figure', 'of', 'the', 'lad', 'who', 'drove', 'him', 'the', 'boy', 'had', 'some', 'slight', 'difficulty', 'in', 'undoing', 'the', 'heavy', 'iron', 'gates', 'and', 'we', 'heard', 'the', 'hoarse', 'roar', 'of', 'the', 'doctors', 'voice', 'and', 'saw', 'the', 'fury', 'with', 'which', 'he', 'shook', 'his', 'clinched', 'fists', 'at', 'him', 'the', 'trap', 'drove', 'on', 'and', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'later', 'we', 'saw', 'a', 'sudden', 'light', 'spring', 'up', 'among', 'the', 'trees', 'as', 'the', 'lamp', 'was', 'lit', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'sittingrooms', 'do', 'you', 'know', 'watson', 'said', 'holmes', 'as', 'we', 'sat', 'together', 'in', 'the', 'gathering', 'darkness', 'i', 'have', 'really', 'some', 'scruples', 'as', 'to', 'taking', 'you', 'tonight', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'distinct', 'element', 'of', 'danger', 'can', 'i', 'be', 'of', 'assistance', 'your', 'presence', 'might', 'be', 'invaluable', 'then', 'i', 'shall', 'certainly', 'come', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'kind', 'of', 'you', 'you', 'speak', 'of', 'danger', 'you', 'have', 'evidently', 'seen', 'more', 'in', 'these', 'rooms', 'than', 'was', 'visible', 'to', 'me', 'no', 'but', 'i', 'fancy', 'that', 'i', 'may', 'have', 'deduced', 'a', 'little', 'more', 'i', 'imagine', 'that', 'you', 'saw', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'did', 'i', 'saw', 'nothing', 'remarkable', 'save', 'the', 'bellrope', 'and', 'what', 'purpose', 'that', 'could', 'answer', 'i', 'confess', 'is', 'more', 'than', 'i', 'can', 'imagine', 'you', 'saw', 'the', 'ventilator', 'too', 'yes', 'but', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'such', 'a', 'very', 'unusual', 'thing', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'small', 'opening', 'between', 'two', 'rooms', 'it', 'was', 'so', 'small', 'that', 'a', 'rat', 'could', 'hardly', 'pass', 'through', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'we', 'should', 'find', 'a', 'ventilator', 'before', 'ever', 'we', 'came', 'to', 'stoke', 'moran', 'my', 'dear', 'holmes', 'oh', 'yes', 'i', 'did', 'you', 'remember', 'in', 'her', 'statement', 'she', 'said', 'that', 'her', 'sister', 'could', 'smell', 'dr', 'roylotts', 'cigar', 'now', 'of', 'course', 'that', 'suggested', 'at', 'once', 'that', 'there', 'must', 'be', 'a', 'communication', 'between', 'the', 'two', 'rooms', 'it', 'could', 'only', 'be', 'a', 'small', 'one', 'or', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'remarked', 'upon', 'at', 'the', 'coroners', 'inquiry', 'i', 'deduced', 'a', 'ventilator', 'but', 'what', 'harm', 'can', 'there', 'be', 'in', 'that', 'well', 'there', 'is', 'at', 'least', 'a', 'curious', 'coincidence', 'of', 'dates', 'a', 'ventilator', 'is', 'made', 'a', 'cord', 'is', 'hung', 'and', 'a', 'lady', 'who', 'sleeps', 'in', 'the', 'bed', 'dies', 'does', 'not', 'that', 'strike', 'you', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'as', 'yet', 'see', 'any', 'connection', 'did', 'you', 'observe', 'anything', 'very', 'peculiar', 'about', 'that', 'bed', 'no', 'it', 'was', 'clamped', 'to', 'the', 'floor', 'did', 'you', 'ever', 'see', 'a', 'bed', 'fastened', 'like', 'that', 'before', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'lady', 'could', 'not', 'move', 'her', 'bed', 'it', 'must', 'always', 'be', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'relative', 'position', 'to', 'the', 'ventilator', 'and', 'to', 'the', 'ropeor', 'so', 'we', 'may', 'call', 'it', 'since', 'it', 'was', 'clearly', 'never', 'meant', 'for', 'a', 'bellpull', 'holmes', 'i', 'cried', 'i', 'seem', 'to', 'see', 'dimly', 'what', 'you', 'are', 'hinting', 'at', 'we', 'are', 'only', 'just', 'in', 'time', 'to', 'prevent', 'some', 'subtle', 'and', 'horrible', 'crime', 'subtle', 'enough', 'and', 'horrible', 'enough', 'when', 'a', 'doctor', 'does', 'go', 'wrong', 'he', 'is', 'the', 'first', 'of', 'criminals', 'he', 'has', 'nerve', 'and', 'he', 'has', 'knowledge', 'palmer', 'and', 'pritchard', 'were', 'among', 'the', 'heads', 'of', 'their', 'profession', 'this', 'man', 'strikes', 'even', 'deeper', 'but', 'i', 'think', 'watson', 'that', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'strike', 'deeper', 'still', 'but', 'we', 'shall', 'have', 'horrors', 'enough', 'before', 'the', 'night', 'is', 'over', 'for', 'goodness', 'sake', 'let', 'us', 'have', 'a', 'quiet', 'pipe', 'and', 'turn', 'our', 'minds', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'hours', 'to', 'something', 'more', 'cheerful', 'about', 'nine', 'oclock', 'the', 'light', 'among', 'the', 'trees', 'was', 'extinguished', 'and', 'all', 'was', 'dark', 'in', 'the', 'direction', 'of', 'the', 'manor', 'house', 'two', 'hours', 'passed', 'slowly', 'away', 'and', 'then', 'suddenly', 'just', 'at', 'the', 'stroke', 'of', 'eleven', 'a', 'single', 'bright', 'light', 'shone', 'out', 'right', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'us', 'that', 'is', 'our', 'signal', 'said', 'holmes', 'springing', 'to', 'his', 'feet', 'it', 'comes', 'from', 'the', 'middle', 'window', 'as', 'we', 'passed', 'out', 'he', 'exchanged', 'a', 'few', 'words', 'with', 'the', 'landlord', 'explaining', 'that', 'we', 'were', 'going', 'on', 'a', 'late', 'visit', 'to', 'an', 'acquaintance', 'and', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'possible', 'that', 'we', 'might', 'spend', 'the', 'night', 'there', 'a', 'moment', 'later', 'we', 'were', 'out', 'on', 'the', 'dark', 'road', 'a', 'chill', 'wind', 'blowing', 'in', 'our', 'faces', 'and', 'one', 'yellow', 'light', 'twinkling', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'us', 'through', 'the', 'gloom', 'to', 'guide', 'us', 'on', 'our', 'sombre', 'errand', 'there', 'was', 'little', 'difficulty', 'in', 'entering', 'the', 'grounds', 'for', 'unrepaired', 'breaches', 'gaped', 'in', 'the', 'old', 'park', 'wall', 'making', 'our', 'way', 'among', 'the', 'trees', 'we', 'reached', 'the', 'lawn', 'crossed', 'it', 'and', 'were', 'about', 'to', 'enter', 'through', 'the', 'window', 'when', 'out', 'from', 'a', 'clump', 'of', 'laurel', 'bushes', 'there', 'darted', 'what', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'hideous', 'and', 'distorted', 'child', 'who', 'threw', 'itself', 'upon', 'the', 'grass', 'with', 'writhing', 'limbs', 'and', 'then', 'ran', 'swiftly', 'across', 'the', 'lawn', 'into', 'the', 'darkness', 'my', 'god', 'i', 'whispered', 'did', 'you', 'see', 'it', 'holmes', 'was', 'for', 'the', 'moment', 'as', 'startled', 'as', 'i', 'his', 'hand', 'closed', 'like', 'a', 'vice', 'upon', 'my', 'wrist', 'in', 'his', 'agitation', 'then', 'he', 'broke', 'into', 'a', 'low', 'laugh', 'and', 'put', 'his', 'lips', 'to', 'my', 'ear', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'nice', 'household', 'he', 'murmured', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'baboon', 'i', 'had', 'forgotten', 'the', 'strange', 'pets', 'which', 'the', 'doctor', 'affected', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'cheetah', 'too', 'perhaps', 'we', 'might', 'find', 'it', 'upon', 'our', 'shoulders', 'at', 'any', 'moment', 'i', 'confess', 'that', 'i', 'felt', 'easier', 'in', 'my', 'mind', 'when', 'after', 'following', 'holmes', 'example', 'and', 'slipping', 'off', 'my', 'shoes', 'i', 'found', 'myself', 'inside', 'the', 'bedroom', 'my', 'companion', 'noiselessly', 'closed', 'the', 'shutters', 'moved', 'the', 'lamp', 'onto', 'the', 'table', 'and', 'cast', 'his', 'eyes', 'round', 'the', 'room', 'all', 'was', 'as', 'we', 'had', 'seen', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'daytime', 'then', 'creeping', 'up', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'making', 'a', 'trumpet', 'of', 'his', 'hand', 'he', 'whispered', 'into', 'my', 'ear', 'again', 'so', 'gently', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'do', 'to', 'distinguish', 'the', 'words', 'the', 'least', 'sound', 'would', 'be', 'fatal', 'to', 'our', 'plans', 'i', 'nodded', 'to', 'show', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'heard', 'we', 'must', 'sit', 'without', 'light', 'he', 'would', 'see', 'it', 'through', 'the', 'ventilator', 'i', 'nodded', 'again', 'do', 'not', 'go', 'asleep', 'your', 'very', 'life', 'may', 'depend', 'upon', 'it', 'have', 'your', 'pistol', 'ready', 'in', 'case', 'we', 'should', 'need', 'it', 'i', 'will', 'sit', 'on', 'the', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'bed', 'and', 'you', 'in', 'that', 'chair', 'i', 'took', 'out', 'my', 'revolver', 'and', 'laid', 'it', 'on', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'the', 'table', 'holmes', 'had', 'brought', 'up', 'a', 'long', 'thin', 'cane', 'and', 'this', 'he', 'placed', 'upon', 'the', 'bed', 'beside', 'him', 'by', 'it', 'he', 'laid', 'the', 'box', 'of', 'matches', 'and', 'the', 'stump', 'of', 'a', 'candle', 'then', 'he', 'turned', 'down', 'the', 'lamp', 'and', 'we', 'were', 'left', 'in', 'darkness', 'how', 'shall', 'i', 'ever', 'forget', 'that', 'dreadful', 'vigil', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'hear', 'a', 'sound', 'not', 'even', 'the', 'drawing', 'of', 'a', 'breath', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'my', 'companion', 'sat', 'openeyed', 'within', 'a', 'few', 'feet', 'of', 'me', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'state', 'of', 'nervous', 'tension', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'was', 'myself', 'the', 'shutters', 'cut', 'off', 'the', 'least', 'ray', 'of', 'light', 'and', 'we', 'waited', 'in', 'absolute', 'darkness', 'from', 'outside', 'came', 'the', 'occasional', 'cry', 'of', 'a', 'nightbird', 'and', 'once', 'at', 'our', 'very', 'window', 'a', 'long', 'drawn', 'catlike', 'whine', 'which', 'told', 'us', 'that', 'the', 'cheetah', 'was', 'indeed', 'at', 'liberty', 'far', 'away', 'we', 'could', 'hear', 'the', 'deep', 'tones', 'of', 'the', 'parish', 'clock', 'which', 'boomed', 'out', 'every', 'quarter', 'of', 'an', 'hour', 'how', 'long', 'they', 'seemed', 'those', 'quarters', 'twelve', 'struck', 'and', 'one', 'and', 'two', 'and', 'three', 'and', 'still', 'we', 'sat', 'waiting', 'silently', 'for', 'whatever', 'might', 'befall', 'suddenly', 'there', 'was', 'the', 'momentary', 'gleam', 'of', 'a', 'light', 'up', 'in', 'the', 'direction', 'of', 'the', 'ventilator', 'which', 'vanished', 'immediately', 'but', 'was', 'succeeded', 'by', 'a', 'strong', 'smell', 'of', 'burning', 'oil', 'and', 'heated', 'metal', 'someone', 'in', 'the', 'next', 'room', 'had', 'lit', 'a', 'darklantern', 'i', 'heard', 'a', 'gentle', 'sound', 'of', 'movement', 'and', 'then', 'all', 'was', 'silent', 'once', 'more', 'though', 'the', 'smell', 'grew', 'stronger', 'for', 'half', 'an', 'hour', 'i', 'sat', 'with', 'straining', 'ears', 'then', 'suddenly', 'another', 'sound', 'became', 'audiblea', 'very', 'gentle', 'soothing', 'sound', 'like', 'that', 'of', 'a', 'small', 'jet', 'of', 'steam', 'escaping', 'continually', 'from', 'a', 'kettle', 'the', 'instant', 'that', 'we', 'heard', 'it', 'holmes', 'sprang', 'from', 'the', 'bed', 'struck', 'a', 'match', 'and', 'lashed', 'furiously', 'with', 'his', 'cane', 'at', 'the', 'bellpull', 'you', 'see', 'it', 'watson', 'he', 'yelled', 'you', 'see', 'it', 'but', 'i', 'saw', 'nothing', 'at', 'the', 'moment', 'when', 'holmes', 'struck', 'the', 'light', 'i', 'heard', 'a', 'low', 'clear', 'whistle', 'but', 'the', 'sudden', 'glare', 'flashing', 'into', 'my', 'weary', 'eyes', 'made', 'it', 'impossible', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'tell', 'what', 'it', 'was', 'at', 'which', 'my', 'friend', 'lashed', 'so', 'savagely', 'i', 'could', 'however', 'see', 'that', 'his', 'face', 'was', 'deadly', 'pale', 'and', 'filled', 'with', 'horror', 'and', 'loathing', 'he', 'had', 'ceased', 'to', 'strike', 'and', 'was', 'gazing', 'up', 'at', 'the', 'ventilator', 'when', 'suddenly', 'there', 'broke', 'from', 'the', 'silence', 'of', 'the', 'night', 'the', 'most', 'horrible', 'cry', 'to', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'ever', 'listened', 'it', 'swelled', 'up', 'louder', 'and', 'louder', 'a', 'hoarse', 'yell', 'of', 'pain', 'and', 'fear', 'and', 'anger', 'all', 'mingled', 'in', 'the', 'one', 'dreadful', 'shriek', 'they', 'say', 'that', 'away', 'down', 'in', 'the', 'village', 'and', 'even', 'in', 'the', 'distant', 'parsonage', 'that', 'cry', 'raised', 'the', 'sleepers', 'from', 'their', 'beds', 'it', 'struck', 'cold', 'to', 'our', 'hearts', 'and', 'i', 'stood', 'gazing', 'at', 'holmes', 'and', 'he', 'at', 'me', 'until', 'the', 'last', 'echoes', 'of', 'it', 'had', 'died', 'away', 'into', 'the', 'silence', 'from', 'which', 'it', 'rose', 'what', 'can', 'it', 'mean', 'i', 'gasped', 'it', 'means', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'all', 'over', 'holmes', 'answered', 'and', 'perhaps', 'after', 'all', 'it', 'is', 'for', 'the', 'best', 'take', 'your', 'pistol', 'and', 'we', 'will', 'enter', 'dr', 'roylotts', 'room', 'with', 'a', 'grave', 'face', 'he', 'lit', 'the', 'lamp', 'and', 'led', 'the', 'way', 'down', 'the', 'corridor', 'twice', 'he', 'struck', 'at', 'the', 'chamber', 'door', 'without', 'any', 'reply', 'from', 'within', 'then', 'he', 'turned', 'the', 'handle', 'and', 'entered', 'i', 'at', 'his', 'heels', 'with', 'the', 'cocked', 'pistol', 'in', 'my', 'hand', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'singular', 'sight', 'which', 'met', 'our', 'eyes', 'on', 'the', 'table', 'stood', 'a', 'darklantern', 'with', 'the', 'shutter', 'half', 'open', 'throwing', 'a', 'brilliant', 'beam', 'of', 'light', 'upon', 'the', 'iron', 'safe', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'which', 'was', 'ajar', 'beside', 'this', 'table', 'on', 'the', 'wooden', 'chair', 'sat', 'dr', 'grimesby', 'roylott', 'clad', 'in', 'a', 'long', 'grey', 'dressinggown', 'his', 'bare', 'ankles', 'protruding', 'beneath', 'and', 'his', 'feet', 'thrust', 'into', 'red', 'heelless', 'turkish', 'slippers', 'across', 'his', 'lap', 'lay', 'the', 'short', 'stock', 'with', 'the', 'long', 'lash', 'which', 'we', 'had', 'noticed', 'during', 'the', 'day', 'his', 'chin', 'was', 'cocked', 'upward', 'and', 'his', 'eyes', 'were', 'fixed', 'in', 'a', 'dreadful', 'rigid', 'stare', 'at', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'the', 'ceiling', 'round', 'his', 'brow', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'peculiar', 'yellow', 'band', 'with', 'brownish', 'speckles', 'which', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'bound', 'tightly', 'round', 'his', 'head', 'as', 'we', 'entered', 'he', 'made', 'neither', 'sound', 'nor', 'motion', 'the', 'band', 'the', 'speckled', 'band', 'whispered', 'holmes', 'i', 'took', 'a', 'step', 'forward', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'his', 'strange', 'headgear', 'began', 'to', 'move', 'and', 'there', 'reared', 'itself', 'from', 'among', 'his', 'hair', 'the', 'squat', 'diamondshaped', 'head', 'and', 'puffed', 'neck', 'of', 'a', 'loathsome', 'serpent', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'swamp', 'adder', 'cried', 'holmes', 'the', 'deadliest', 'snake', 'in', 'india', 'he', 'has', 'died', 'within', 'ten', 'seconds', 'of', 'being', 'bitten', 'violence', 'does', 'in', 'truth', 'recoil', 'upon', 'the', 'violent', 'and', 'the', 'schemer', 'falls', 'into', 'the', 'pit', 'which', 'he', 'digs', 'for', 'another', 'let', 'us', 'thrust', 'this', 'creature', 'back', 'into', 'its', 'den', 'and', 'we', 'can', 'then', 'remove', 'miss', 'stoner', 'to', 'some', 'place', 'of', 'shelter', 'and', 'let', 'the', 'county', 'police', 'know', 'what', 'has', 'happened', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'he', 'drew', 'the', 'dogwhip', 'swiftly', 'from', 'the', 'dead', 'mans', 'lap', 'and', 'throwing', 'the', 'noose', 'round', 'the', 'reptiles', 'neck', 'he', 'drew', 'it', 'from', 'its', 'horrid', 'perch', 'and', 'carrying', 'it', 'at', 'arms', 'length', 'threw', 'it', 'into', 'the', 'iron', 'safe', 'which', 'he', 'closed', 'upon', 'it', 'such', 'are', 'the', 'true', 'facts', 'of', 'the', 'death', 'of', 'dr', 'grimesby', 'roylott', 'of', 'stoke', 'moran', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'necessary', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'prolong', 'a', 'narrative', 'which', 'has', 'already', 'run', 'to', 'too', 'great', 'a', 'length', 'by', 'telling', 'how', 'we', 'broke', 'the', 'sad', 'news', 'to', 'the', 'terrified', 'girl', 'how', 'we', 'conveyed', 'her', 'by', 'the', 'morning', 'train', 'to', 'the', 'care', 'of', 'her', 'good', 'aunt', 'at', 'harrow', 'of', 'how', 'the', 'slow', 'process', 'of', 'official', 'inquiry', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'conclusion', 'that', 'the', 'doctor', 'met', 'his', 'fate', 'while', 'indiscreetly', 'playing', 'with', 'a', 'dangerous', 'pet', 'the', 'little', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'yet', 'to', 'learn', 'of', 'the', 'case', 'was', 'told', 'me', 'by', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'as', 'we', 'travelled', 'back', 'next', 'day', 'i', 'had', 'said', 'he', 'come', 'to', 'an', 'entirely', 'erroneous', 'conclusion', 'which', 'shows', 'my', 'dear', 'watson', 'how', 'dangerous', 'it', 'always', 'is', 'to', 'reason', 'from', 'insufficient', 'data', 'the', 'presence', 'of', 'the', 'gipsies', 'and', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'the', 'word', 'band', 'which', 'was', 'used', 'by', 'the', 'poor', 'girl', 'no', 'doubt', 'to', 'explain', 'the', 'appearance', 'which', 'she', 'had', 'caught', 'a', 'hurried', 'glimpse', 'of', 'by', 'the', 'light', 'of', 'her', 'match', 'were', 'sufficient', 'to', 'put', 'me', 'upon', 'an', 'entirely', 'wrong', 'scent', 'i', 'can', 'only', 'claim', 'the', 'merit', 'that', 'i', 'instantly', 'reconsidered', 'my', 'position', 'when', 'however', 'it', 'became', 'clear', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'whatever', 'danger', 'threatened', 'an', 'occupant', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'could', 'not', 'come', 'either', 'from', 'the', 'window', 'or', 'the', 'door', 'my', 'attention', 'was', 'speedily', 'drawn', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'already', 'remarked', 'to', 'you', 'to', 'this', 'ventilator', 'and', 'to', 'the', 'bellrope', 'which', 'hung', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'bed', 'the', 'discovery', 'that', 'this', 'was', 'a', 'dummy', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'bed', 'was', 'clamped', 'to', 'the', 'floor', 'instantly', 'gave', 'rise', 'to', 'the', 'suspicion', 'that', 'the', 'rope', 'was', 'there', 'as', 'a', 'bridge', 'for', 'something', 'passing', 'through', 'the', 'hole', 'and', 'coming', 'to', 'the', 'bed', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'a', 'snake', 'instantly', 'occurred', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'when', 'i', 'coupled', 'it', 'with', 'my', 'knowledge', 'that', 'the', 'doctor', 'was', 'furnished', 'with', 'a', 'supply', 'of', 'creatures', 'from', 'india', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'probably', 'on', 'the', 'right', 'track', 'the', 'idea', 'of', 'using', 'a', 'form', 'of', 'poison', 'which', 'could', 'not', 'possibly', 'be', 'discovered', 'by', 'any', 'chemical', 'test', 'was', 'just', 'such', 'a', 'one', 'as', 'would', 'occur', 'to', 'a', 'clever', 'and', 'ruthless', 'man', 'who', 'had', 'had', 'an', 'eastern', 'training', 'the', 'rapidity', 'with', 'which', 'such', 'a', 'poison', 'would', 'take', 'effect', 'would', 'also', 'from', 'his', 'point', 'of', 'view', 'be', 'an', 'advantage', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'sharpeyed', 'coroner', 'indeed', 'who', 'could', 'distinguish', 'the', 'two', 'little', 'dark', 'punctures', 'which', 'would', 'show', 'where', 'the', 'poison', 'fangs', 'had', 'done', 'their', 'work', 'then', 'i', 'thought', 'of', 'the', 'whistle', 'of', 'course', 'he', 'must', 'recall', 'the', 'snake', 'before', 'the', 'morning', 'light', 'revealed', 'it', 'to', 'the', 'victim', 'he', 'had', 'trained', 'it', 'probably', 'by', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'the', 'milk', 'which', 'we', 'saw', 'to', 'return', 'to', 'him', 'when', 'summoned', 'he', 'would', 'put', 'it', 'through', 'this', 'ventilator', 'at', 'the', 'hour', 'that', 'he', 'thought', 'best', 'with', 'the', 'certainty', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'crawl', 'down', 'the', 'rope', 'and', 'land', 'on', 'the', 'bed', 'it', 'might', 'or', 'might', 'not', 'bite', 'the', 'occupant', 'perhaps', 'she', 'might', 'escape', 'every', 'night', 'for', 'a', 'week', 'but', 'sooner', 'or', 'later', 'she', 'must', 'fall', 'a', 'victim', 'i', 'had', 'come', 'to', 'these', 'conclusions', 'before', 'ever', 'i', 'had', 'entered', 'his', 'room', 'an', 'inspection', 'of', 'his', 'chair', 'showed', 'me', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'in', 'the', 'habit', 'of', 'standing', 'on', 'it', 'which', 'of', 'course', 'would', 'be', 'necessary', 'in', 'order', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'reach', 'the', 'ventilator', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'the', 'safe', 'the', 'saucer', 'of', 'milk', 'and', 'the', 'loop', 'of', 'whipcord', 'were', 'enough', 'to', 'finally', 'dispel', 'any', 'doubts', 'which', 'may', 'have', 'remained', 'the', 'metallic', 'clang', 'heard', 'by', 'miss', 'stoner', 'was', 'obviously', 'caused', 'by', 'her', 'stepfather', 'hastily', 'closing', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'his', 'safe', 'upon', 'its', 'terrible', 'occupant', 'having', 'once', 'made', 'up', 'my', 'mind', 'you', 'know', 'the', 'steps', 'which', 'i', 'took', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'put', 'the', 'matter', 'to', 'the', 'proof', 'i', 'heard', 'the', 'creature', 'hiss', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'you', 'did', 'also', 'and', 'i', 'instantly', 'lit', 'the', 'light', 'and', 'attacked', 'it', 'with', 'the', 'result', 'of', 'driving', 'it', 'through', 'the', 'ventilator', 'and', 'also', 'with', 'the', 'result', 'of', 'causing', 'it', 'to', 'turn', 'upon', 'its', 'master', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'blows', 'of', 'my', 'cane', 'came', 'home', 'and', 'roused', 'its', 'snakish', 'temper', 'so', 'that', 'it', 'flew', 'upon', 'the', 'first', 'person', 'it', 'saw', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'i', 'am', 'no', 'doubt', 'indirectly', 'responsible', 'for', 'dr', 'grimesby', 'roylotts', 'death', 'and', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'say', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'likely', 'to', 'weigh', 'very', 'heavily', 'upon', 'my', 'conscience', 'ix', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'engineers', 'thumb', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'problems', 'which', 'have', 'been', 'submitted', 'to', 'my', 'friend', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'for', 'solution', 'during', 'the', 'years', 'of', 'our', 'intimacy', 'there', 'were', 'only', 'two', 'which', 'i', 'was', 'the', 'means', 'of', 'introducing', 'to', 'his', 'noticethat', 'of', 'mr', 'hatherleys', 'thumb', 'and', 'that', 'of', 'colonel', 'warburtons', 'madness', 'of', 'these', 'the', 'latter', 'may', 'have', 'afforded', 'a', 'finer', 'field', 'for', 'an', 'acute', 'and', 'original', 'observer', 'but', 'the', 'other', 'was', 'so', 'strange', 'in', 'its', 'inception', 'and', 'so', 'dramatic', 'in', 'its', 'details', 'that', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'the', 'more', 'worthy', 'of', 'being', 'placed', 'upon', 'record', 'even', 'if', 'it', 'gave', 'my', 'friend', 'fewer', 'openings', 'for', 'those', 'deductive', 'methods', 'of', 'reasoning', 'by', 'which', 'he', 'achieved', 'such', 'remarkable', 'results', 'the', 'story', 'has', 'i', 'believe', 'been', 'told', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'in', 'the', 'newspapers', 'but', 'like', 'all', 'such', 'narratives', 'its', 'effect', 'is', 'much', 'less', 'striking', 'when', 'set', 'forth', 'en', 'bloc', 'in', 'a', 'single', 'halfcolumn', 'of', 'print', 'than', 'when', 'the', 'facts', 'slowly', 'evolve', 'before', 'your', 'own', 'eyes', 'and', 'the', 'mystery', 'clears', 'gradually', 'away', 'as', 'each', 'new', 'discovery', 'furnishes', 'a', 'step', 'which', 'leads', 'on', 'to', 'the', 'complete', 'truth', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'the', 'circumstances', 'made', 'a', 'deep', 'impression', 'upon', 'me', 'and', 'the', 'lapse', 'of', 'two', 'years', 'has', 'hardly', 'served', 'to', 'weaken', 'the', 'effect', 'it', 'was', 'in', 'the', 'summer', 'of', '89', 'not', 'long', 'after', 'my', 'marriage', 'that', 'the', 'events', 'occurred', 'which', 'i', 'am', 'now', 'about', 'to', 'summarise', 'i', 'had', 'returned', 'to', 'civil', 'practice', 'and', 'had', 'finally', 'abandoned', 'holmes', 'in', 'his', 'baker', 'street', 'rooms', 'although', 'i', 'continually', 'visited', 'him', 'and', 'occasionally', 'even', 'persuaded', 'him', 'to', 'forgo', 'his', 'bohemian', 'habits', 'so', 'far', 'as', 'to', 'come', 'and', 'visit', 'us', 'my', 'practice', 'had', 'steadily', 'increased', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'happened', 'to', 'live', 'at', 'no', 'very', 'great', 'distance', 'from', 'paddington', 'station', 'i', 'got', 'a', 'few', 'patients', 'from', 'among', 'the', 'officials', 'one', 'of', 'these', 'whom', 'i', 'had', 'cured', 'of', 'a', 'painful', 'and', 'lingering', 'disease', 'was', 'never', 'weary', 'of', 'advertising', 'my', 'virtues', 'and', 'of', 'endeavouring', 'to', 'send', 'me', 'on', 'every', 'sufferer', 'over', 'whom', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'any', 'influence', 'one', 'morning', 'at', 'a', 'little', 'before', 'seven', 'oclock', 'i', 'was', 'awakened', 'by', 'the', 'maid', 'tapping', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'to', 'announce', 'that', 'two', 'men', 'had', 'come', 'from', 'paddington', 'and', 'were', 'waiting', 'in', 'the', 'consultingroom', 'i', 'dressed', 'hurriedly', 'for', 'i', 'knew', 'by', 'experience', 'that', 'railway', 'cases', 'were', 'seldom', 'trivial', 'and', 'hastened', 'downstairs', 'as', 'i', 'descended', 'my', 'old', 'ally', 'the', 'guard', 'came', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'closed', 'the', 'door', 'tightly', 'behind', 'him', 'ive', 'got', 'him', 'here', 'he', 'whispered', 'jerking', 'his', 'thumb', 'over', 'his', 'shoulder', 'hes', 'all', 'right', 'what', 'is', 'it', 'then', 'i', 'asked', 'for', 'his', 'manner', 'suggested', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'some', 'strange', 'creature', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'caged', 'up', 'in', 'my', 'room', 'its', 'a', 'new', 'patient', 'he', 'whispered', 'i', 'thought', 'id', 'bring', 'him', 'round', 'myself', 'then', 'he', 'couldnt', 'slip', 'away', 'there', 'he', 'is', 'all', 'safe', 'and', 'sound', 'i', 'must', 'go', 'now', 'doctor', 'i', 'have', 'my', 'dooties', 'just', 'the', 'same', 'as', 'you', 'and', 'off', 'he', 'went', 'this', 'trusty', 'tout', 'without', 'even', 'giving', 'me', 'time', 'to', 'thank', 'him', 'i', 'entered', 'my', 'consultingroom', 'and', 'found', 'a', 'gentleman', 'seated', 'by', 'the', 'table', 'he', 'was', 'quietly', 'dressed', 'in', 'a', 'suit', 'of', 'heather', 'tweed', 'with', 'a', 'soft', 'cloth', 'cap', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'laid', 'down', 'upon', 'my', 'books', 'round', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'hands', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'handkerchief', 'wrapped', 'which', 'was', 'mottled', 'all', 'over', 'with', 'bloodstains', 'he', 'was', 'young', 'not', 'more', 'than', 'fiveandtwenty', 'i', 'should', 'say', 'with', 'a', 'strong', 'masculine', 'face', 'but', 'he', 'was', 'exceedingly', 'pale', 'and', 'gave', 'me', 'the', 'impression', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'was', 'suffering', 'from', 'some', 'strong', 'agitation', 'which', 'it', 'took', 'all', 'his', 'strength', 'of', 'mind', 'to', 'control', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'to', 'knock', 'you', 'up', 'so', 'early', 'doctor', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'a', 'very', 'serious', 'accident', 'during', 'the', 'night', 'i', 'came', 'in', 'by', 'train', 'this', 'morning', 'and', 'on', 'inquiring', 'at', 'paddington', 'as', 'to', 'where', 'i', 'might', 'find', 'a', 'doctor', 'a', 'worthy', 'fellow', 'very', 'kindly', 'escorted', 'me', 'here', 'i', 'gave', 'the', 'maid', 'a', 'card', 'but', 'i', 'see', 'that', 'she', 'has', 'left', 'it', 'upon', 'the', 'sidetable', 'i', 'took', 'it', 'up', 'and', 'glanced', 'at', 'it', 'mr', 'victor', 'hatherley', 'hydraulic', 'engineer', '16a', 'victoria', 'street', '3rd', 'floor', 'that', 'was', 'the', 'name', 'style', 'and', 'abode', 'of', 'my', 'morning', 'visitor', 'i', 'regret', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'kept', 'you', 'waiting', 'said', 'i', 'sitting', 'down', 'in', 'my', 'librarychair', 'you', 'are', 'fresh', 'from', 'a', 'night', 'journey', 'i', 'understand', 'which', 'is', 'in', 'itself', 'a', 'monotonous', 'occupation', 'oh', 'my', 'night', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'called', 'monotonous', 'said', 'he', 'and', 'laughed', 'he', 'laughed', 'very', 'heartily', 'with', 'a', 'high', 'ringing', 'note', 'leaning', 'back', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'and', 'shaking', 'his', 'sides', 'all', 'my', 'medical', 'instincts', 'rose', 'up', 'against', 'that', 'laugh', 'stop', 'it', 'i', 'cried', 'pull', 'yourself', 'together', 'and', 'i', 'poured', 'out', 'some', 'water', 'from', 'a', 'caraffe', 'it', 'was', 'useless', 'however', 'he', 'was', 'off', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'hysterical', 'outbursts', 'which', 'come', 'upon', 'a', 'strong', 'nature', 'when', 'some', 'great', 'crisis', 'is', 'over', 'and', 'gone', 'presently', 'he', 'came', 'to', 'himself', 'once', 'more', 'very', 'weary', 'and', 'palelooking', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'making', 'a', 'fool', 'of', 'myself', 'he', 'gasped', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'drink', 'this', 'i', 'dashed', 'some', 'brandy', 'into', 'the', 'water', 'and', 'the', 'colour', 'began', 'to', 'come', 'back', 'to', 'his', 'bloodless', 'cheeks', 'thats', 'better', 'said', 'he', 'and', 'now', 'doctor', 'perhaps', 'you', 'would', 'kindly', 'attend', 'to', 'my', 'thumb', 'or', 'rather', 'to', 'the', 'place', 'where', 'my', 'thumb', 'used', 'to', 'be', 'he', 'unwound', 'the', 'handkerchief', 'and', 'held', 'out', 'his', 'hand', 'it', 'gave', 'even', 'my', 'hardened', 'nerves', 'a', 'shudder', 'to', 'look', 'at', 'it', 'there', 'were', 'four', 'protruding', 'fingers', 'and', 'a', 'horrid', 'red', 'spongy', 'surface', 'where', 'the', 'thumb', 'should', 'have', 'been', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'hacked', 'or', 'torn', 'right', 'out', 'from', 'the', 'roots', 'good', 'heavens', 'i', 'cried', 'this', 'is', 'a', 'terrible', 'injury', 'it', 'must', 'have', 'bled', 'considerably', 'yes', 'it', 'did', 'i', 'fainted', 'when', 'it', 'was', 'done', 'and', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'senseless', 'for', 'a', 'long', 'time', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'i', 'found', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'still', 'bleeding', 'so', 'i', 'tied', 'one', 'end', 'of', 'my', 'handkerchief', 'very', 'tightly', 'round', 'the', 'wrist', 'and', 'braced', 'it', 'up', 'with', 'a', 'twig', 'excellent', 'you', 'should', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'surgeon', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'question', 'of', 'hydraulics', 'you', 'see', 'and', 'came', 'within', 'my', 'own', 'province', 'this', 'has', 'been', 'done', 'said', 'i', 'examining', 'the', 'wound', 'by', 'a', 'very', 'heavy', 'and', 'sharp', 'instrument', 'a', 'thing', 'like', 'a', 'cleaver', 'said', 'he', 'an', 'accident', 'i', 'presume', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'what', 'a', 'murderous', 'attack', 'very', 'murderous', 'indeed', 'you', 'horrify', 'me', 'i', 'sponged', 'the', 'wound', 'cleaned', 'it', 'dressed', 'it', 'and', 'finally', 'covered', 'it', 'over', 'with', 'cotton', 'wadding', 'and', 'carbolised', 'bandages', 'he', 'lay', 'back', 'without', 'wincing', 'though', 'he', 'bit', 'his', 'lip', 'from', 'time', 'to', 'time', 'how', 'is', 'that', 'i', 'asked', 'when', 'i', 'had', 'finished', 'capital', 'between', 'your', 'brandy', 'and', 'your', 'bandage', 'i', 'feel', 'a', 'new', 'man', 'i', 'was', 'very', 'weak', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'to', 'go', 'through', 'perhaps', 'you', 'had', 'better', 'not', 'speak', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'it', 'is', 'evidently', 'trying', 'to', 'your', 'nerves', 'oh', 'no', 'not', 'now', 'i', 'shall', 'have', 'to', 'tell', 'my', 'tale', 'to', 'the', 'police', 'but', 'between', 'ourselves', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'not', 'for', 'the', 'convincing', 'evidence', 'of', 'this', 'wound', 'of', 'mine', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'surprised', 'if', 'they', 'believed', 'my', 'statement', 'for', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'extraordinary', 'one', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'much', 'in', 'the', 'way', 'of', 'proof', 'with', 'which', 'to', 'back', 'it', 'up', 'and', 'even', 'if', 'they', 'believe', 'me', 'the', 'clues', 'which', 'i', 'can', 'give', 'them', 'are', 'so', 'vague', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'question', 'whether', 'justice', 'will', 'be', 'done', 'ha', 'cried', 'i', 'if', 'it', 'is', 'anything', 'in', 'the', 'nature', 'of', 'a', 'problem', 'which', 'you', 'desire', 'to', 'see', 'solved', 'i', 'should', 'strongly', 'recommend', 'you', 'to', 'come', 'to', 'my', 'friend', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'before', 'you', 'go', 'to', 'the', 'official', 'police', 'oh', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'of', 'that', 'fellow', 'answered', 'my', 'visitor', 'and', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'very', 'glad', 'if', 'he', 'would', 'take', 'the', 'matter', 'up', 'though', 'of', 'course', 'i', 'must', 'use', 'the', 'official', 'police', 'as', 'well', 'would', 'you', 'give', 'me', 'an', 'introduction', 'to', 'him', 'ill', 'do', 'better', 'ill', 'take', 'you', 'round', 'to', 'him', 'myself', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'immensely', 'obliged', 'to', 'you', 'well', 'call', 'a', 'cab', 'and', 'go', 'together', 'we', 'shall', 'just', 'be', 'in', 'time', 'to', 'have', 'a', 'little', 'breakfast', 'with', 'him', 'do', 'you', 'feel', 'equal', 'to', 'it', 'yes', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'feel', 'easy', 'until', 'i', 'have', 'told', 'my', 'story', 'then', 'my', 'servant', 'will', 'call', 'a', 'cab', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'with', 'you', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'i', 'rushed', 'upstairs', 'explained', 'the', 'matter', 'shortly', 'to', 'my', 'wife', 'and', 'in', 'five', 'minutes', 'was', 'inside', 'a', 'hansom', 'driving', 'with', 'my', 'new', 'acquaintance', 'to', 'baker', 'street', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'was', 'as', 'i', 'expected', 'lounging', 'about', 'his', 'sittingroom', 'in', 'his', 'dressinggown', 'reading', 'the', 'agony', 'column', 'of', 'the', 'times', 'and', 'smoking', 'his', 'beforebreakfast', 'pipe', 'which', 'was', 'composed', 'of', 'all', 'the', 'plugs', 'and', 'dottles', 'left', 'from', 'his', 'smokes', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'all', 'carefully', 'dried', 'and', 'collected', 'on', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'the', 'mantelpiece', 'he', 'received', 'us', 'in', 'his', 'quietly', 'genial', 'fashion', 'ordered', 'fresh', 'rashers', 'and', 'eggs', 'and', 'joined', 'us', 'in', 'a', 'hearty', 'meal', 'when', 'it', 'was', 'concluded', 'he', 'settled', 'our', 'new', 'acquaintance', 'upon', 'the', 'sofa', 'placed', 'a', 'pillow', 'beneath', 'his', 'head', 'and', 'laid', 'a', 'glass', 'of', 'brandy', 'and', 'water', 'within', 'his', 'reach', 'it', 'is', 'easy', 'to', 'see', 'that', 'your', 'experience', 'has', 'been', 'no', 'common', 'one', 'mr', 'hatherley', 'said', 'he', 'pray', 'lie', 'down', 'there', 'and', 'make', 'yourself', 'absolutely', 'at', 'home', 'tell', 'us', 'what', 'you', 'can', 'but', 'stop', 'when', 'you', 'are', 'tired', 'and', 'keep', 'up', 'your', 'strength', 'with', 'a', 'little', 'stimulant', 'thank', 'you', 'said', 'my', 'patient', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'felt', 'another', 'man', 'since', 'the', 'doctor', 'bandaged', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'your', 'breakfast', 'has', 'completed', 'the', 'cure', 'i', 'shall', 'take', 'up', 'as', 'little', 'of', 'your', 'valuable', 'time', 'as', 'possible', 'so', 'i', 'shall', 'start', 'at', 'once', 'upon', 'my', 'peculiar', 'experiences', 'holmes', 'sat', 'in', 'his', 'big', 'armchair', 'with', 'the', 'weary', 'heavylidded', 'expression', 'which', 'veiled', 'his', 'keen', 'and', 'eager', 'nature', 'while', 'i', 'sat', 'opposite', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'we', 'listened', 'in', 'silence', 'to', 'the', 'strange', 'story', 'which', 'our', 'visitor', 'detailed', 'to', 'us', 'you', 'must', 'know', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'an', 'orphan', 'and', 'a', 'bachelor', 'residing', 'alone', 'in', 'lodgings', 'in', 'london', 'by', 'profession', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'hydraulic', 'engineer', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'considerable', 'experience', 'of', 'my', 'work', 'during', 'the', 'seven', 'years', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'apprenticed', 'to', 'venner', 'matheson', 'the', 'wellknown', 'firm', 'of', 'greenwich', 'two', 'years', 'ago', 'having', 'served', 'my', 'time', 'and', 'having', 'also', 'come', 'into', 'a', 'fair', 'sum', 'of', 'money', 'through', 'my', 'poor', 'fathers', 'death', 'i', 'determined', 'to', 'start', 'in', 'business', 'for', 'myself', 'and', 'took', 'professional', 'chambers', 'in', 'victoria', 'street', 'i', 'suppose', 'that', 'everyone', 'finds', 'his', 'first', 'independent', 'start', 'in', 'business', 'a', 'dreary', 'experience', 'to', 'me', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'exceptionally', 'so', 'during', 'two', 'years', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'three', 'consultations', 'and', 'one', 'small', 'job', 'and', 'that', 'is', 'absolutely', 'all', 'that', 'my', 'profession', 'has', 'brought', 'me', 'my', 'gross', 'takings', 'amount', 'to', '27', '10s', 'every', 'day', 'from', 'nine', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'until', 'four', 'in', 'the', 'afternoon', 'i', 'waited', 'in', 'my', 'little', 'den', 'until', 'at', 'last', 'my', 'heart', 'began', 'to', 'sink', 'and', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'believe', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'never', 'have', 'any', 'practice', 'at', 'all', 'yesterday', 'however', 'just', 'as', 'i', 'was', 'thinking', 'of', 'leaving', 'the', 'office', 'my', 'clerk', 'entered', 'to', 'say', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'gentleman', 'waiting', 'who', 'wished', 'to', 'see', 'me', 'upon', 'business', 'he', 'brought', 'up', 'a', 'card', 'too', 'with', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'colonel', 'lysander', 'stark', 'engraved', 'upon', 'it', 'close', 'at', 'his', 'heels', 'came', 'the', 'colonel', 'himself', 'a', 'man', 'rather', 'over', 'the', 'middle', 'size', 'but', 'of', 'an', 'exceeding', 'thinness', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'ever', 'seen', 'so', 'thin', 'a', 'man', 'his', 'whole', 'face', 'sharpened', 'away', 'into', 'nose', 'and', 'chin', 'and', 'the', 'skin', 'of', 'his', 'cheeks', 'was', 'drawn', 'quite', 'tense', 'over', 'his', 'outstanding', 'bones', 'yet', 'this', 'emaciation', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'his', 'natural', 'habit', 'and', 'due', 'to', 'no', 'disease', 'for', 'his', 'eye', 'was', 'bright', 'his', 'step', 'brisk', 'and', 'his', 'bearing', 'assured', 'he', 'was', 'plainly', 'but', 'neatly', 'dressed', 'and', 'his', 'age', 'i', 'should', 'judge', 'would', 'be', 'nearer', 'forty', 'than', 'thirty', 'mr', 'hatherley', 'said', 'he', 'with', 'something', 'of', 'a', 'german', 'accent', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'recommended', 'to', 'me', 'mr', 'hatherley', 'as', 'being', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'is', 'not', 'only', 'proficient', 'in', 'his', 'profession', 'but', 'is', 'also', 'discreet', 'and', 'capable', 'of', 'preserving', 'a', 'secret', 'i', 'bowed', 'feeling', 'as', 'flattered', 'as', 'any', 'young', 'man', 'would', 'at', 'such', 'an', 'address', 'may', 'i', 'ask', 'who', 'it', 'was', 'who', 'gave', 'me', 'so', 'good', 'a', 'character', 'well', 'perhaps', 'it', 'is', 'better', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'tell', 'you', 'that', 'just', 'at', 'this', 'moment', 'i', 'have', 'it', 'from', 'the', 'same', 'source', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'both', 'an', 'orphan', 'and', 'a', 'bachelor', 'and', 'are', 'residing', 'alone', 'in', 'london', 'that', 'is', 'quite', 'correct', 'i', 'answered', 'but', 'you', 'will', 'excuse', 'me', 'if', 'i', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'see', 'how', 'all', 'this', 'bears', 'upon', 'my', 'professional', 'qualifications', 'i', 'understand', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'on', 'a', 'professional', 'matter', 'that', 'you', 'wished', 'to', 'speak', 'to', 'me', 'undoubtedly', 'so', 'but', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'that', 'all', 'i', 'say', 'is', 'really', 'to', 'the', 'point', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'professional', 'commission', 'for', 'you', 'but', 'absolute', 'secrecy', 'is', 'quite', 'essentialabsolute', 'secrecy', 'you', 'understand', 'and', 'of', 'course', 'we', 'may', 'expect', 'that', 'more', 'from', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'is', 'alone', 'than', 'from', 'one', 'who', 'lives', 'in', 'the', 'bosom', 'of', 'his', 'family', 'if', 'i', 'promise', 'to', 'keep', 'a', 'secret', 'said', 'i', 'you', 'may', 'absolutely', 'depend', 'upon', 'my', 'doing', 'so', 'he', 'looked', 'very', 'hard', 'at', 'me', 'as', 'i', 'spoke', 'and', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'never', 'seen', 'so', 'suspicious', 'and', 'questioning', 'an', 'eye', 'do', 'you', 'promise', 'then', 'said', 'he', 'at', 'last', 'yes', 'i', 'promise', 'absolute', 'and', 'complete', 'silence', 'before', 'during', 'and', 'after', 'no', 'reference', 'to', 'the', 'matter', 'at', 'all', 'either', 'in', 'word', 'or', 'writing', 'i', 'have', 'already', 'given', 'you', 'my', 'word', 'very', 'good', 'he', 'suddenly', 'sprang', 'up', 'and', 'darting', 'like', 'lightning', 'across', 'the', 'room', 'he', 'flung', 'open', 'the', 'door', 'the', 'passage', 'outside', 'was', 'empty', 'thats', 'all', 'right', 'said', 'he', 'coming', 'back', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'clerks', 'are', 'sometimes', 'curious', 'as', 'to', 'their', 'masters', 'affairs', 'now', 'we', 'can', 'talk', 'in', 'safety', 'he', 'drew', 'up', 'his', 'chair', 'very', 'close', 'to', 'mine', 'and', 'began', 'to', 'stare', 'at', 'me', 'again', 'with', 'the', 'same', 'questioning', 'and', 'thoughtful', 'look', 'a', 'feeling', 'of', 'repulsion', 'and', 'of', 'something', 'akin', 'to', 'fear', 'had', 'begun', 'to', 'rise', 'within', 'me', 'at', 'the', 'strange', 'antics', 'of', 'this', 'fleshless', 'man', 'even', 'my', 'dread', 'of', 'losing', 'a', 'client', 'could', 'not', 'restrain', 'me', 'from', 'showing', 'my', 'impatience', 'i', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'state', 'your', 'business', 'sir', 'said', 'i', 'my', 'time', 'is', 'of', 'value', 'heaven', 'forgive', 'me', 'for', 'that', 'last', 'sentence', 'but', 'the', 'words', 'came', 'to', 'my', 'lips', 'how', 'would', 'fifty', 'guineas', 'for', 'a', 'nights', 'work', 'suit', 'you', 'he', 'asked', 'most', 'admirably', 'i', 'say', 'a', 'nights', 'work', 'but', 'an', 'hours', 'would', 'be', 'nearer', 'the', 'mark', 'i', 'simply', 'want', 'your', 'opinion', 'about', 'a', 'hydraulic', 'stamping', 'machine', 'which', 'has', 'got', 'out', 'of', 'gear', 'if', 'you', 'show', 'us', 'what', 'is', 'wrong', 'we', 'shall', 'soon', 'set', 'it', 'right', 'ourselves', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'commission', 'as', 'that', 'the', 'work', 'appears', 'to', 'be', 'light', 'and', 'the', 'pay', 'munificent', 'precisely', 'so', 'we', 'shall', 'want', 'you', 'to', 'come', 'tonight', 'by', 'the', 'last', 'train', 'where', 'to', 'to', 'eyford', 'in', 'berkshire', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'place', 'near', 'the', 'borders', 'of', 'oxfordshire', 'and', 'within', 'seven', 'miles', 'of', 'reading', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'train', 'from', 'paddington', 'which', 'would', 'bring', 'you', 'there', 'at', 'about', '1115', 'very', 'good', 'i', 'shall', 'come', 'down', 'in', 'a', 'carriage', 'to', 'meet', 'you', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'drive', 'then', 'yes', 'our', 'little', 'place', 'is', 'quite', 'out', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'good', 'seven', 'miles', 'from', 'eyford', 'station', 'then', 'we', 'can', 'hardly', 'get', 'there', 'before', 'midnight', 'i', 'suppose', 'there', 'would', 'be', 'no', 'chance', 'of', 'a', 'train', 'back', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'compelled', 'to', 'stop', 'the', 'night', 'yes', 'we', 'could', 'easily', 'give', 'you', 'a', 'shakedown', 'that', 'is', 'very', 'awkward', 'could', 'i', 'not', 'come', 'at', 'some', 'more', 'convenient', 'hour', 'we', 'have', 'judged', 'it', 'best', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'come', 'late', 'it', 'is', 'to', 'recompense', 'you', 'for', 'any', 'inconvenience', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'paying', 'to', 'you', 'a', 'young', 'and', 'unknown', 'man', 'a', 'fee', 'which', 'would', 'buy', 'an', 'opinion', 'from', 'the', 'very', 'heads', 'of', 'your', 'profession', 'still', 'of', 'course', 'if', 'you', 'would', 'like', 'to', 'draw', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'business', 'there', 'is', 'plenty', 'of', 'time', 'to', 'do', 'so', 'i', 'thought', 'of', 'the', 'fifty', 'guineas', 'and', 'of', 'how', 'very', 'useful', 'they', 'would', 'be', 'to', 'me', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'said', 'i', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'very', 'happy', 'to', 'accommodate', 'myself', 'to', 'your', 'wishes', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'however', 'to', 'understand', 'a', 'little', 'more', 'clearly', 'what', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'you', 'wish', 'me', 'to', 'do', 'quite', 'so', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'natural', 'that', 'the', 'pledge', 'of', 'secrecy', 'which', 'we', 'have', 'exacted', 'from', 'you', 'should', 'have', 'aroused', 'your', 'curiosity', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'wish', 'to', 'commit', 'you', 'to', 'anything', 'without', 'your', 'having', 'it', 'all', 'laid', 'before', 'you', 'i', 'suppose', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'absolutely', 'safe', 'from', 'eavesdroppers', 'entirely', 'then', 'the', 'matter', 'stands', 'thus', 'you', 'are', 'probably', 'aware', 'that', 'fullersearth', 'is', 'a', 'valuable', 'product', 'and', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'only', 'found', 'in', 'one', 'or', 'two', 'places', 'in', 'england', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'so', 'some', 'little', 'time', 'ago', 'i', 'bought', 'a', 'small', 'placea', 'very', 'small', 'placewithin', 'ten', 'miles', 'of', 'reading', 'i', 'was', 'fortunate', 'enough', 'to', 'discover', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'deposit', 'of', 'fullersearth', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'my', 'fields', 'on', 'examining', 'it', 'however', 'i', 'found', 'that', 'this', 'deposit', 'was', 'a', 'comparatively', 'small', 'one', 'and', 'that', 'it', 'formed', 'a', 'link', 'between', 'two', 'very', 'much', 'larger', 'ones', 'upon', 'the', 'right', 'and', 'leftboth', 'of', 'them', 'however', 'in', 'the', 'grounds', 'of', 'my', 'neighbours', 'these', 'good', 'people', 'were', 'absolutely', 'ignorant', 'that', 'their', 'land', 'contained', 'that', 'which', 'was', 'quite', 'as', 'valuable', 'as', 'a', 'goldmine', 'naturally', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'my', 'interest', 'to', 'buy', 'their', 'land', 'before', 'they', 'discovered', 'its', 'true', 'value', 'but', 'unfortunately', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'capital', 'by', 'which', 'i', 'could', 'do', 'this', 'i', 'took', 'a', 'few', 'of', 'my', 'friends', 'into', 'the', 'secret', 'however', 'and', 'they', 'suggested', 'that', 'we', 'should', 'quietly', 'and', 'secretly', 'work', 'our', 'own', 'little', 'deposit', 'and', 'that', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'we', 'should', 'earn', 'the', 'money', 'which', 'would', 'enable', 'us', 'to', 'buy', 'the', 'neighbouring', 'fields', 'this', 'we', 'have', 'now', 'been', 'doing', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'and', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'help', 'us', 'in', 'our', 'operations', 'we', 'erected', 'a', 'hydraulic', 'press', 'this', 'press', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'already', 'explained', 'has', 'got', 'out', 'of', 'order', 'and', 'we', 'wish', 'your', 'advice', 'upon', 'the', 'subject', 'we', 'guard', 'our', 'secret', 'very', 'jealously', 'however', 'and', 'if', 'it', 'once', 'became', 'known', 'that', 'we', 'had', 'hydraulic', 'engineers', 'coming', 'to', 'our', 'little', 'house', 'it', 'would', 'soon', 'rouse', 'inquiry', 'and', 'then', 'if', 'the', 'facts', 'came', 'out', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'goodbye', 'to', 'any', 'chance', 'of', 'getting', 'these', 'fields', 'and', 'carrying', 'out', 'our', 'plans', 'that', 'is', 'why', 'i', 'have', 'made', 'you', 'promise', 'me', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'tell', 'a', 'human', 'being', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'going', 'to', 'eyford', 'tonight', 'i', 'hope', 'that', 'i', 'make', 'it', 'all', 'plain', 'i', 'quite', 'follow', 'you', 'said', 'i', 'the', 'only', 'point', 'which', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'quite', 'understand', 'was', 'what', 'use', 'you', 'could', 'make', 'of', 'a', 'hydraulic', 'press', 'in', 'excavating', 'fullersearth', 'which', 'as', 'i', 'understand', 'is', 'dug', 'out', 'like', 'gravel', 'from', 'a', 'pit', 'ah', 'said', 'he', 'carelessly', 'we', 'have', 'our', 'own', 'process', 'we', 'compress', 'the', 'earth', 'into', 'bricks', 'so', 'as', 'to', 'remove', 'them', 'without', 'revealing', 'what', 'they', 'are', 'but', 'that', 'is', 'a', 'mere', 'detail', 'i', 'have', 'taken', 'you', 'fully', 'into', 'my', 'confidence', 'now', 'mr', 'hatherley', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'shown', 'you', 'how', 'i', 'trust', 'you', 'he', 'rose', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'i', 'shall', 'expect', 'you', 'then', 'at', 'eyford', 'at', '1115', 'i', 'shall', 'certainly', 'be', 'there', 'and', 'not', 'a', 'word', 'to', 'a', 'soul', 'he', 'looked', 'at', 'me', 'with', 'a', 'last', 'long', 'questioning', 'gaze', 'and', 'then', 'pressing', 'my', 'hand', 'in', 'a', 'cold', 'dank', 'grasp', 'he', 'hurried', 'from', 'the', 'room', 'well', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'think', 'it', 'all', 'over', 'in', 'cool', 'blood', 'i', 'was', 'very', 'much', 'astonished', 'as', 'you', 'may', 'both', 'think', 'at', 'this', 'sudden', 'commission', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'intrusted', 'to', 'me', 'on', 'the', 'one', 'hand', 'of', 'course', 'i', 'was', 'glad', 'for', 'the', 'fee', 'was', 'at', 'least', 'tenfold', 'what', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'asked', 'had', 'i', 'set', 'a', 'price', 'upon', 'my', 'own', 'services', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'possible', 'that', 'this', 'order', 'might', 'lead', 'to', 'other', 'ones', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'hand', 'the', 'face', 'and', 'manner', 'of', 'my', 'patron', 'had', 'made', 'an', 'unpleasant', 'impression', 'upon', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'think', 'that', 'his', 'explanation', 'of', 'the', 'fullersearth', 'was', 'sufficient', 'to', 'explain', 'the', 'necessity', 'for', 'my', 'coming', 'at', 'midnight', 'and', 'his', 'extreme', 'anxiety', 'lest', 'i', 'should', 'tell', 'anyone', 'of', 'my', 'errand', 'however', 'i', 'threw', 'all', 'fears', 'to', 'the', 'winds', 'ate', 'a', 'hearty', 'supper', 'drove', 'to', 'paddington', 'and', 'started', 'off', 'having', 'obeyed', 'to', 'the', 'letter', 'the', 'injunction', 'as', 'to', 'holding', 'my', 'tongue', 'at', 'reading', 'i', 'had', 'to', 'change', 'not', 'only', 'my', 'carriage', 'but', 'my', 'station', 'however', 'i', 'was', 'in', 'time', 'for', 'the', 'last', 'train', 'to', 'eyford', 'and', 'i', 'reached', 'the', 'little', 'dimlit', 'station', 'after', 'eleven', 'oclock', 'i', 'was', 'the', 'only', 'passenger', 'who', 'got', 'out', 'there', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'one', 'upon', 'the', 'platform', 'save', 'a', 'single', 'sleepy', 'porter', 'with', 'a', 'lantern', 'as', 'i', 'passed', 'out', 'through', 'the', 'wicket', 'gate', 'however', 'i', 'found', 'my', 'acquaintance', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'waiting', 'in', 'the', 'shadow', 'upon', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'without', 'a', 'word', 'he', 'grasped', 'my', 'arm', 'and', 'hurried', 'me', 'into', 'a', 'carriage', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'which', 'was', 'standing', 'open', 'he', 'drew', 'up', 'the', 'windows', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'tapped', 'on', 'the', 'woodwork', 'and', 'away', 'we', 'went', 'as', 'fast', 'as', 'the', 'horse', 'could', 'go', 'one', 'horse', 'interjected', 'holmes', 'yes', 'only', 'one', 'did', 'you', 'observe', 'the', 'colour', 'yes', 'i', 'saw', 'it', 'by', 'the', 'sidelights', 'when', 'i', 'was', 'stepping', 'into', 'the', 'carriage', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'chestnut', 'tiredlooking', 'or', 'fresh', 'oh', 'fresh', 'and', 'glossy', 'thank', 'you', 'i', 'am', 'sorry', 'to', 'have', 'interrupted', 'you', 'pray', 'continue', 'your', 'most', 'interesting', 'statement', 'away', 'we', 'went', 'then', 'and', 'we', 'drove', 'for', 'at', 'least', 'an', 'hour', 'colonel', 'lysander', 'stark', 'had', 'said', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'seven', 'miles', 'but', 'i', 'should', 'think', 'from', 'the', 'rate', 'that', 'we', 'seemed', 'to', 'go', 'and', 'from', 'the', 'time', 'that', 'we', 'took', 'that', 'it', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'nearer', 'twelve', 'he', 'sat', 'at', 'my', 'side', 'in', 'silence', 'all', 'the', 'time', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'aware', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'when', 'i', 'glanced', 'in', 'his', 'direction', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'looking', 'at', 'me', 'with', 'great', 'intensity', 'the', 'country', 'roads', 'seem', 'to', 'be', 'not', 'very', 'good', 'in', 'that', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'for', 'we', 'lurched', 'and', 'jolted', 'terribly', 'i', 'tried', 'to', 'look', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'windows', 'to', 'see', 'something', 'of', 'where', 'we', 'were', 'but', 'they', 'were', 'made', 'of', 'frosted', 'glass', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'make', 'out', 'nothing', 'save', 'the', 'occasional', 'bright', 'blur', 'of', 'a', 'passing', 'light', 'now', 'and', 'then', 'i', 'hazarded', 'some', 'remark', 'to', 'break', 'the', 'monotony', 'of', 'the', 'journey', 'but', 'the', 'colonel', 'answered', 'only', 'in', 'monosyllables', 'and', 'the', 'conversation', 'soon', 'flagged', 'at', 'last', 'however', 'the', 'bumping', 'of', 'the', 'road', 'was', 'exchanged', 'for', 'the', 'crisp', 'smoothness', 'of', 'a', 'graveldrive', 'and', 'the', 'carriage', 'came', 'to', 'a', 'stand', 'colonel', 'lysander', 'stark', 'sprang', 'out', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'followed', 'after', 'him', 'pulled', 'me', 'swiftly', 'into', 'a', 'porch', 'which', 'gaped', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'us', 'we', 'stepped', 'as', 'it', 'were', 'right', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'carriage', 'and', 'into', 'the', 'hall', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'failed', 'to', 'catch', 'the', 'most', 'fleeting', 'glance', 'of', 'the', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'the', 'instant', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'crossed', 'the', 'threshold', 'the', 'door', 'slammed', 'heavily', 'behind', 'us', 'and', 'i', 'heard', 'faintly', 'the', 'rattle', 'of', 'the', 'wheels', 'as', 'the', 'carriage', 'drove', 'away', 'it', 'was', 'pitch', 'dark', 'inside', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'the', 'colonel', 'fumbled', 'about', 'looking', 'for', 'matches', 'and', 'muttering', 'under', 'his', 'breath', 'suddenly', 'a', 'door', 'opened', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'passage', 'and', 'a', 'long', 'golden', 'bar', 'of', 'light', 'shot', 'out', 'in', 'our', 'direction', 'it', 'grew', 'broader', 'and', 'a', 'woman', 'appeared', 'with', 'a', 'lamp', 'in', 'her', 'hand', 'which', 'she', 'held', 'above', 'her', 'head', 'pushing', 'her', 'face', 'forward', 'and', 'peering', 'at', 'us', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'pretty', 'and', 'from', 'the', 'gloss', 'with', 'which', 'the', 'light', 'shone', 'upon', 'her', 'dark', 'dress', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'rich', 'material', 'she', 'spoke', 'a', 'few', 'words', 'in', 'a', 'foreign', 'tongue', 'in', 'a', 'tone', 'as', 'though', 'asking', 'a', 'question', 'and', 'when', 'my', 'companion', 'answered', 'in', 'a', 'gruff', 'monosyllable', 'she', 'gave', 'such', 'a', 'start', 'that', 'the', 'lamp', 'nearly', 'fell', 'from', 'her', 'hand', 'colonel', 'stark', 'went', 'up', 'to', 'her', 'whispered', 'something', 'in', 'her', 'ear', 'and', 'then', 'pushing', 'her', 'back', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'from', 'whence', 'she', 'had', 'come', 'he', 'walked', 'towards', 'me', 'again', 'with', 'the', 'lamp', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'perhaps', 'you', 'will', 'have', 'the', 'kindness', 'to', 'wait', 'in', 'this', 'room', 'for', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'said', 'he', 'throwing', 'open', 'another', 'door', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'quiet', 'little', 'plainly', 'furnished', 'room', 'with', 'a', 'round', 'table', 'in', 'the', 'centre', 'on', 'which', 'several', 'german', 'books', 'were', 'scattered', 'colonel', 'stark', 'laid', 'down', 'the', 'lamp', 'on', 'the', 'top', 'of', 'a', 'harmonium', 'beside', 'the', 'door', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'keep', 'you', 'waiting', 'an', 'instant', 'said', 'he', 'and', 'vanished', 'into', 'the', 'darkness', 'i', 'glanced', 'at', 'the', 'books', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'and', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'my', 'ignorance', 'of', 'german', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'that', 'two', 'of', 'them', 'were', 'treatises', 'on', 'science', 'the', 'others', 'being', 'volumes', 'of', 'poetry', 'then', 'i', 'walked', 'across', 'to', 'the', 'window', 'hoping', 'that', 'i', 'might', 'catch', 'some', 'glimpse', 'of', 'the', 'countryside', 'but', 'an', 'oak', 'shutter', 'heavily', 'barred', 'was', 'folded', 'across', 'it', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'wonderfully', 'silent', 'house', 'there', 'was', 'an', 'old', 'clock', 'ticking', 'loudly', 'somewhere', 'in', 'the', 'passage', 'but', 'otherwise', 'everything', 'was', 'deadly', 'still', 'a', 'vague', 'feeling', 'of', 'uneasiness', 'began', 'to', 'steal', 'over', 'me', 'who', 'were', 'these', 'german', 'people', 'and', 'what', 'were', 'they', 'doing', 'living', 'in', 'this', 'strange', 'outoftheway', 'place', 'and', 'where', 'was', 'the', 'place', 'i', 'was', 'ten', 'miles', 'or', 'so', 'from', 'eyford', 'that', 'was', 'all', 'i', 'knew', 'but', 'whether', 'north', 'south', 'east', 'or', 'west', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'idea', 'for', 'that', 'matter', 'reading', 'and', 'possibly', 'other', 'large', 'towns', 'were', 'within', 'that', 'radius', 'so', 'the', 'place', 'might', 'not', 'be', 'so', 'secluded', 'after', 'all', 'yet', 'it', 'was', 'quite', 'certain', 'from', 'the', 'absolute', 'stillness', 'that', 'we', 'were', 'in', 'the', 'country', 'i', 'paced', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'room', 'humming', 'a', 'tune', 'under', 'my', 'breath', 'to', 'keep', 'up', 'my', 'spirits', 'and', 'feeling', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'thoroughly', 'earning', 'my', 'fiftyguinea', 'fee', 'suddenly', 'without', 'any', 'preliminary', 'sound', 'in', 'the', 'midst', 'of', 'the', 'utter', 'stillness', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'my', 'room', 'swung', 'slowly', 'open', 'the', 'woman', 'was', 'standing', 'in', 'the', 'aperture', 'the', 'darkness', 'of', 'the', 'hall', 'behind', 'her', 'the', 'yellow', 'light', 'from', 'my', 'lamp', 'beating', 'upon', 'her', 'eager', 'and', 'beautiful', 'face', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'at', 'a', 'glance', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'sick', 'with', 'fear', 'and', 'the', 'sight', 'sent', 'a', 'chill', 'to', 'my', 'own', 'heart', 'she', 'held', 'up', 'one', 'shaking', 'finger', 'to', 'warn', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'silent', 'and', 'she', 'shot', 'a', 'few', 'whispered', 'words', 'of', 'broken', 'english', 'at', 'me', 'her', 'eyes', 'glancing', 'back', 'like', 'those', 'of', 'a', 'frightened', 'horse', 'into', 'the', 'gloom', 'behind', 'her', 'i', 'would', 'go', 'said', 'she', 'trying', 'hard', 'as', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'speak', 'calmly', 'i', 'would', 'go', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'stay', 'here', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'good', 'for', 'you', 'to', 'do', 'but', 'madam', 'said', 'i', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'yet', 'done', 'what', 'i', 'came', 'for', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'possibly', 'leave', 'until', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'the', 'machine', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'worth', 'your', 'while', 'to', 'wait', 'she', 'went', 'on', 'you', 'can', 'pass', 'through', 'the', 'door', 'no', 'one', 'hinders', 'and', 'then', 'seeing', 'that', 'i', 'smiled', 'and', 'shook', 'my', 'head', 'she', 'suddenly', 'threw', 'aside', 'her', 'constraint', 'and', 'made', 'a', 'step', 'forward', 'with', 'her', 'hands', 'wrung', 'together', 'for', 'the', 'love', 'of', 'heaven', 'she', 'whispered', 'get', 'away', 'from', 'here', 'before', 'it', 'is', 'too', 'late', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'somewhat', 'headstrong', 'by', 'nature', 'and', 'the', 'more', 'ready', 'to', 'engage', 'in', 'an', 'affair', 'when', 'there', 'is', 'some', 'obstacle', 'in', 'the', 'way', 'i', 'thought', 'of', 'my', 'fiftyguinea', 'fee', 'of', 'my', 'wearisome', 'journey', 'and', 'of', 'the', 'unpleasant', 'night', 'which', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'before', 'me', 'was', 'it', 'all', 'to', 'go', 'for', 'nothing', 'why', 'should', 'i', 'slink', 'away', 'without', 'having', 'carried', 'out', 'my', 'commission', 'and', 'without', 'the', 'payment', 'which', 'was', 'my', 'due', 'this', 'woman', 'might', 'for', 'all', 'i', 'knew', 'be', 'a', 'monomaniac', 'with', 'a', 'stout', 'bearing', 'therefore', 'though', 'her', 'manner', 'had', 'shaken', 'me', 'more', 'than', 'i', 'cared', 'to', 'confess', 'i', 'still', 'shook', 'my', 'head', 'and', 'declared', 'my', 'intention', 'of', 'remaining', 'where', 'i', 'was', 'she', 'was', 'about', 'to', 'renew', 'her', 'entreaties', 'when', 'a', 'door', 'slammed', 'overhead', 'and', 'the', 'sound', 'of', 'several', 'footsteps', 'was', 'heard', 'upon', 'the', 'stairs', 'she', 'listened', 'for', 'an', 'instant', 'threw', 'up', 'her', 'hands', 'with', 'a', 'despairing', 'gesture', 'and', 'vanished', 'as', 'suddenly', 'and', 'as', 'noiselessly', 'as', 'she', 'had', 'come', 'the', 'newcomers', 'were', 'colonel', 'lysander', 'stark', 'and', 'a', 'short', 'thick', 'man', 'with', 'a', 'chinchilla', 'beard', 'growing', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'creases', 'of', 'his', 'double', 'chin', 'who', 'was', 'introduced', 'to', 'me', 'as', 'mr', 'ferguson', 'this', 'is', 'my', 'secretary', 'and', 'manager', 'said', 'the', 'colonel', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'i', 'was', 'under', 'the', 'impression', 'that', 'i', 'left', 'this', 'door', 'shut', 'just', 'now', 'i', 'fear', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'felt', 'the', 'draught', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'said', 'i', 'i', 'opened', 'the', 'door', 'myself', 'because', 'i', 'felt', 'the', 'room', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'little', 'close', 'he', 'shot', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'suspicious', 'looks', 'at', 'me', 'perhaps', 'we', 'had', 'better', 'proceed', 'to', 'business', 'then', 'said', 'he', 'mr', 'ferguson', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'take', 'you', 'up', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'machine', 'i', 'had', 'better', 'put', 'my', 'hat', 'on', 'i', 'suppose', 'oh', 'no', 'it', 'is', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'what', 'you', 'dig', 'fullersearth', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'no', 'no', 'this', 'is', 'only', 'where', 'we', 'compress', 'it', 'but', 'never', 'mind', 'that', 'all', 'we', 'wish', 'you', 'to', 'do', 'is', 'to', 'examine', 'the', 'machine', 'and', 'to', 'let', 'us', 'know', 'what', 'is', 'wrong', 'with', 'it', 'we', 'went', 'upstairs', 'together', 'the', 'colonel', 'first', 'with', 'the', 'lamp', 'the', 'fat', 'manager', 'and', 'i', 'behind', 'him', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'labyrinth', 'of', 'an', 'old', 'house', 'with', 'corridors', 'passages', 'narrow', 'winding', 'staircases', 'and', 'little', 'low', 'doors', 'the', 'thresholds', 'of', 'which', 'were', 'hollowed', 'out', 'by', 'the', 'generations', 'who', 'had', 'crossed', 'them', 'there', 'were', 'no', 'carpets', 'and', 'no', 'signs', 'of', 'any', 'furniture', 'above', 'the', 'ground', 'floor', 'while', 'the', 'plaster', 'was', 'peeling', 'off', 'the', 'walls', 'and', 'the', 'damp', 'was', 'breaking', 'through', 'in', 'green', 'unhealthy', 'blotches', 'i', 'tried', 'to', 'put', 'on', 'as', 'unconcerned', 'an', 'air', 'as', 'possible', 'but', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'forgotten', 'the', 'warnings', 'of', 'the', 'lady', 'even', 'though', 'i', 'disregarded', 'them', 'and', 'i', 'kept', 'a', 'keen', 'eye', 'upon', 'my', 'two', 'companions', 'ferguson', 'appeared', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'morose', 'and', 'silent', 'man', 'but', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'from', 'the', 'little', 'that', 'he', 'said', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'at', 'least', 'a', 'fellowcountryman', 'colonel', 'lysander', 'stark', 'stopped', 'at', 'last', 'before', 'a', 'low', 'door', 'which', 'he', 'unlocked', 'within', 'was', 'a', 'small', 'square', 'room', 'in', 'which', 'the', 'three', 'of', 'us', 'could', 'hardly', 'get', 'at', 'one', 'time', 'ferguson', 'remained', 'outside', 'and', 'the', 'colonel', 'ushered', 'me', 'in', 'we', 'are', 'now', 'said', 'he', 'actually', 'within', 'the', 'hydraulic', 'press', 'and', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'particularly', 'unpleasant', 'thing', 'for', 'us', 'if', 'anyone', 'were', 'to', 'turn', 'it', 'on', 'the', 'ceiling', 'of', 'this', 'small', 'chamber', 'is', 'really', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'descending', 'piston', 'and', 'it', 'comes', 'down', 'with', 'the', 'force', 'of', 'many', 'tons', 'upon', 'this', 'metal', 'floor', 'there', 'are', 'small', 'lateral', 'columns', 'of', 'water', 'outside', 'which', 'receive', 'the', 'force', 'and', 'which', 'transmit', 'and', 'multiply', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'manner', 'which', 'is', 'familiar', 'to', 'you', 'the', 'machine', 'goes', 'readily', 'enough', 'but', 'there', 'is', 'some', 'stiffness', 'in', 'the', 'working', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'it', 'has', 'lost', 'a', 'little', 'of', 'its', 'force', 'perhaps', 'you', 'will', 'have', 'the', 'goodness', 'to', 'look', 'it', 'over', 'and', 'to', 'show', 'us', 'how', 'we', 'can', 'set', 'it', 'right', 'i', 'took', 'the', 'lamp', 'from', 'him', 'and', 'i', 'examined', 'the', 'machine', 'very', 'thoroughly', 'it', 'was', 'indeed', 'a', 'gigantic', 'one', 'and', 'capable', 'of', 'exercising', 'enormous', 'pressure', 'when', 'i', 'passed', 'outside', 'however', 'and', 'pressed', 'down', 'the', 'levers', 'which', 'controlled', 'it', 'i', 'knew', 'at', 'once', 'by', 'the', 'whishing', 'sound', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'slight', 'leakage', 'which', 'allowed', 'a', 'regurgitation', 'of', 'water', 'through', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'side', 'cylinders', 'an', 'examination', 'showed', 'that', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'indiarubber', 'bands', 'which', 'was', 'round', 'the', 'head', 'of', 'a', 'drivingrod', 'had', 'shrunk', 'so', 'as', 'not', 'quite', 'to', 'fill', 'the', 'socket', 'along', 'which', 'it', 'worked', 'this', 'was', 'clearly', 'the', 'cause', 'of', 'the', 'loss', 'of', 'power', 'and', 'i', 'pointed', 'it', 'out', 'to', 'my', 'companions', 'who', 'followed', 'my', 'remarks', 'very', 'carefully', 'and', 'asked', 'several', 'practical', 'questions', 'as', 'to', 'how', 'they', 'should', 'proceed', 'to', 'set', 'it', 'right', 'when', 'i', 'had', 'made', 'it', 'clear', 'to', 'them', 'i', 'returned', 'to', 'the', 'main', 'chamber', 'of', 'the', 'machine', 'and', 'took', 'a', 'good', 'look', 'at', 'it', 'to', 'satisfy', 'my', 'own', 'curiosity', 'it', 'was', 'obvious', 'at', 'a', 'glance', 'that', 'the', 'story', 'of', 'the', 'fullersearth', 'was', 'the', 'merest', 'fabrication', 'for', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'absurd', 'to', 'suppose', 'that', 'so', 'powerful', 'an', 'engine', 'could', 'be', 'designed', 'for', 'so', 'inadequate', 'a', 'purpose', 'the', 'walls', 'were', 'of', 'wood', 'but', 'the', 'floor', 'consisted', 'of', 'a', 'large', 'iron', 'trough', 'and', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'examine', 'it', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'a', 'crust', 'of', 'metallic', 'deposit', 'all', 'over', 'it', 'i', 'had', 'stooped', 'and', 'was', 'scraping', 'at', 'this', 'to', 'see', 'exactly', 'what', 'it', 'was', 'when', 'i', 'heard', 'a', 'muttered', 'exclamation', 'in', 'german', 'and', 'saw', 'the', 'cadaverous', 'face', 'of', 'the', 'colonel', 'looking', 'down', 'at', 'me', 'what', 'are', 'you', 'doing', 'there', 'he', 'asked', 'i', 'felt', 'angry', 'at', 'having', 'been', 'tricked', 'by', 'so', 'elaborate', 'a', 'story', 'as', 'that', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'told', 'me', 'i', 'was', 'admiring', 'your', 'fullersearth', 'said', 'i', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'better', 'able', 'to', 'advise', 'you', 'as', 'to', 'your', 'machine', 'if', 'i', 'knew', 'what', 'the', 'exact', 'purpose', 'was', 'for', 'which', 'it', 'was', 'used', 'the', 'instant', 'that', 'i', 'uttered', 'the', 'words', 'i', 'regretted', 'the', 'rashness', 'of', 'my', 'speech', 'his', 'face', 'set', 'hard', 'and', 'a', 'baleful', 'light', 'sprang', 'up', 'in', 'his', 'grey', 'eyes', 'very', 'well', 'said', 'he', 'you', 'shall', 'know', 'all', 'about', 'the', 'machine', 'he', 'took', 'a', 'step', 'backward', 'slammed', 'the', 'little', 'door', 'and', 'turned', 'the', 'key', 'in', 'the', 'lock', 'i', 'rushed', 'towards', 'it', 'and', 'pulled', 'at', 'the', 'handle', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'quite', 'secure', 'and', 'did', 'not', 'give', 'in', 'the', 'least', 'to', 'my', 'kicks', 'and', 'shoves', 'hullo', 'i', 'yelled', 'hullo', 'colonel', 'let', 'me', 'out', 'and', 'then', 'suddenly', 'in', 'the', 'silence', 'i', 'heard', 'a', 'sound', 'which', 'sent', 'my', 'heart', 'into', 'my', 'mouth', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'clank', 'of', 'the', 'levers', 'and', 'the', 'swish', 'of', 'the', 'leaking', 'cylinder', 'he', 'had', 'set', 'the', 'engine', 'at', 'work', 'the', 'lamp', 'still', 'stood', 'upon', 'the', 'floor', 'where', 'i', 'had', 'placed', 'it', 'when', 'examining', 'the', 'trough', 'by', 'its', 'light', 'i', 'saw', 'that', 'the', 'black', 'ceiling', 'was', 'coming', 'down', 'upon', 'me', 'slowly', 'jerkily', 'but', 'as', 'none', 'knew', 'better', 'than', 'myself', 'with', 'a', 'force', 'which', 'must', 'within', 'a', 'minute', 'grind', 'me', 'to', 'a', 'shapeless', 'pulp', 'i', 'threw', 'myself', 'screaming', 'against', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'dragged', 'with', 'my', 'nails', 'at', 'the', 'lock', 'i', 'implored', 'the', 'colonel', 'to', 'let', 'me', 'out', 'but', 'the', 'remorseless', 'clanking', 'of', 'the', 'levers', 'drowned', 'my', 'cries', 'the', 'ceiling', 'was', 'only', 'a', 'foot', 'or', 'two', 'above', 'my', 'head', 'and', 'with', 'my', 'hand', 'upraised', 'i', 'could', 'feel', 'its', 'hard', 'rough', 'surface', 'then', 'it', 'flashed', 'through', 'my', 'mind', 'that', 'the', 'pain', 'of', 'my', 'death', 'would', 'depend', 'very', 'much', 'upon', 'the', 'position', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'met', 'it', 'if', 'i', 'lay', 'on', 'my', 'face', 'the', 'weight', 'would', 'come', 'upon', 'my', 'spine', 'and', 'i', 'shuddered', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'that', 'dreadful', 'snap', 'easier', 'the', 'other', 'way', 'perhaps', 'and', 'yet', 'had', 'i', 'the', 'nerve', 'to', 'lie', 'and', 'look', 'up', 'at', 'that', 'deadly', 'black', 'shadow', 'wavering', 'down', 'upon', 'me', 'already', 'i', 'was', 'unable', 'to', 'stand', 'erect', 'when', 'my', 'eye', 'caught', 'something', 'which', 'brought', 'a', 'gush', 'of', 'hope', 'back', 'to', 'my', 'heart', 'i', 'have', 'said', 'that', 'though', 'the', 'floor', 'and', 'ceiling', 'were', 'of', 'iron', 'the', 'walls', 'were', 'of', 'wood', 'as', 'i', 'gave', 'a', 'last', 'hurried', 'glance', 'around', 'i', 'saw', 'a', 'thin', 'line', 'of', 'yellow', 'light', 'between', 'two', 'of', 'the', 'boards', 'which', 'broadened', 'and', 'broadened', 'as', 'a', 'small', 'panel', 'was', 'pushed', 'backward', 'for', 'an', 'instant', 'i', 'could', 'hardly', 'believe', 'that', 'here', 'was', 'indeed', 'a', 'door', 'which', 'led', 'away', 'from', 'death', 'the', 'next', 'instant', 'i', 'threw', 'myself', 'through', 'and', 'lay', 'halffainting', 'upon', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'the', 'panel', 'had', 'closed', 'again', 'behind', 'me', 'but', 'the', 'crash', 'of', 'the', 'lamp', 'and', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'afterwards', 'the', 'clang', 'of', 'the', 'two', 'slabs', 'of', 'metal', 'told', 'me', 'how', 'narrow', 'had', 'been', 'my', 'escape', 'i', 'was', 'recalled', 'to', 'myself', 'by', 'a', 'frantic', 'plucking', 'at', 'my', 'wrist', 'and', 'i', 'found', 'myself', 'lying', 'upon', 'the', 'stone', 'floor', 'of', 'a', 'narrow', 'corridor', 'while', 'a', 'woman', 'bent', 'over', 'me', 'and', 'tugged', 'at', 'me', 'with', 'her', 'left', 'hand', 'while', 'she', 'held', 'a', 'candle', 'in', 'her', 'right', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'same', 'good', 'friend', 'whose', 'warning', 'i', 'had', 'so', 'foolishly', 'rejected', 'come', 'come', 'she', 'cried', 'breathlessly', 'they', 'will', 'be', 'here', 'in', 'a', 'moment', 'they', 'will', 'see', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'there', 'oh', 'do', 'not', 'waste', 'the', 'soprecious', 'time', 'but', 'come', 'this', 'time', 'at', 'least', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'scorn', 'her', 'advice', 'i', 'staggered', 'to', 'my', 'feet', 'and', 'ran', 'with', 'her', 'along', 'the', 'corridor', 'and', 'down', 'a', 'winding', 'stair', 'the', 'latter', 'led', 'to', 'another', 'broad', 'passage', 'and', 'just', 'as', 'we', 'reached', 'it', 'we', 'heard', 'the', 'sound', 'of', 'running', 'feet', 'and', 'the', 'shouting', 'of', 'two', 'voices', 'one', 'answering', 'the', 'other', 'from', 'the', 'floor', 'on', 'which', 'we', 'were', 'and', 'from', 'the', 'one', 'beneath', 'my', 'guide', 'stopped', 'and', 'looked', 'about', 'her', 'like', 'one', 'who', 'is', 'at', 'her', 'wits', 'end', 'then', 'she', 'threw', 'open', 'a', 'door', 'which', 'led', 'into', 'a', 'bedroom', 'through', 'the', 'window', 'of', 'which', 'the', 'moon', 'was', 'shining', 'brightly', 'it', 'is', 'your', 'only', 'chance', 'said', 'she', 'it', 'is', 'high', 'but', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'that', 'you', 'can', 'jump', 'it', 'as', 'she', 'spoke', 'a', 'light', 'sprang', 'into', 'view', 'at', 'the', 'further', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'passage', 'and', 'i', 'saw', 'the', 'lean', 'figure', 'of', 'colonel', 'lysander', 'stark', 'rushing', 'forward', 'with', 'a', 'lantern', 'in', 'one', 'hand', 'and', 'a', 'weapon', 'like', 'a', 'butchers', 'cleaver', 'in', 'the', 'other', 'i', 'rushed', 'across', 'the', 'bedroom', 'flung', 'open', 'the', 'window', 'and', 'looked', 'out', 'how', 'quiet', 'and', 'sweet', 'and', 'wholesome', 'the', 'garden', 'looked', 'in', 'the', 'moonlight', 'and', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'be', 'more', 'than', 'thirty', 'feet', 'down', 'i', 'clambered', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'sill', 'but', 'i', 'hesitated', 'to', 'jump', 'until', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'heard', 'what', 'passed', 'between', 'my', 'saviour', 'and', 'the', 'ruffian', 'who', 'pursued', 'me', 'if', 'she', 'were', 'illused', 'then', 'at', 'any', 'risks', 'i', 'was', 'determined', 'to', 'go', 'back', 'to', 'her', 'assistance', 'the', 'thought', 'had', 'hardly', 'flashed', 'through', 'my', 'mind', 'before', 'he', 'was', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'pushing', 'his', 'way', 'past', 'her', 'but', 'she', 'threw', 'her', 'arms', 'round', 'him', 'and', 'tried', 'to', 'hold', 'him', 'back', 'fritz', 'fritz', 'she', 'cried', 'in', 'english', 'remember', 'your', 'promise', 'after', 'the', 'last', 'time', 'you', 'said', 'it', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'again', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'silent', 'oh', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'silent', 'you', 'are', 'mad', 'elise', 'he', 'shouted', 'struggling', 'to', 'break', 'away', 'from', 'her', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'the', 'ruin', 'of', 'us', 'he', 'has', 'seen', 'too', 'much', 'let', 'me', 'pass', 'i', 'say', 'he', 'dashed', 'her', 'to', 'one', 'side', 'and', 'rushing', 'to', 'the', 'window', 'cut', 'at', 'me', 'with', 'his', 'heavy', 'weapon', 'i', 'had', 'let', 'myself', 'go', 'and', 'was', 'hanging', 'by', 'the', 'hands', 'to', 'the', 'sill', 'when', 'his', 'blow', 'fell', 'i', 'was', 'conscious', 'of', 'a', 'dull', 'pain', 'my', 'grip', 'loosened', 'and', 'i', 'fell', 'into', 'the', 'garden', 'below', 'i', 'was', 'shaken', 'but', 'not', 'hurt', 'by', 'the', 'fall', 'so', 'i', 'picked', 'myself', 'up', 'and', 'rushed', 'off', 'among', 'the', 'bushes', 'as', 'hard', 'as', 'i', 'could', 'run', 'for', 'i', 'understood', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'far', 'from', 'being', 'out', 'of', 'danger', 'yet', 'suddenly', 'however', 'as', 'i', 'ran', 'a', 'deadly', 'dizziness', 'and', 'sickness', 'came', 'over', 'me', 'i', 'glanced', 'down', 'at', 'my', 'hand', 'which', 'was', 'throbbing', 'painfully', 'and', 'then', 'for', 'the', 'first', 'time', 'saw', 'that', 'my', 'thumb', 'had', 'been', 'cut', 'off', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'blood', 'was', 'pouring', 'from', 'my', 'wound', 'i', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'tie', 'my', 'handkerchief', 'round', 'it', 'but', 'there', 'came', 'a', 'sudden', 'buzzing', 'in', 'my', 'ears', 'and', 'next', 'moment', 'i', 'fell', 'in', 'a', 'dead', 'faint', 'among', 'the', 'rosebushes', 'how', 'long', 'i', 'remained', 'unconscious', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'tell', 'it', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'very', 'long', 'time', 'for', 'the', 'moon', 'had', 'sunk', 'and', 'a', 'bright', 'morning', 'was', 'breaking', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'myself', 'my', 'clothes', 'were', 'all', 'sodden', 'with', 'dew', 'and', 'my', 'coatsleeve', 'was', 'drenched', 'with', 'blood', 'from', 'my', 'wounded', 'thumb', 'the', 'smarting', 'of', 'it', 'recalled', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'all', 'the', 'particulars', 'of', 'my', 'nights', 'adventure', 'and', 'i', 'sprang', 'to', 'my', 'feet', 'with', 'the', 'feeling', 'that', 'i', 'might', 'hardly', 'yet', 'be', 'safe', 'from', 'my', 'pursuers', 'but', 'to', 'my', 'astonishment', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'look', 'round', 'me', 'neither', 'house', 'nor', 'garden', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'seen', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'lying', 'in', 'an', 'angle', 'of', 'the', 'hedge', 'close', 'by', 'the', 'highroad', 'and', 'just', 'a', 'little', 'lower', 'down', 'was', 'a', 'long', 'building', 'which', 'proved', 'upon', 'my', 'approaching', 'it', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'very', 'station', 'at', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'arrived', 'upon', 'the', 'previous', 'night', 'were', 'it', 'not', 'for', 'the', 'ugly', 'wound', 'upon', 'my', 'hand', 'all', 'that', 'had', 'passed', 'during', 'those', 'dreadful', 'hours', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'an', 'evil', 'dream', 'half', 'dazed', 'i', 'went', 'into', 'the', 'station', 'and', 'asked', 'about', 'the', 'morning', 'train', 'there', 'would', 'be', 'one', 'to', 'reading', 'in', 'less', 'than', 'an', 'hour', 'the', 'same', 'porter', 'was', 'on', 'duty', 'i', 'found', 'as', 'had', 'been', 'there', 'when', 'i', 'arrived', 'i', 'inquired', 'of', 'him', 'whether', 'he', 'had', 'ever', 'heard', 'of', 'colonel', 'lysander', 'stark', 'the', 'name', 'was', 'strange', 'to', 'him', 'had', 'he', 'observed', 'a', 'carriage', 'the', 'night', 'before', 'waiting', 'for', 'me', 'no', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'was', 'there', 'a', 'policestation', 'anywhere', 'near', 'there', 'was', 'one', 'about', 'three', 'miles', 'off', 'it', 'was', 'too', 'far', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'go', 'weak', 'and', 'ill', 'as', 'i', 'was', 'i', 'determined', 'to', 'wait', 'until', 'i', 'got', 'back', 'to', 'town', 'before', 'telling', 'my', 'story', 'to', 'the', 'police', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'little', 'past', 'six', 'when', 'i', 'arrived', 'so', 'i', 'went', 'first', 'to', 'have', 'my', 'wound', 'dressed', 'and', 'then', 'the', 'doctor', 'was', 'kind', 'enough', 'to', 'bring', 'me', 'along', 'here', 'i', 'put', 'the', 'case', 'into', 'your', 'hands', 'and', 'shall', 'do', 'exactly', 'what', 'you', 'advise', 'we', 'both', 'sat', 'in', 'silence', 'for', 'some', 'little', 'time', 'after', 'listening', 'to', 'this', 'extraordinary', 'narrative', 'then', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'pulled', 'down', 'from', 'the', 'shelf', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'ponderous', 'commonplace', 'books', 'in', 'which', 'he', 'placed', 'his', 'cuttings', 'here', 'is', 'an', 'advertisement', 'which', 'will', 'interest', 'you', 'said', 'he', 'it', 'appeared', 'in', 'all', 'the', 'papers', 'about', 'a', 'year', 'ago', 'listen', 'to', 'this', 'lost', 'on', 'the', '9th', 'inst', 'mr', 'jeremiah', 'hayling', 'aged', 'twentysix', 'a', 'hydraulic', 'engineer', 'left', 'his', 'lodgings', 'at', 'ten', 'oclock', 'at', 'night', 'and', 'has', 'not', 'been', 'heard', 'of', 'since', 'was', 'dressed', 'in', 'etc', 'etc', 'ha', 'that', 'represents', 'the', 'last', 'time', 'that', 'the', 'colonel', 'needed', 'to', 'have', 'his', 'machine', 'overhauled', 'i', 'fancy', 'good', 'heavens', 'cried', 'my', 'patient', 'then', 'that', 'explains', 'what', 'the', 'girl', 'said', 'undoubtedly', 'it', 'is', 'quite', 'clear', 'that', 'the', 'colonel', 'was', 'a', 'cool', 'and', 'desperate', 'man', 'who', 'was', 'absolutely', 'determined', 'that', 'nothing', 'should', 'stand', 'in', 'the', 'way', 'of', 'his', 'little', 'game', 'like', 'those', 'outandout', 'pirates', 'who', 'will', 'leave', 'no', 'survivor', 'from', 'a', 'captured', 'ship', 'well', 'every', 'moment', 'now', 'is', 'precious', 'so', 'if', 'you', 'feel', 'equal', 'to', 'it', 'we', 'shall', 'go', 'down', 'to', 'scotland', 'yard', 'at', 'once', 'as', 'a', 'preliminary', 'to', 'starting', 'for', 'eyford', 'some', 'three', 'hours', 'or', 'so', 'afterwards', 'we', 'were', 'all', 'in', 'the', 'train', 'together', 'bound', 'from', 'reading', 'to', 'the', 'little', 'berkshire', 'village', 'there', 'were', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'the', 'hydraulic', 'engineer', 'inspector', 'bradstreet', 'of', 'scotland', 'yard', 'a', 'plainclothes', 'man', 'and', 'myself', 'bradstreet', 'had', 'spread', 'an', 'ordnance', 'map', 'of', 'the', 'county', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'seat', 'and', 'was', 'busy', 'with', 'his', 'compasses', 'drawing', 'a', 'circle', 'with', 'eyford', 'for', 'its', 'centre', 'there', 'you', 'are', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'circle', 'is', 'drawn', 'at', 'a', 'radius', 'of', 'ten', 'miles', 'from', 'the', 'village', 'the', 'place', 'we', 'want', 'must', 'be', 'somewhere', 'near', 'that', 'line', 'you', 'said', 'ten', 'miles', 'i', 'think', 'sir', 'it', 'was', 'an', 'hours', 'good', 'drive', 'and', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'they', 'brought', 'you', 'back', 'all', 'that', 'way', 'when', 'you', 'were', 'unconscious', 'they', 'must', 'have', 'done', 'so', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'confused', 'memory', 'too', 'of', 'having', 'been', 'lifted', 'and', 'conveyed', 'somewhere', 'what', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'understand', 'said', 'i', 'is', 'why', 'they', 'should', 'have', 'spared', 'you', 'when', 'they', 'found', 'you', 'lying', 'fainting', 'in', 'the', 'garden', 'perhaps', 'the', 'villain', 'was', 'softened', 'by', 'the', 'womans', 'entreaties', 'i', 'hardly', 'think', 'that', 'likely', 'i', 'never', 'saw', 'a', 'more', 'inexorable', 'face', 'in', 'my', 'life', 'oh', 'we', 'shall', 'soon', 'clear', 'up', 'all', 'that', 'said', 'bradstreet', 'well', 'i', 'have', 'drawn', 'my', 'circle', 'and', 'i', 'only', 'wish', 'i', 'knew', 'at', 'what', 'point', 'upon', 'it', 'the', 'folk', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'in', 'search', 'of', 'are', 'to', 'be', 'found', 'i', 'think', 'i', 'could', 'lay', 'my', 'finger', 'on', 'it', 'said', 'holmes', 'quietly', 'really', 'now', 'cried', 'the', 'inspector', 'you', 'have', 'formed', 'your', 'opinion', 'come', 'now', 'we', 'shall', 'see', 'who', 'agrees', 'with', 'you', 'i', 'say', 'it', 'is', 'south', 'for', 'the', 'country', 'is', 'more', 'deserted', 'there', 'and', 'i', 'say', 'east', 'said', 'my', 'patient', 'i', 'am', 'for', 'west', 'remarked', 'the', 'plainclothes', 'man', 'there', 'are', 'several', 'quiet', 'little', 'villages', 'up', 'there', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'for', 'north', 'said', 'i', 'because', 'there', 'are', 'no', 'hills', 'there', 'and', 'our', 'friend', 'says', 'that', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'notice', 'the', 'carriage', 'go', 'up', 'any', 'come', 'cried', 'the', 'inspector', 'laughing', 'its', 'a', 'very', 'pretty', 'diversity', 'of', 'opinion', 'we', 'have', 'boxed', 'the', 'compass', 'among', 'us', 'who', 'do', 'you', 'give', 'your', 'casting', 'vote', 'to', 'you', 'are', 'all', 'wrong', 'but', 'we', 'cant', 'all', 'be', 'oh', 'yes', 'you', 'can', 'this', 'is', 'my', 'point', 'he', 'placed', 'his', 'finger', 'in', 'the', 'centre', 'of', 'the', 'circle', 'this', 'is', 'where', 'we', 'shall', 'find', 'them', 'but', 'the', 'twelvemile', 'drive', 'gasped', 'hatherley', 'six', 'out', 'and', 'six', 'back', 'nothing', 'simpler', 'you', 'say', 'yourself', 'that', 'the', 'horse', 'was', 'fresh', 'and', 'glossy', 'when', 'you', 'got', 'in', 'how', 'could', 'it', 'be', 'that', 'if', 'it', 'had', 'gone', 'twelve', 'miles', 'over', 'heavy', 'roads', 'indeed', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'likely', 'ruse', 'enough', 'observed', 'bradstreet', 'thoughtfully', 'of', 'course', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'no', 'doubt', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'nature', 'of', 'this', 'gang', 'none', 'at', 'all', 'said', 'holmes', 'they', 'are', 'coiners', 'on', 'a', 'large', 'scale', 'and', 'have', 'used', 'the', 'machine', 'to', 'form', 'the', 'amalgam', 'which', 'has', 'taken', 'the', 'place', 'of', 'silver', 'we', 'have', 'known', 'for', 'some', 'time', 'that', 'a', 'clever', 'gang', 'was', 'at', 'work', 'said', 'the', 'inspector', 'they', 'have', 'been', 'turning', 'out', 'halfcrowns', 'by', 'the', 'thousand', 'we', 'even', 'traced', 'them', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'reading', 'but', 'could', 'get', 'no', 'farther', 'for', 'they', 'had', 'covered', 'their', 'traces', 'in', 'a', 'way', 'that', 'showed', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'very', 'old', 'hands', 'but', 'now', 'thanks', 'to', 'this', 'lucky', 'chance', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'we', 'have', 'got', 'them', 'right', 'enough', 'but', 'the', 'inspector', 'was', 'mistaken', 'for', 'those', 'criminals', 'were', 'not', 'destined', 'to', 'fall', 'into', 'the', 'hands', 'of', 'justice', 'as', 'we', 'rolled', 'into', 'eyford', 'station', 'we', 'saw', 'a', 'gigantic', 'column', 'of', 'smoke', 'which', 'streamed', 'up', 'from', 'behind', 'a', 'small', 'clump', 'of', 'trees', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'and', 'hung', 'like', 'an', 'immense', 'ostrich', 'feather', 'over', 'the', 'landscape', 'a', 'house', 'on', 'fire', 'asked', 'bradstreet', 'as', 'the', 'train', 'steamed', 'off', 'again', 'on', 'its', 'way', 'yes', 'sir', 'said', 'the', 'stationmaster', 'when', 'did', 'it', 'break', 'out', 'i', 'hear', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'during', 'the', 'night', 'sir', 'but', 'it', 'has', 'got', 'worse', 'and', 'the', 'whole', 'place', 'is', 'in', 'a', 'blaze', 'whose', 'house', 'is', 'it', 'dr', 'bechers', 'tell', 'me', 'broke', 'in', 'the', 'engineer', 'is', 'dr', 'becher', 'a', 'german', 'very', 'thin', 'with', 'a', 'long', 'sharp', 'nose', 'the', 'stationmaster', 'laughed', 'heartily', 'no', 'sir', 'dr', 'becher', 'is', 'an', 'englishman', 'and', 'there', 'isnt', 'a', 'man', 'in', 'the', 'parish', 'who', 'has', 'a', 'betterlined', 'waistcoat', 'but', 'he', 'has', 'a', 'gentleman', 'staying', 'with', 'him', 'a', 'patient', 'as', 'i', 'understand', 'who', 'is', 'a', 'foreigner', 'and', 'he', 'looks', 'as', 'if', 'a', 'little', 'good', 'berkshire', 'beef', 'would', 'do', 'him', 'no', 'harm', 'the', 'stationmaster', 'had', 'not', 'finished', 'his', 'speech', 'before', 'we', 'were', 'all', 'hastening', 'in', 'the', 'direction', 'of', 'the', 'fire', 'the', 'road', 'topped', 'a', 'low', 'hill', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'great', 'widespread', 'whitewashed', 'building', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'us', 'spouting', 'fire', 'at', 'every', 'chink', 'and', 'window', 'while', 'in', 'the', 'garden', 'in', 'front', 'three', 'fireengines', 'were', 'vainly', 'striving', 'to', 'keep', 'the', 'flames', 'under', 'thats', 'it', 'cried', 'hatherley', 'in', 'intense', 'excitement', 'there', 'is', 'the', 'graveldrive', 'and', 'there', 'are', 'the', 'rosebushes', 'where', 'i', 'lay', 'that', 'second', 'window', 'is', 'the', 'one', 'that', 'i', 'jumped', 'from', 'well', 'at', 'least', 'said', 'holmes', 'you', 'have', 'had', 'your', 'revenge', 'upon', 'them', 'there', 'can', 'be', 'no', 'question', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'your', 'oillamp', 'which', 'when', 'it', 'was', 'crushed', 'in', 'the', 'press', 'set', 'fire', 'to', 'the', 'wooden', 'walls', 'though', 'no', 'doubt', 'they', 'were', 'too', 'excited', 'in', 'the', 'chase', 'after', 'you', 'to', 'observe', 'it', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'now', 'keep', 'your', 'eyes', 'open', 'in', 'this', 'crowd', 'for', 'your', 'friends', 'of', 'last', 'night', 'though', 'i', 'very', 'much', 'fear', 'that', 'they', 'are', 'a', 'good', 'hundred', 'miles', 'off', 'by', 'now', 'and', 'holmes', 'fears', 'came', 'to', 'be', 'realised', 'for', 'from', 'that', 'day', 'to', 'this', 'no', 'word', 'has', 'ever', 'been', 'heard', 'either', 'of', 'the', 'beautiful', 'woman', 'the', 'sinister', 'german', 'or', 'the', 'morose', 'englishman', 'early', 'that', 'morning', 'a', 'peasant', 'had', 'met', 'a', 'cart', 'containing', 'several', 'people', 'and', 'some', 'very', 'bulky', 'boxes', 'driving', 'rapidly', 'in', 'the', 'direction', 'of', 'reading', 'but', 'there', 'all', 'traces', 'of', 'the', 'fugitives', 'disappeared', 'and', 'even', 'holmes', 'ingenuity', 'failed', 'ever', 'to', 'discover', 'the', 'least', 'clue', 'as', 'to', 'their', 'whereabouts', 'the', 'firemen', 'had', 'been', 'much', 'perturbed', 'at', 'the', 'strange', 'arrangements', 'which', 'they', 'had', 'found', 'within', 'and', 'still', 'more', 'so', 'by', 'discovering', 'a', 'newly', 'severed', 'human', 'thumb', 'upon', 'a', 'windowsill', 'of', 'the', 'second', 'floor', 'about', 'sunset', 'however', 'their', 'efforts', 'were', 'at', 'last', 'successful', 'and', 'they', 'subdued', 'the', 'flames', 'but', 'not', 'before', 'the', 'roof', 'had', 'fallen', 'in', 'and', 'the', 'whole', 'place', 'been', 'reduced', 'to', 'such', 'absolute', 'ruin', 'that', 'save', 'some', 'twisted', 'cylinders', 'and', 'iron', 'piping', 'not', 'a', 'trace', 'remained', 'of', 'the', 'machinery', 'which', 'had', 'cost', 'our', 'unfortunate', 'acquaintance', 'so', 'dearly', 'large', 'masses', 'of', 'nickel', 'and', 'of', 'tin', 'were', 'discovered', 'stored', 'in', 'an', 'outhouse', 'but', 'no', 'coins', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'found', 'which', 'may', 'have', 'explained', 'the', 'presence', 'of', 'those', 'bulky', 'boxes', 'which', 'have', 'been', 'already', 'referred', 'to', 'how', 'our', 'hydraulic', 'engineer', 'had', 'been', 'conveyed', 'from', 'the', 'garden', 'to', 'the', 'spot', 'where', 'he', 'recovered', 'his', 'senses', 'might', 'have', 'remained', 'forever', 'a', 'mystery', 'were', 'it', 'not', 'for', 'the', 'soft', 'mould', 'which', 'told', 'us', 'a', 'very', 'plain', 'tale', 'he', 'had', 'evidently', 'been', 'carried', 'down', 'by', 'two', 'persons', 'one', 'of', 'whom', 'had', 'remarkably', 'small', 'feet', 'and', 'the', 'other', 'unusually', 'large', 'ones', 'on', 'the', 'whole', 'it', 'was', 'most', 'probable', 'that', 'the', 'silent', 'englishman', 'being', 'less', 'bold', 'or', 'less', 'murderous', 'than', 'his', 'companion', 'had', 'assisted', 'the', 'woman', 'to', 'bear', 'the', 'unconscious', 'man', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'way', 'of', 'danger', 'well', 'said', 'our', 'engineer', 'ruefully', 'as', 'we', 'took', 'our', 'seats', 'to', 'return', 'once', 'more', 'to', 'london', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'a', 'pretty', 'business', 'for', 'me', 'i', 'have', 'lost', 'my', 'thumb', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'lost', 'a', 'fiftyguinea', 'fee', 'and', 'what', 'have', 'i', 'gained', 'experience', 'said', 'holmes', 'laughing', 'indirectly', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'of', 'value', 'you', 'know', 'you', 'have', 'only', 'to', 'put', 'it', 'into', 'words', 'to', 'gain', 'the', 'reputation', 'of', 'being', 'excellent', 'company', 'for', 'the', 'remainder', 'of', 'your', 'existence', 'x', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'noble', 'bachelor', 'the', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'marriage', 'and', 'its', 'curious', 'termination', 'have', 'long', 'ceased', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'subject', 'of', 'interest', 'in', 'those', 'exalted', 'circles', 'in', 'which', 'the', 'unfortunate', 'bridegroom', 'moves', 'fresh', 'scandals', 'have', 'eclipsed', 'it', 'and', 'their', 'more', 'piquant', 'details', 'have', 'drawn', 'the', 'gossips', 'away', 'from', 'this', 'fouryearold', 'drama', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'reason', 'to', 'believe', 'however', 'that', 'the', 'full', 'facts', 'have', 'never', 'been', 'revealed', 'to', 'the', 'general', 'public', 'and', 'as', 'my', 'friend', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'had', 'a', 'considerable', 'share', 'in', 'clearing', 'the', 'matter', 'up', 'i', 'feel', 'that', 'no', 'memoir', 'of', 'him', 'would', 'be', 'complete', 'without', 'some', 'little', 'sketch', 'of', 'this', 'remarkable', 'episode', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'few', 'weeks', 'before', 'my', 'own', 'marriage', 'during', 'the', 'days', 'when', 'i', 'was', 'still', 'sharing', 'rooms', 'with', 'holmes', 'in', 'baker', 'street', 'that', 'he', 'came', 'home', 'from', 'an', 'afternoon', 'stroll', 'to', 'find', 'a', 'letter', 'on', 'the', 'table', 'waiting', 'for', 'him', 'i', 'had', 'remained', 'indoors', 'all', 'day', 'for', 'the', 'weather', 'had', 'taken', 'a', 'sudden', 'turn', 'to', 'rain', 'with', 'high', 'autumnal', 'winds', 'and', 'the', 'jezail', 'bullet', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'brought', 'back', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'my', 'limbs', 'as', 'a', 'relic', 'of', 'my', 'afghan', 'campaign', 'throbbed', 'with', 'dull', 'persistence', 'with', 'my', 'body', 'in', 'one', 'easychair', 'and', 'my', 'legs', 'upon', 'another', 'i', 'had', 'surrounded', 'myself', 'with', 'a', 'cloud', 'of', 'newspapers', 'until', 'at', 'last', 'saturated', 'with', 'the', 'news', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'i', 'tossed', 'them', 'all', 'aside', 'and', 'lay', 'listless', 'watching', 'the', 'huge', 'crest', 'and', 'monogram', 'upon', 'the', 'envelope', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'and', 'wondering', 'lazily', 'who', 'my', 'friends', 'noble', 'correspondent', 'could', 'be', 'here', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'fashionable', 'epistle', 'i', 'remarked', 'as', 'he', 'entered', 'your', 'morning', 'letters', 'if', 'i', 'remember', 'right', 'were', 'from', 'a', 'fishmonger', 'and', 'a', 'tidewaiter', 'yes', 'my', 'correspondence', 'has', 'certainly', 'the', 'charm', 'of', 'variety', 'he', 'answered', 'smiling', 'and', 'the', 'humbler', 'are', 'usually', 'the', 'more', 'interesting', 'this', 'looks', 'like', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'unwelcome', 'social', 'summonses', 'which', 'call', 'upon', 'a', 'man', 'either', 'to', 'be', 'bored', 'or', 'to', 'lie', 'he', 'broke', 'the', 'seal', 'and', 'glanced', 'over', 'the', 'contents', 'oh', 'come', 'it', 'may', 'prove', 'to', 'be', 'something', 'of', 'interest', 'after', 'all', 'not', 'social', 'then', 'no', 'distinctly', 'professional', 'and', 'from', 'a', 'noble', 'client', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'highest', 'in', 'england', 'my', 'dear', 'fellow', 'i', 'congratulate', 'you', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'watson', 'without', 'affectation', 'that', 'the', 'status', 'of', 'my', 'client', 'is', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'less', 'moment', 'to', 'me', 'than', 'the', 'interest', 'of', 'his', 'case', 'it', 'is', 'just', 'possible', 'however', 'that', 'that', 'also', 'may', 'not', 'be', 'wanting', 'in', 'this', 'new', 'investigation', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'reading', 'the', 'papers', 'diligently', 'of', 'late', 'have', 'you', 'not', 'it', 'looks', 'like', 'it', 'said', 'i', 'ruefully', 'pointing', 'to', 'a', 'huge', 'bundle', 'in', 'the', 'corner', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'nothing', 'else', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'is', 'fortunate', 'for', 'you', 'will', 'perhaps', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'post', 'me', 'up', 'i', 'read', 'nothing', 'except', 'the', 'criminal', 'news', 'and', 'the', 'agony', 'column', 'the', 'latter', 'is', 'always', 'instructive', 'but', 'if', 'you', 'have', 'followed', 'recent', 'events', 'so', 'closely', 'you', 'must', 'have', 'read', 'about', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'and', 'his', 'wedding', 'oh', 'yes', 'with', 'the', 'deepest', 'interest', 'that', 'is', 'well', 'the', 'letter', 'which', 'i', 'hold', 'in', 'my', 'hand', 'is', 'from', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'i', 'will', 'read', 'it', 'to', 'you', 'and', 'in', 'return', 'you', 'must', 'turn', 'over', 'these', 'papers', 'and', 'let', 'me', 'have', 'whatever', 'bears', 'upon', 'the', 'matter', 'this', 'is', 'what', 'he', 'says', 'my', 'dear', 'mr', 'sherlock', 'holmeslord', 'backwater', 'tells', 'me', 'that', 'i', 'may', 'place', 'implicit', 'reliance', 'upon', 'your', 'judgment', 'and', 'discretion', 'i', 'have', 'determined', 'therefore', 'to', 'call', 'upon', 'you', 'and', 'to', 'consult', 'you', 'in', 'reference', 'to', 'the', 'very', 'painful', 'event', 'which', 'has', 'occurred', 'in', 'connection', 'with', 'my', 'wedding', 'mr', 'lestrade', 'of', 'scotland', 'yard', 'is', 'acting', 'already', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'but', 'he', 'assures', 'me', 'that', 'he', 'sees', 'no', 'objection', 'to', 'your', 'cooperation', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'even', 'thinks', 'that', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'of', 'some', 'assistance', 'i', 'will', 'call', 'at', 'four', 'oclock', 'in', 'the', 'afternoon', 'and', 'should', 'you', 'have', 'any', 'other', 'engagement', 'at', 'that', 'time', 'i', 'hope', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'postpone', 'it', 'as', 'this', 'matter', 'is', 'of', 'paramount', 'importance', 'yours', 'faithfully', 'robert', 'st', 'simon', 'it', 'is', 'dated', 'from', 'grosvenor', 'mansions', 'written', 'with', 'a', 'quill', 'pen', 'and', 'the', 'noble', 'lord', 'has', 'had', 'the', 'misfortune', 'to', 'get', 'a', 'smear', 'of', 'ink', 'upon', 'the', 'outer', 'side', 'of', 'his', 'right', 'little', 'finger', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'as', 'he', 'folded', 'up', 'the', 'epistle', 'he', 'says', 'four', 'oclock', 'it', 'is', 'three', 'now', 'he', 'will', 'be', 'here', 'in', 'an', 'hour', 'then', 'i', 'have', 'just', 'time', 'with', 'your', 'assistance', 'to', 'get', 'clear', 'upon', 'the', 'subject', 'turn', 'over', 'those', 'papers', 'and', 'arrange', 'the', 'extracts', 'in', 'their', 'order', 'of', 'time', 'while', 'i', 'take', 'a', 'glance', 'as', 'to', 'who', 'our', 'client', 'is', 'he', 'picked', 'a', 'redcovered', 'volume', 'from', 'a', 'line', 'of', 'books', 'of', 'reference', 'beside', 'the', 'mantelpiece', 'here', 'he', 'is', 'said', 'he', 'sitting', 'down', 'and', 'flattening', 'it', 'out', 'upon', 'his', 'knee', 'lord', 'robert', 'walsingham', 'de', 'vere', 'st', 'simon', 'second', 'son', 'of', 'the', 'duke', 'of', 'balmoral', 'hum', 'arms', 'azure', 'three', 'caltrops', 'in', 'chief', 'over', 'a', 'fess', 'sable', 'born', 'in', '1846', 'hes', 'fortyone', 'years', 'of', 'age', 'which', 'is', 'mature', 'for', 'marriage', 'was', 'undersecretary', 'for', 'the', 'colonies', 'in', 'a', 'late', 'administration', 'the', 'duke', 'his', 'father', 'was', 'at', 'one', 'time', 'secretary', 'for', 'foreign', 'affairs', 'they', 'inherit', 'plantagenet', 'blood', 'by', 'direct', 'descent', 'and', 'tudor', 'on', 'the', 'distaff', 'side', 'ha', 'well', 'there', 'is', 'nothing', 'very', 'instructive', 'in', 'all', 'this', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'must', 'turn', 'to', 'you', 'watson', 'for', 'something', 'more', 'solid', 'i', 'have', 'very', 'little', 'difficulty', 'in', 'finding', 'what', 'i', 'want', 'said', 'i', 'for', 'the', 'facts', 'are', 'quite', 'recent', 'and', 'the', 'matter', 'struck', 'me', 'as', 'remarkable', 'i', 'feared', 'to', 'refer', 'them', 'to', 'you', 'however', 'as', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'you', 'had', 'an', 'inquiry', 'on', 'hand', 'and', 'that', 'you', 'disliked', 'the', 'intrusion', 'of', 'other', 'matters', 'oh', 'you', 'mean', 'the', 'little', 'problem', 'of', 'the', 'grosvenor', 'square', 'furniture', 'van', 'that', 'is', 'quite', 'cleared', 'up', 'nowthough', 'indeed', 'it', 'was', 'obvious', 'from', 'the', 'first', 'pray', 'give', 'me', 'the', 'results', 'of', 'your', 'newspaper', 'selections', 'here', 'is', 'the', 'first', 'notice', 'which', 'i', 'can', 'find', 'it', 'is', 'in', 'the', 'personal', 'column', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'post', 'and', 'dates', 'as', 'you', 'see', 'some', 'weeks', 'back', 'a', 'marriage', 'has', 'been', 'arranged', 'it', 'says', 'and', 'will', 'if', 'rumour', 'is', 'correct', 'very', 'shortly', 'take', 'place', 'between', 'lord', 'robert', 'st', 'simon', 'second', 'son', 'of', 'the', 'duke', 'of', 'balmoral', 'and', 'miss', 'hatty', 'doran', 'the', 'only', 'daughter', 'of', 'aloysius', 'doran', 'esq', 'of', 'san', 'francisco', 'cal', 'usa', 'that', 'is', 'all', 'terse', 'and', 'to', 'the', 'point', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'stretching', 'his', 'long', 'thin', 'legs', 'towards', 'the', 'fire', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'paragraph', 'amplifying', 'this', 'in', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'society', 'papers', 'of', 'the', 'same', 'week', 'ah', 'here', 'it', 'is', 'there', 'will', 'soon', 'be', 'a', 'call', 'for', 'protection', 'in', 'the', 'marriage', 'market', 'for', 'the', 'present', 'freetrade', 'principle', 'appears', 'to', 'tell', 'heavily', 'against', 'our', 'home', 'product', 'one', 'by', 'one', 'the', 'management', 'of', 'the', 'noble', 'houses', 'of', 'great', 'britain', 'is', 'passing', 'into', 'the', 'hands', 'of', 'our', 'fair', 'cousins', 'from', 'across', 'the', 'atlantic', 'an', 'important', 'addition', 'has', 'been', 'made', 'during', 'the', 'last', 'week', 'to', 'the', 'list', 'of', 'the', 'prizes', 'which', 'have', 'been', 'borne', 'away', 'by', 'these', 'charming', 'invaders', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'who', 'has', 'shown', 'himself', 'for', 'over', 'twenty', 'years', 'proof', 'against', 'the', 'little', 'gods', 'arrows', 'has', 'now', 'definitely', 'announced', 'his', 'approaching', 'marriage', 'with', 'miss', 'hatty', 'doran', 'the', 'fascinating', 'daughter', 'of', 'a', 'california', 'millionaire', 'miss', 'doran', 'whose', 'graceful', 'figure', 'and', 'striking', 'face', 'attracted', 'much', 'attention', 'at', 'the', 'westbury', 'house', 'festivities', 'is', 'an', 'only', 'child', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'currently', 'reported', 'that', 'her', 'dowry', 'will', 'run', 'to', 'considerably', 'over', 'the', 'six', 'figures', 'with', 'expectancies', 'for', 'the', 'future', 'as', 'it', 'is', 'an', 'open', 'secret', 'that', 'the', 'duke', 'of', 'balmoral', 'has', 'been', 'compelled', 'to', 'sell', 'his', 'pictures', 'within', 'the', 'last', 'few', 'years', 'and', 'as', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'has', 'no', 'property', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'save', 'the', 'small', 'estate', 'of', 'birchmoor', 'it', 'is', 'obvious', 'that', 'the', 'californian', 'heiress', 'is', 'not', 'the', 'only', 'gainer', 'by', 'an', 'alliance', 'which', 'will', 'enable', 'her', 'to', 'make', 'the', 'easy', 'and', 'common', 'transition', 'from', 'a', 'republican', 'lady', 'to', 'a', 'british', 'peeress', 'anything', 'else', 'asked', 'holmes', 'yawning', 'oh', 'yes', 'plenty', 'then', 'there', 'is', 'another', 'note', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'post', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'the', 'marriage', 'would', 'be', 'an', 'absolutely', 'quiet', 'one', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'at', 'st', 'georges', 'hanover', 'square', 'that', 'only', 'half', 'a', 'dozen', 'intimate', 'friends', 'would', 'be', 'invited', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'party', 'would', 'return', 'to', 'the', 'furnished', 'house', 'at', 'lancaster', 'gate', 'which', 'has', 'been', 'taken', 'by', 'mr', 'aloysius', 'doran', 'two', 'days', 'laterthat', 'is', 'on', 'wednesday', 'lastthere', 'is', 'a', 'curt', 'announcement', 'that', 'the', 'wedding', 'had', 'taken', 'place', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'honeymoon', 'would', 'be', 'passed', 'at', 'lord', 'backwaters', 'place', 'near', 'petersfield', 'those', 'are', 'all', 'the', 'notices', 'which', 'appeared', 'before', 'the', 'disappearance', 'of', 'the', 'bride', 'before', 'the', 'what', 'asked', 'holmes', 'with', 'a', 'start', 'the', 'vanishing', 'of', 'the', 'lady', 'when', 'did', 'she', 'vanish', 'then', 'at', 'the', 'wedding', 'breakfast', 'indeed', 'this', 'is', 'more', 'interesting', 'than', 'it', 'promised', 'to', 'be', 'quite', 'dramatic', 'in', 'fact', 'yes', 'it', 'struck', 'me', 'as', 'being', 'a', 'little', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'common', 'they', 'often', 'vanish', 'before', 'the', 'ceremony', 'and', 'occasionally', 'during', 'the', 'honeymoon', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'call', 'to', 'mind', 'anything', 'quite', 'so', 'prompt', 'as', 'this', 'pray', 'let', 'me', 'have', 'the', 'details', 'i', 'warn', 'you', 'that', 'they', 'are', 'very', 'incomplete', 'perhaps', 'we', 'may', 'make', 'them', 'less', 'so', 'such', 'as', 'they', 'are', 'they', 'are', 'set', 'forth', 'in', 'a', 'single', 'article', 'of', 'a', 'morning', 'paper', 'of', 'yesterday', 'which', 'i', 'will', 'read', 'to', 'you', 'it', 'is', 'headed', 'singular', 'occurrence', 'at', 'a', 'fashionable', 'wedding', 'the', 'family', 'of', 'lord', 'robert', 'st', 'simon', 'has', 'been', 'thrown', 'into', 'the', 'greatest', 'consternation', 'by', 'the', 'strange', 'and', 'painful', 'episodes', 'which', 'have', 'taken', 'place', 'in', 'connection', 'with', 'his', 'wedding', 'the', 'ceremony', 'as', 'shortly', 'announced', 'in', 'the', 'papers', 'of', 'yesterday', 'occurred', 'on', 'the', 'previous', 'morning', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'only', 'now', 'that', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'possible', 'to', 'confirm', 'the', 'strange', 'rumours', 'which', 'have', 'been', 'so', 'persistently', 'floating', 'about', 'in', 'spite', 'of', 'the', 'attempts', 'of', 'the', 'friends', 'to', 'hush', 'the', 'matter', 'up', 'so', 'much', 'public', 'attention', 'has', 'now', 'been', 'drawn', 'to', 'it', 'that', 'no', 'good', 'purpose', 'can', 'be', 'served', 'by', 'affecting', 'to', 'disregard', 'what', 'is', 'a', 'common', 'subject', 'for', 'conversation', 'the', 'ceremony', 'which', 'was', 'performed', 'at', 'st', 'georges', 'hanover', 'square', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'quiet', 'one', 'no', 'one', 'being', 'present', 'save', 'the', 'father', 'of', 'the', 'bride', 'mr', 'aloysius', 'doran', 'the', 'duchess', 'of', 'balmoral', 'lord', 'backwater', 'lord', 'eustace', 'and', 'lady', 'clara', 'st', 'simon', 'the', 'younger', 'brother', 'and', 'sister', 'of', 'the', 'bridegroom', 'and', 'lady', 'alicia', 'whittington', 'the', 'whole', 'party', 'proceeded', 'afterwards', 'to', 'the', 'house', 'of', 'mr', 'aloysius', 'doran', 'at', 'lancaster', 'gate', 'where', 'breakfast', 'had', 'been', 'prepared', 'it', 'appears', 'that', 'some', 'little', 'trouble', 'was', 'caused', 'by', 'a', 'woman', 'whose', 'name', 'has', 'not', 'been', 'ascertained', 'who', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'force', 'her', 'way', 'into', 'the', 'house', 'after', 'the', 'bridal', 'party', 'alleging', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'some', 'claim', 'upon', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'after', 'a', 'painful', 'and', 'prolonged', 'scene', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'ejected', 'by', 'the', 'butler', 'and', 'the', 'footman', 'the', 'bride', 'who', 'had', 'fortunately', 'entered', 'the', 'house', 'before', 'this', 'unpleasant', 'interruption', 'had', 'sat', 'down', 'to', 'breakfast', 'with', 'the', 'rest', 'when', 'she', 'complained', 'of', 'a', 'sudden', 'indisposition', 'and', 'retired', 'to', 'her', 'room', 'her', 'prolonged', 'absence', 'having', 'caused', 'some', 'comment', 'her', 'father', 'followed', 'her', 'but', 'learned', 'from', 'her', 'maid', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'only', 'come', 'up', 'to', 'her', 'chamber', 'for', 'an', 'instant', 'caught', 'up', 'an', 'ulster', 'and', 'bonnet', 'and', 'hurried', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'passage', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'footmen', 'declared', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'seen', 'a', 'lady', 'leave', 'the', 'house', 'thus', 'apparelled', 'but', 'had', 'refused', 'to', 'credit', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'his', 'mistress', 'believing', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'with', 'the', 'company', 'on', 'ascertaining', 'that', 'his', 'daughter', 'had', 'disappeared', 'mr', 'aloysius', 'doran', 'in', 'conjunction', 'with', 'the', 'bridegroom', 'instantly', 'put', 'themselves', 'in', 'communication', 'with', 'the', 'police', 'and', 'very', 'energetic', 'inquiries', 'are', 'being', 'made', 'which', 'will', 'probably', 'result', 'in', 'a', 'speedy', 'clearing', 'up', 'of', 'this', 'very', 'singular', 'business', 'up', 'to', 'a', 'late', 'hour', 'last', 'night', 'however', 'nothing', 'had', 'transpired', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'whereabouts', 'of', 'the', 'missing', 'lady', 'there', 'are', 'rumours', 'of', 'foul', 'play', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'said', 'that', 'the', 'police', 'have', 'caused', 'the', 'arrest', 'of', 'the', 'woman', 'who', 'had', 'caused', 'the', 'original', 'disturbance', 'in', 'the', 'belief', 'that', 'from', 'jealousy', 'or', 'some', 'other', 'motive', 'she', 'may', 'have', 'been', 'concerned', 'in', 'the', 'strange', 'disappearance', 'of', 'the', 'bride', 'and', 'is', 'that', 'all', 'only', 'one', 'little', 'item', 'in', 'another', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'papers', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'suggestive', 'one', 'and', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'miss', 'flora', 'millar', 'the', 'lady', 'who', 'had', 'caused', 'the', 'disturbance', 'has', 'actually', 'been', 'arrested', 'it', 'appears', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'formerly', 'a', 'danseuse', 'at', 'the', 'allegro', 'and', 'that', 'she', 'has', 'known', 'the', 'bridegroom', 'for', 'some', 'years', 'there', 'are', 'no', 'further', 'particulars', 'and', 'the', 'whole', 'case', 'is', 'in', 'your', 'hands', 'nowso', 'far', 'as', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'set', 'forth', 'in', 'the', 'public', 'press', 'and', 'an', 'exceedingly', 'interesting', 'case', 'it', 'appears', 'to', 'be', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'missed', 'it', 'for', 'worlds', 'but', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'ring', 'at', 'the', 'bell', 'watson', 'and', 'as', 'the', 'clock', 'makes', 'it', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'after', 'four', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'this', 'will', 'prove', 'to', 'be', 'our', 'noble', 'client', 'do', 'not', 'dream', 'of', 'going', 'watson', 'for', 'i', 'very', 'much', 'prefer', 'having', 'a', 'witness', 'if', 'only', 'as', 'a', 'check', 'to', 'my', 'own', 'memory', 'lord', 'robert', 'st', 'simon', 'announced', 'our', 'pageboy', 'throwing', 'open', 'the', 'door', 'a', 'gentleman', 'entered', 'with', 'a', 'pleasant', 'cultured', 'face', 'highnosed', 'and', 'pale', 'with', 'something', 'perhaps', 'of', 'petulance', 'about', 'the', 'mouth', 'and', 'with', 'the', 'steady', 'wellopened', 'eye', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'whose', 'pleasant', 'lot', 'it', 'had', 'ever', 'been', 'to', 'command', 'and', 'to', 'be', 'obeyed', 'his', 'manner', 'was', 'brisk', 'and', 'yet', 'his', 'general', 'appearance', 'gave', 'an', 'undue', 'impression', 'of', 'age', 'for', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'slight', 'forward', 'stoop', 'and', 'a', 'little', 'bend', 'of', 'the', 'knees', 'as', 'he', 'walked', 'his', 'hair', 'too', 'as', 'he', 'swept', 'off', 'his', 'very', 'curlybrimmed', 'hat', 'was', 'grizzled', 'round', 'the', 'edges', 'and', 'thin', 'upon', 'the', 'top', 'as', 'to', 'his', 'dress', 'it', 'was', 'careful', 'to', 'the', 'verge', 'of', 'foppishness', 'with', 'high', 'collar', 'black', 'frockcoat', 'white', 'waistcoat', 'yellow', 'gloves', 'patentleather', 'shoes', 'and', 'lightcoloured', 'gaiters', 'he', 'advanced', 'slowly', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'turning', 'his', 'head', 'from', 'left', 'to', 'right', 'and', 'swinging', 'in', 'his', 'right', 'hand', 'the', 'cord', 'which', 'held', 'his', 'golden', 'eyeglasses', 'goodday', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'said', 'holmes', 'rising', 'and', 'bowing', 'pray', 'take', 'the', 'basketchair', 'this', 'is', 'my', 'friend', 'and', 'colleague', 'dr', 'watson', 'draw', 'up', 'a', 'little', 'to', 'the', 'fire', 'and', 'we', 'will', 'talk', 'this', 'matter', 'over', 'a', 'most', 'painful', 'matter', 'to', 'me', 'as', 'you', 'can', 'most', 'readily', 'imagine', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'cut', 'to', 'the', 'quick', 'i', 'understand', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'already', 'managed', 'several', 'delicate', 'cases', 'of', 'this', 'sort', 'sir', 'though', 'i', 'presume', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'hardly', 'from', 'the', 'same', 'class', 'of', 'society', 'no', 'i', 'am', 'descending', 'i', 'beg', 'pardon', 'my', 'last', 'client', 'of', 'the', 'sort', 'was', 'a', 'king', 'oh', 'really', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'idea', 'and', 'which', 'king', 'the', 'king', 'of', 'scandinavia', 'what', 'had', 'he', 'lost', 'his', 'wife', 'you', 'can', 'understand', 'said', 'holmes', 'suavely', 'that', 'i', 'extend', 'to', 'the', 'affairs', 'of', 'my', 'other', 'clients', 'the', 'same', 'secrecy', 'which', 'i', 'promise', 'to', 'you', 'in', 'yours', 'of', 'course', 'very', 'right', 'very', 'right', 'im', 'sure', 'i', 'beg', 'pardon', 'as', 'to', 'my', 'own', 'case', 'i', 'am', 'ready', 'to', 'give', 'you', 'any', 'information', 'which', 'may', 'assist', 'you', 'in', 'forming', 'an', 'opinion', 'thank', 'you', 'i', 'have', 'already', 'learned', 'all', 'that', 'is', 'in', 'the', 'public', 'prints', 'nothing', 'more', 'i', 'presume', 'that', 'i', 'may', 'take', 'it', 'as', 'correctthis', 'article', 'for', 'example', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'disappearance', 'of', 'the', 'bride', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'glanced', 'over', 'it', 'yes', 'it', 'is', 'correct', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'it', 'goes', 'but', 'it', 'needs', 'a', 'great', 'deal', 'of', 'supplementing', 'before', 'anyone', 'could', 'offer', 'an', 'opinion', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'may', 'arrive', 'at', 'my', 'facts', 'most', 'directly', 'by', 'questioning', 'you', 'pray', 'do', 'so', 'when', 'did', 'you', 'first', 'meet', 'miss', 'hatty', 'doran', 'in', 'san', 'francisco', 'a', 'year', 'ago', 'you', 'were', 'travelling', 'in', 'the', 'states', 'yes', 'did', 'you', 'become', 'engaged', 'then', 'no', 'but', 'you', 'were', 'on', 'a', 'friendly', 'footing', 'i', 'was', 'amused', 'by', 'her', 'society', 'and', 'she', 'could', 'see', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'amused', 'her', 'father', 'is', 'very', 'rich', 'he', 'is', 'said', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'richest', 'man', 'on', 'the', 'pacific', 'slope', 'and', 'how', 'did', 'he', 'make', 'his', 'money', 'in', 'mining', 'he', 'had', 'nothing', 'a', 'few', 'years', 'ago', 'then', 'he', 'struck', 'gold', 'invested', 'it', 'and', 'came', 'up', 'by', 'leaps', 'and', 'bounds', 'now', 'what', 'is', 'your', 'own', 'impression', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'young', 'ladysyour', 'wifes', 'character', 'the', 'nobleman', 'swung', 'his', 'glasses', 'a', 'little', 'faster', 'and', 'stared', 'down', 'into', 'the', 'fire', 'you', 'see', 'mr', 'holmes', 'said', 'he', 'my', 'wife', 'was', 'twenty', 'before', 'her', 'father', 'became', 'a', 'rich', 'man', 'during', 'that', 'time', 'she', 'ran', 'free', 'in', 'a', 'mining', 'camp', 'and', 'wandered', 'through', 'woods', 'or', 'mountains', 'so', 'that', 'her', 'education', 'has', 'come', 'from', 'nature', 'rather', 'than', 'from', 'the', 'schoolmaster', 'she', 'is', 'what', 'we', 'call', 'in', 'england', 'a', 'tomboy', 'with', 'a', 'strong', 'nature', 'wild', 'and', 'free', 'unfettered', 'by', 'any', 'sort', 'of', 'traditions', 'she', 'is', 'impetuousvolcanic', 'i', 'was', 'about', 'to', 'say', 'she', 'is', 'swift', 'in', 'making', 'up', 'her', 'mind', 'and', 'fearless', 'in', 'carrying', 'out', 'her', 'resolutions', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'hand', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'given', 'her', 'the', 'name', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'honour', 'to', 'bearhe', 'gave', 'a', 'little', 'stately', 'coughhad', 'i', 'not', 'thought', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'at', 'bottom', 'a', 'noble', 'woman', 'i', 'believe', 'that', 'she', 'is', 'capable', 'of', 'heroic', 'selfsacrifice', 'and', 'that', 'anything', 'dishonourable', 'would', 'be', 'repugnant', 'to', 'her', 'have', 'you', 'her', 'photograph', 'i', 'brought', 'this', 'with', 'me', 'he', 'opened', 'a', 'locket', 'and', 'showed', 'us', 'the', 'full', 'face', 'of', 'a', 'very', 'lovely', 'woman', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'a', 'photograph', 'but', 'an', 'ivory', 'miniature', 'and', 'the', 'artist', 'had', 'brought', 'out', 'the', 'full', 'effect', 'of', 'the', 'lustrous', 'black', 'hair', 'the', 'large', 'dark', 'eyes', 'and', 'the', 'exquisite', 'mouth', 'holmes', 'gazed', 'long', 'and', 'earnestly', 'at', 'it', 'then', 'he', 'closed', 'the', 'locket', 'and', 'handed', 'it', 'back', 'to', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'the', 'young', 'lady', 'came', 'to', 'london', 'then', 'and', 'you', 'renewed', 'your', 'acquaintance', 'yes', 'her', 'father', 'brought', 'her', 'over', 'for', 'this', 'last', 'london', 'season', 'i', 'met', 'her', 'several', 'times', 'became', 'engaged', 'to', 'her', 'and', 'have', 'now', 'married', 'her', 'she', 'brought', 'i', 'understand', 'a', 'considerable', 'dowry', 'a', 'fair', 'dowry', 'not', 'more', 'than', 'is', 'usual', 'in', 'my', 'family', 'and', 'this', 'of', 'course', 'remains', 'to', 'you', 'since', 'the', 'marriage', 'is', 'a', 'fait', 'accompli', 'i', 'really', 'have', 'made', 'no', 'inquiries', 'on', 'the', 'subject', 'very', 'naturally', 'not', 'did', 'you', 'see', 'miss', 'doran', 'on', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'the', 'wedding', 'yes', 'was', 'she', 'in', 'good', 'spirits', 'never', 'better', 'she', 'kept', 'talking', 'of', 'what', 'we', 'should', 'do', 'in', 'our', 'future', 'lives', 'indeed', 'that', 'is', 'very', 'interesting', 'and', 'on', 'the', 'morning', 'of', 'the', 'wedding', 'she', 'was', 'as', 'bright', 'as', 'possibleat', 'least', 'until', 'after', 'the', 'ceremony', 'and', 'did', 'you', 'observe', 'any', 'change', 'in', 'her', 'then', 'well', 'to', 'tell', 'the', 'truth', 'i', 'saw', 'then', 'the', 'first', 'signs', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'ever', 'seen', 'that', 'her', 'temper', 'was', 'just', 'a', 'little', 'sharp', 'the', 'incident', 'however', 'was', 'too', 'trivial', 'to', 'relate', 'and', 'can', 'have', 'no', 'possible', 'bearing', 'upon', 'the', 'case', 'pray', 'let', 'us', 'have', 'it', 'for', 'all', 'that', 'oh', 'it', 'is', 'childish', 'she', 'dropped', 'her', 'bouquet', 'as', 'we', 'went', 'towards', 'the', 'vestry', 'she', 'was', 'passing', 'the', 'front', 'pew', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'and', 'it', 'fell', 'over', 'into', 'the', 'pew', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'moments', 'delay', 'but', 'the', 'gentleman', 'in', 'the', 'pew', 'handed', 'it', 'up', 'to', 'her', 'again', 'and', 'it', 'did', 'not', 'appear', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'worse', 'for', 'the', 'fall', 'yet', 'when', 'i', 'spoke', 'to', 'her', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'she', 'answered', 'me', 'abruptly', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'carriage', 'on', 'our', 'way', 'home', 'she', 'seemed', 'absurdly', 'agitated', 'over', 'this', 'trifling', 'cause', 'indeed', 'you', 'say', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'gentleman', 'in', 'the', 'pew', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'general', 'public', 'were', 'present', 'then', 'oh', 'yes', 'it', 'is', 'impossible', 'to', 'exclude', 'them', 'when', 'the', 'church', 'is', 'open', 'this', 'gentleman', 'was', 'not', 'one', 'of', 'your', 'wifes', 'friends', 'no', 'no', 'i', 'call', 'him', 'a', 'gentleman', 'by', 'courtesy', 'but', 'he', 'was', 'quite', 'a', 'commonlooking', 'person', 'i', 'hardly', 'noticed', 'his', 'appearance', 'but', 'really', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'wandering', 'rather', 'far', 'from', 'the', 'point', 'lady', 'st', 'simon', 'then', 'returned', 'from', 'the', 'wedding', 'in', 'a', 'less', 'cheerful', 'frame', 'of', 'mind', 'than', 'she', 'had', 'gone', 'to', 'it', 'what', 'did', 'she', 'do', 'on', 'reentering', 'her', 'fathers', 'house', 'i', 'saw', 'her', 'in', 'conversation', 'with', 'her', 'maid', 'and', 'who', 'is', 'her', 'maid', 'alice', 'is', 'her', 'name', 'she', 'is', 'an', 'american', 'and', 'came', 'from', 'california', 'with', 'her', 'a', 'confidential', 'servant', 'a', 'little', 'too', 'much', 'so', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'her', 'mistress', 'allowed', 'her', 'to', 'take', 'great', 'liberties', 'still', 'of', 'course', 'in', 'america', 'they', 'look', 'upon', 'these', 'things', 'in', 'a', 'different', 'way', 'how', 'long', 'did', 'she', 'speak', 'to', 'this', 'alice', 'oh', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'i', 'had', 'something', 'else', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'you', 'did', 'not', 'overhear', 'what', 'they', 'said', 'lady', 'st', 'simon', 'said', 'something', 'about', 'jumping', 'a', 'claim', 'she', 'was', 'accustomed', 'to', 'use', 'slang', 'of', 'the', 'kind', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'idea', 'what', 'she', 'meant', 'american', 'slang', 'is', 'very', 'expressive', 'sometimes', 'and', 'what', 'did', 'your', 'wife', 'do', 'when', 'she', 'finished', 'speaking', 'to', 'her', 'maid', 'she', 'walked', 'into', 'the', 'breakfastroom', 'on', 'your', 'arm', 'no', 'alone', 'she', 'was', 'very', 'independent', 'in', 'little', 'matters', 'like', 'that', 'then', 'after', 'we', 'had', 'sat', 'down', 'for', 'ten', 'minutes', 'or', 'so', 'she', 'rose', 'hurriedly', 'muttered', 'some', 'words', 'of', 'apology', 'and', 'left', 'the', 'room', 'she', 'never', 'came', 'back', 'but', 'this', 'maid', 'alice', 'as', 'i', 'understand', 'deposes', 'that', 'she', 'went', 'to', 'her', 'room', 'covered', 'her', 'brides', 'dress', 'with', 'a', 'long', 'ulster', 'put', 'on', 'a', 'bonnet', 'and', 'went', 'out', 'quite', 'so', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'afterwards', 'seen', 'walking', 'into', 'hyde', 'park', 'in', 'company', 'with', 'flora', 'millar', 'a', 'woman', 'who', 'is', 'now', 'in', 'custody', 'and', 'who', 'had', 'already', 'made', 'a', 'disturbance', 'at', 'mr', 'dorans', 'house', 'that', 'morning', 'ah', 'yes', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'a', 'few', 'particulars', 'as', 'to', 'this', 'young', 'lady', 'and', 'your', 'relations', 'to', 'her', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'shrugged', 'his', 'shoulders', 'and', 'raised', 'his', 'eyebrows', 'we', 'have', 'been', 'on', 'a', 'friendly', 'footing', 'for', 'some', 'yearsi', 'may', 'say', 'on', 'a', 'very', 'friendly', 'footing', 'she', 'used', 'to', 'be', 'at', 'the', 'allegro', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'treated', 'her', 'ungenerously', 'and', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'just', 'cause', 'of', 'complaint', 'against', 'me', 'but', 'you', 'know', 'what', 'women', 'are', 'mr', 'holmes', 'flora', 'was', 'a', 'dear', 'little', 'thing', 'but', 'exceedingly', 'hotheaded', 'and', 'devotedly', 'attached', 'to', 'me', 'she', 'wrote', 'me', 'dreadful', 'letters', 'when', 'she', 'heard', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'about', 'to', 'be', 'married', 'and', 'to', 'tell', 'the', 'truth', 'the', 'reason', 'why', 'i', 'had', 'the', 'marriage', 'celebrated', 'so', 'quietly', 'was', 'that', 'i', 'feared', 'lest', 'there', 'might', 'be', 'a', 'scandal', 'in', 'the', 'church', 'she', 'came', 'to', 'mr', 'dorans', 'door', 'just', 'after', 'we', 'returned', 'and', 'she', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'push', 'her', 'way', 'in', 'uttering', 'very', 'abusive', 'expressions', 'towards', 'my', 'wife', 'and', 'even', 'threatening', 'her', 'but', 'i', 'had', 'foreseen', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'something', 'of', 'the', 'sort', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'two', 'police', 'fellows', 'there', 'in', 'private', 'clothes', 'who', 'soon', 'pushed', 'her', 'out', 'again', 'she', 'was', 'quiet', 'when', 'she', 'saw', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'good', 'in', 'making', 'a', 'row', 'did', 'your', 'wife', 'hear', 'all', 'this', 'no', 'thank', 'goodness', 'she', 'did', 'not', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'seen', 'walking', 'with', 'this', 'very', 'woman', 'afterwards', 'yes', 'that', 'is', 'what', 'mr', 'lestrade', 'of', 'scotland', 'yard', 'looks', 'upon', 'as', 'so', 'serious', 'it', 'is', 'thought', 'that', 'flora', 'decoyed', 'my', 'wife', 'out', 'and', 'laid', 'some', 'terrible', 'trap', 'for', 'her', 'well', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'possible', 'supposition', 'you', 'think', 'so', 'too', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'say', 'a', 'probable', 'one', 'but', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'yourself', 'look', 'upon', 'this', 'as', 'likely', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'flora', 'would', 'hurt', 'a', 'fly', 'still', 'jealousy', 'is', 'a', 'strange', 'transformer', 'of', 'characters', 'pray', 'what', 'is', 'your', 'own', 'theory', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'took', 'place', 'well', 'really', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'seek', 'a', 'theory', 'not', 'to', 'propound', 'one', 'i', 'have', 'given', 'you', 'all', 'the', 'facts', 'since', 'you', 'ask', 'me', 'however', 'i', 'may', 'say', 'that', 'it', 'has', 'occurred', 'to', 'me', 'as', 'possible', 'that', 'the', 'excitement', 'of', 'this', 'affair', 'the', 'consciousness', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'made', 'so', 'immense', 'a', 'social', 'stride', 'had', 'the', 'effect', 'of', 'causing', 'some', 'little', 'nervous', 'disturbance', 'in', 'my', 'wife', 'in', 'short', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'become', 'suddenly', 'deranged', 'well', 'really', 'when', 'i', 'consider', 'that', 'she', 'has', 'turned', 'her', 'backi', 'will', 'not', 'say', 'upon', 'me', 'but', 'upon', 'so', 'much', 'that', 'many', 'have', 'aspired', 'to', 'without', 'successi', 'can', 'hardly', 'explain', 'it', 'in', 'any', 'other', 'fashion', 'well', 'certainly', 'that', 'is', 'also', 'a', 'conceivable', 'hypothesis', 'said', 'holmes', 'smiling', 'and', 'now', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'nearly', 'all', 'my', 'data', 'may', 'i', 'ask', 'whether', 'you', 'were', 'seated', 'at', 'the', 'breakfasttable', 'so', 'that', 'you', 'could', 'see', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'window', 'we', 'could', 'see', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'road', 'and', 'the', 'park', 'quite', 'so', 'then', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'need', 'to', 'detain', 'you', 'longer', 'i', 'shall', 'communicate', 'with', 'you', 'should', 'you', 'be', 'fortunate', 'enough', 'to', 'solve', 'this', 'problem', 'said', 'our', 'client', 'rising', 'i', 'have', 'solved', 'it', 'eh', 'what', 'was', 'that', 'i', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'solved', 'it', 'where', 'then', 'is', 'my', 'wife', 'that', 'is', 'a', 'detail', 'which', 'i', 'shall', 'speedily', 'supply', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'that', 'it', 'will', 'take', 'wiser', 'heads', 'than', 'yours', 'or', 'mine', 'he', 'remarked', 'and', 'bowing', 'in', 'a', 'stately', 'oldfashioned', 'manner', 'he', 'departed', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'good', 'of', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'to', 'honour', 'my', 'head', 'by', 'putting', 'it', 'on', 'a', 'level', 'with', 'his', 'own', 'said', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'laughing', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'shall', 'have', 'a', 'whisky', 'and', 'soda', 'and', 'a', 'cigar', 'after', 'all', 'this', 'crossquestioning', 'i', 'had', 'formed', 'my', 'conclusions', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'case', 'before', 'our', 'client', 'came', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'my', 'dear', 'holmes', 'i', 'have', 'notes', 'of', 'several', 'similar', 'cases', 'though', 'none', 'as', 'i', 'remarked', 'before', 'which', 'were', 'quite', 'as', 'prompt', 'my', 'whole', 'examination', 'served', 'to', 'turn', 'my', 'conjecture', 'into', 'a', 'certainty', 'circumstantial', 'evidence', 'is', 'occasionally', 'very', 'convincing', 'as', 'when', 'you', 'find', 'a', 'trout', 'in', 'the', 'milk', 'to', 'quote', 'thoreaus', 'example', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'all', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'heard', 'without', 'however', 'the', 'knowledge', 'of', 'preexisting', 'cases', 'which', 'serves', 'me', 'so', 'well', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'parallel', 'instance', 'in', 'aberdeen', 'some', 'years', 'back', 'and', 'something', 'on', 'very', 'much', 'the', 'same', 'lines', 'at', 'munich', 'the', 'year', 'after', 'the', 'francoprussian', 'war', 'it', 'is', 'one', 'of', 'these', 'casesbut', 'hullo', 'here', 'is', 'lestrade', 'goodafternoon', 'lestrade', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'an', 'extra', 'tumbler', 'upon', 'the', 'sideboard', 'and', 'there', 'are', 'cigars', 'in', 'the', 'box', 'the', 'official', 'detective', 'was', 'attired', 'in', 'a', 'peajacket', 'and', 'cravat', 'which', 'gave', 'him', 'a', 'decidedly', 'nautical', 'appearance', 'and', 'he', 'carried', 'a', 'black', 'canvas', 'bag', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'with', 'a', 'short', 'greeting', 'he', 'seated', 'himself', 'and', 'lit', 'the', 'cigar', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'offered', 'to', 'him', 'whats', 'up', 'then', 'asked', 'holmes', 'with', 'a', 'twinkle', 'in', 'his', 'eye', 'you', 'look', 'dissatisfied', 'and', 'i', 'feel', 'dissatisfied', 'it', 'is', 'this', 'infernal', 'st', 'simon', 'marriage', 'case', 'i', 'can', 'make', 'neither', 'head', 'nor', 'tail', 'of', 'the', 'business', 'really', 'you', 'surprise', 'me', 'who', 'ever', 'heard', 'of', 'such', 'a', 'mixed', 'affair', 'every', 'clue', 'seems', 'to', 'slip', 'through', 'my', 'fingers', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'at', 'work', 'upon', 'it', 'all', 'day', 'and', 'very', 'wet', 'it', 'seems', 'to', 'have', 'made', 'you', 'said', 'holmes', 'laying', 'his', 'hand', 'upon', 'the', 'arm', 'of', 'the', 'peajacket', 'yes', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'dragging', 'the', 'serpentine', 'in', 'heavens', 'name', 'what', 'for', 'in', 'search', 'of', 'the', 'body', 'of', 'lady', 'st', 'simon', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'leaned', 'back', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'and', 'laughed', 'heartily', 'have', 'you', 'dragged', 'the', 'basin', 'of', 'trafalgar', 'square', 'fountain', 'he', 'asked', 'why', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'mean', 'because', 'you', 'have', 'just', 'as', 'good', 'a', 'chance', 'of', 'finding', 'this', 'lady', 'in', 'the', 'one', 'as', 'in', 'the', 'other', 'lestrade', 'shot', 'an', 'angry', 'glance', 'at', 'my', 'companion', 'i', 'suppose', 'you', 'know', 'all', 'about', 'it', 'he', 'snarled', 'well', 'i', 'have', 'only', 'just', 'heard', 'the', 'facts', 'but', 'my', 'mind', 'is', 'made', 'up', 'oh', 'indeed', 'then', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'the', 'serpentine', 'plays', 'no', 'part', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'i', 'think', 'it', 'very', 'unlikely', 'then', 'perhaps', 'you', 'will', 'kindly', 'explain', 'how', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'we', 'found', 'this', 'in', 'it', 'he', 'opened', 'his', 'bag', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'and', 'tumbled', 'onto', 'the', 'floor', 'a', 'weddingdress', 'of', 'watered', 'silk', 'a', 'pair', 'of', 'white', 'satin', 'shoes', 'and', 'a', 'brides', 'wreath', 'and', 'veil', 'all', 'discoloured', 'and', 'soaked', 'in', 'water', 'there', 'said', 'he', 'putting', 'a', 'new', 'weddingring', 'upon', 'the', 'top', 'of', 'the', 'pile', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'nut', 'for', 'you', 'to', 'crack', 'master', 'holmes', 'oh', 'indeed', 'said', 'my', 'friend', 'blowing', 'blue', 'rings', 'into', 'the', 'air', 'you', 'dragged', 'them', 'from', 'the', 'serpentine', 'no', 'they', 'were', 'found', 'floating', 'near', 'the', 'margin', 'by', 'a', 'parkkeeper', 'they', 'have', 'been', 'identified', 'as', 'her', 'clothes', 'and', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'if', 'the', 'clothes', 'were', 'there', 'the', 'body', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'far', 'off', 'by', 'the', 'same', 'brilliant', 'reasoning', 'every', 'mans', 'body', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'found', 'in', 'the', 'neighbourhood', 'of', 'his', 'wardrobe', 'and', 'pray', 'what', 'did', 'you', 'hope', 'to', 'arrive', 'at', 'through', 'this', 'at', 'some', 'evidence', 'implicating', 'flora', 'millar', 'in', 'the', 'disappearance', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'it', 'difficult', 'are', 'you', 'indeed', 'now', 'cried', 'lestrade', 'with', 'some', 'bitterness', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'holmes', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'very', 'practical', 'with', 'your', 'deductions', 'and', 'your', 'inferences', 'you', 'have', 'made', 'two', 'blunders', 'in', 'as', 'many', 'minutes', 'this', 'dress', 'does', 'implicate', 'miss', 'flora', 'millar', 'and', 'how', 'in', 'the', 'dress', 'is', 'a', 'pocket', 'in', 'the', 'pocket', 'is', 'a', 'cardcase', 'in', 'the', 'cardcase', 'is', 'a', 'note', 'and', 'here', 'is', 'the', 'very', 'note', 'he', 'slapped', 'it', 'down', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'him', 'listen', 'to', 'this', 'you', 'will', 'see', 'me', 'when', 'all', 'is', 'ready', 'come', 'at', 'once', 'f', 'h', 'm', 'now', 'my', 'theory', 'all', 'along', 'has', 'been', 'that', 'lady', 'st', 'simon', 'was', 'decoyed', 'away', 'by', 'flora', 'millar', 'and', 'that', 'she', 'with', 'confederates', 'no', 'doubt', 'was', 'responsible', 'for', 'her', 'disappearance', 'here', 'signed', 'with', 'her', 'initials', 'is', 'the', 'very', 'note', 'which', 'was', 'no', 'doubt', 'quietly', 'slipped', 'into', 'her', 'hand', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'which', 'lured', 'her', 'within', 'their', 'reach', 'very', 'good', 'lestrade', 'said', 'holmes', 'laughing', 'you', 'really', 'are', 'very', 'fine', 'indeed', 'let', 'me', 'see', 'it', 'he', 'took', 'up', 'the', 'paper', 'in', 'a', 'listless', 'way', 'but', 'his', 'attention', 'instantly', 'became', 'riveted', 'and', 'he', 'gave', 'a', 'little', 'cry', 'of', 'satisfaction', 'this', 'is', 'indeed', 'important', 'said', 'he', 'ha', 'you', 'find', 'it', 'so', 'extremely', 'so', 'i', 'congratulate', 'you', 'warmly', 'lestrade', 'rose', 'in', 'his', 'triumph', 'and', 'bent', 'his', 'head', 'to', 'look', 'why', 'he', 'shrieked', 'youre', 'looking', 'at', 'the', 'wrong', 'side', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'this', 'is', 'the', 'right', 'side', 'the', 'right', 'side', 'youre', 'mad', 'here', 'is', 'the', 'note', 'written', 'in', 'pencil', 'over', 'here', 'and', 'over', 'here', 'is', 'what', 'appears', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'fragment', 'of', 'a', 'hotel', 'bill', 'which', 'interests', 'me', 'deeply', 'theres', 'nothing', 'in', 'it', 'i', 'looked', 'at', 'it', 'before', 'said', 'lestrade', 'oct', '4th', 'rooms', '8s', 'breakfast', '2s', '6d', 'cocktail', '1s', 'lunch', '2s', '6d', 'glass', 'sherry', '8d', 'i', 'see', 'nothing', 'in', 'that', 'very', 'likely', 'not', 'it', 'is', 'most', 'important', 'all', 'the', 'same', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'note', 'it', 'is', 'important', 'also', 'or', 'at', 'least', 'the', 'initials', 'are', 'so', 'i', 'congratulate', 'you', 'again', 'ive', 'wasted', 'time', 'enough', 'said', 'lestrade', 'rising', 'i', 'believe', 'in', 'hard', 'work', 'and', 'not', 'in', 'sitting', 'by', 'the', 'fire', 'spinning', 'fine', 'theories', 'goodday', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'see', 'which', 'gets', 'to', 'the', 'bottom', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'first', 'he', 'gathered', 'up', 'the', 'garments', 'thrust', 'them', 'into', 'the', 'bag', 'and', 'made', 'for', 'the', 'door', 'just', 'one', 'hint', 'to', 'you', 'lestrade', 'drawled', 'holmes', 'before', 'his', 'rival', 'vanished', 'i', 'will', 'tell', 'you', 'the', 'true', 'solution', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'lady', 'st', 'simon', 'is', 'a', 'myth', 'there', 'is', 'not', 'and', 'there', 'never', 'has', 'been', 'any', 'such', 'person', 'lestrade', 'looked', 'sadly', 'at', 'my', 'companion', 'then', 'he', 'turned', 'to', 'me', 'tapped', 'his', 'forehead', 'three', 'times', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'solemnly', 'and', 'hurried', 'away', 'he', 'had', 'hardly', 'shut', 'the', 'door', 'behind', 'him', 'when', 'holmes', 'rose', 'to', 'put', 'on', 'his', 'overcoat', 'there', 'is', 'something', 'in', 'what', 'the', 'fellow', 'says', 'about', 'outdoor', 'work', 'he', 'remarked', 'so', 'i', 'think', 'watson', 'that', 'i', 'must', 'leave', 'you', 'to', 'your', 'papers', 'for', 'a', 'little', 'it', 'was', 'after', 'five', 'oclock', 'when', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'left', 'me', 'but', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'time', 'to', 'be', 'lonely', 'for', 'within', 'an', 'hour', 'there', 'arrived', 'a', 'confectioners', 'man', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'large', 'flat', 'box', 'this', 'he', 'unpacked', 'with', 'the', 'help', 'of', 'a', 'youth', 'whom', 'he', 'had', 'brought', 'with', 'him', 'and', 'presently', 'to', 'my', 'very', 'great', 'astonishment', 'a', 'quite', 'epicurean', 'little', 'cold', 'supper', 'began', 'to', 'be', 'laid', 'out', 'upon', 'our', 'humble', 'lodginghouse', 'mahogany', 'there', 'were', 'a', 'couple', 'of', 'brace', 'of', 'cold', 'woodcock', 'a', 'pheasant', 'a', 'pâté', 'de', 'foie', 'gras', 'pie', 'with', 'a', 'group', 'of', 'ancient', 'and', 'cobwebby', 'bottles', 'having', 'laid', 'out', 'all', 'these', 'luxuries', 'my', 'two', 'visitors', 'vanished', 'away', 'like', 'the', 'genii', 'of', 'the', 'arabian', 'nights', 'with', 'no', 'explanation', 'save', 'that', 'the', 'things', 'had', 'been', 'paid', 'for', 'and', 'were', 'ordered', 'to', 'this', 'address', 'just', 'before', 'nine', 'oclock', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'stepped', 'briskly', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'his', 'features', 'were', 'gravely', 'set', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'light', 'in', 'his', 'eye', 'which', 'made', 'me', 'think', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'disappointed', 'in', 'his', 'conclusions', 'they', 'have', 'laid', 'the', 'supper', 'then', 'he', 'said', 'rubbing', 'his', 'hands', 'you', 'seem', 'to', 'expect', 'company', 'they', 'have', 'laid', 'for', 'five', 'yes', 'i', 'fancy', 'we', 'may', 'have', 'some', 'company', 'dropping', 'in', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'am', 'surprised', 'that', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'has', 'not', 'already', 'arrived', 'ha', 'i', 'fancy', 'that', 'i', 'hear', 'his', 'step', 'now', 'upon', 'the', 'stairs', 'it', 'was', 'indeed', 'our', 'visitor', 'of', 'the', 'afternoon', 'who', 'came', 'bustling', 'in', 'dangling', 'his', 'glasses', 'more', 'vigorously', 'than', 'ever', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'perturbed', 'expression', 'upon', 'his', 'aristocratic', 'features', 'my', 'messenger', 'reached', 'you', 'then', 'asked', 'holmes', 'yes', 'and', 'i', 'confess', 'that', 'the', 'contents', 'startled', 'me', 'beyond', 'measure', 'have', 'you', 'good', 'authority', 'for', 'what', 'you', 'say', 'the', 'best', 'possible', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'sank', 'into', 'a', 'chair', 'and', 'passed', 'his', 'hand', 'over', 'his', 'forehead', 'what', 'will', 'the', 'duke', 'say', 'he', 'murmured', 'when', 'he', 'hears', 'that', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'family', 'has', 'been', 'subjected', 'to', 'such', 'humiliation', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'purest', 'accident', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'allow', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'any', 'humiliation', 'ah', 'you', 'look', 'on', 'these', 'things', 'from', 'another', 'standpoint', 'i', 'fail', 'to', 'see', 'that', 'anyone', 'is', 'to', 'blame', 'i', 'can', 'hardly', 'see', 'how', 'the', 'lady', 'could', 'have', 'acted', 'otherwise', 'though', 'her', 'abrupt', 'method', 'of', 'doing', 'it', 'was', 'undoubtedly', 'to', 'be', 'regretted', 'having', 'no', 'mother', 'she', 'had', 'no', 'one', 'to', 'advise', 'her', 'at', 'such', 'a', 'crisis', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'slight', 'sir', 'a', 'public', 'slight', 'said', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'tapping', 'his', 'fingers', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'you', 'must', 'make', 'allowance', 'for', 'this', 'poor', 'girl', 'placed', 'in', 'so', 'unprecedented', 'a', 'position', 'i', 'will', 'make', 'no', 'allowance', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'angry', 'indeed', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'shamefully', 'used', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'heard', 'a', 'ring', 'said', 'holmes', 'yes', 'there', 'are', 'steps', 'on', 'the', 'landing', 'if', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'persuade', 'you', 'to', 'take', 'a', 'lenient', 'view', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'i', 'have', 'brought', 'an', 'advocate', 'here', 'who', 'may', 'be', 'more', 'successful', 'he', 'opened', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'ushered', 'in', 'a', 'lady', 'and', 'gentleman', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'said', 'he', 'allow', 'me', 'to', 'introduce', 'you', 'to', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'francis', 'hay', 'moulton', 'the', 'lady', 'i', 'think', 'you', 'have', 'already', 'met', 'at', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'these', 'newcomers', 'our', 'client', 'had', 'sprung', 'from', 'his', 'seat', 'and', 'stood', 'very', 'erect', 'with', 'his', 'eyes', 'cast', 'down', 'and', 'his', 'hand', 'thrust', 'into', 'the', 'breast', 'of', 'his', 'frockcoat', 'a', 'picture', 'of', 'offended', 'dignity', 'the', 'lady', 'had', 'taken', 'a', 'quick', 'step', 'forward', 'and', 'had', 'held', 'out', 'her', 'hand', 'to', 'him', 'but', 'he', 'still', 'refused', 'to', 'raise', 'his', 'eyes', 'it', 'was', 'as', 'well', 'for', 'his', 'resolution', 'perhaps', 'for', 'her', 'pleading', 'face', 'was', 'one', 'which', 'it', 'was', 'hard', 'to', 'resist', 'youre', 'angry', 'robert', 'said', 'she', 'well', 'i', 'guess', 'you', 'have', 'every', 'cause', 'to', 'be', 'pray', 'make', 'no', 'apology', 'to', 'me', 'said', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'bitterly', 'oh', 'yes', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'treated', 'you', 'real', 'bad', 'and', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'have', 'spoken', 'to', 'you', 'before', 'i', 'went', 'but', 'i', 'was', 'kind', 'of', 'rattled', 'and', 'from', 'the', 'time', 'when', 'i', 'saw', 'frank', 'here', 'again', 'i', 'just', 'didnt', 'know', 'what', 'i', 'was', 'doing', 'or', 'saying', 'i', 'only', 'wonder', 'i', 'didnt', 'fall', 'down', 'and', 'do', 'a', 'faint', 'right', 'there', 'before', 'the', 'altar', 'perhaps', 'mrs', 'moulton', 'you', 'would', 'like', 'my', 'friend', 'and', 'me', 'to', 'leave', 'the', 'room', 'while', 'you', 'explain', 'this', 'matter', 'if', 'i', 'may', 'give', 'an', 'opinion', 'remarked', 'the', 'strange', 'gentleman', 'weve', 'had', 'just', 'a', 'little', 'too', 'much', 'secrecy', 'over', 'this', 'business', 'already', 'for', 'my', 'part', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'all', 'europe', 'and', 'america', 'to', 'hear', 'the', 'rights', 'of', 'it', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'small', 'wiry', 'sunburnt', 'man', 'cleanshaven', 'with', 'a', 'sharp', 'face', 'and', 'alert', 'manner', 'then', 'ill', 'tell', 'our', 'story', 'right', 'away', 'said', 'the', 'lady', 'frank', 'here', 'and', 'i', 'met', 'in', '84', 'in', 'mcquires', 'camp', 'near', 'the', 'rockies', 'where', 'pa', 'was', 'working', 'a', 'claim', 'we', 'were', 'engaged', 'to', 'each', 'other', 'frank', 'and', 'i', 'but', 'then', 'one', 'day', 'father', 'struck', 'a', 'rich', 'pocket', 'and', 'made', 'a', 'pile', 'while', 'poor', 'frank', 'here', 'had', 'a', 'claim', 'that', 'petered', 'out', 'and', 'came', 'to', 'nothing', 'the', 'richer', 'pa', 'grew', 'the', 'poorer', 'was', 'frank', 'so', 'at', 'last', 'pa', 'wouldnt', 'hear', 'of', 'our', 'engagement', 'lasting', 'any', 'longer', 'and', 'he', 'took', 'me', 'away', 'to', 'frisco', 'frank', 'wouldnt', 'throw', 'up', 'his', 'hand', 'though', 'so', 'he', 'followed', 'me', 'there', 'and', 'he', 'saw', 'me', 'without', 'pa', 'knowing', 'anything', 'about', 'it', 'it', 'would', 'only', 'have', 'made', 'him', 'mad', 'to', 'know', 'so', 'we', 'just', 'fixed', 'it', 'all', 'up', 'for', 'ourselves', 'frank', 'said', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'go', 'and', 'make', 'his', 'pile', 'too', 'and', 'never', 'come', 'back', 'to', 'claim', 'me', 'until', 'he', 'had', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'pa', 'so', 'then', 'i', 'promised', 'to', 'wait', 'for', 'him', 'to', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'time', 'and', 'pledged', 'myself', 'not', 'to', 'marry', 'anyone', 'else', 'while', 'he', 'lived', 'why', 'shouldnt', 'we', 'be', 'married', 'right', 'away', 'then', 'said', 'he', 'and', 'then', 'i', 'will', 'feel', 'sure', 'of', 'you', 'and', 'i', 'wont', 'claim', 'to', 'be', 'your', 'husband', 'until', 'i', 'come', 'back', 'well', 'we', 'talked', 'it', 'over', 'and', 'he', 'had', 'fixed', 'it', 'all', 'up', 'so', 'nicely', 'with', 'a', 'clergyman', 'all', 'ready', 'in', 'waiting', 'that', 'we', 'just', 'did', 'it', 'right', 'there', 'and', 'then', 'frank', 'went', 'off', 'to', 'seek', 'his', 'fortune', 'and', 'i', 'went', 'back', 'to', 'pa', 'the', 'next', 'i', 'heard', 'of', 'frank', 'was', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'montana', 'and', 'then', 'he', 'went', 'prospecting', 'in', 'arizona', 'and', 'then', 'i', 'heard', 'of', 'him', 'from', 'new', 'mexico', 'after', 'that', 'came', 'a', 'long', 'newspaper', 'story', 'about', 'how', 'a', 'miners', 'camp', 'had', 'been', 'attacked', 'by', 'apache', 'indians', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'my', 'franks', 'name', 'among', 'the', 'killed', 'i', 'fainted', 'dead', 'away', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'very', 'sick', 'for', 'months', 'after', 'pa', 'thought', 'i', 'had', 'a', 'decline', 'and', 'took', 'me', 'to', 'half', 'the', 'doctors', 'in', 'frisco', 'not', 'a', 'word', 'of', 'news', 'came', 'for', 'a', 'year', 'and', 'more', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'never', 'doubted', 'that', 'frank', 'was', 'really', 'dead', 'then', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'came', 'to', 'frisco', 'and', 'we', 'came', 'to', 'london', 'and', 'a', 'marriage', 'was', 'arranged', 'and', 'pa', 'was', 'very', 'pleased', 'but', 'i', 'felt', 'all', 'the', 'time', 'that', 'no', 'man', 'on', 'this', 'earth', 'would', 'ever', 'take', 'the', 'place', 'in', 'my', 'heart', 'that', 'had', 'been', 'given', 'to', 'my', 'poor', 'frank', 'still', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'married', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'of', 'course', 'id', 'have', 'done', 'my', 'duty', 'by', 'him', 'we', 'cant', 'command', 'our', 'love', 'but', 'we', 'can', 'our', 'actions', 'i', 'went', 'to', 'the', 'altar', 'with', 'him', 'with', 'the', 'intention', 'to', 'make', 'him', 'just', 'as', 'good', 'a', 'wife', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'in', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'but', 'you', 'may', 'imagine', 'what', 'i', 'felt', 'when', 'just', 'as', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'altar', 'rails', 'i', 'glanced', 'back', 'and', 'saw', 'frank', 'standing', 'and', 'looking', 'at', 'me', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'first', 'pew', 'i', 'thought', 'it', 'was', 'his', 'ghost', 'at', 'first', 'but', 'when', 'i', 'looked', 'again', 'there', 'he', 'was', 'still', 'with', 'a', 'kind', 'of', 'question', 'in', 'his', 'eyes', 'as', 'if', 'to', 'ask', 'me', 'whether', 'i', 'were', 'glad', 'or', 'sorry', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'i', 'wonder', 'i', 'didnt', 'drop', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'everything', 'was', 'turning', 'round', 'and', 'the', 'words', 'of', 'the', 'clergyman', 'were', 'just', 'like', 'the', 'buzz', 'of', 'a', 'bee', 'in', 'my', 'ear', 'i', 'didnt', 'know', 'what', 'to', 'do', 'should', 'i', 'stop', 'the', 'service', 'and', 'make', 'a', 'scene', 'in', 'the', 'church', 'i', 'glanced', 'at', 'him', 'again', 'and', 'he', 'seemed', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'i', 'was', 'thinking', 'for', 'he', 'raised', 'his', 'finger', 'to', 'his', 'lips', 'to', 'tell', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'still', 'then', 'i', 'saw', 'him', 'scribble', 'on', 'a', 'piece', 'of', 'paper', 'and', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'writing', 'me', 'a', 'note', 'as', 'i', 'passed', 'his', 'pew', 'on', 'the', 'way', 'out', 'i', 'dropped', 'my', 'bouquet', 'over', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'he', 'slipped', 'the', 'note', 'into', 'my', 'hand', 'when', 'he', 'returned', 'me', 'the', 'flowers', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'a', 'line', 'asking', 'me', 'to', 'join', 'him', 'when', 'he', 'made', 'the', 'sign', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'do', 'so', 'of', 'course', 'i', 'never', 'doubted', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'that', 'my', 'first', 'duty', 'was', 'now', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'i', 'determined', 'to', 'do', 'just', 'whatever', 'he', 'might', 'direct', 'when', 'i', 'got', 'back', 'i', 'told', 'my', 'maid', 'who', 'had', 'known', 'him', 'in', 'california', 'and', 'had', 'always', 'been', 'his', 'friend', 'i', 'ordered', 'her', 'to', 'say', 'nothing', 'but', 'to', 'get', 'a', 'few', 'things', 'packed', 'and', 'my', 'ulster', 'ready', 'i', 'know', 'i', 'ought', 'to', 'have', 'spoken', 'to', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'dreadful', 'hard', 'before', 'his', 'mother', 'and', 'all', 'those', 'great', 'people', 'i', 'just', 'made', 'up', 'my', 'mind', 'to', 'run', 'away', 'and', 'explain', 'afterwards', 'i', 'hadnt', 'been', 'at', 'the', 'table', 'ten', 'minutes', 'before', 'i', 'saw', 'frank', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'window', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'road', 'he', 'beckoned', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'then', 'began', 'walking', 'into', 'the', 'park', 'i', 'slipped', 'out', 'put', 'on', 'my', 'things', 'and', 'followed', 'him', 'some', 'woman', 'came', 'talking', 'something', 'or', 'other', 'about', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'to', 'meseemed', 'to', 'me', 'from', 'the', 'little', 'i', 'heard', 'as', 'if', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'little', 'secret', 'of', 'his', 'own', 'before', 'marriage', 'alsobut', 'i', 'managed', 'to', 'get', 'away', 'from', 'her', 'and', 'soon', 'overtook', 'frank', 'we', 'got', 'into', 'a', 'cab', 'together', 'and', 'away', 'we', 'drove', 'to', 'some', 'lodgings', 'he', 'had', 'taken', 'in', 'gordon', 'square', 'and', 'that', 'was', 'my', 'true', 'wedding', 'after', 'all', 'those', 'years', 'of', 'waiting', 'frank', 'had', 'been', 'a', 'prisoner', 'among', 'the', 'apaches', 'had', 'escaped', 'came', 'on', 'to', 'frisco', 'found', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'given', 'him', 'up', 'for', 'dead', 'and', 'had', 'gone', 'to', 'england', 'followed', 'me', 'there', 'and', 'had', 'come', 'upon', 'me', 'at', 'last', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'morning', 'of', 'my', 'second', 'wedding', 'i', 'saw', 'it', 'in', 'a', 'paper', 'explained', 'the', 'american', 'it', 'gave', 'the', 'name', 'and', 'the', 'church', 'but', 'not', 'where', 'the', 'lady', 'lived', 'then', 'we', 'had', 'a', 'talk', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'we', 'should', 'do', 'and', 'frank', 'was', 'all', 'for', 'openness', 'but', 'i', 'was', 'so', 'ashamed', 'of', 'it', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'felt', 'as', 'if', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'to', 'vanish', 'away', 'and', 'never', 'see', 'any', 'of', 'them', 'againjust', 'sending', 'a', 'line', 'to', 'pa', 'perhaps', 'to', 'show', 'him', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'alive', 'it', 'was', 'awful', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'all', 'those', 'lords', 'and', 'ladies', 'sitting', 'round', 'that', 'breakfasttable', 'and', 'waiting', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'come', 'back', 'so', 'frank', 'took', 'my', 'weddingclothes', 'and', 'things', 'and', 'made', 'a', 'bundle', 'of', 'them', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'traced', 'and', 'dropped', 'them', 'away', 'somewhere', 'where', 'no', 'one', 'could', 'find', 'them', 'it', 'is', 'likely', 'that', 'we', 'should', 'have', 'gone', 'on', 'to', 'paris', 'tomorrow', 'only', 'that', 'this', 'good', 'gentleman', 'mr', 'holmes', 'came', 'round', 'to', 'us', 'this', 'evening', 'though', 'how', 'he', 'found', 'us', 'is', 'more', 'than', 'i', 'can', 'think', 'and', 'he', 'showed', 'us', 'very', 'clearly', 'and', 'kindly', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'wrong', 'and', 'that', 'frank', 'was', 'right', 'and', 'that', 'we', 'should', 'be', 'putting', 'ourselves', 'in', 'the', 'wrong', 'if', 'we', 'were', 'so', 'secret', 'then', 'he', 'offered', 'to', 'give', 'us', 'a', 'chance', 'of', 'talking', 'to', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'alone', 'and', 'so', 'we', 'came', 'right', 'away', 'round', 'to', 'his', 'rooms', 'at', 'once', 'now', 'robert', 'you', 'have', 'heard', 'it', 'all', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'very', 'sorry', 'if', 'i', 'have', 'given', 'you', 'pain', 'and', 'i', 'hope', 'that', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'very', 'meanly', 'of', 'me', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'had', 'by', 'no', 'means', 'relaxed', 'his', 'rigid', 'attitude', 'but', 'had', 'listened', 'with', 'a', 'frowning', 'brow', 'and', 'a', 'compressed', 'lip', 'to', 'this', 'long', 'narrative', 'excuse', 'me', 'he', 'said', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'my', 'custom', 'to', 'discuss', 'my', 'most', 'intimate', 'personal', 'affairs', 'in', 'this', 'public', 'manner', 'then', 'you', 'wont', 'forgive', 'me', 'you', 'wont', 'shake', 'hands', 'before', 'i', 'go', 'oh', 'certainly', 'if', 'it', 'would', 'give', 'you', 'any', 'pleasure', 'he', 'put', 'out', 'his', 'hand', 'and', 'coldly', 'grasped', 'that', 'which', 'she', 'extended', 'to', 'him', 'i', 'had', 'hoped', 'suggested', 'holmes', 'that', 'you', 'would', 'have', 'joined', 'us', 'in', 'a', 'friendly', 'supper', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'there', 'you', 'ask', 'a', 'little', 'too', 'much', 'responded', 'his', 'lordship', 'i', 'may', 'be', 'forced', 'to', 'acquiesce', 'in', 'these', 'recent', 'developments', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'hardly', 'be', 'expected', 'to', 'make', 'merry', 'over', 'them', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'with', 'your', 'permission', 'i', 'will', 'now', 'wish', 'you', 'all', 'a', 'very', 'goodnight', 'he', 'included', 'us', 'all', 'in', 'a', 'sweeping', 'bow', 'and', 'stalked', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'then', 'i', 'trust', 'that', 'you', 'at', 'least', 'will', 'honour', 'me', 'with', 'your', 'company', 'said', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'it', 'is', 'always', 'a', 'joy', 'to', 'meet', 'an', 'american', 'mr', 'moulton', 'for', 'i', 'am', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'who', 'believe', 'that', 'the', 'folly', 'of', 'a', 'monarch', 'and', 'the', 'blundering', 'of', 'a', 'minister', 'in', 'fargone', 'years', 'will', 'not', 'prevent', 'our', 'children', 'from', 'being', 'some', 'day', 'citizens', 'of', 'the', 'same', 'worldwide', 'country', 'under', 'a', 'flag', 'which', 'shall', 'be', 'a', 'quartering', 'of', 'the', 'union', 'jack', 'with', 'the', 'stars', 'and', 'stripes', 'the', 'case', 'has', 'been', 'an', 'interesting', 'one', 'remarked', 'holmes', 'when', 'our', 'visitors', 'had', 'left', 'us', 'because', 'it', 'serves', 'to', 'show', 'very', 'clearly', 'how', 'simple', 'the', 'explanation', 'may', 'be', 'of', 'an', 'affair', 'which', 'at', 'first', 'sight', 'seems', 'to', 'be', 'almost', 'inexplicable', 'nothing', 'could', 'be', 'more', 'natural', 'than', 'the', 'sequence', 'of', 'events', 'as', 'narrated', 'by', 'this', 'lady', 'and', 'nothing', 'stranger', 'than', 'the', 'result', 'when', 'viewed', 'for', 'instance', 'by', 'mr', 'lestrade', 'of', 'scotland', 'yard', 'you', 'were', 'not', 'yourself', 'at', 'fault', 'at', 'all', 'then', 'from', 'the', 'first', 'two', 'facts', 'were', 'very', 'obvious', 'to', 'me', 'the', 'one', 'that', 'the', 'lady', 'had', 'been', 'quite', 'willing', 'to', 'undergo', 'the', 'wedding', 'ceremony', 'the', 'other', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'repented', 'of', 'it', 'within', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'of', 'returning', 'home', 'obviously', 'something', 'had', 'occurred', 'during', 'the', 'morning', 'then', 'to', 'cause', 'her', 'to', 'change', 'her', 'mind', 'what', 'could', 'that', 'something', 'be', 'she', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'spoken', 'to', 'anyone', 'when', 'she', 'was', 'out', 'for', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'in', 'the', 'company', 'of', 'the', 'bridegroom', 'had', 'she', 'seen', 'someone', 'then', 'if', 'she', 'had', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'someone', 'from', 'america', 'because', 'she', 'had', 'spent', 'so', 'short', 'a', 'time', 'in', 'this', 'country', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'hardly', 'have', 'allowed', 'anyone', 'to', 'acquire', 'so', 'deep', 'an', 'influence', 'over', 'her', 'that', 'the', 'mere', 'sight', 'of', 'him', 'would', 'induce', 'her', 'to', 'change', 'her', 'plans', 'so', 'completely', 'you', 'see', 'we', 'have', 'already', 'arrived', 'by', 'a', 'process', 'of', 'exclusion', 'at', 'the', 'idea', 'that', 'she', 'might', 'have', 'seen', 'an', 'american', 'then', 'who', 'could', 'this', 'american', 'be', 'and', 'why', 'should', 'he', 'possess', 'so', 'much', 'influence', 'over', 'her', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'a', 'lover', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'a', 'husband', 'her', 'young', 'womanhood', 'had', 'i', 'knew', 'been', 'spent', 'in', 'rough', 'scenes', 'and', 'under', 'strange', 'conditions', 'so', 'far', 'i', 'had', 'got', 'before', 'i', 'ever', 'heard', 'lord', 'st', 'simons', 'narrative', 'when', 'he', 'told', 'us', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'in', 'a', 'pew', 'of', 'the', 'change', 'in', 'the', 'brides', 'manner', 'of', 'so', 'transparent', 'a', 'device', 'for', 'obtaining', 'a', 'note', 'as', 'the', 'dropping', 'of', 'a', 'bouquet', 'of', 'her', 'resort', 'to', 'her', 'confidential', 'maid', 'and', 'of', 'her', 'very', 'significant', 'allusion', 'to', 'claimjumpingwhich', 'in', 'miners', 'parlance', 'means', 'taking', 'possession', 'of', 'that', 'which', 'another', 'person', 'has', 'a', 'prior', 'claim', 'tothe', 'whole', 'situation', 'became', 'absolutely', 'clear', 'she', 'had', 'gone', 'off', 'with', 'a', 'man', 'and', 'the', 'man', 'was', 'either', 'a', 'lover', 'or', 'was', 'a', 'previous', 'husbandthe', 'chances', 'being', 'in', 'favour', 'of', 'the', 'latter', 'and', 'how', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'did', 'you', 'find', 'them', 'it', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'difficult', 'but', 'friend', 'lestrade', 'held', 'information', 'in', 'his', 'hands', 'the', 'value', 'of', 'which', 'he', 'did', 'not', 'himself', 'know', 'the', 'initials', 'were', 'of', 'course', 'of', 'the', 'highest', 'importance', 'but', 'more', 'valuable', 'still', 'was', 'it', 'to', 'know', 'that', 'within', 'a', 'week', 'he', 'had', 'settled', 'his', 'bill', 'at', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'select', 'london', 'hotels', 'how', 'did', 'you', 'deduce', 'the', 'select', 'by', 'the', 'select', 'prices', 'eight', 'shillings', 'for', 'a', 'bed', 'and', 'eightpence', 'for', 'a', 'glass', 'of', 'sherry', 'pointed', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'expensive', 'hotels', 'there', 'are', 'not', 'many', 'in', 'london', 'which', 'charge', 'at', 'that', 'rate', 'in', 'the', 'second', 'one', 'which', 'i', 'visited', 'in', 'northumberland', 'avenue', 'i', 'learned', 'by', 'an', 'inspection', 'of', 'the', 'book', 'that', 'francis', 'h', 'moulton', 'an', 'american', 'gentleman', 'had', 'left', 'only', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'and', 'on', 'looking', 'over', 'the', 'entries', 'against', 'him', 'i', 'came', 'upon', 'the', 'very', 'items', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'seen', 'in', 'the', 'duplicate', 'bill', 'his', 'letters', 'were', 'to', 'be', 'forwarded', 'to', '226', 'gordon', 'square', 'so', 'thither', 'i', 'travelled', 'and', 'being', 'fortunate', 'enough', 'to', 'find', 'the', 'loving', 'couple', 'at', 'home', 'i', 'ventured', 'to', 'give', 'them', 'some', 'paternal', 'advice', 'and', 'to', 'point', 'out', 'to', 'them', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'better', 'in', 'every', 'way', 'that', 'they', 'should', 'make', 'their', 'position', 'a', 'little', 'clearer', 'both', 'to', 'the', 'general', 'public', 'and', 'to', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'in', 'particular', 'i', 'invited', 'them', 'to', 'meet', 'him', 'here', 'and', 'as', 'you', 'see', 'i', 'made', 'him', 'keep', 'the', 'appointment', 'but', 'with', 'no', 'very', 'good', 'result', 'i', 'remarked', 'his', 'conduct', 'was', 'certainly', 'not', 'very', 'gracious', 'ah', 'watson', 'said', 'holmes', 'smiling', 'perhaps', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'very', 'gracious', 'either', 'if', 'after', 'all', 'the', 'trouble', 'of', 'wooing', 'and', 'wedding', 'you', 'found', 'yourself', 'deprived', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'of', 'wife', 'and', 'of', 'fortune', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'we', 'may', 'judge', 'lord', 'st', 'simon', 'very', 'mercifully', 'and', 'thank', 'our', 'stars', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'never', 'likely', 'to', 'find', 'ourselves', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'position', 'draw', 'your', 'chair', 'up', 'and', 'hand', 'me', 'my', 'violin', 'for', 'the', 'only', 'problem', 'we', 'have', 'still', 'to', 'solve', 'is', 'how', 'to', 'while', 'away', 'these', 'bleak', 'autumnal', 'evenings', 'xi', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'beryl', 'coronet', 'holmes', 'said', 'i', 'as', 'i', 'stood', 'one', 'morning', 'in', 'our', 'bowwindow', 'looking', 'down', 'the', 'street', 'here', 'is', 'a', 'madman', 'coming', 'along', 'it', 'seems', 'rather', 'sad', 'that', 'his', 'relatives', 'should', 'allow', 'him', 'to', 'come', 'out', 'alone', 'my', 'friend', 'rose', 'lazily', 'from', 'his', 'armchair', 'and', 'stood', 'with', 'his', 'hands', 'in', 'the', 'pockets', 'of', 'his', 'dressinggown', 'looking', 'over', 'my', 'shoulder', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'bright', 'crisp', 'february', 'morning', 'and', 'the', 'snow', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'before', 'still', 'lay', 'deep', 'upon', 'the', 'ground', 'shimmering', 'brightly', 'in', 'the', 'wintry', 'sun', 'down', 'the', 'centre', 'of', 'baker', 'street', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'ploughed', 'into', 'a', 'brown', 'crumbly', 'band', 'by', 'the', 'traffic', 'but', 'at', 'either', 'side', 'and', 'on', 'the', 'heapedup', 'edges', 'of', 'the', 'footpaths', 'it', 'still', 'lay', 'as', 'white', 'as', 'when', 'it', 'fell', 'the', 'grey', 'pavement', 'had', 'been', 'cleaned', 'and', 'scraped', 'but', 'was', 'still', 'dangerously', 'slippery', 'so', 'that', 'there', 'were', 'fewer', 'passengers', 'than', 'usual', 'indeed', 'from', 'the', 'direction', 'of', 'the', 'metropolitan', 'station', 'no', 'one', 'was', 'coming', 'save', 'the', 'single', 'gentleman', 'whose', 'eccentric', 'conduct', 'had', 'drawn', 'my', 'attention', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'about', 'fifty', 'tall', 'portly', 'and', 'imposing', 'with', 'a', 'massive', 'strongly', 'marked', 'face', 'and', 'a', 'commanding', 'figure', 'he', 'was', 'dressed', 'in', 'a', 'sombre', 'yet', 'rich', 'style', 'in', 'black', 'frockcoat', 'shining', 'hat', 'neat', 'brown', 'gaiters', 'and', 'wellcut', 'pearlgrey', 'trousers', 'yet', 'his', 'actions', 'were', 'in', 'absurd', 'contrast', 'to', 'the', 'dignity', 'of', 'his', 'dress', 'and', 'features', 'for', 'he', 'was', 'running', 'hard', 'with', 'occasional', 'little', 'springs', 'such', 'as', 'a', 'weary', 'man', 'gives', 'who', 'is', 'little', 'accustomed', 'to', 'set', 'any', 'tax', 'upon', 'his', 'legs', 'as', 'he', 'ran', 'he', 'jerked', 'his', 'hands', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'waggled', 'his', 'head', 'and', 'writhed', 'his', 'face', 'into', 'the', 'most', 'extraordinary', 'contortions', 'what', 'on', 'earth', 'can', 'be', 'the', 'matter', 'with', 'him', 'i', 'asked', 'he', 'is', 'looking', 'up', 'at', 'the', 'numbers', 'of', 'the', 'houses', 'i', 'believe', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'coming', 'here', 'said', 'holmes', 'rubbing', 'his', 'hands', 'here', 'yes', 'i', 'rather', 'think', 'he', 'is', 'coming', 'to', 'consult', 'me', 'professionally', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'recognise', 'the', 'symptoms', 'ha', 'did', 'i', 'not', 'tell', 'you', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'the', 'man', 'puffing', 'and', 'blowing', 'rushed', 'at', 'our', 'door', 'and', 'pulled', 'at', 'our', 'bell', 'until', 'the', 'whole', 'house', 'resounded', 'with', 'the', 'clanging', 'a', 'few', 'moments', 'later', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'our', 'room', 'still', 'puffing', 'still', 'gesticulating', 'but', 'with', 'so', 'fixed', 'a', 'look', 'of', 'grief', 'and', 'despair', 'in', 'his', 'eyes', 'that', 'our', 'smiles', 'were', 'turned', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'to', 'horror', 'and', 'pity', 'for', 'a', 'while', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'get', 'his', 'words', 'out', 'but', 'swayed', 'his', 'body', 'and', 'plucked', 'at', 'his', 'hair', 'like', 'one', 'who', 'has', 'been', 'driven', 'to', 'the', 'extreme', 'limits', 'of', 'his', 'reason', 'then', 'suddenly', 'springing', 'to', 'his', 'feet', 'he', 'beat', 'his', 'head', 'against', 'the', 'wall', 'with', 'such', 'force', 'that', 'we', 'both', 'rushed', 'upon', 'him', 'and', 'tore', 'him', 'away', 'to', 'the', 'centre', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'pushed', 'him', 'down', 'into', 'the', 'easychair', 'and', 'sitting', 'beside', 'him', 'patted', 'his', 'hand', 'and', 'chatted', 'with', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'easy', 'soothing', 'tones', 'which', 'he', 'knew', 'so', 'well', 'how', 'to', 'employ', 'you', 'have', 'come', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'tell', 'your', 'story', 'have', 'you', 'not', 'said', 'he', 'you', 'are', 'fatigued', 'with', 'your', 'haste', 'pray', 'wait', 'until', 'you', 'have', 'recovered', 'yourself', 'and', 'then', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'most', 'happy', 'to', 'look', 'into', 'any', 'little', 'problem', 'which', 'you', 'may', 'submit', 'to', 'me', 'the', 'man', 'sat', 'for', 'a', 'minute', 'or', 'more', 'with', 'a', 'heaving', 'chest', 'fighting', 'against', 'his', 'emotion', 'then', 'he', 'passed', 'his', 'handkerchief', 'over', 'his', 'brow', 'set', 'his', 'lips', 'tight', 'and', 'turned', 'his', 'face', 'towards', 'us', 'no', 'doubt', 'you', 'think', 'me', 'mad', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'see', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'had', 'some', 'great', 'trouble', 'responded', 'holmes', 'god', 'knows', 'i', 'havea', 'trouble', 'which', 'is', 'enough', 'to', 'unseat', 'my', 'reason', 'so', 'sudden', 'and', 'so', 'terrible', 'is', 'it', 'public', 'disgrace', 'i', 'might', 'have', 'faced', 'although', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'man', 'whose', 'character', 'has', 'never', 'yet', 'borne', 'a', 'stain', 'private', 'affliction', 'also', 'is', 'the', 'lot', 'of', 'every', 'man', 'but', 'the', 'two', 'coming', 'together', 'and', 'in', 'so', 'frightful', 'a', 'form', 'have', 'been', 'enough', 'to', 'shake', 'my', 'very', 'soul', 'besides', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'i', 'alone', 'the', 'very', 'noblest', 'in', 'the', 'land', 'may', 'suffer', 'unless', 'some', 'way', 'be', 'found', 'out', 'of', 'this', 'horrible', 'affair', 'pray', 'compose', 'yourself', 'sir', 'said', 'holmes', 'and', 'let', 'me', 'have', 'a', 'clear', 'account', 'of', 'who', 'you', 'are', 'and', 'what', 'it', 'is', 'that', 'has', 'befallen', 'you', 'my', 'name', 'answered', 'our', 'visitor', 'is', 'probably', 'familiar', 'to', 'your', 'ears', 'i', 'am', 'alexander', 'holder', 'of', 'the', 'banking', 'firm', 'of', 'holder', 'stevenson', 'of', 'threadneedle', 'street', 'the', 'name', 'was', 'indeed', 'well', 'known', 'to', 'us', 'as', 'belonging', 'to', 'the', 'senior', 'partner', 'in', 'the', 'second', 'largest', 'private', 'banking', 'concern', 'in', 'the', 'city', 'of', 'london', 'what', 'could', 'have', 'happened', 'then', 'to', 'bring', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'foremost', 'citizens', 'of', 'london', 'to', 'this', 'most', 'pitiable', 'pass', 'we', 'waited', 'all', 'curiosity', 'until', 'with', 'another', 'effort', 'he', 'braced', 'himself', 'to', 'tell', 'his', 'story', 'i', 'feel', 'that', 'time', 'is', 'of', 'value', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'is', 'why', 'i', 'hastened', 'here', 'when', 'the', 'police', 'inspector', 'suggested', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'secure', 'your', 'cooperation', 'i', 'came', 'to', 'baker', 'street', 'by', 'the', 'underground', 'and', 'hurried', 'from', 'there', 'on', 'foot', 'for', 'the', 'cabs', 'go', 'slowly', 'through', 'this', 'snow', 'that', 'is', 'why', 'i', 'was', 'so', 'out', 'of', 'breath', 'for', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'takes', 'very', 'little', 'exercise', 'i', 'feel', 'better', 'now', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'put', 'the', 'facts', 'before', 'you', 'as', 'shortly', 'and', 'yet', 'as', 'clearly', 'as', 'i', 'can', 'it', 'is', 'of', 'course', 'well', 'known', 'to', 'you', 'that', 'in', 'a', 'successful', 'banking', 'business', 'as', 'much', 'depends', 'upon', 'our', 'being', 'able', 'to', 'find', 'remunerative', 'investments', 'for', 'our', 'funds', 'as', 'upon', 'our', 'increasing', 'our', 'connection', 'and', 'the', 'number', 'of', 'our', 'depositors', 'one', 'of', 'our', 'most', 'lucrative', 'means', 'of', 'laying', 'out', 'money', 'is', 'in', 'the', 'shape', 'of', 'loans', 'where', 'the', 'security', 'is', 'unimpeachable', 'we', 'have', 'done', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'in', 'this', 'direction', 'during', 'the', 'last', 'few', 'years', 'and', 'there', 'are', 'many', 'noble', 'families', 'to', 'whom', 'we', 'have', 'advanced', 'large', 'sums', 'upon', 'the', 'security', 'of', 'their', 'pictures', 'libraries', 'or', 'plate', 'yesterday', 'morning', 'i', 'was', 'seated', 'in', 'my', 'office', 'at', 'the', 'bank', 'when', 'a', 'card', 'was', 'brought', 'in', 'to', 'me', 'by', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'clerks', 'i', 'started', 'when', 'i', 'saw', 'the', 'name', 'for', 'it', 'was', 'that', 'of', 'none', 'other', 'thanwell', 'perhaps', 'even', 'to', 'you', 'i', 'had', 'better', 'say', 'no', 'more', 'than', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'name', 'which', 'is', 'a', 'household', 'word', 'all', 'over', 'the', 'earthone', 'of', 'the', 'highest', 'noblest', 'most', 'exalted', 'names', 'in', 'england', 'i', 'was', 'overwhelmed', 'by', 'the', 'honour', 'and', 'attempted', 'when', 'he', 'entered', 'to', 'say', 'so', 'but', 'he', 'plunged', 'at', 'once', 'into', 'business', 'with', 'the', 'air', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'wishes', 'to', 'hurry', 'quickly', 'through', 'a', 'disagreeable', 'task', 'mr', 'holder', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'informed', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'in', 'the', 'habit', 'of', 'advancing', 'money', 'the', 'firm', 'does', 'so', 'when', 'the', 'security', 'is', 'good', 'i', 'answered', 'it', 'is', 'absolutely', 'essential', 'to', 'me', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'have', '50000', 'at', 'once', 'i', 'could', 'of', 'course', 'borrow', 'so', 'trifling', 'a', 'sum', 'ten', 'times', 'over', 'from', 'my', 'friends', 'but', 'i', 'much', 'prefer', 'to', 'make', 'it', 'a', 'matter', 'of', 'business', 'and', 'to', 'carry', 'out', 'that', 'business', 'myself', 'in', 'my', 'position', 'you', 'can', 'readily', 'understand', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'unwise', 'to', 'place', 'ones', 'self', 'under', 'obligations', 'for', 'how', 'long', 'may', 'i', 'ask', 'do', 'you', 'want', 'this', 'sum', 'i', 'asked', 'next', 'monday', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'large', 'sum', 'due', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'then', 'most', 'certainly', 'repay', 'what', 'you', 'advance', 'with', 'whatever', 'interest', 'you', 'think', 'it', 'right', 'to', 'charge', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'very', 'essential', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'the', 'money', 'should', 'be', 'paid', 'at', 'once', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'happy', 'to', 'advance', 'it', 'without', 'further', 'parley', 'from', 'my', 'own', 'private', 'purse', 'said', 'i', 'were', 'it', 'not', 'that', 'the', 'strain', 'would', 'be', 'rather', 'more', 'than', 'it', 'could', 'bear', 'if', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'hand', 'i', 'am', 'to', 'do', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'the', 'firm', 'then', 'in', 'justice', 'to', 'my', 'partner', 'i', 'must', 'insist', 'that', 'even', 'in', 'your', 'case', 'every', 'businesslike', 'precaution', 'should', 'be', 'taken', 'i', 'should', 'much', 'prefer', 'to', 'have', 'it', 'so', 'said', 'he', 'raising', 'up', 'a', 'square', 'black', 'morocco', 'case', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'laid', 'beside', 'his', 'chair', 'you', 'have', 'doubtless', 'heard', 'of', 'the', 'beryl', 'coronet', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'precious', 'public', 'possessions', 'of', 'the', 'empire', 'said', 'i', 'precisely', 'he', 'opened', 'the', 'case', 'and', 'there', 'imbedded', 'in', 'soft', 'fleshcoloured', 'velvet', 'lay', 'the', 'magnificent', 'piece', 'of', 'jewellery', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'named', 'there', 'are', 'thirtynine', 'enormous', 'beryls', 'said', 'he', 'and', 'the', 'price', 'of', 'the', 'gold', 'chasing', 'is', 'incalculable', 'the', 'lowest', 'estimate', 'would', 'put', 'the', 'worth', 'of', 'the', 'coronet', 'at', 'double', 'the', 'sum', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'asked', 'i', 'am', 'prepared', 'to', 'leave', 'it', 'with', 'you', 'as', 'my', 'security', 'i', 'took', 'the', 'precious', 'case', 'into', 'my', 'hands', 'and', 'looked', 'in', 'some', 'perplexity', 'from', 'it', 'to', 'my', 'illustrious', 'client', 'you', 'doubt', 'its', 'value', 'he', 'asked', 'not', 'at', 'all', 'i', 'only', 'doubt', 'the', 'propriety', 'of', 'my', 'leaving', 'it', 'you', 'may', 'set', 'your', 'mind', 'at', 'rest', 'about', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'dream', 'of', 'doing', 'so', 'were', 'it', 'not', 'absolutely', 'certain', 'that', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'able', 'in', 'four', 'days', 'to', 'reclaim', 'it', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'pure', 'matter', 'of', 'form', 'is', 'the', 'security', 'sufficient', 'ample', 'you', 'understand', 'mr', 'holder', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'giving', 'you', 'a', 'strong', 'proof', 'of', 'the', 'confidence', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'in', 'you', 'founded', 'upon', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'of', 'you', 'i', 'rely', 'upon', 'you', 'not', 'only', 'to', 'be', 'discreet', 'and', 'to', 'refrain', 'from', 'all', 'gossip', 'upon', 'the', 'matter', 'but', 'above', 'all', 'to', 'preserve', 'this', 'coronet', 'with', 'every', 'possible', 'precaution', 'because', 'i', 'need', 'not', 'say', 'that', 'a', 'great', 'public', 'scandal', 'would', 'be', 'caused', 'if', 'any', 'harm', 'were', 'to', 'befall', 'it', 'any', 'injury', 'to', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'almost', 'as', 'serious', 'as', 'its', 'complete', 'loss', 'for', 'there', 'are', 'no', 'beryls', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'to', 'match', 'these', 'and', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'impossible', 'to', 'replace', 'them', 'i', 'leave', 'it', 'with', 'you', 'however', 'with', 'every', 'confidence', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'call', 'for', 'it', 'in', 'person', 'on', 'monday', 'morning', 'seeing', 'that', 'my', 'client', 'was', 'anxious', 'to', 'leave', 'i', 'said', 'no', 'more', 'but', 'calling', 'for', 'my', 'cashier', 'i', 'ordered', 'him', 'to', 'pay', 'over', 'fifty', '1000', 'notes', 'when', 'i', 'was', 'alone', 'once', 'more', 'however', 'with', 'the', 'precious', 'case', 'lying', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'me', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'but', 'think', 'with', 'some', 'misgivings', 'of', 'the', 'immense', 'responsibility', 'which', 'it', 'entailed', 'upon', 'me', 'there', 'could', 'be', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'as', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'national', 'possession', 'a', 'horrible', 'scandal', 'would', 'ensue', 'if', 'any', 'misfortune', 'should', 'occur', 'to', 'it', 'i', 'already', 'regretted', 'having', 'ever', 'consented', 'to', 'take', 'charge', 'of', 'it', 'however', 'it', 'was', 'too', 'late', 'to', 'alter', 'the', 'matter', 'now', 'so', 'i', 'locked', 'it', 'up', 'in', 'my', 'private', 'safe', 'and', 'turned', 'once', 'more', 'to', 'my', 'work', 'when', 'evening', 'came', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'an', 'imprudence', 'to', 'leave', 'so', 'precious', 'a', 'thing', 'in', 'the', 'office', 'behind', 'me', 'bankers', 'safes', 'had', 'been', 'forced', 'before', 'now', 'and', 'why', 'should', 'not', 'mine', 'be', 'if', 'so', 'how', 'terrible', 'would', 'be', 'the', 'position', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'should', 'find', 'myself', 'i', 'determined', 'therefore', 'that', 'for', 'the', 'next', 'few', 'days', 'i', 'would', 'always', 'carry', 'the', 'case', 'backward', 'and', 'forward', 'with', 'me', 'so', 'that', 'it', 'might', 'never', 'be', 'really', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'reach', 'with', 'this', 'intention', 'i', 'called', 'a', 'cab', 'and', 'drove', 'out', 'to', 'my', 'house', 'at', 'streatham', 'carrying', 'the', 'jewel', 'with', 'me', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'breathe', 'freely', 'until', 'i', 'had', 'taken', 'it', 'upstairs', 'and', 'locked', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'bureau', 'of', 'my', 'dressingroom', 'and', 'now', 'a', 'word', 'as', 'to', 'my', 'household', 'mr', 'holmes', 'for', 'i', 'wish', 'you', 'to', 'thoroughly', 'understand', 'the', 'situation', 'my', 'groom', 'and', 'my', 'page', 'sleep', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'may', 'be', 'set', 'aside', 'altogether', 'i', 'have', 'three', 'maidservants', 'who', 'have', 'been', 'with', 'me', 'a', 'number', 'of', 'years', 'and', 'whose', 'absolute', 'reliability', 'is', 'quite', 'above', 'suspicion', 'another', 'lucy', 'parr', 'the', 'second', 'waitingmaid', 'has', 'only', 'been', 'in', 'my', 'service', 'a', 'few', 'months', 'she', 'came', 'with', 'an', 'excellent', 'character', 'however', 'and', 'has', 'always', 'given', 'me', 'satisfaction', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'pretty', 'girl', 'and', 'has', 'attracted', 'admirers', 'who', 'have', 'occasionally', 'hung', 'about', 'the', 'place', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'only', 'drawback', 'which', 'we', 'have', 'found', 'to', 'her', 'but', 'we', 'believe', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'thoroughly', 'good', 'girl', 'in', 'every', 'way', 'so', 'much', 'for', 'the', 'servants', 'my', 'family', 'itself', 'is', 'so', 'small', 'that', 'it', 'will', 'not', 'take', 'me', 'long', 'to', 'describe', 'it', 'i', 'am', 'a', 'widower', 'and', 'have', 'an', 'only', 'son', 'arthur', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'a', 'disappointment', 'to', 'me', 'mr', 'holmesa', 'grievous', 'disappointment', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'myself', 'to', 'blame', 'people', 'tell', 'me', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'spoiled', 'him', 'very', 'likely', 'i', 'have', 'when', 'my', 'dear', 'wife', 'died', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'all', 'i', 'had', 'to', 'love', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'bear', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'smile', 'fade', 'even', 'for', 'a', 'moment', 'from', 'his', 'face', 'i', 'have', 'never', 'denied', 'him', 'a', 'wish', 'perhaps', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'better', 'for', 'both', 'of', 'us', 'had', 'i', 'been', 'sterner', 'but', 'i', 'meant', 'it', 'for', 'the', 'best', 'it', 'was', 'naturally', 'my', 'intention', 'that', 'he', 'should', 'succeed', 'me', 'in', 'my', 'business', 'but', 'he', 'was', 'not', 'of', 'a', 'business', 'turn', 'he', 'was', 'wild', 'wayward', 'and', 'to', 'speak', 'the', 'truth', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'trust', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'handling', 'of', 'large', 'sums', 'of', 'money', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'young', 'he', 'became', 'a', 'member', 'of', 'an', 'aristocratic', 'club', 'and', 'there', 'having', 'charming', 'manners', 'he', 'was', 'soon', 'the', 'intimate', 'of', 'a', 'number', 'of', 'men', 'with', 'long', 'purses', 'and', 'expensive', 'habits', 'he', 'learned', 'to', 'play', 'heavily', 'at', 'cards', 'and', 'to', 'squander', 'money', 'on', 'the', 'turf', 'until', 'he', 'had', 'again', 'and', 'again', 'to', 'come', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'implore', 'me', 'to', 'give', 'him', 'an', 'advance', 'upon', 'his', 'allowance', 'that', 'he', 'might', 'settle', 'his', 'debts', 'of', 'honour', 'he', 'tried', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'to', 'break', 'away', 'from', 'the', 'dangerous', 'company', 'which', 'he', 'was', 'keeping', 'but', 'each', 'time', 'the', 'influence', 'of', 'his', 'friend', 'sir', 'george', 'burnwell', 'was', 'enough', 'to', 'draw', 'him', 'back', 'again', 'and', 'indeed', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'wonder', 'that', 'such', 'a', 'man', 'as', 'sir', 'george', 'burnwell', 'should', 'gain', 'an', 'influence', 'over', 'him', 'for', 'he', 'has', 'frequently', 'brought', 'him', 'to', 'my', 'house', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'found', 'myself', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'hardly', 'resist', 'the', 'fascination', 'of', 'his', 'manner', 'he', 'is', 'older', 'than', 'arthur', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'to', 'his', 'fingertips', 'one', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'everywhere', 'seen', 'everything', 'a', 'brilliant', 'talker', 'and', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'great', 'personal', 'beauty', 'yet', 'when', 'i', 'think', 'of', 'him', 'in', 'cold', 'blood', 'far', 'away', 'from', 'the', 'glamour', 'of', 'his', 'presence', 'i', 'am', 'convinced', 'from', 'his', 'cynical', 'speech', 'and', 'the', 'look', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'caught', 'in', 'his', 'eyes', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'one', 'who', 'should', 'be', 'deeply', 'distrusted', 'so', 'i', 'think', 'and', 'so', 'too', 'thinks', 'my', 'little', 'mary', 'who', 'has', 'a', 'womans', 'quick', 'insight', 'into', 'character', 'and', 'now', 'there', 'is', 'only', 'she', 'to', 'be', 'described', 'she', 'is', 'my', 'niece', 'but', 'when', 'my', 'brother', 'died', 'five', 'years', 'ago', 'and', 'left', 'her', 'alone', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'i', 'adopted', 'her', 'and', 'have', 'looked', 'upon', 'her', 'ever', 'since', 'as', 'my', 'daughter', 'she', 'is', 'a', 'sunbeam', 'in', 'my', 'housesweet', 'loving', 'beautiful', 'a', 'wonderful', 'manager', 'and', 'housekeeper', 'yet', 'as', 'tender', 'and', 'quiet', 'and', 'gentle', 'as', 'a', 'woman', 'could', 'be', 'she', 'is', 'my', 'right', 'hand', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'i', 'could', 'do', 'without', 'her', 'in', 'only', 'one', 'matter', 'has', 'she', 'ever', 'gone', 'against', 'my', 'wishes', 'twice', 'my', 'boy', 'has', 'asked', 'her', 'to', 'marry', 'him', 'for', 'he', 'loves', 'her', 'devotedly', 'but', 'each', 'time', 'she', 'has', 'refused', 'him', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'if', 'anyone', 'could', 'have', 'drawn', 'him', 'into', 'the', 'right', 'path', 'it', 'would', 'have', 'been', 'she', 'and', 'that', 'his', 'marriage', 'might', 'have', 'changed', 'his', 'whole', 'life', 'but', 'now', 'alas', 'it', 'is', 'too', 'lateforever', 'too', 'late', 'now', 'mr', 'holmes', 'you', 'know', 'the', 'people', 'who', 'live', 'under', 'my', 'roof', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'continue', 'with', 'my', 'miserable', 'story', 'when', 'we', 'were', 'taking', 'coffee', 'in', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'that', 'night', 'after', 'dinner', 'i', 'told', 'arthur', 'and', 'mary', 'my', 'experience', 'and', 'of', 'the', 'precious', 'treasure', 'which', 'we', 'had', 'under', 'our', 'roof', 'suppressing', 'only', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'my', 'client', 'lucy', 'parr', 'who', 'had', 'brought', 'in', 'the', 'coffee', 'had', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'left', 'the', 'room', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'swear', 'that', 'the', 'door', 'was', 'closed', 'mary', 'and', 'arthur', 'were', 'much', 'interested', 'and', 'wished', 'to', 'see', 'the', 'famous', 'coronet', 'but', 'i', 'thought', 'it', 'better', 'not', 'to', 'disturb', 'it', 'where', 'have', 'you', 'put', 'it', 'asked', 'arthur', 'in', 'my', 'own', 'bureau', 'well', 'i', 'hope', 'to', 'goodness', 'the', 'house', 'wont', 'be', 'burgled', 'during', 'the', 'night', 'said', 'he', 'it', 'is', 'locked', 'up', 'i', 'answered', 'oh', 'any', 'old', 'key', 'will', 'fit', 'that', 'bureau', 'when', 'i', 'was', 'a', 'youngster', 'i', 'have', 'opened', 'it', 'myself', 'with', 'the', 'key', 'of', 'the', 'boxroom', 'cupboard', 'he', 'often', 'had', 'a', 'wild', 'way', 'of', 'talking', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'thought', 'little', 'of', 'what', 'he', 'said', 'he', 'followed', 'me', 'to', 'my', 'room', 'however', 'that', 'night', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'grave', 'face', 'look', 'here', 'dad', 'said', 'he', 'with', 'his', 'eyes', 'cast', 'down', 'can', 'you', 'let', 'me', 'have', '200', 'no', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'i', 'answered', 'sharply', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'far', 'too', 'generous', 'with', 'you', 'in', 'money', 'matters', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'very', 'kind', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'i', 'must', 'have', 'this', 'money', 'or', 'else', 'i', 'can', 'never', 'show', 'my', 'face', 'inside', 'the', 'club', 'again', 'and', 'a', 'very', 'good', 'thing', 'too', 'i', 'cried', 'yes', 'but', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'me', 'leave', 'it', 'a', 'dishonoured', 'man', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'bear', 'the', 'disgrace', 'i', 'must', 'raise', 'the', 'money', 'in', 'some', 'way', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'let', 'me', 'have', 'it', 'then', 'i', 'must', 'try', 'other', 'means', 'i', 'was', 'very', 'angry', 'for', 'this', 'was', 'the', 'third', 'demand', 'during', 'the', 'month', 'you', 'shall', 'not', 'have', 'a', 'farthing', 'from', 'me', 'i', 'cried', 'on', 'which', 'he', 'bowed', 'and', 'left', 'the', 'room', 'without', 'another', 'word', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'gone', 'i', 'unlocked', 'my', 'bureau', 'made', 'sure', 'that', 'my', 'treasure', 'was', 'safe', 'and', 'locked', 'it', 'again', 'then', 'i', 'started', 'to', 'go', 'round', 'the', 'house', 'to', 'see', 'that', 'all', 'was', 'securea', 'duty', 'which', 'i', 'usually', 'leave', 'to', 'mary', 'but', 'which', 'i', 'thought', 'it', 'well', 'to', 'perform', 'myself', 'that', 'night', 'as', 'i', 'came', 'down', 'the', 'stairs', 'i', 'saw', 'mary', 'herself', 'at', 'the', 'side', 'window', 'of', 'the', 'hall', 'which', 'she', 'closed', 'and', 'fastened', 'as', 'i', 'approached', 'tell', 'me', 'dad', 'said', 'she', 'looking', 'i', 'thought', 'a', 'little', 'disturbed', 'did', 'you', 'give', 'lucy', 'the', 'maid', 'leave', 'to', 'go', 'out', 'tonight', 'certainly', 'not', 'she', 'came', 'in', 'just', 'now', 'by', 'the', 'back', 'door', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'she', 'has', 'only', 'been', 'to', 'the', 'side', 'gate', 'to', 'see', 'someone', 'but', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'hardly', 'safe', 'and', 'should', 'be', 'stopped', 'you', 'must', 'speak', 'to', 'her', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'or', 'i', 'will', 'if', 'you', 'prefer', 'it', 'are', 'you', 'sure', 'that', 'everything', 'is', 'fastened', 'quite', 'sure', 'dad', 'then', 'goodnight', 'i', 'kissed', 'her', 'and', 'went', 'up', 'to', 'my', 'bedroom', 'again', 'where', 'i', 'was', 'soon', 'asleep', 'i', 'am', 'endeavouring', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'everything', 'mr', 'holmes', 'which', 'may', 'have', 'any', 'bearing', 'upon', 'the', 'case', 'but', 'i', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'question', 'me', 'upon', 'any', 'point', 'which', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'make', 'clear', 'on', 'the', 'contrary', 'your', 'statement', 'is', 'singularly', 'lucid', 'i', 'come', 'to', 'a', 'part', 'of', 'my', 'story', 'now', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'should', 'wish', 'to', 'be', 'particularly', 'so', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'a', 'very', 'heavy', 'sleeper', 'and', 'the', 'anxiety', 'in', 'my', 'mind', 'tended', 'no', 'doubt', 'to', 'make', 'me', 'even', 'less', 'so', 'than', 'usual', 'about', 'two', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'then', 'i', 'was', 'awakened', 'by', 'some', 'sound', 'in', 'the', 'house', 'it', 'had', 'ceased', 'ere', 'i', 'was', 'wide', 'awake', 'but', 'it', 'had', 'left', 'an', 'impression', 'behind', 'it', 'as', 'though', 'a', 'window', 'had', 'gently', 'closed', 'somewhere', 'i', 'lay', 'listening', 'with', 'all', 'my', 'ears', 'suddenly', 'to', 'my', 'horror', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'distinct', 'sound', 'of', 'footsteps', 'moving', 'softly', 'in', 'the', 'next', 'room', 'i', 'slipped', 'out', 'of', 'bed', 'all', 'palpitating', 'with', 'fear', 'and', 'peeped', 'round', 'the', 'corner', 'of', 'my', 'dressingroom', 'door', 'arthur', 'i', 'screamed', 'you', 'villain', 'you', 'thief', 'how', 'dare', 'you', 'touch', 'that', 'coronet', 'the', 'gas', 'was', 'half', 'up', 'as', 'i', 'had', 'left', 'it', 'and', 'my', 'unhappy', 'boy', 'dressed', 'only', 'in', 'his', 'shirt', 'and', 'trousers', 'was', 'standing', 'beside', 'the', 'light', 'holding', 'the', 'coronet', 'in', 'his', 'hands', 'he', 'appeared', 'to', 'be', 'wrenching', 'at', 'it', 'or', 'bending', 'it', 'with', 'all', 'his', 'strength', 'at', 'my', 'cry', 'he', 'dropped', 'it', 'from', 'his', 'grasp', 'and', 'turned', 'as', 'pale', 'as', 'death', 'i', 'snatched', 'it', 'up', 'and', 'examined', 'it', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'gold', 'corners', 'with', 'three', 'of', 'the', 'beryls', 'in', 'it', 'was', 'missing', 'you', 'blackguard', 'i', 'shouted', 'beside', 'myself', 'with', 'rage', 'you', 'have', 'destroyed', 'it', 'you', 'have', 'dishonoured', 'me', 'forever', 'where', 'are', 'the', 'jewels', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'stolen', 'stolen', 'he', 'cried', 'yes', 'thief', 'i', 'roared', 'shaking', 'him', 'by', 'the', 'shoulder', 'there', 'are', 'none', 'missing', 'there', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'any', 'missing', 'said', 'he', 'there', 'are', 'three', 'missing', 'and', 'you', 'know', 'where', 'they', 'are', 'must', 'i', 'call', 'you', 'a', 'liar', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'a', 'thief', 'did', 'i', 'not', 'see', 'you', 'trying', 'to', 'tear', 'off', 'another', 'piece', 'you', 'have', 'called', 'me', 'names', 'enough', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'stand', 'it', 'any', 'longer', 'i', 'shall', 'not', 'say', 'another', 'word', 'about', 'this', 'business', 'since', 'you', 'have', 'chosen', 'to', 'insult', 'me', 'i', 'will', 'leave', 'your', 'house', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'and', 'make', 'my', 'own', 'way', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'you', 'shall', 'leave', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'hands', 'of', 'the', 'police', 'i', 'cried', 'halfmad', 'with', 'grief', 'and', 'rage', 'i', 'shall', 'have', 'this', 'matter', 'probed', 'to', 'the', 'bottom', 'you', 'shall', 'learn', 'nothing', 'from', 'me', 'said', 'he', 'with', 'a', 'passion', 'such', 'as', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'have', 'thought', 'was', 'in', 'his', 'nature', 'if', 'you', 'choose', 'to', 'call', 'the', 'police', 'let', 'the', 'police', 'find', 'what', 'they', 'can', 'by', 'this', 'time', 'the', 'whole', 'house', 'was', 'astir', 'for', 'i', 'had', 'raised', 'my', 'voice', 'in', 'my', 'anger', 'mary', 'was', 'the', 'first', 'to', 'rush', 'into', 'my', 'room', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'the', 'coronet', 'and', 'of', 'arthurs', 'face', 'she', 'read', 'the', 'whole', 'story', 'and', 'with', 'a', 'scream', 'fell', 'down', 'senseless', 'on', 'the', 'ground', 'i', 'sent', 'the', 'housemaid', 'for', 'the', 'police', 'and', 'put', 'the', 'investigation', 'into', 'their', 'hands', 'at', 'once', 'when', 'the', 'inspector', 'and', 'a', 'constable', 'entered', 'the', 'house', 'arthur', 'who', 'had', 'stood', 'sullenly', 'with', 'his', 'arms', 'folded', 'asked', 'me', 'whether', 'it', 'was', 'my', 'intention', 'to', 'charge', 'him', 'with', 'theft', 'i', 'answered', 'that', 'it', 'had', 'ceased', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'private', 'matter', 'but', 'had', 'become', 'a', 'public', 'one', 'since', 'the', 'ruined', 'coronet', 'was', 'national', 'property', 'i', 'was', 'determined', 'that', 'the', 'law', 'should', 'have', 'its', 'way', 'in', 'everything', 'at', 'least', 'said', 'he', 'you', 'will', 'not', 'have', 'me', 'arrested', 'at', 'once', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'to', 'your', 'advantage', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'mine', 'if', 'i', 'might', 'leave', 'the', 'house', 'for', 'five', 'minutes', 'that', 'you', 'may', 'get', 'away', 'or', 'perhaps', 'that', 'you', 'may', 'conceal', 'what', 'you', 'have', 'stolen', 'said', 'i', 'and', 'then', 'realising', 'the', 'dreadful', 'position', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'was', 'placed', 'i', 'implored', 'him', 'to', 'remember', 'that', 'not', 'only', 'my', 'honour', 'but', 'that', 'of', 'one', 'who', 'was', 'far', 'greater', 'than', 'i', 'was', 'at', 'stake', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'threatened', 'to', 'raise', 'a', 'scandal', 'which', 'would', 'convulse', 'the', 'nation', 'he', 'might', 'avert', 'it', 'all', 'if', 'he', 'would', 'but', 'tell', 'me', 'what', 'he', 'had', 'done', 'with', 'the', 'three', 'missing', 'stones', 'you', 'may', 'as', 'well', 'face', 'the', 'matter', 'said', 'i', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'caught', 'in', 'the', 'act', 'and', 'no', 'confession', 'could', 'make', 'your', 'guilt', 'more', 'heinous', 'if', 'you', 'but', 'make', 'such', 'reparation', 'as', 'is', 'in', 'your', 'power', 'by', 'telling', 'us', 'where', 'the', 'beryls', 'are', 'all', 'shall', 'be', 'forgiven', 'and', 'forgotten', 'keep', 'your', 'forgiveness', 'for', 'those', 'who', 'ask', 'for', 'it', 'he', 'answered', 'turning', 'away', 'from', 'me', 'with', 'a', 'sneer', 'i', 'saw', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'too', 'hardened', 'for', 'any', 'words', 'of', 'mine', 'to', 'influence', 'him', 'there', 'was', 'but', 'one', 'way', 'for', 'it', 'i', 'called', 'in', 'the', 'inspector', 'and', 'gave', 'him', 'into', 'custody', 'a', 'search', 'was', 'made', 'at', 'once', 'not', 'only', 'of', 'his', 'person', 'but', 'of', 'his', 'room', 'and', 'of', 'every', 'portion', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'where', 'he', 'could', 'possibly', 'have', 'concealed', 'the', 'gems', 'but', 'no', 'trace', 'of', 'them', 'could', 'be', 'found', 'nor', 'would', 'the', 'wretched', 'boy', 'open', 'his', 'mouth', 'for', 'all', 'our', 'persuasions', 'and', 'our', 'threats', 'this', 'morning', 'he', 'was', 'removed', 'to', 'a', 'cell', 'and', 'i', 'after', 'going', 'through', 'all', 'the', 'police', 'formalities', 'have', 'hurried', 'round', 'to', 'you', 'to', 'implore', 'you', 'to', 'use', 'your', 'skill', 'in', 'unravelling', 'the', 'matter', 'the', 'police', 'have', 'openly', 'confessed', 'that', 'they', 'can', 'at', 'present', 'make', 'nothing', 'of', 'it', 'you', 'may', 'go', 'to', 'any', 'expense', 'which', 'you', 'think', 'necessary', 'i', 'have', 'already', 'offered', 'a', 'reward', 'of', '1000', 'my', 'god', 'what', 'shall', 'i', 'do', 'i', 'have', 'lost', 'my', 'honour', 'my', 'gems', 'and', 'my', 'son', 'in', 'one', 'night', 'oh', 'what', 'shall', 'i', 'do', 'he', 'put', 'a', 'hand', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'of', 'his', 'head', 'and', 'rocked', 'himself', 'to', 'and', 'fro', 'droning', 'to', 'himself', 'like', 'a', 'child', 'whose', 'grief', 'has', 'got', 'beyond', 'words', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'sat', 'silent', 'for', 'some', 'few', 'minutes', 'with', 'his', 'brows', 'knitted', 'and', 'his', 'eyes', 'fixed', 'upon', 'the', 'fire', 'do', 'you', 'receive', 'much', 'company', 'he', 'asked', 'none', 'save', 'my', 'partner', 'with', 'his', 'family', 'and', 'an', 'occasional', 'friend', 'of', 'arthurs', 'sir', 'george', 'burnwell', 'has', 'been', 'several', 'times', 'lately', 'no', 'one', 'else', 'i', 'think', 'do', 'you', 'go', 'out', 'much', 'in', 'society', 'arthur', 'does', 'mary', 'and', 'i', 'stay', 'at', 'home', 'we', 'neither', 'of', 'us', 'care', 'for', 'it', 'that', 'is', 'unusual', 'in', 'a', 'young', 'girl', 'she', 'is', 'of', 'a', 'quiet', 'nature', 'besides', 'she', 'is', 'not', 'so', 'very', 'young', 'she', 'is', 'fourandtwenty', 'this', 'matter', 'from', 'what', 'you', 'say', 'seems', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'shock', 'to', 'her', 'also', 'terrible', 'she', 'is', 'even', 'more', 'affected', 'than', 'i', 'you', 'have', 'neither', 'of', 'you', 'any', 'doubt', 'as', 'to', 'your', 'sons', 'guilt', 'how', 'can', 'we', 'have', 'when', 'i', 'saw', 'him', 'with', 'my', 'own', 'eyes', 'with', 'the', 'coronet', 'in', 'his', 'hands', 'i', 'hardly', 'consider', 'that', 'a', 'conclusive', 'proof', 'was', 'the', 'remainder', 'of', 'the', 'coronet', 'at', 'all', 'injured', 'yes', 'it', 'was', 'twisted', 'do', 'you', 'not', 'think', 'then', 'that', 'he', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'trying', 'to', 'straighten', 'it', 'god', 'bless', 'you', 'you', 'are', 'doing', 'what', 'you', 'can', 'for', 'him', 'and', 'for', 'me', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'too', 'heavy', 'a', 'task', 'what', 'was', 'he', 'doing', 'there', 'at', 'all', 'if', 'his', 'purpose', 'were', 'innocent', 'why', 'did', 'he', 'not', 'say', 'so', 'precisely', 'and', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'guilty', 'why', 'did', 'he', 'not', 'invent', 'a', 'lie', 'his', 'silence', 'appears', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'cut', 'both', 'ways', 'there', 'are', 'several', 'singular', 'points', 'about', 'the', 'case', 'what', 'did', 'the', 'police', 'think', 'of', 'the', 'noise', 'which', 'awoke', 'you', 'from', 'your', 'sleep', 'they', 'considered', 'that', 'it', 'might', 'be', 'caused', 'by', 'arthurs', 'closing', 'his', 'bedroom', 'door', 'a', 'likely', 'story', 'as', 'if', 'a', 'man', 'bent', 'on', 'felony', 'would', 'slam', 'his', 'door', 'so', 'as', 'to', 'wake', 'a', 'household', 'what', 'did', 'they', 'say', 'then', 'of', 'the', 'disappearance', 'of', 'these', 'gems', 'they', 'are', 'still', 'sounding', 'the', 'planking', 'and', 'probing', 'the', 'furniture', 'in', 'the', 'hope', 'of', 'finding', 'them', 'have', 'they', 'thought', 'of', 'looking', 'outside', 'the', 'house', 'yes', 'they', 'have', 'shown', 'extraordinary', 'energy', 'the', 'whole', 'garden', 'has', 'already', 'been', 'minutely', 'examined', 'now', 'my', 'dear', 'sir', 'said', 'holmes', 'is', 'it', 'not', 'obvious', 'to', 'you', 'now', 'that', 'this', 'matter', 'really', 'strikes', 'very', 'much', 'deeper', 'than', 'either', 'you', 'or', 'the', 'police', 'were', 'at', 'first', 'inclined', 'to', 'think', 'it', 'appeared', 'to', 'you', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'simple', 'case', 'to', 'me', 'it', 'seems', 'exceedingly', 'complex', 'consider', 'what', 'is', 'involved', 'by', 'your', 'theory', 'you', 'suppose', 'that', 'your', 'son', 'came', 'down', 'from', 'his', 'bed', 'went', 'at', 'great', 'risk', 'to', 'your', 'dressingroom', 'opened', 'your', 'bureau', 'took', 'out', 'your', 'coronet', 'broke', 'off', 'by', 'main', 'force', 'a', 'small', 'portion', 'of', 'it', 'went', 'off', 'to', 'some', 'other', 'place', 'concealed', 'three', 'gems', 'out', 'of', 'the', 'thirtynine', 'with', 'such', 'skill', 'that', 'nobody', 'can', 'find', 'them', 'and', 'then', 'returned', 'with', 'the', 'other', 'thirtysix', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'in', 'which', 'he', 'exposed', 'himself', 'to', 'the', 'greatest', 'danger', 'of', 'being', 'discovered', 'i', 'ask', 'you', 'now', 'is', 'such', 'a', 'theory', 'tenable', 'but', 'what', 'other', 'is', 'there', 'cried', 'the', 'banker', 'with', 'a', 'gesture', 'of', 'despair', 'if', 'his', 'motives', 'were', 'innocent', 'why', 'does', 'he', 'not', 'explain', 'them', 'it', 'is', 'our', 'task', 'to', 'find', 'that', 'out', 'replied', 'holmes', 'so', 'now', 'if', 'you', 'please', 'mr', 'holder', 'we', 'will', 'set', 'off', 'for', 'streatham', 'together', 'and', 'devote', 'an', 'hour', 'to', 'glancing', 'a', 'little', 'more', 'closely', 'into', 'details', 'my', 'friend', 'insisted', 'upon', 'my', 'accompanying', 'them', 'in', 'their', 'expedition', 'which', 'i', 'was', 'eager', 'enough', 'to', 'do', 'for', 'my', 'curiosity', 'and', 'sympathy', 'were', 'deeply', 'stirred', 'by', 'the', 'story', 'to', 'which', 'we', 'had', 'listened', 'i', 'confess', 'that', 'the', 'guilt', 'of', 'the', 'bankers', 'son', 'appeared', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'as', 'obvious', 'as', 'it', 'did', 'to', 'his', 'unhappy', 'father', 'but', 'still', 'i', 'had', 'such', 'faith', 'in', 'holmes', 'judgment', 'that', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'there', 'must', 'be', 'some', 'grounds', 'for', 'hope', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'dissatisfied', 'with', 'the', 'accepted', 'explanation', 'he', 'hardly', 'spoke', 'a', 'word', 'the', 'whole', 'way', 'out', 'to', 'the', 'southern', 'suburb', 'but', 'sat', 'with', 'his', 'chin', 'upon', 'his', 'breast', 'and', 'his', 'hat', 'drawn', 'over', 'his', 'eyes', 'sunk', 'in', 'the', 'deepest', 'thought', 'our', 'client', 'appeared', 'to', 'have', 'taken', 'fresh', 'heart', 'at', 'the', 'little', 'glimpse', 'of', 'hope', 'which', 'had', 'been', 'presented', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'he', 'even', 'broke', 'into', 'a', 'desultory', 'chat', 'with', 'me', 'over', 'his', 'business', 'affairs', 'a', 'short', 'railway', 'journey', 'and', 'a', 'shorter', 'walk', 'brought', 'us', 'to', 'fairbank', 'the', 'modest', 'residence', 'of', 'the', 'great', 'financier', 'fairbank', 'was', 'a', 'goodsized', 'square', 'house', 'of', 'white', 'stone', 'standing', 'back', 'a', 'little', 'from', 'the', 'road', 'a', 'double', 'carriagesweep', 'with', 'a', 'snowclad', 'lawn', 'stretched', 'down', 'in', 'front', 'to', 'two', 'large', 'iron', 'gates', 'which', 'closed', 'the', 'entrance', 'on', 'the', 'right', 'side', 'was', 'a', 'small', 'wooden', 'thicket', 'which', 'led', 'into', 'a', 'narrow', 'path', 'between', 'two', 'neat', 'hedges', 'stretching', 'from', 'the', 'road', 'to', 'the', 'kitchen', 'door', 'and', 'forming', 'the', 'tradesmens', 'entrance', 'on', 'the', 'left', 'ran', 'a', 'lane', 'which', 'led', 'to', 'the', 'stables', 'and', 'was', 'not', 'itself', 'within', 'the', 'grounds', 'at', 'all', 'being', 'a', 'public', 'though', 'little', 'used', 'thoroughfare', 'holmes', 'left', 'us', 'standing', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'walked', 'slowly', 'all', 'round', 'the', 'house', 'across', 'the', 'front', 'down', 'the', 'tradesmens', 'path', 'and', 'so', 'round', 'by', 'the', 'garden', 'behind', 'into', 'the', 'stable', 'lane', 'so', 'long', 'was', 'he', 'that', 'mr', 'holder', 'and', 'i', 'went', 'into', 'the', 'diningroom', 'and', 'waited', 'by', 'the', 'fire', 'until', 'he', 'should', 'return', 'we', 'were', 'sitting', 'there', 'in', 'silence', 'when', 'the', 'door', 'opened', 'and', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'came', 'in', 'she', 'was', 'rather', 'above', 'the', 'middle', 'height', 'slim', 'with', 'dark', 'hair', 'and', 'eyes', 'which', 'seemed', 'the', 'darker', 'against', 'the', 'absolute', 'pallor', 'of', 'her', 'skin', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'ever', 'seen', 'such', 'deadly', 'paleness', 'in', 'a', 'womans', 'face', 'her', 'lips', 'too', 'were', 'bloodless', 'but', 'her', 'eyes', 'were', 'flushed', 'with', 'crying', 'as', 'she', 'swept', 'silently', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'she', 'impressed', 'me', 'with', 'a', 'greater', 'sense', 'of', 'grief', 'than', 'the', 'banker', 'had', 'done', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'and', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'more', 'striking', 'in', 'her', 'as', 'she', 'was', 'evidently', 'a', 'woman', 'of', 'strong', 'character', 'with', 'immense', 'capacity', 'for', 'selfrestraint', 'disregarding', 'my', 'presence', 'she', 'went', 'straight', 'to', 'her', 'uncle', 'and', 'passed', 'her', 'hand', 'over', 'his', 'head', 'with', 'a', 'sweet', 'womanly', 'caress', 'you', 'have', 'given', 'orders', 'that', 'arthur', 'should', 'be', 'liberated', 'have', 'you', 'not', 'dad', 'she', 'asked', 'no', 'no', 'my', 'girl', 'the', 'matter', 'must', 'be', 'probed', 'to', 'the', 'bottom', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'so', 'sure', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'innocent', 'you', 'know', 'what', 'womans', 'instincts', 'are', 'i', 'know', 'that', 'he', 'has', 'done', 'no', 'harm', 'and', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'be', 'sorry', 'for', 'having', 'acted', 'so', 'harshly', 'why', 'is', 'he', 'silent', 'then', 'if', 'he', 'is', 'innocent', 'who', 'knows', 'perhaps', 'because', 'he', 'was', 'so', 'angry', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'suspect', 'him', 'how', 'could', 'i', 'help', 'suspecting', 'him', 'when', 'i', 'actually', 'saw', 'him', 'with', 'the', 'coronet', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'oh', 'but', 'he', 'had', 'only', 'picked', 'it', 'up', 'to', 'look', 'at', 'it', 'oh', 'do', 'do', 'take', 'my', 'word', 'for', 'it', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'innocent', 'let', 'the', 'matter', 'drop', 'and', 'say', 'no', 'more', 'it', 'is', 'so', 'dreadful', 'to', 'think', 'of', 'our', 'dear', 'arthur', 'in', 'prison', 'i', 'shall', 'never', 'let', 'it', 'drop', 'until', 'the', 'gems', 'are', 'foundnever', 'mary', 'your', 'affection', 'for', 'arthur', 'blinds', 'you', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'awful', 'consequences', 'to', 'me', 'far', 'from', 'hushing', 'the', 'thing', 'up', 'i', 'have', 'brought', 'a', 'gentleman', 'down', 'from', 'london', 'to', 'inquire', 'more', 'deeply', 'into', 'it', 'this', 'gentleman', 'she', 'asked', 'facing', 'round', 'to', 'me', 'no', 'his', 'friend', 'he', 'wished', 'us', 'to', 'leave', 'him', 'alone', 'he', 'is', 'round', 'in', 'the', 'stable', 'lane', 'now', 'the', 'stable', 'lane', 'she', 'raised', 'her', 'dark', 'eyebrows', 'what', 'can', 'he', 'hope', 'to', 'find', 'there', 'ah', 'this', 'i', 'suppose', 'is', 'he', 'i', 'trust', 'sir', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'succeed', 'in', 'proving', 'what', 'i', 'feel', 'sure', 'is', 'the', 'truth', 'that', 'my', 'cousin', 'arthur', 'is', 'innocent', 'of', 'this', 'crime', 'i', 'fully', 'share', 'your', 'opinion', 'and', 'i', 'trust', 'with', 'you', 'that', 'we', 'may', 'prove', 'it', 'returned', 'holmes', 'going', 'back', 'to', 'the', 'mat', 'to', 'knock', 'the', 'snow', 'from', 'his', 'shoes', 'i', 'believe', 'i', 'have', 'the', 'honour', 'of', 'addressing', 'miss', 'mary', 'holder', 'might', 'i', 'ask', 'you', 'a', 'question', 'or', 'two', 'pray', 'do', 'sir', 'if', 'it', 'may', 'help', 'to', 'clear', 'this', 'horrible', 'affair', 'up', 'you', 'heard', 'nothing', 'yourself', 'last', 'night', 'nothing', 'until', 'my', 'uncle', 'here', 'began', 'to', 'speak', 'loudly', 'i', 'heard', 'that', 'and', 'i', 'came', 'down', 'you', 'shut', 'up', 'the', 'windows', 'and', 'doors', 'the', 'night', 'before', 'did', 'you', 'fasten', 'all', 'the', 'windows', 'yes', 'were', 'they', 'all', 'fastened', 'this', 'morning', 'yes', 'you', 'have', 'a', 'maid', 'who', 'has', 'a', 'sweetheart', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'you', 'remarked', 'to', 'your', 'uncle', 'last', 'night', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'been', 'out', 'to', 'see', 'him', 'yes', 'and', 'she', 'was', 'the', 'girl', 'who', 'waited', 'in', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'and', 'who', 'may', 'have', 'heard', 'uncles', 'remarks', 'about', 'the', 'coronet', 'i', 'see', 'you', 'infer', 'that', 'she', 'may', 'have', 'gone', 'out', 'to', 'tell', 'her', 'sweetheart', 'and', 'that', 'the', 'two', 'may', 'have', 'planned', 'the', 'robbery', 'but', 'what', 'is', 'the', 'good', 'of', 'all', 'these', 'vague', 'theories', 'cried', 'the', 'banker', 'impatiently', 'when', 'i', 'have', 'told', 'you', 'that', 'i', 'saw', 'arthur', 'with', 'the', 'coronet', 'in', 'his', 'hands', 'wait', 'a', 'little', 'mr', 'holder', 'we', 'must', 'come', 'back', 'to', 'that', 'about', 'this', 'girl', 'miss', 'holder', 'you', 'saw', 'her', 'return', 'by', 'the', 'kitchen', 'door', 'i', 'presume', 'yes', 'when', 'i', 'went', 'to', 'see', 'if', 'the', 'door', 'was', 'fastened', 'for', 'the', 'night', 'i', 'met', 'her', 'slipping', 'in', 'i', 'saw', 'the', 'man', 'too', 'in', 'the', 'gloom', 'do', 'you', 'know', 'him', 'oh', 'yes', 'he', 'is', 'the', 'greengrocer', 'who', 'brings', 'our', 'vegetables', 'round', 'his', 'name', 'is', 'francis', 'prosper', 'he', 'stood', 'said', 'holmes', 'to', 'the', 'left', 'of', 'the', 'doorthat', 'is', 'to', 'say', 'farther', 'up', 'the', 'path', 'than', 'is', 'necessary', 'to', 'reach', 'the', 'door', 'yes', 'he', 'did', 'and', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'man', 'with', 'a', 'wooden', 'leg', 'something', 'like', 'fear', 'sprang', 'up', 'in', 'the', 'young', 'ladys', 'expressive', 'black', 'eyes', 'why', 'you', 'are', 'like', 'a', 'magician', 'said', 'she', 'how', 'do', 'you', 'know', 'that', 'she', 'smiled', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'answering', 'smile', 'in', 'holmes', 'thin', 'eager', 'face', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'very', 'glad', 'now', 'to', 'go', 'upstairs', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'shall', 'probably', 'wish', 'to', 'go', 'over', 'the', 'outside', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'again', 'perhaps', 'i', 'had', 'better', 'take', 'a', 'look', 'at', 'the', 'lower', 'windows', 'before', 'i', 'go', 'up', 'he', 'walked', 'swiftly', 'round', 'from', 'one', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'pausing', 'only', 'at', 'the', 'large', 'one', 'which', 'looked', 'from', 'the', 'hall', 'onto', 'the', 'stable', 'lane', 'this', 'he', 'opened', 'and', 'made', 'a', 'very', 'careful', 'examination', 'of', 'the', 'sill', 'with', 'his', 'powerful', 'magnifying', 'lens', 'now', 'we', 'shall', 'go', 'upstairs', 'said', 'he', 'at', 'last', 'the', 'bankers', 'dressingroom', 'was', 'a', 'plainly', 'furnished', 'little', 'chamber', 'with', 'a', 'grey', 'carpet', 'a', 'large', 'bureau', 'and', 'a', 'long', 'mirror', 'holmes', 'went', 'to', 'the', 'bureau', 'first', 'and', 'looked', 'hard', 'at', 'the', 'lock', 'which', 'key', 'was', 'used', 'to', 'open', 'it', 'he', 'asked', 'that', 'which', 'my', 'son', 'himself', 'indicatedthat', 'of', 'the', 'cupboard', 'of', 'the', 'lumberroom', 'have', 'you', 'it', 'here', 'that', 'is', 'it', 'on', 'the', 'dressingtable', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'took', 'it', 'up', 'and', 'opened', 'the', 'bureau', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'noiseless', 'lock', 'said', 'he', 'it', 'is', 'no', 'wonder', 'that', 'it', 'did', 'not', 'wake', 'you', 'this', 'case', 'i', 'presume', 'contains', 'the', 'coronet', 'we', 'must', 'have', 'a', 'look', 'at', 'it', 'he', 'opened', 'the', 'case', 'and', 'taking', 'out', 'the', 'diadem', 'he', 'laid', 'it', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'magnificent', 'specimen', 'of', 'the', 'jewellers', 'art', 'and', 'the', 'thirtysix', 'stones', 'were', 'the', 'finest', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'ever', 'seen', 'at', 'one', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'coronet', 'was', 'a', 'cracked', 'edge', 'where', 'a', 'corner', 'holding', 'three', 'gems', 'had', 'been', 'torn', 'away', 'now', 'mr', 'holder', 'said', 'holmes', 'here', 'is', 'the', 'corner', 'which', 'corresponds', 'to', 'that', 'which', 'has', 'been', 'so', 'unfortunately', 'lost', 'might', 'i', 'beg', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'break', 'it', 'off', 'the', 'banker', 'recoiled', 'in', 'horror', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'dream', 'of', 'trying', 'said', 'he', 'then', 'i', 'will', 'holmes', 'suddenly', 'bent', 'his', 'strength', 'upon', 'it', 'but', 'without', 'result', 'i', 'feel', 'it', 'give', 'a', 'little', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'though', 'i', 'am', 'exceptionally', 'strong', 'in', 'the', 'fingers', 'it', 'would', 'take', 'me', 'all', 'my', 'time', 'to', 'break', 'it', 'an', 'ordinary', 'man', 'could', 'not', 'do', 'it', 'now', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'would', 'happen', 'if', 'i', 'did', 'break', 'it', 'mr', 'holder', 'there', 'would', 'be', 'a', 'noise', 'like', 'a', 'pistol', 'shot', 'do', 'you', 'tell', 'me', 'that', 'all', 'this', 'happened', 'within', 'a', 'few', 'yards', 'of', 'your', 'bed', 'and', 'that', 'you', 'heard', 'nothing', 'of', 'it', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'to', 'think', 'it', 'is', 'all', 'dark', 'to', 'me', 'but', 'perhaps', 'it', 'may', 'grow', 'lighter', 'as', 'we', 'go', 'what', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'miss', 'holder', 'i', 'confess', 'that', 'i', 'still', 'share', 'my', 'uncles', 'perplexity', 'your', 'son', 'had', 'no', 'shoes', 'or', 'slippers', 'on', 'when', 'you', 'saw', 'him', 'he', 'had', 'nothing', 'on', 'save', 'only', 'his', 'trousers', 'and', 'shirt', 'thank', 'you', 'we', 'have', 'certainly', 'been', 'favoured', 'with', 'extraordinary', 'luck', 'during', 'this', 'inquiry', 'and', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'entirely', 'our', 'own', 'fault', 'if', 'we', 'do', 'not', 'succeed', 'in', 'clearing', 'the', 'matter', 'up', 'with', 'your', 'permission', 'mr', 'holder', 'i', 'shall', 'now', 'continue', 'my', 'investigations', 'outside', 'he', 'went', 'alone', 'at', 'his', 'own', 'request', 'for', 'he', 'explained', 'that', 'any', 'unnecessary', 'footmarks', 'might', 'make', 'his', 'task', 'more', 'difficult', 'for', 'an', 'hour', 'or', 'more', 'he', 'was', 'at', 'work', 'returning', 'at', 'last', 'with', 'his', 'feet', 'heavy', 'with', 'snow', 'and', 'his', 'features', 'as', 'inscrutable', 'as', 'ever', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'seen', 'now', 'all', 'that', 'there', 'is', 'to', 'see', 'mr', 'holder', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'can', 'serve', 'you', 'best', 'by', 'returning', 'to', 'my', 'rooms', 'but', 'the', 'gems', 'mr', 'holmes', 'where', 'are', 'they', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'tell', 'the', 'banker', 'wrung', 'his', 'hands', 'i', 'shall', 'never', 'see', 'them', 'again', 'he', 'cried', 'and', 'my', 'son', 'you', 'give', 'me', 'hopes', 'my', 'opinion', 'is', 'in', 'no', 'way', 'altered', 'then', 'for', 'gods', 'sake', 'what', 'was', 'this', 'dark', 'business', 'which', 'was', 'acted', 'in', 'my', 'house', 'last', 'night', 'if', 'you', 'can', 'call', 'upon', 'me', 'at', 'my', 'baker', 'street', 'rooms', 'tomorrow', 'morning', 'between', 'nine', 'and', 'ten', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'happy', 'to', 'do', 'what', 'i', 'can', 'to', 'make', 'it', 'clearer', 'i', 'understand', 'that', 'you', 'give', 'me', 'carte', 'blanche', 'to', 'act', 'for', 'you', 'provided', 'only', 'that', 'i', 'get', 'back', 'the', 'gems', 'and', 'that', 'you', 'place', 'no', 'limit', 'on', 'the', 'sum', 'i', 'may', 'draw', 'i', 'would', 'give', 'my', 'fortune', 'to', 'have', 'them', 'back', 'very', 'good', 'i', 'shall', 'look', 'into', 'the', 'matter', 'between', 'this', 'and', 'then', 'goodbye', 'it', 'is', 'just', 'possible', 'that', 'i', 'may', 'have', 'to', 'come', 'over', 'here', 'again', 'before', 'evening', 'it', 'was', 'obvious', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'my', 'companions', 'mind', 'was', 'now', 'made', 'up', 'about', 'the', 'case', 'although', 'what', 'his', 'conclusions', 'were', 'was', 'more', 'than', 'i', 'could', 'even', 'dimly', 'imagine', 'several', 'times', 'during', 'our', 'homeward', 'journey', 'i', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'sound', 'him', 'upon', 'the', 'point', 'but', 'he', 'always', 'glided', 'away', 'to', 'some', 'other', 'topic', 'until', 'at', 'last', 'i', 'gave', 'it', 'over', 'in', 'despair', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'yet', 'three', 'when', 'we', 'found', 'ourselves', 'in', 'our', 'rooms', 'once', 'more', 'he', 'hurried', 'to', 'his', 'chamber', 'and', 'was', 'down', 'again', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'dressed', 'as', 'a', 'common', 'loafer', 'with', 'his', 'collar', 'turned', 'up', 'his', 'shiny', 'seedy', 'coat', 'his', 'red', 'cravat', 'and', 'his', 'worn', 'boots', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'perfect', 'sample', 'of', 'the', 'class', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'this', 'should', 'do', 'said', 'he', 'glancing', 'into', 'the', 'glass', 'above', 'the', 'fireplace', 'i', 'only', 'wish', 'that', 'you', 'could', 'come', 'with', 'me', 'watson', 'but', 'i', 'fear', 'that', 'it', 'wont', 'do', 'i', 'may', 'be', 'on', 'the', 'trail', 'in', 'this', 'matter', 'or', 'i', 'may', 'be', 'following', 'a', 'willothewisp', 'but', 'i', 'shall', 'soon', 'know', 'which', 'it', 'is', 'i', 'hope', 'that', 'i', 'may', 'be', 'back', 'in', 'a', 'few', 'hours', 'he', 'cut', 'a', 'slice', 'of', 'beef', 'from', 'the', 'joint', 'upon', 'the', 'sideboard', 'sandwiched', 'it', 'between', 'two', 'rounds', 'of', 'bread', 'and', 'thrusting', 'this', 'rude', 'meal', 'into', 'his', 'pocket', 'he', 'started', 'off', 'upon', 'his', 'expedition', 'i', 'had', 'just', 'finished', 'my', 'tea', 'when', 'he', 'returned', 'evidently', 'in', 'excellent', 'spirits', 'swinging', 'an', 'old', 'elasticsided', 'boot', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'he', 'chucked', 'it', 'down', 'into', 'a', 'corner', 'and', 'helped', 'himself', 'to', 'a', 'cup', 'of', 'tea', 'i', 'only', 'looked', 'in', 'as', 'i', 'passed', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'am', 'going', 'right', 'on', 'where', 'to', 'oh', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'west', 'end', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'some', 'time', 'before', 'i', 'get', 'back', 'dont', 'wait', 'up', 'for', 'me', 'in', 'case', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'late', 'how', 'are', 'you', 'getting', 'on', 'oh', 'so', 'so', 'nothing', 'to', 'complain', 'of', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'out', 'to', 'streatham', 'since', 'i', 'saw', 'you', 'last', 'but', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'call', 'at', 'the', 'house', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'sweet', 'little', 'problem', 'and', 'i', 'would', 'not', 'have', 'missed', 'it', 'for', 'a', 'good', 'deal', 'however', 'i', 'must', 'not', 'sit', 'gossiping', 'here', 'but', 'must', 'get', 'these', 'disreputable', 'clothes', 'off', 'and', 'return', 'to', 'my', 'highly', 'respectable', 'self', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'by', 'his', 'manner', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'stronger', 'reasons', 'for', 'satisfaction', 'than', 'his', 'words', 'alone', 'would', 'imply', 'his', 'eyes', 'twinkled', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'even', 'a', 'touch', 'of', 'colour', 'upon', 'his', 'sallow', 'cheeks', 'he', 'hastened', 'upstairs', 'and', 'a', 'few', 'minutes', 'later', 'i', 'heard', 'the', 'slam', 'of', 'the', 'hall', 'door', 'which', 'told', 'me', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'off', 'once', 'more', 'upon', 'his', 'congenial', 'hunt', 'i', 'waited', 'until', 'midnight', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'sign', 'of', 'his', 'return', 'so', 'i', 'retired', 'to', 'my', 'room', 'it', 'was', 'no', 'uncommon', 'thing', 'for', 'him', 'to', 'be', 'away', 'for', 'days', 'and', 'nights', 'on', 'end', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'hot', 'upon', 'a', 'scent', 'so', 'that', 'his', 'lateness', 'caused', 'me', 'no', 'surprise', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'at', 'what', 'hour', 'he', 'came', 'in', 'but', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'down', 'to', 'breakfast', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'there', 'he', 'was', 'with', 'a', 'cup', 'of', 'coffee', 'in', 'one', 'hand', 'and', 'the', 'paper', 'in', 'the', 'other', 'as', 'fresh', 'and', 'trim', 'as', 'possible', 'you', 'will', 'excuse', 'my', 'beginning', 'without', 'you', 'watson', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'you', 'remember', 'that', 'our', 'client', 'has', 'rather', 'an', 'early', 'appointment', 'this', 'morning', 'why', 'it', 'is', 'after', 'nine', 'now', 'i', 'answered', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'surprised', 'if', 'that', 'were', 'he', 'i', 'thought', 'i', 'heard', 'a', 'ring', 'it', 'was', 'indeed', 'our', 'friend', 'the', 'financier', 'i', 'was', 'shocked', 'by', 'the', 'change', 'which', 'had', 'come', 'over', 'him', 'for', 'his', 'face', 'which', 'was', 'naturally', 'of', 'a', 'broad', 'and', 'massive', 'mould', 'was', 'now', 'pinched', 'and', 'fallen', 'in', 'while', 'his', 'hair', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'at', 'least', 'a', 'shade', 'whiter', 'he', 'entered', 'with', 'a', 'weariness', 'and', 'lethargy', 'which', 'was', 'even', 'more', 'painful', 'than', 'his', 'violence', 'of', 'the', 'morning', 'before', 'and', 'he', 'dropped', 'heavily', 'into', 'the', 'armchair', 'which', 'i', 'pushed', 'forward', 'for', 'him', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'i', 'have', 'done', 'to', 'be', 'so', 'severely', 'tried', 'said', 'he', 'only', 'two', 'days', 'ago', 'i', 'was', 'a', 'happy', 'and', 'prosperous', 'man', 'without', 'a', 'care', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'now', 'i', 'am', 'left', 'to', 'a', 'lonely', 'and', 'dishonoured', 'age', 'one', 'sorrow', 'comes', 'close', 'upon', 'the', 'heels', 'of', 'another', 'my', 'niece', 'mary', 'has', 'deserted', 'me', 'deserted', 'you', 'yes', 'her', 'bed', 'this', 'morning', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'slept', 'in', 'her', 'room', 'was', 'empty', 'and', 'a', 'note', 'for', 'me', 'lay', 'upon', 'the', 'hall', 'table', 'i', 'had', 'said', 'to', 'her', 'last', 'night', 'in', 'sorrow', 'and', 'not', 'in', 'anger', 'that', 'if', 'she', 'had', 'married', 'my', 'boy', 'all', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'well', 'with', 'him', 'perhaps', 'it', 'was', 'thoughtless', 'of', 'me', 'to', 'say', 'so', 'it', 'is', 'to', 'that', 'remark', 'that', 'she', 'refers', 'in', 'this', 'note', 'my', 'dearest', 'unclei', 'feel', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'brought', 'trouble', 'upon', 'you', 'and', 'that', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'acted', 'differently', 'this', 'terrible', 'misfortune', 'might', 'never', 'have', 'occurred', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'with', 'this', 'thought', 'in', 'my', 'mind', 'ever', 'again', 'be', 'happy', 'under', 'your', 'roof', 'and', 'i', 'feel', 'that', 'i', 'must', 'leave', 'you', 'forever', 'do', 'not', 'worry', 'about', 'my', 'future', 'for', 'that', 'is', 'provided', 'for', 'and', 'above', 'all', 'do', 'not', 'search', 'for', 'me', 'for', 'it', 'will', 'be', 'fruitless', 'labour', 'and', 'an', 'illservice', 'to', 'me', 'in', 'life', 'or', 'in', 'death', 'i', 'am', 'ever', 'your', 'loving', 'mary', 'what', 'could', 'she', 'mean', 'by', 'that', 'note', 'mr', 'holmes', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'it', 'points', 'to', 'suicide', 'no', 'no', 'nothing', 'of', 'the', 'kind', 'it', 'is', 'perhaps', 'the', 'best', 'possible', 'solution', 'i', 'trust', 'mr', 'holder', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'nearing', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'your', 'troubles', 'ha', 'you', 'say', 'so', 'you', 'have', 'heard', 'something', 'mr', 'holmes', 'you', 'have', 'learned', 'something', 'where', 'are', 'the', 'gems', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'think', '1000', 'apiece', 'an', 'excessive', 'sum', 'for', 'them', 'i', 'would', 'pay', 'ten', 'that', 'would', 'be', 'unnecessary', 'three', 'thousand', 'will', 'cover', 'the', 'matter', 'and', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'reward', 'i', 'fancy', 'have', 'you', 'your', 'chequebook', 'here', 'is', 'a', 'pen', 'better', 'make', 'it', 'out', 'for', '4000', 'with', 'a', 'dazed', 'face', 'the', 'banker', 'made', 'out', 'the', 'required', 'check', 'holmes', 'walked', 'over', 'to', 'his', 'desk', 'took', 'out', 'a', 'little', 'triangular', 'piece', 'of', 'gold', 'with', 'three', 'gems', 'in', 'it', 'and', 'threw', 'it', 'down', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'with', 'a', 'shriek', 'of', 'joy', 'our', 'client', 'clutched', 'it', 'up', 'you', 'have', 'it', 'he', 'gasped', 'i', 'am', 'saved', 'i', 'am', 'saved', 'the', 'reaction', 'of', 'joy', 'was', 'as', 'passionate', 'as', 'his', 'grief', 'had', 'been', 'and', 'he', 'hugged', 'his', 'recovered', 'gems', 'to', 'his', 'bosom', 'there', 'is', 'one', 'other', 'thing', 'you', 'owe', 'mr', 'holder', 'said', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'rather', 'sternly', 'owe', 'he', 'caught', 'up', 'a', 'pen', 'name', 'the', 'sum', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'pay', 'it', 'no', 'the', 'debt', 'is', 'not', 'to', 'me', 'you', 'owe', 'a', 'very', 'humble', 'apology', 'to', 'that', 'noble', 'lad', 'your', 'son', 'who', 'has', 'carried', 'himself', 'in', 'this', 'matter', 'as', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'proud', 'to', 'see', 'my', 'own', 'son', 'do', 'should', 'i', 'ever', 'chance', 'to', 'have', 'one', 'then', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'arthur', 'who', 'took', 'them', 'i', 'told', 'you', 'yesterday', 'and', 'i', 'repeat', 'today', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'you', 'are', 'sure', 'of', 'it', 'then', 'let', 'us', 'hurry', 'to', 'him', 'at', 'once', 'to', 'let', 'him', 'know', 'that', 'the', 'truth', 'is', 'known', 'he', 'knows', 'it', 'already', 'when', 'i', 'had', 'cleared', 'it', 'all', 'up', 'i', 'had', 'an', 'interview', 'with', 'him', 'and', 'finding', 'that', 'he', 'would', 'not', 'tell', 'me', 'the', 'story', 'i', 'told', 'it', 'to', 'him', 'on', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'to', 'confess', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'right', 'and', 'to', 'add', 'the', 'very', 'few', 'details', 'which', 'were', 'not', 'yet', 'quite', 'clear', 'to', 'me', 'your', 'news', 'of', 'this', 'morning', 'however', 'may', 'open', 'his', 'lips', 'for', 'heavens', 'sake', 'tell', 'me', 'then', 'what', 'is', 'this', 'extraordinary', 'mystery', 'i', 'will', 'do', 'so', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'show', 'you', 'the', 'steps', 'by', 'which', 'i', 'reached', 'it', 'and', 'let', 'me', 'say', 'to', 'you', 'first', 'that', 'which', 'it', 'is', 'hardest', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'say', 'and', 'for', 'you', 'to', 'hear', 'there', 'has', 'been', 'an', 'understanding', 'between', 'sir', 'george', 'burnwell', 'and', 'your', 'niece', 'mary', 'they', 'have', 'now', 'fled', 'together', 'my', 'mary', 'impossible', 'it', 'is', 'unfortunately', 'more', 'than', 'possible', 'it', 'is', 'certain', 'neither', 'you', 'nor', 'your', 'son', 'knew', 'the', 'true', 'character', 'of', 'this', 'man', 'when', 'you', 'admitted', 'him', 'into', 'your', 'family', 'circle', 'he', 'is', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'dangerous', 'men', 'in', 'englanda', 'ruined', 'gambler', 'an', 'absolutely', 'desperate', 'villain', 'a', 'man', 'without', 'heart', 'or', 'conscience', 'your', 'niece', 'knew', 'nothing', 'of', 'such', 'men', 'when', 'he', 'breathed', 'his', 'vows', 'to', 'her', 'as', 'he', 'had', 'done', 'to', 'a', 'hundred', 'before', 'her', 'she', 'flattered', 'herself', 'that', 'she', 'alone', 'had', 'touched', 'his', 'heart', 'the', 'devil', 'knows', 'best', 'what', 'he', 'said', 'but', 'at', 'least', 'she', 'became', 'his', 'tool', 'and', 'was', 'in', 'the', 'habit', 'of', 'seeing', 'him', 'nearly', 'every', 'evening', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'not', 'believe', 'it', 'cried', 'the', 'banker', 'with', 'an', 'ashen', 'face', 'i', 'will', 'tell', 'you', 'then', 'what', 'occurred', 'in', 'your', 'house', 'last', 'night', 'your', 'niece', 'when', 'you', 'had', 'as', 'she', 'thought', 'gone', 'to', 'your', 'room', 'slipped', 'down', 'and', 'talked', 'to', 'her', 'lover', 'through', 'the', 'window', 'which', 'leads', 'into', 'the', 'stable', 'lane', 'his', 'footmarks', 'had', 'pressed', 'right', 'through', 'the', 'snow', 'so', 'long', 'had', 'he', 'stood', 'there', 'she', 'told', 'him', 'of', 'the', 'coronet', 'his', 'wicked', 'lust', 'for', 'gold', 'kindled', 'at', 'the', 'news', 'and', 'he', 'bent', 'her', 'to', 'his', 'will', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'she', 'loved', 'you', 'but', 'there', 'are', 'women', 'in', 'whom', 'the', 'love', 'of', 'a', 'lover', 'extinguishes', 'all', 'other', 'loves', 'and', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'she', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'one', 'she', 'had', 'hardly', 'listened', 'to', 'his', 'instructions', 'when', 'she', 'saw', 'you', 'coming', 'downstairs', 'on', 'which', 'she', 'closed', 'the', 'window', 'rapidly', 'and', 'told', 'you', 'about', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'servants', 'escapade', 'with', 'her', 'woodenlegged', 'lover', 'which', 'was', 'all', 'perfectly', 'true', 'your', 'boy', 'arthur', 'went', 'to', 'bed', 'after', 'his', 'interview', 'with', 'you', 'but', 'he', 'slept', 'badly', 'on', 'account', 'of', 'his', 'uneasiness', 'about', 'his', 'club', 'debts', 'in', 'the', 'middle', 'of', 'the', 'night', 'he', 'heard', 'a', 'soft', 'tread', 'pass', 'his', 'door', 'so', 'he', 'rose', 'and', 'looking', 'out', 'was', 'surprised', 'to', 'see', 'his', 'cousin', 'walking', 'very', 'stealthily', 'along', 'the', 'passage', 'until', 'she', 'disappeared', 'into', 'your', 'dressingroom', 'petrified', 'with', 'astonishment', 'the', 'lad', 'slipped', 'on', 'some', 'clothes', 'and', 'waited', 'there', 'in', 'the', 'dark', 'to', 'see', 'what', 'would', 'come', 'of', 'this', 'strange', 'affair', 'presently', 'she', 'emerged', 'from', 'the', 'room', 'again', 'and', 'in', 'the', 'light', 'of', 'the', 'passagelamp', 'your', 'son', 'saw', 'that', 'she', 'carried', 'the', 'precious', 'coronet', 'in', 'her', 'hands', 'she', 'passed', 'down', 'the', 'stairs', 'and', 'he', 'thrilling', 'with', 'horror', 'ran', 'along', 'and', 'slipped', 'behind', 'the', 'curtain', 'near', 'your', 'door', 'whence', 'he', 'could', 'see', 'what', 'passed', 'in', 'the', 'hall', 'beneath', 'he', 'saw', 'her', 'stealthily', 'open', 'the', 'window', 'hand', 'out', 'the', 'coronet', 'to', 'someone', 'in', 'the', 'gloom', 'and', 'then', 'closing', 'it', 'once', 'more', 'hurry', 'back', 'to', 'her', 'room', 'passing', 'quite', 'close', 'to', 'where', 'he', 'stood', 'hid', 'behind', 'the', 'curtain', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'she', 'was', 'on', 'the', 'scene', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'take', 'any', 'action', 'without', 'a', 'horrible', 'exposure', 'of', 'the', 'woman', 'whom', 'he', 'loved', 'but', 'the', 'instant', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'gone', 'he', 'realised', 'how', 'crushing', 'a', 'misfortune', 'this', 'would', 'be', 'for', 'you', 'and', 'how', 'allimportant', 'it', 'was', 'to', 'set', 'it', 'right', 'he', 'rushed', 'down', 'just', 'as', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'his', 'bare', 'feet', 'opened', 'the', 'window', 'sprang', 'out', 'into', 'the', 'snow', 'and', 'ran', 'down', 'the', 'lane', 'where', 'he', 'could', 'see', 'a', 'dark', 'figure', 'in', 'the', 'moonlight', 'sir', 'george', 'burnwell', 'tried', 'to', 'get', 'away', 'but', 'arthur', 'caught', 'him', 'and', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'struggle', 'between', 'them', 'your', 'lad', 'tugging', 'at', 'one', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'coronet', 'and', 'his', 'opponent', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'in', 'the', 'scuffle', 'your', 'son', 'struck', 'sir', 'george', 'and', 'cut', 'him', 'over', 'the', 'eye', 'then', 'something', 'suddenly', 'snapped', 'and', 'your', 'son', 'finding', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'the', 'coronet', 'in', 'his', 'hands', 'rushed', 'back', 'closed', 'the', 'window', 'ascended', 'to', 'your', 'room', 'and', 'had', 'just', 'observed', 'that', 'the', 'coronet', 'had', 'been', 'twisted', 'in', 'the', 'struggle', 'and', 'was', 'endeavouring', 'to', 'straighten', 'it', 'when', 'you', 'appeared', 'upon', 'the', 'scene', 'is', 'it', 'possible', 'gasped', 'the', 'banker', 'you', 'then', 'roused', 'his', 'anger', 'by', 'calling', 'him', 'names', 'at', 'a', 'moment', 'when', 'he', 'felt', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'deserved', 'your', 'warmest', 'thanks', 'he', 'could', 'not', 'explain', 'the', 'true', 'state', 'of', 'affairs', 'without', 'betraying', 'one', 'who', 'certainly', 'deserved', 'little', 'enough', 'consideration', 'at', 'his', 'hands', 'he', 'took', 'the', 'more', 'chivalrous', 'view', 'however', 'and', 'preserved', 'her', 'secret', 'and', 'that', 'was', 'why', 'she', 'shrieked', 'and', 'fainted', 'when', 'she', 'saw', 'the', 'coronet', 'cried', 'mr', 'holder', 'oh', 'my', 'god', 'what', 'a', 'blind', 'fool', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'and', 'his', 'asking', 'to', 'be', 'allowed', 'to', 'go', 'out', 'for', 'five', 'minutes', 'the', 'dear', 'fellow', 'wanted', 'to', 'see', 'if', 'the', 'missing', 'piece', 'were', 'at', 'the', 'scene', 'of', 'the', 'struggle', 'how', 'cruelly', 'i', 'have', 'misjudged', 'him', 'when', 'i', 'arrived', 'at', 'the', 'house', 'continued', 'holmes', 'i', 'at', 'once', 'went', 'very', 'carefully', 'round', 'it', 'to', 'observe', 'if', 'there', 'were', 'any', 'traces', 'in', 'the', 'snow', 'which', 'might', 'help', 'me', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'none', 'had', 'fallen', 'since', 'the', 'evening', 'before', 'and', 'also', 'that', 'there', 'had', 'been', 'a', 'strong', 'frost', 'to', 'preserve', 'impressions', 'i', 'passed', 'along', 'the', 'tradesmens', 'path', 'but', 'found', 'it', 'all', 'trampled', 'down', 'and', 'indistinguishable', 'just', 'beyond', 'it', 'however', 'at', 'the', 'far', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'kitchen', 'door', 'a', 'woman', 'had', 'stood', 'and', 'talked', 'with', 'a', 'man', 'whose', 'round', 'impressions', 'on', 'one', 'side', 'showed', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'a', 'wooden', 'leg', 'i', 'could', 'even', 'tell', 'that', 'they', 'had', 'been', 'disturbed', 'for', 'the', 'woman', 'had', 'run', 'back', 'swiftly', 'to', 'the', 'door', 'as', 'was', 'shown', 'by', 'the', 'deep', 'toe', 'and', 'light', 'heel', 'marks', 'while', 'woodenleg', 'had', 'waited', 'a', 'little', 'and', 'then', 'had', 'gone', 'away', 'i', 'thought', 'at', 'the', 'time', 'that', 'this', 'might', 'be', 'the', 'maid', 'and', 'her', 'sweetheart', 'of', 'whom', 'you', 'had', 'already', 'spoken', 'to', 'me', 'and', 'inquiry', 'showed', 'it', 'was', 'so', 'i', 'passed', 'round', 'the', 'garden', 'without', 'seeing', 'anything', 'more', 'than', 'random', 'tracks', 'which', 'i', 'took', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'police', 'but', 'when', 'i', 'got', 'into', 'the', 'stable', 'lane', 'a', 'very', 'long', 'and', 'complex', 'story', 'was', 'written', 'in', 'the', 'snow', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'me', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'double', 'line', 'of', 'tracks', 'of', 'a', 'booted', 'man', 'and', 'a', 'second', 'double', 'line', 'which', 'i', 'saw', 'with', 'delight', 'belonged', 'to', 'a', 'man', 'with', 'naked', 'feet', 'i', 'was', 'at', 'once', 'convinced', 'from', 'what', 'you', 'had', 'told', 'me', 'that', 'the', 'latter', 'was', 'your', 'son', 'the', 'first', 'had', 'walked', 'both', 'ways', 'but', 'the', 'other', 'had', 'run', 'swiftly', 'and', 'as', 'his', 'tread', 'was', 'marked', 'in', 'places', 'over', 'the', 'depression', 'of', 'the', 'boot', 'it', 'was', 'obvious', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'passed', 'after', 'the', 'other', 'i', 'followed', 'them', 'up', 'and', 'found', 'they', 'led', 'to', 'the', 'hall', 'window', 'where', 'boots', 'had', 'worn', 'all', 'the', 'snow', 'away', 'while', 'waiting', 'then', 'i', 'walked', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'end', 'which', 'was', 'a', 'hundred', 'yards', 'or', 'more', 'down', 'the', 'lane', 'i', 'saw', 'where', 'boots', 'had', 'faced', 'round', 'where', 'the', 'snow', 'was', 'cut', 'up', 'as', 'though', 'there', 'had', 'been', 'a', 'struggle', 'and', 'finally', 'where', 'a', 'few', 'drops', 'of', 'blood', 'had', 'fallen', 'to', 'show', 'me', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'not', 'mistaken', 'boots', 'had', 'then', 'run', 'down', 'the', 'lane', 'and', 'another', 'little', 'smudge', 'of', 'blood', 'showed', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'he', 'who', 'had', 'been', 'hurt', 'when', 'he', 'came', 'to', 'the', 'highroad', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'end', 'i', 'found', 'that', 'the', 'pavement', 'had', 'been', 'cleared', 'so', 'there', 'was', 'an', 'end', 'to', 'that', 'clue', 'on', 'entering', 'the', 'house', 'however', 'i', 'examined', 'as', 'you', 'remember', 'the', 'sill', 'and', 'framework', 'of', 'the', 'hall', 'window', 'with', 'my', 'lens', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'at', 'once', 'see', 'that', 'someone', 'had', 'passed', 'out', 'i', 'could', 'distinguish', 'the', 'outline', 'of', 'an', 'instep', 'where', 'the', 'wet', 'foot', 'had', 'been', 'placed', 'in', 'coming', 'in', 'i', 'was', 'then', 'beginning', 'to', 'be', 'able', 'to', 'form', 'an', 'opinion', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'had', 'occurred', 'a', 'man', 'had', 'waited', 'outside', 'the', 'window', 'someone', 'had', 'brought', 'the', 'gems', 'the', 'deed', 'had', 'been', 'overseen', 'by', 'your', 'son', 'he', 'had', 'pursued', 'the', 'thief', 'had', 'struggled', 'with', 'him', 'they', 'had', 'each', 'tugged', 'at', 'the', 'coronet', 'their', 'united', 'strength', 'causing', 'injuries', 'which', 'neither', 'alone', 'could', 'have', 'effected', 'he', 'had', 'returned', 'with', 'the', 'prize', 'but', 'had', 'left', 'a', 'fragment', 'in', 'the', 'grasp', 'of', 'his', 'opponent', 'so', 'far', 'i', 'was', 'clear', 'the', 'question', 'now', 'was', 'who', 'was', 'the', 'man', 'and', 'who', 'was', 'it', 'brought', 'him', 'the', 'coronet', 'it', 'is', 'an', 'old', 'maxim', 'of', 'mine', 'that', 'when', 'you', 'have', 'excluded', 'the', 'impossible', 'whatever', 'remains', 'however', 'improbable', 'must', 'be', 'the', 'truth', 'now', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'you', 'who', 'had', 'brought', 'it', 'down', 'so', 'there', 'only', 'remained', 'your', 'niece', 'and', 'the', 'maids', 'but', 'if', 'it', 'were', 'the', 'maids', 'why', 'should', 'your', 'son', 'allow', 'himself', 'to', 'be', 'accused', 'in', 'their', 'place', 'there', 'could', 'be', 'no', 'possible', 'reason', 'as', 'he', 'loved', 'his', 'cousin', 'however', 'there', 'was', 'an', 'excellent', 'explanation', 'why', 'he', 'should', 'retain', 'her', 'secretthe', 'more', 'so', 'as', 'the', 'secret', 'was', 'a', 'disgraceful', 'one', 'when', 'i', 'remembered', 'that', 'you', 'had', 'seen', 'her', 'at', 'that', 'window', 'and', 'how', 'she', 'had', 'fainted', 'on', 'seeing', 'the', 'coronet', 'again', 'my', 'conjecture', 'became', 'a', 'certainty', 'and', 'who', 'could', 'it', 'be', 'who', 'was', 'her', 'confederate', 'a', 'lover', 'evidently', 'for', 'who', 'else', 'could', 'outweigh', 'the', 'love', 'and', 'gratitude', 'which', 'she', 'must', 'feel', 'to', 'you', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'you', 'went', 'out', 'little', 'and', 'that', 'your', 'circle', 'of', 'friends', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'limited', 'one', 'but', 'among', 'them', 'was', 'sir', 'george', 'burnwell', 'i', 'had', 'heard', 'of', 'him', 'before', 'as', 'being', 'a', 'man', 'of', 'evil', 'reputation', 'among', 'women', 'it', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'he', 'who', 'wore', 'those', 'boots', 'and', 'retained', 'the', 'missing', 'gems', 'even', 'though', 'he', 'knew', 'that', 'arthur', 'had', 'discovered', 'him', 'he', 'might', 'still', 'flatter', 'himself', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'safe', 'for', 'the', 'lad', 'could', 'not', 'say', 'a', 'word', 'without', 'compromising', 'his', 'own', 'family', 'well', 'your', 'own', 'good', 'sense', 'will', 'suggest', 'what', 'measures', 'i', 'took', 'next', 'i', 'went', 'in', 'the', 'shape', 'of', 'a', 'loafer', 'to', 'sir', 'georges', 'house', 'managed', 'to', 'pick', 'up', 'an', 'acquaintance', 'with', 'his', 'valet', 'learned', 'that', 'his', 'master', 'had', 'cut', 'his', 'head', 'the', 'night', 'before', 'and', 'finally', 'at', 'the', 'expense', 'of', 'six', 'shillings', 'made', 'all', 'sure', 'by', 'buying', 'a', 'pair', 'of', 'his', 'castoff', 'shoes', 'with', 'these', 'i', 'journeyed', 'down', 'to', 'streatham', 'and', 'saw', 'that', 'they', 'exactly', 'fitted', 'the', 'tracks', 'i', 'saw', 'an', 'illdressed', 'vagabond', 'in', 'the', 'lane', 'yesterday', 'evening', 'said', 'mr', 'holder', 'precisely', 'it', 'was', 'i', 'i', 'found', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'my', 'man', 'so', 'i', 'came', 'home', 'and', 'changed', 'my', 'clothes', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'delicate', 'part', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'to', 'play', 'then', 'for', 'i', 'saw', 'that', 'a', 'prosecution', 'must', 'be', 'avoided', 'to', 'avert', 'scandal', 'and', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'so', 'astute', 'a', 'villain', 'would', 'see', 'that', 'our', 'hands', 'were', 'tied', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'i', 'went', 'and', 'saw', 'him', 'at', 'first', 'of', 'course', 'he', 'denied', 'everything', 'but', 'when', 'i', 'gave', 'him', 'every', 'particular', 'that', 'had', 'occurred', 'he', 'tried', 'to', 'bluster', 'and', 'took', 'down', 'a', 'lifepreserver', 'from', 'the', 'wall', 'i', 'knew', 'my', 'man', 'however', 'and', 'i', 'clapped', 'a', 'pistol', 'to', 'his', 'head', 'before', 'he', 'could', 'strike', 'then', 'he', 'became', 'a', 'little', 'more', 'reasonable', 'i', 'told', 'him', 'that', 'we', 'would', 'give', 'him', 'a', 'price', 'for', 'the', 'stones', 'he', 'held', '1000', 'apiece', 'that', 'brought', 'out', 'the', 'first', 'signs', 'of', 'grief', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'shown', 'why', 'dash', 'it', 'all', 'said', 'he', 'ive', 'let', 'them', 'go', 'at', 'six', 'hundred', 'for', 'the', 'three', 'i', 'soon', 'managed', 'to', 'get', 'the', 'address', 'of', 'the', 'receiver', 'who', 'had', 'them', 'on', 'promising', 'him', 'that', 'there', 'would', 'be', 'no', 'prosecution', 'off', 'i', 'set', 'to', 'him', 'and', 'after', 'much', 'chaffering', 'i', 'got', 'our', 'stones', 'at', '1000', 'apiece', 'then', 'i', 'looked', 'in', 'upon', 'your', 'son', 'told', 'him', 'that', 'all', 'was', 'right', 'and', 'eventually', 'got', 'to', 'my', 'bed', 'about', 'two', 'oclock', 'after', 'what', 'i', 'may', 'call', 'a', 'really', 'hard', 'days', 'work', 'a', 'day', 'which', 'has', 'saved', 'england', 'from', 'a', 'great', 'public', 'scandal', 'said', 'the', 'banker', 'rising', 'sir', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'find', 'words', 'to', 'thank', 'you', 'but', 'you', 'shall', 'not', 'find', 'me', 'ungrateful', 'for', 'what', 'you', 'have', 'done', 'your', 'skill', 'has', 'indeed', 'exceeded', 'all', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'heard', 'of', 'it', 'and', 'now', 'i', 'must', 'fly', 'to', 'my', 'dear', 'boy', 'to', 'apologise', 'to', 'him', 'for', 'the', 'wrong', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'done', 'him', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'you', 'tell', 'me', 'of', 'poor', 'mary', 'it', 'goes', 'to', 'my', 'very', 'heart', 'not', 'even', 'your', 'skill', 'can', 'inform', 'me', 'where', 'she', 'is', 'now', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'we', 'may', 'safely', 'say', 'returned', 'holmes', 'that', 'she', 'is', 'wherever', 'sir', 'george', 'burnwell', 'is', 'it', 'is', 'equally', 'certain', 'too', 'that', 'whatever', 'her', 'sins', 'are', 'they', 'will', 'soon', 'receive', 'a', 'more', 'than', 'sufficient', 'punishment', 'xii', 'the', 'adventure', 'of', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'to', 'the', 'man', 'who', 'loves', 'art', 'for', 'its', 'own', 'sake', 'remarked', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'tossing', 'aside', 'the', 'advertisement', 'sheet', 'of', 'the', 'daily', 'telegraph', 'it', 'is', 'frequently', 'in', 'its', 'least', 'important', 'and', 'lowliest', 'manifestations', 'that', 'the', 'keenest', 'pleasure', 'is', 'to', 'be', 'derived', 'it', 'is', 'pleasant', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'observe', 'watson', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'so', 'far', 'grasped', 'this', 'truth', 'that', 'in', 'these', 'little', 'records', 'of', 'our', 'cases', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'good', 'enough', 'to', 'draw', 'up', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'bound', 'to', 'say', 'occasionally', 'to', 'embellish', 'you', 'have', 'given', 'prominence', 'not', 'so', 'much', 'to', 'the', 'many', 'causes', 'célèbres', 'and', 'sensational', 'trials', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'figured', 'but', 'rather', 'to', 'those', 'incidents', 'which', 'may', 'have', 'been', 'trivial', 'in', 'themselves', 'but', 'which', 'have', 'given', 'room', 'for', 'those', 'faculties', 'of', 'deduction', 'and', 'of', 'logical', 'synthesis', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'made', 'my', 'special', 'province', 'and', 'yet', 'said', 'i', 'smiling', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'quite', 'hold', 'myself', 'absolved', 'from', 'the', 'charge', 'of', 'sensationalism', 'which', 'has', 'been', 'urged', 'against', 'my', 'records', 'you', 'have', 'erred', 'perhaps', 'he', 'observed', 'taking', 'up', 'a', 'glowing', 'cinder', 'with', 'the', 'tongs', 'and', 'lighting', 'with', 'it', 'the', 'long', 'cherrywood', 'pipe', 'which', 'was', 'wont', 'to', 'replace', 'his', 'clay', 'when', 'he', 'was', 'in', 'a', 'disputatious', 'rather', 'than', 'a', 'meditative', 'moodyou', 'have', 'erred', 'perhaps', 'in', 'attempting', 'to', 'put', 'colour', 'and', 'life', 'into', 'each', 'of', 'your', 'statements', 'instead', 'of', 'confining', 'yourself', 'to', 'the', 'task', 'of', 'placing', 'upon', 'record', 'that', 'severe', 'reasoning', 'from', 'cause', 'to', 'effect', 'which', 'is', 'really', 'the', 'only', 'notable', 'feature', 'about', 'the', 'thing', 'it', 'seems', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'done', 'you', 'full', 'justice', 'in', 'the', 'matter', 'i', 'remarked', 'with', 'some', 'coldness', 'for', 'i', 'was', 'repelled', 'by', 'the', 'egotism', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'observed', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'strong', 'factor', 'in', 'my', 'friends', 'singular', 'character', 'no', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'selfishness', 'or', 'conceit', 'said', 'he', 'answering', 'as', 'was', 'his', 'wont', 'my', 'thoughts', 'rather', 'than', 'my', 'words', 'if', 'i', 'claim', 'full', 'justice', 'for', 'my', 'art', 'it', 'is', 'because', 'it', 'is', 'an', 'impersonal', 'thinga', 'thing', 'beyond', 'myself', 'crime', 'is', 'common', 'logic', 'is', 'rare', 'therefore', 'it', 'is', 'upon', 'the', 'logic', 'rather', 'than', 'upon', 'the', 'crime', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'dwell', 'you', 'have', 'degraded', 'what', 'should', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'course', 'of', 'lectures', 'into', 'a', 'series', 'of', 'tales', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'cold', 'morning', 'of', 'the', 'early', 'spring', 'and', 'we', 'sat', 'after', 'breakfast', 'on', 'either', 'side', 'of', 'a', 'cheery', 'fire', 'in', 'the', 'old', 'room', 'at', 'baker', 'street', 'a', 'thick', 'fog', 'rolled', 'down', 'between', 'the', 'lines', 'of', 'duncoloured', 'houses', 'and', 'the', 'opposing', 'windows', 'loomed', 'like', 'dark', 'shapeless', 'blurs', 'through', 'the', 'heavy', 'yellow', 'wreaths', 'our', 'gas', 'was', 'lit', 'and', 'shone', 'on', 'the', 'white', 'cloth', 'and', 'glimmer', 'of', 'china', 'and', 'metal', 'for', 'the', 'table', 'had', 'not', 'been', 'cleared', 'yet', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'had', 'been', 'silent', 'all', 'the', 'morning', 'dipping', 'continuously', 'into', 'the', 'advertisement', 'columns', 'of', 'a', 'succession', 'of', 'papers', 'until', 'at', 'last', 'having', 'apparently', 'given', 'up', 'his', 'search', 'he', 'had', 'emerged', 'in', 'no', 'very', 'sweet', 'temper', 'to', 'lecture', 'me', 'upon', 'my', 'literary', 'shortcomings', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'time', 'he', 'remarked', 'after', 'a', 'pause', 'during', 'which', 'he', 'had', 'sat', 'puffing', 'at', 'his', 'long', 'pipe', 'and', 'gazing', 'down', 'into', 'the', 'fire', 'you', 'can', 'hardly', 'be', 'open', 'to', 'a', 'charge', 'of', 'sensationalism', 'for', 'out', 'of', 'these', 'cases', 'which', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'so', 'kind', 'as', 'to', 'interest', 'yourself', 'in', 'a', 'fair', 'proportion', 'do', 'not', 'treat', 'of', 'crime', 'in', 'its', 'legal', 'sense', 'at', 'all', 'the', 'small', 'matter', 'in', 'which', 'i', 'endeavoured', 'to', 'help', 'the', 'king', 'of', 'bohemia', 'the', 'singular', 'experience', 'of', 'miss', 'mary', 'sutherland', 'the', 'problem', 'connected', 'with', 'the', 'man', 'with', 'the', 'twisted', 'lip', 'and', 'the', 'incident', 'of', 'the', 'noble', 'bachelor', 'were', 'all', 'matters', 'which', 'are', 'outside', 'the', 'pale', 'of', 'the', 'law', 'but', 'in', 'avoiding', 'the', 'sensational', 'i', 'fear', 'that', 'you', 'may', 'have', 'bordered', 'on', 'the', 'trivial', 'the', 'end', 'may', 'have', 'been', 'so', 'i', 'answered', 'but', 'the', 'methods', 'i', 'hold', 'to', 'have', 'been', 'novel', 'and', 'of', 'interest', 'pshaw', 'my', 'dear', 'fellow', 'what', 'do', 'the', 'public', 'the', 'great', 'unobservant', 'public', 'who', 'could', 'hardly', 'tell', 'a', 'weaver', 'by', 'his', 'tooth', 'or', 'a', 'compositor', 'by', 'his', 'left', 'thumb', 'care', 'about', 'the', 'finer', 'shades', 'of', 'analysis', 'and', 'deduction', 'but', 'indeed', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'trivial', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'blame', 'you', 'for', 'the', 'days', 'of', 'the', 'great', 'cases', 'are', 'past', 'man', 'or', 'at', 'least', 'criminal', 'man', 'has', 'lost', 'all', 'enterprise', 'and', 'originality', 'as', 'to', 'my', 'own', 'little', 'practice', 'it', 'seems', 'to', 'be', 'degenerating', 'into', 'an', 'agency', 'for', 'recovering', 'lost', 'lead', 'pencils', 'and', 'giving', 'advice', 'to', 'young', 'ladies', 'from', 'boardingschools', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'touched', 'bottom', 'at', 'last', 'however', 'this', 'note', 'i', 'had', 'this', 'morning', 'marks', 'my', 'zeropoint', 'i', 'fancy', 'read', 'it', 'he', 'tossed', 'a', 'crumpled', 'letter', 'across', 'to', 'me', 'it', 'was', 'dated', 'from', 'montague', 'place', 'upon', 'the', 'preceding', 'evening', 'and', 'ran', 'thus', 'dear', 'mr', 'holmesi', 'am', 'very', 'anxious', 'to', 'consult', 'you', 'as', 'to', 'whether', 'i', 'should', 'or', 'should', 'not', 'accept', 'a', 'situation', 'which', 'has', 'been', 'offered', 'to', 'me', 'as', 'governess', 'i', 'shall', 'call', 'at', 'halfpast', 'ten', 'tomorrow', 'if', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'inconvenience', 'you', 'yours', 'faithfully', 'violet', 'hunter', 'do', 'you', 'know', 'the', 'young', 'lady', 'i', 'asked', 'not', 'i', 'it', 'is', 'halfpast', 'ten', 'now', 'yes', 'and', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'is', 'her', 'ring', 'it', 'may', 'turn', 'out', 'to', 'be', 'of', 'more', 'interest', 'than', 'you', 'think', 'you', 'remember', 'that', 'the', 'affair', 'of', 'the', 'blue', 'carbuncle', 'which', 'appeared', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'mere', 'whim', 'at', 'first', 'developed', 'into', 'a', 'serious', 'investigation', 'it', 'may', 'be', 'so', 'in', 'this', 'case', 'also', 'well', 'let', 'us', 'hope', 'so', 'but', 'our', 'doubts', 'will', 'very', 'soon', 'be', 'solved', 'for', 'here', 'unless', 'i', 'am', 'much', 'mistaken', 'is', 'the', 'person', 'in', 'question', 'as', 'he', 'spoke', 'the', 'door', 'opened', 'and', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'entered', 'the', 'room', 'she', 'was', 'plainly', 'but', 'neatly', 'dressed', 'with', 'a', 'bright', 'quick', 'face', 'freckled', 'like', 'a', 'plovers', 'egg', 'and', 'with', 'the', 'brisk', 'manner', 'of', 'a', 'woman', 'who', 'has', 'had', 'her', 'own', 'way', 'to', 'make', 'in', 'the', 'world', 'you', 'will', 'excuse', 'my', 'troubling', 'you', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'said', 'she', 'as', 'my', 'companion', 'rose', 'to', 'greet', 'her', 'but', 'i', 'have', 'had', 'a', 'very', 'strange', 'experience', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'parents', 'or', 'relations', 'of', 'any', 'sort', 'from', 'whom', 'i', 'could', 'ask', 'advice', 'i', 'thought', 'that', 'perhaps', 'you', 'would', 'be', 'kind', 'enough', 'to', 'tell', 'me', 'what', 'i', 'should', 'do', 'pray', 'take', 'a', 'seat', 'miss', 'hunter', 'i', 'shall', 'be', 'happy', 'to', 'do', 'anything', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'to', 'serve', 'you', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'that', 'holmes', 'was', 'favourably', 'impressed', 'by', 'the', 'manner', 'and', 'speech', 'of', 'his', 'new', 'client', 'he', 'looked', 'her', 'over', 'in', 'his', 'searching', 'fashion', 'and', 'then', 'composed', 'himself', 'with', 'his', 'lids', 'drooping', 'and', 'his', 'fingertips', 'together', 'to', 'listen', 'to', 'her', 'story', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'governess', 'for', 'five', 'years', 'said', 'she', 'in', 'the', 'family', 'of', 'colonel', 'spence', 'munro', 'but', 'two', 'months', 'ago', 'the', 'colonel', 'received', 'an', 'appointment', 'at', 'halifax', 'in', 'nova', 'scotia', 'and', 'took', 'his', 'children', 'over', 'to', 'america', 'with', 'him', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'found', 'myself', 'without', 'a', 'situation', 'i', 'advertised', 'and', 'i', 'answered', 'advertisements', 'but', 'without', 'success', 'at', 'last', 'the', 'little', 'money', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'saved', 'began', 'to', 'run', 'short', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'at', 'my', 'wits', 'end', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'i', 'should', 'do', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'wellknown', 'agency', 'for', 'governesses', 'in', 'the', 'west', 'end', 'called', 'westaways', 'and', 'there', 'i', 'used', 'to', 'call', 'about', 'once', 'a', 'week', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'see', 'whether', 'anything', 'had', 'turned', 'up', 'which', 'might', 'suit', 'me', 'westaway', 'was', 'the', 'name', 'of', 'the', 'founder', 'of', 'the', 'business', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'really', 'managed', 'by', 'miss', 'stoper', 'she', 'sits', 'in', 'her', 'own', 'little', 'office', 'and', 'the', 'ladies', 'who', 'are', 'seeking', 'employment', 'wait', 'in', 'an', 'anteroom', 'and', 'are', 'then', 'shown', 'in', 'one', 'by', 'one', 'when', 'she', 'consults', 'her', 'ledgers', 'and', 'sees', 'whether', 'she', 'has', 'anything', 'which', 'would', 'suit', 'them', 'well', 'when', 'i', 'called', 'last', 'week', 'i', 'was', 'shown', 'into', 'the', 'little', 'office', 'as', 'usual', 'but', 'i', 'found', 'that', 'miss', 'stoper', 'was', 'not', 'alone', 'a', 'prodigiously', 'stout', 'man', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'smiling', 'face', 'and', 'a', 'great', 'heavy', 'chin', 'which', 'rolled', 'down', 'in', 'fold', 'upon', 'fold', 'over', 'his', 'throat', 'sat', 'at', 'her', 'elbow', 'with', 'a', 'pair', 'of', 'glasses', 'on', 'his', 'nose', 'looking', 'very', 'earnestly', 'at', 'the', 'ladies', 'who', 'entered', 'as', 'i', 'came', 'in', 'he', 'gave', 'quite', 'a', 'jump', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'and', 'turned', 'quickly', 'to', 'miss', 'stoper', 'that', 'will', 'do', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'ask', 'for', 'anything', 'better', 'capital', 'capital', 'he', 'seemed', 'quite', 'enthusiastic', 'and', 'rubbed', 'his', 'hands', 'together', 'in', 'the', 'most', 'genial', 'fashion', 'he', 'was', 'such', 'a', 'comfortablelooking', 'man', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'quite', 'a', 'pleasure', 'to', 'look', 'at', 'him', 'you', 'are', 'looking', 'for', 'a', 'situation', 'miss', 'he', 'asked', 'yes', 'sir', 'as', 'governess', 'yes', 'sir', 'and', 'what', 'salary', 'do', 'you', 'ask', 'i', 'had', '4', 'a', 'month', 'in', 'my', 'last', 'place', 'with', 'colonel', 'spence', 'munro', 'oh', 'tut', 'tut', 'sweatingrank', 'sweating', 'he', 'cried', 'throwing', 'his', 'fat', 'hands', 'out', 'into', 'the', 'air', 'like', 'a', 'man', 'who', 'is', 'in', 'a', 'boiling', 'passion', 'how', 'could', 'anyone', 'offer', 'so', 'pitiful', 'a', 'sum', 'to', 'a', 'lady', 'with', 'such', 'attractions', 'and', 'accomplishments', 'my', 'accomplishments', 'sir', 'may', 'be', 'less', 'than', 'you', 'imagine', 'said', 'i', 'a', 'little', 'french', 'a', 'little', 'german', 'music', 'and', 'drawing', 'tut', 'tut', 'he', 'cried', 'this', 'is', 'all', 'quite', 'beside', 'the', 'question', 'the', 'point', 'is', 'have', 'you', 'or', 'have', 'you', 'not', 'the', 'bearing', 'and', 'deportment', 'of', 'a', 'lady', 'there', 'it', 'is', 'in', 'a', 'nutshell', 'if', 'you', 'have', 'not', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'fitted', 'for', 'the', 'rearing', 'of', 'a', 'child', 'who', 'may', 'some', 'day', 'play', 'a', 'considerable', 'part', 'in', 'the', 'history', 'of', 'the', 'country', 'but', 'if', 'you', 'have', 'why', 'then', 'how', 'could', 'any', 'gentleman', 'ask', 'you', 'to', 'condescend', 'to', 'accept', 'anything', 'under', 'the', 'three', 'figures', 'your', 'salary', 'with', 'me', 'madam', 'would', 'commence', 'at', '100', 'a', 'year', 'you', 'may', 'imagine', 'mr', 'holmes', 'that', 'to', 'me', 'destitute', 'as', 'i', 'was', 'such', 'an', 'offer', 'seemed', 'almost', 'too', 'good', 'to', 'be', 'true', 'the', 'gentleman', 'however', 'seeing', 'perhaps', 'the', 'look', 'of', 'incredulity', 'upon', 'my', 'face', 'opened', 'a', 'pocketbook', 'and', 'took', 'out', 'a', 'note', 'it', 'is', 'also', 'my', 'custom', 'said', 'he', 'smiling', 'in', 'the', 'most', 'pleasant', 'fashion', 'until', 'his', 'eyes', 'were', 'just', 'two', 'little', 'shining', 'slits', 'amid', 'the', 'white', 'creases', 'of', 'his', 'face', 'to', 'advance', 'to', 'my', 'young', 'ladies', 'half', 'their', 'salary', 'beforehand', 'so', 'that', 'they', 'may', 'meet', 'any', 'little', 'expenses', 'of', 'their', 'journey', 'and', 'their', 'wardrobe', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'never', 'met', 'so', 'fascinating', 'and', 'so', 'thoughtful', 'a', 'man', 'as', 'i', 'was', 'already', 'in', 'debt', 'to', 'my', 'tradesmen', 'the', 'advance', 'was', 'a', 'great', 'convenience', 'and', 'yet', 'there', 'was', 'something', 'unnatural', 'about', 'the', 'whole', 'transaction', 'which', 'made', 'me', 'wish', 'to', 'know', 'a', 'little', 'more', 'before', 'i', 'quite', 'committed', 'myself', 'may', 'i', 'ask', 'where', 'you', 'live', 'sir', 'said', 'i', 'hampshire', 'charming', 'rural', 'place', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'five', 'miles', 'on', 'the', 'far', 'side', 'of', 'winchester', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'most', 'lovely', 'country', 'my', 'dear', 'young', 'lady', 'and', 'the', 'dearest', 'old', 'countryhouse', 'and', 'my', 'duties', 'sir', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'glad', 'to', 'know', 'what', 'they', 'would', 'be', 'one', 'childone', 'dear', 'little', 'romper', 'just', 'six', 'years', 'old', 'oh', 'if', 'you', 'could', 'see', 'him', 'killing', 'cockroaches', 'with', 'a', 'slipper', 'smack', 'smack', 'smack', 'three', 'gone', 'before', 'you', 'could', 'wink', 'he', 'leaned', 'back', 'in', 'his', 'chair', 'and', 'laughed', 'his', 'eyes', 'into', 'his', 'head', 'again', 'i', 'was', 'a', 'little', 'startled', 'at', 'the', 'nature', 'of', 'the', 'childs', 'amusement', 'but', 'the', 'fathers', 'laughter', 'made', 'me', 'think', 'that', 'perhaps', 'he', 'was', 'joking', 'my', 'sole', 'duties', 'then', 'i', 'asked', 'are', 'to', 'take', 'charge', 'of', 'a', 'single', 'child', 'no', 'no', 'not', 'the', 'sole', 'not', 'the', 'sole', 'my', 'dear', 'young', 'lady', 'he', 'cried', 'your', 'duty', 'would', 'be', 'as', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'your', 'good', 'sense', 'would', 'suggest', 'to', 'obey', 'any', 'little', 'commands', 'my', 'wife', 'might', 'give', 'provided', 'always', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'such', 'commands', 'as', 'a', 'lady', 'might', 'with', 'propriety', 'obey', 'you', 'see', 'no', 'difficulty', 'heh', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'happy', 'to', 'make', 'myself', 'useful', 'quite', 'so', 'in', 'dress', 'now', 'for', 'example', 'we', 'are', 'faddy', 'people', 'you', 'knowfaddy', 'but', 'kindhearted', 'if', 'you', 'were', 'asked', 'to', 'wear', 'any', 'dress', 'which', 'we', 'might', 'give', 'you', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'object', 'to', 'our', 'little', 'whim', 'heh', 'no', 'said', 'i', 'considerably', 'astonished', 'at', 'his', 'words', 'or', 'to', 'sit', 'here', 'or', 'sit', 'there', 'that', 'would', 'not', 'be', 'offensive', 'to', 'you', 'oh', 'no', 'or', 'to', 'cut', 'your', 'hair', 'quite', 'short', 'before', 'you', 'come', 'to', 'us', 'i', 'could', 'hardly', 'believe', 'my', 'ears', 'as', 'you', 'may', 'observe', 'mr', 'holmes', 'my', 'hair', 'is', 'somewhat', 'luxuriant', 'and', 'of', 'a', 'rather', 'peculiar', 'tint', 'of', 'chestnut', 'it', 'has', 'been', 'considered', 'artistic', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'dream', 'of', 'sacrificing', 'it', 'in', 'this', 'offhand', 'fashion', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'that', 'that', 'is', 'quite', 'impossible', 'said', 'i', 'he', 'had', 'been', 'watching', 'me', 'eagerly', 'out', 'of', 'his', 'small', 'eyes', 'and', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'a', 'shadow', 'pass', 'over', 'his', 'face', 'as', 'i', 'spoke', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'quite', 'essential', 'said', 'he', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'little', 'fancy', 'of', 'my', 'wifes', 'and', 'ladies', 'fancies', 'you', 'know', 'madam', 'ladies', 'fancies', 'must', 'be', 'consulted', 'and', 'so', 'you', 'wont', 'cut', 'your', 'hair', 'no', 'sir', 'i', 'really', 'could', 'not', 'i', 'answered', 'firmly', 'ah', 'very', 'well', 'then', 'that', 'quite', 'settles', 'the', 'matter', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'pity', 'because', 'in', 'other', 'respects', 'you', 'would', 'really', 'have', 'done', 'very', 'nicely', 'in', 'that', 'case', 'miss', 'stoper', 'i', 'had', 'best', 'inspect', 'a', 'few', 'more', 'of', 'your', 'young', 'ladies', 'the', 'manageress', 'had', 'sat', 'all', 'this', 'while', 'busy', 'with', 'her', 'papers', 'without', 'a', 'word', 'to', 'either', 'of', 'us', 'but', 'she', 'glanced', 'at', 'me', 'now', 'with', 'so', 'much', 'annoyance', 'upon', 'her', 'face', 'that', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'suspecting', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'lost', 'a', 'handsome', 'commission', 'through', 'my', 'refusal', 'do', 'you', 'desire', 'your', 'name', 'to', 'be', 'kept', 'upon', 'the', 'books', 'she', 'asked', 'if', 'you', 'please', 'miss', 'stoper', 'well', 'really', 'it', 'seems', 'rather', 'useless', 'since', 'you', 'refuse', 'the', 'most', 'excellent', 'offers', 'in', 'this', 'fashion', 'said', 'she', 'sharply', 'you', 'can', 'hardly', 'expect', 'us', 'to', 'exert', 'ourselves', 'to', 'find', 'another', 'such', 'opening', 'for', 'you', 'goodday', 'to', 'you', 'miss', 'hunter', 'she', 'struck', 'a', 'gong', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'shown', 'out', 'by', 'the', 'page', 'well', 'mr', 'holmes', 'when', 'i', 'got', 'back', 'to', 'my', 'lodgings', 'and', 'found', 'little', 'enough', 'in', 'the', 'cupboard', 'and', 'two', 'or', 'three', 'bills', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'i', 'began', 'to', 'ask', 'myself', 'whether', 'i', 'had', 'not', 'done', 'a', 'very', 'foolish', 'thing', 'after', 'all', 'if', 'these', 'people', 'had', 'strange', 'fads', 'and', 'expected', 'obedience', 'on', 'the', 'most', 'extraordinary', 'matters', 'they', 'were', 'at', 'least', 'ready', 'to', 'pay', 'for', 'their', 'eccentricity', 'very', 'few', 'governesses', 'in', 'england', 'are', 'getting', '100', 'a', 'year', 'besides', 'what', 'use', 'was', 'my', 'hair', 'to', 'me', 'many', 'people', 'are', 'improved', 'by', 'wearing', 'it', 'short', 'and', 'perhaps', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'among', 'the', 'number', 'next', 'day', 'i', 'was', 'inclined', 'to', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'made', 'a', 'mistake', 'and', 'by', 'the', 'day', 'after', 'i', 'was', 'sure', 'of', 'it', 'i', 'had', 'almost', 'overcome', 'my', 'pride', 'so', 'far', 'as', 'to', 'go', 'back', 'to', 'the', 'agency', 'and', 'inquire', 'whether', 'the', 'place', 'was', 'still', 'open', 'when', 'i', 'received', 'this', 'letter', 'from', 'the', 'gentleman', 'himself', 'i', 'have', 'it', 'here', 'and', 'i', 'will', 'read', 'it', 'to', 'you', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'near', 'winchester', 'dear', 'miss', 'huntermiss', 'stoper', 'has', 'very', 'kindly', 'given', 'me', 'your', 'address', 'and', 'i', 'write', 'from', 'here', 'to', 'ask', 'you', 'whether', 'you', 'have', 'reconsidered', 'your', 'decision', 'my', 'wife', 'is', 'very', 'anxious', 'that', 'you', 'should', 'come', 'for', 'she', 'has', 'been', 'much', 'attracted', 'by', 'my', 'description', 'of', 'you', 'we', 'are', 'willing', 'to', 'give', '30', 'a', 'quarter', 'or', '120', 'a', 'year', 'so', 'as', 'to', 'recompense', 'you', 'for', 'any', 'little', 'inconvenience', 'which', 'our', 'fads', 'may', 'cause', 'you', 'they', 'are', 'not', 'very', 'exacting', 'after', 'all', 'my', 'wife', 'is', 'fond', 'of', 'a', 'particular', 'shade', 'of', 'electric', 'blue', 'and', 'would', 'like', 'you', 'to', 'wear', 'such', 'a', 'dress', 'indoors', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'you', 'need', 'not', 'however', 'go', 'to', 'the', 'expense', 'of', 'purchasing', 'one', 'as', 'we', 'have', 'one', 'belonging', 'to', 'my', 'dear', 'daughter', 'alice', 'now', 'in', 'philadelphia', 'which', 'would', 'i', 'should', 'think', 'fit', 'you', 'very', 'well', 'then', 'as', 'to', 'sitting', 'here', 'or', 'there', 'or', 'amusing', 'yourself', 'in', 'any', 'manner', 'indicated', 'that', 'need', 'cause', 'you', 'no', 'inconvenience', 'as', 'regards', 'your', 'hair', 'it', 'is', 'no', 'doubt', 'a', 'pity', 'especially', 'as', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'help', 'remarking', 'its', 'beauty', 'during', 'our', 'short', 'interview', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'afraid', 'that', 'i', 'must', 'remain', 'firm', 'upon', 'this', 'point', 'and', 'i', 'only', 'hope', 'that', 'the', 'increased', 'salary', 'may', 'recompense', 'you', 'for', 'the', 'loss', 'your', 'duties', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'the', 'child', 'is', 'concerned', 'are', 'very', 'light', 'now', 'do', 'try', 'to', 'come', 'and', 'i', 'shall', 'meet', 'you', 'with', 'the', 'dogcart', 'at', 'winchester', 'let', 'me', 'know', 'your', 'train', 'yours', 'faithfully', 'jephro', 'rucastle', 'that', 'is', 'the', 'letter', 'which', 'i', 'have', 'just', 'received', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'my', 'mind', 'is', 'made', 'up', 'that', 'i', 'will', 'accept', 'it', 'i', 'thought', 'however', 'that', 'before', 'taking', 'the', 'final', 'step', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'to', 'submit', 'the', 'whole', 'matter', 'to', 'your', 'consideration', 'well', 'miss', 'hunter', 'if', 'your', 'mind', 'is', 'made', 'up', 'that', 'settles', 'the', 'question', 'said', 'holmes', 'smiling', 'but', 'you', 'would', 'not', 'advise', 'me', 'to', 'refuse', 'i', 'confess', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'the', 'situation', 'which', 'i', 'should', 'like', 'to', 'see', 'a', 'sister', 'of', 'mine', 'apply', 'for', 'what', 'is', 'the', 'meaning', 'of', 'it', 'all', 'mr', 'holmes', 'ah', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'data', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'tell', 'perhaps', 'you', 'have', 'yourself', 'formed', 'some', 'opinion', 'well', 'there', 'seems', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'only', 'one', 'possible', 'solution', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'very', 'kind', 'goodnatured', 'man', 'is', 'it', 'not', 'possible', 'that', 'his', 'wife', 'is', 'a', 'lunatic', 'that', 'he', 'desires', 'to', 'keep', 'the', 'matter', 'quiet', 'for', 'fear', 'she', 'should', 'be', 'taken', 'to', 'an', 'asylum', 'and', 'that', 'he', 'humours', 'her', 'fancies', 'in', 'every', 'way', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'prevent', 'an', 'outbreak', 'that', 'is', 'a', 'possible', 'solutionin', 'fact', 'as', 'matters', 'stand', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'most', 'probable', 'one', 'but', 'in', 'any', 'case', 'it', 'does', 'not', 'seem', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'nice', 'household', 'for', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'but', 'the', 'money', 'mr', 'holmes', 'the', 'money', 'well', 'yes', 'of', 'course', 'the', 'pay', 'is', 'goodtoo', 'good', 'that', 'is', 'what', 'makes', 'me', 'uneasy', 'why', 'should', 'they', 'give', 'you', '120', 'a', 'year', 'when', 'they', 'could', 'have', 'their', 'pick', 'for', '40', 'there', 'must', 'be', 'some', 'strong', 'reason', 'behind', 'i', 'thought', 'that', 'if', 'i', 'told', 'you', 'the', 'circumstances', 'you', 'would', 'understand', 'afterwards', 'if', 'i', 'wanted', 'your', 'help', 'i', 'should', 'feel', 'so', 'much', 'stronger', 'if', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'you', 'were', 'at', 'the', 'back', 'of', 'me', 'oh', 'you', 'may', 'carry', 'that', 'feeling', 'away', 'with', 'you', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'that', 'your', 'little', 'problem', 'promises', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'most', 'interesting', 'which', 'has', 'come', 'my', 'way', 'for', 'some', 'months', 'there', 'is', 'something', 'distinctly', 'novel', 'about', 'some', 'of', 'the', 'features', 'if', 'you', 'should', 'find', 'yourself', 'in', 'doubt', 'or', 'in', 'danger', 'danger', 'what', 'danger', 'do', 'you', 'foresee', 'holmes', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'gravely', 'it', 'would', 'cease', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'danger', 'if', 'we', 'could', 'define', 'it', 'said', 'he', 'but', 'at', 'any', 'time', 'day', 'or', 'night', 'a', 'telegram', 'would', 'bring', 'me', 'down', 'to', 'your', 'help', 'that', 'is', 'enough', 'she', 'rose', 'briskly', 'from', 'her', 'chair', 'with', 'the', 'anxiety', 'all', 'swept', 'from', 'her', 'face', 'i', 'shall', 'go', 'down', 'to', 'hampshire', 'quite', 'easy', 'in', 'my', 'mind', 'now', 'i', 'shall', 'write', 'to', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'at', 'once', 'sacrifice', 'my', 'poor', 'hair', 'tonight', 'and', 'start', 'for', 'winchester', 'tomorrow', 'with', 'a', 'few', 'grateful', 'words', 'to', 'holmes', 'she', 'bade', 'us', 'both', 'goodnight', 'and', 'bustled', 'off', 'upon', 'her', 'way', 'at', 'least', 'said', 'i', 'as', 'we', 'heard', 'her', 'quick', 'firm', 'steps', 'descending', 'the', 'stairs', 'she', 'seems', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'young', 'lady', 'who', 'is', 'very', 'well', 'able', 'to', 'take', 'care', 'of', 'herself', 'and', 'she', 'would', 'need', 'to', 'be', 'said', 'holmes', 'gravely', 'i', 'am', 'much', 'mistaken', 'if', 'we', 'do', 'not', 'hear', 'from', 'her', 'before', 'many', 'days', 'are', 'past', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'very', 'long', 'before', 'my', 'friends', 'prediction', 'was', 'fulfilled', 'a', 'fortnight', 'went', 'by', 'during', 'which', 'i', 'frequently', 'found', 'my', 'thoughts', 'turning', 'in', 'her', 'direction', 'and', 'wondering', 'what', 'strange', 'sidealley', 'of', 'human', 'experience', 'this', 'lonely', 'woman', 'had', 'strayed', 'into', 'the', 'unusual', 'salary', 'the', 'curious', 'conditions', 'the', 'light', 'duties', 'all', 'pointed', 'to', 'something', 'abnormal', 'though', 'whether', 'a', 'fad', 'or', 'a', 'plot', 'or', 'whether', 'the', 'man', 'were', 'a', 'philanthropist', 'or', 'a', 'villain', 'it', 'was', 'quite', 'beyond', 'my', 'powers', 'to', 'determine', 'as', 'to', 'holmes', 'i', 'observed', 'that', 'he', 'sat', 'frequently', 'for', 'half', 'an', 'hour', 'on', 'end', 'with', 'knitted', 'brows', 'and', 'an', 'abstracted', 'air', 'but', 'he', 'swept', 'the', 'matter', 'away', 'with', 'a', 'wave', 'of', 'his', 'hand', 'when', 'i', 'mentioned', 'it', 'data', 'data', 'data', 'he', 'cried', 'impatiently', 'i', 'cant', 'make', 'bricks', 'without', 'clay', 'and', 'yet', 'he', 'would', 'always', 'wind', 'up', 'by', 'muttering', 'that', 'no', 'sister', 'of', 'his', 'should', 'ever', 'have', 'accepted', 'such', 'a', 'situation', 'the', 'telegram', 'which', 'we', 'eventually', 'received', 'came', 'late', 'one', 'night', 'just', 'as', 'i', 'was', 'thinking', 'of', 'turning', 'in', 'and', 'holmes', 'was', 'settling', 'down', 'to', 'one', 'of', 'those', 'allnight', 'chemical', 'researches', 'which', 'he', 'frequently', 'indulged', 'in', 'when', 'i', 'would', 'leave', 'him', 'stooping', 'over', 'a', 'retort', 'and', 'a', 'testtube', 'at', 'night', 'and', 'find', 'him', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'position', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'down', 'to', 'breakfast', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'he', 'opened', 'the', 'yellow', 'envelope', 'and', 'then', 'glancing', 'at', 'the', 'message', 'threw', 'it', 'across', 'to', 'me', 'just', 'look', 'up', 'the', 'trains', 'in', 'bradshaw', 'said', 'he', 'and', 'turned', 'back', 'to', 'his', 'chemical', 'studies', 'the', 'summons', 'was', 'a', 'brief', 'and', 'urgent', 'one', 'please', 'be', 'at', 'the', 'black', 'swan', 'hotel', 'at', 'winchester', 'at', 'midday', 'tomorrow', 'it', 'said', 'do', 'come', 'i', 'am', 'at', 'my', 'wits', 'end', 'hunter', 'will', 'you', 'come', 'with', 'me', 'asked', 'holmes', 'glancing', 'up', 'i', 'should', 'wish', 'to', 'just', 'look', 'it', 'up', 'then', 'there', 'is', 'a', 'train', 'at', 'halfpast', 'nine', 'said', 'i', 'glancing', 'over', 'my', 'bradshaw', 'it', 'is', 'due', 'at', 'winchester', 'at', '1130', 'that', 'will', 'do', 'very', 'nicely', 'then', 'perhaps', 'i', 'had', 'better', 'postpone', 'my', 'analysis', 'of', 'the', 'acetones', 'as', 'we', 'may', 'need', 'to', 'be', 'at', 'our', 'best', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'by', 'eleven', 'oclock', 'the', 'next', 'day', 'we', 'were', 'well', 'upon', 'our', 'way', 'to', 'the', 'old', 'english', 'capital', 'holmes', 'had', 'been', 'buried', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'papers', 'all', 'the', 'way', 'down', 'but', 'after', 'we', 'had', 'passed', 'the', 'hampshire', 'border', 'he', 'threw', 'them', 'down', 'and', 'began', 'to', 'admire', 'the', 'scenery', 'it', 'was', 'an', 'ideal', 'spring', 'day', 'a', 'light', 'blue', 'sky', 'flecked', 'with', 'little', 'fleecy', 'white', 'clouds', 'drifting', 'across', 'from', 'west', 'to', 'east', 'the', 'sun', 'was', 'shining', 'very', 'brightly', 'and', 'yet', 'there', 'was', 'an', 'exhilarating', 'nip', 'in', 'the', 'air', 'which', 'set', 'an', 'edge', 'to', 'a', 'mans', 'energy', 'all', 'over', 'the', 'countryside', 'away', 'to', 'the', 'rolling', 'hills', 'around', 'aldershot', 'the', 'little', 'red', 'and', 'grey', 'roofs', 'of', 'the', 'farmsteadings', 'peeped', 'out', 'from', 'amid', 'the', 'light', 'green', 'of', 'the', 'new', 'foliage', 'are', 'they', 'not', 'fresh', 'and', 'beautiful', 'i', 'cried', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'enthusiasm', 'of', 'a', 'man', 'fresh', 'from', 'the', 'fogs', 'of', 'baker', 'street', 'but', 'holmes', 'shook', 'his', 'head', 'gravely', 'do', 'you', 'know', 'watson', 'said', 'he', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'curses', 'of', 'a', 'mind', 'with', 'a', 'turn', 'like', 'mine', 'that', 'i', 'must', 'look', 'at', 'everything', 'with', 'reference', 'to', 'my', 'own', 'special', 'subject', 'you', 'look', 'at', 'these', 'scattered', 'houses', 'and', 'you', 'are', 'impressed', 'by', 'their', 'beauty', 'i', 'look', 'at', 'them', 'and', 'the', 'only', 'thought', 'which', 'comes', 'to', 'me', 'is', 'a', 'feeling', 'of', 'their', 'isolation', 'and', 'of', 'the', 'impunity', 'with', 'which', 'crime', 'may', 'be', 'committed', 'there', 'good', 'heavens', 'i', 'cried', 'who', 'would', 'associate', 'crime', 'with', 'these', 'dear', 'old', 'homesteads', 'they', 'always', 'fill', 'me', 'with', 'a', 'certain', 'horror', 'it', 'is', 'my', 'belief', 'watson', 'founded', 'upon', 'my', 'experience', 'that', 'the', 'lowest', 'and', 'vilest', 'alleys', 'in', 'london', 'do', 'not', 'present', 'a', 'more', 'dreadful', 'record', 'of', 'sin', 'than', 'does', 'the', 'smiling', 'and', 'beautiful', 'countryside', 'you', 'horrify', 'me', 'but', 'the', 'reason', 'is', 'very', 'obvious', 'the', 'pressure', 'of', 'public', 'opinion', 'can', 'do', 'in', 'the', 'town', 'what', 'the', 'law', 'can', 'not', 'accomplish', 'there', 'is', 'no', 'lane', 'so', 'vile', 'that', 'the', 'scream', 'of', 'a', 'tortured', 'child', 'or', 'the', 'thud', 'of', 'a', 'drunkards', 'blow', 'does', 'not', 'beget', 'sympathy', 'and', 'indignation', 'among', 'the', 'neighbours', 'and', 'then', 'the', 'whole', 'machinery', 'of', 'justice', 'is', 'ever', 'so', 'close', 'that', 'a', 'word', 'of', 'complaint', 'can', 'set', 'it', 'going', 'and', 'there', 'is', 'but', 'a', 'step', 'between', 'the', 'crime', 'and', 'the', 'dock', 'but', 'look', 'at', 'these', 'lonely', 'houses', 'each', 'in', 'its', 'own', 'fields', 'filled', 'for', 'the', 'most', 'part', 'with', 'poor', 'ignorant', 'folk', 'who', 'know', 'little', 'of', 'the', 'law', 'think', 'of', 'the', 'deeds', 'of', 'hellish', 'cruelty', 'the', 'hidden', 'wickedness', 'which', 'may', 'go', 'on', 'year', 'in', 'year', 'out', 'in', 'such', 'places', 'and', 'none', 'the', 'wiser', 'had', 'this', 'lady', 'who', 'appeals', 'to', 'us', 'for', 'help', 'gone', 'to', 'live', 'in', 'winchester', 'i', 'should', 'never', 'have', 'had', 'a', 'fear', 'for', 'her', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'five', 'miles', 'of', 'country', 'which', 'makes', 'the', 'danger', 'still', 'it', 'is', 'clear', 'that', 'she', 'is', 'not', 'personally', 'threatened', 'no', 'if', 'she', 'can', 'come', 'to', 'winchester', 'to', 'meet', 'us', 'she', 'can', 'get', 'away', 'quite', 'so', 'she', 'has', 'her', 'freedom', 'what', 'can', 'be', 'the', 'matter', 'then', 'can', 'you', 'suggest', 'no', 'explanation', 'i', 'have', 'devised', 'seven', 'separate', 'explanations', 'each', 'of', 'which', 'would', 'cover', 'the', 'facts', 'as', 'far', 'as', 'we', 'know', 'them', 'but', 'which', 'of', 'these', 'is', 'correct', 'can', 'only', 'be', 'determined', 'by', 'the', 'fresh', 'information', 'which', 'we', 'shall', 'no', 'doubt', 'find', 'waiting', 'for', 'us', 'well', 'there', 'is', 'the', 'tower', 'of', 'the', 'cathedral', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'soon', 'learn', 'all', 'that', 'miss', 'hunter', 'has', 'to', 'tell', 'the', 'black', 'swan', 'is', 'an', 'inn', 'of', 'repute', 'in', 'the', 'high', 'street', 'at', 'no', 'distance', 'from', 'the', 'station', 'and', 'there', 'we', 'found', 'the', 'young', 'lady', 'waiting', 'for', 'us', 'she', 'had', 'engaged', 'a', 'sittingroom', 'and', 'our', 'lunch', 'awaited', 'us', 'upon', 'the', 'table', 'i', 'am', 'so', 'delighted', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'come', 'she', 'said', 'earnestly', 'it', 'is', 'so', 'very', 'kind', 'of', 'you', 'both', 'but', 'indeed', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'i', 'should', 'do', 'your', 'advice', 'will', 'be', 'altogether', 'invaluable', 'to', 'me', 'pray', 'tell', 'us', 'what', 'has', 'happened', 'to', 'you', 'i', 'will', 'do', 'so', 'and', 'i', 'must', 'be', 'quick', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'promised', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'to', 'be', 'back', 'before', 'three', 'i', 'got', 'his', 'leave', 'to', 'come', 'into', 'town', 'this', 'morning', 'though', 'he', 'little', 'knew', 'for', 'what', 'purpose', 'let', 'us', 'have', 'everything', 'in', 'its', 'due', 'order', 'holmes', 'thrust', 'his', 'long', 'thin', 'legs', 'out', 'towards', 'the', 'fire', 'and', 'composed', 'himself', 'to', 'listen', 'in', 'the', 'first', 'place', 'i', 'may', 'say', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'met', 'on', 'the', 'whole', 'with', 'no', 'actual', 'illtreatment', 'from', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'it', 'is', 'only', 'fair', 'to', 'them', 'to', 'say', 'that', 'but', 'i', 'can', 'not', 'understand', 'them', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'not', 'easy', 'in', 'my', 'mind', 'about', 'them', 'what', 'can', 'you', 'not', 'understand', 'their', 'reasons', 'for', 'their', 'conduct', 'but', 'you', 'shall', 'have', 'it', 'all', 'just', 'as', 'it', 'occurred', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'down', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'met', 'me', 'here', 'and', 'drove', 'me', 'in', 'his', 'dogcart', 'to', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'it', 'is', 'as', 'he', 'said', 'beautifully', 'situated', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'not', 'beautiful', 'in', 'itself', 'for', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'large', 'square', 'block', 'of', 'a', 'house', 'whitewashed', 'but', 'all', 'stained', 'and', 'streaked', 'with', 'damp', 'and', 'bad', 'weather', 'there', 'are', 'grounds', 'round', 'it', 'woods', 'on', 'three', 'sides', 'and', 'on', 'the', 'fourth', 'a', 'field', 'which', 'slopes', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'southampton', 'highroad', 'which', 'curves', 'past', 'about', 'a', 'hundred', 'yards', 'from', 'the', 'front', 'door', 'this', 'ground', 'in', 'front', 'belongs', 'to', 'the', 'house', 'but', 'the', 'woods', 'all', 'round', 'are', 'part', 'of', 'lord', 'southertons', 'preserves', 'a', 'clump', 'of', 'copper', 'beeches', 'immediately', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'hall', 'door', 'has', 'given', 'its', 'name', 'to', 'the', 'place', 'i', 'was', 'driven', 'over', 'by', 'my', 'employer', 'who', 'was', 'as', 'amiable', 'as', 'ever', 'and', 'was', 'introduced', 'by', 'him', 'that', 'evening', 'to', 'his', 'wife', 'and', 'the', 'child', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'truth', 'mr', 'holmes', 'in', 'the', 'conjecture', 'which', 'seemed', 'to', 'us', 'to', 'be', 'probable', 'in', 'your', 'rooms', 'at', 'baker', 'street', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'is', 'not', 'mad', 'i', 'found', 'her', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'silent', 'palefaced', 'woman', 'much', 'younger', 'than', 'her', 'husband', 'not', 'more', 'than', 'thirty', 'i', 'should', 'think', 'while', 'he', 'can', 'hardly', 'be', 'less', 'than', 'fortyfive', 'from', 'their', 'conversation', 'i', 'have', 'gathered', 'that', 'they', 'have', 'been', 'married', 'about', 'seven', 'years', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'a', 'widower', 'and', 'that', 'his', 'only', 'child', 'by', 'the', 'first', 'wife', 'was', 'the', 'daughter', 'who', 'has', 'gone', 'to', 'philadelphia', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'told', 'me', 'in', 'private', 'that', 'the', 'reason', 'why', 'she', 'had', 'left', 'them', 'was', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'an', 'unreasoning', 'aversion', 'to', 'her', 'stepmother', 'as', 'the', 'daughter', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'less', 'than', 'twenty', 'i', 'can', 'quite', 'imagine', 'that', 'her', 'position', 'must', 'have', 'been', 'uncomfortable', 'with', 'her', 'fathers', 'young', 'wife', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'be', 'colourless', 'in', 'mind', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'in', 'feature', 'she', 'impressed', 'me', 'neither', 'favourably', 'nor', 'the', 'reverse', 'she', 'was', 'a', 'nonentity', 'it', 'was', 'easy', 'to', 'see', 'that', 'she', 'was', 'passionately', 'devoted', 'both', 'to', 'her', 'husband', 'and', 'to', 'her', 'little', 'son', 'her', 'light', 'grey', 'eyes', 'wandered', 'continually', 'from', 'one', 'to', 'the', 'other', 'noting', 'every', 'little', 'want', 'and', 'forestalling', 'it', 'if', 'possible', 'he', 'was', 'kind', 'to', 'her', 'also', 'in', 'his', 'bluff', 'boisterous', 'fashion', 'and', 'on', 'the', 'whole', 'they', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'happy', 'couple', 'and', 'yet', 'she', 'had', 'some', 'secret', 'sorrow', 'this', 'woman', 'she', 'would', 'often', 'be', 'lost', 'in', 'deep', 'thought', 'with', 'the', 'saddest', 'look', 'upon', 'her', 'face', 'more', 'than', 'once', 'i', 'have', 'surprised', 'her', 'in', 'tears', 'i', 'have', 'thought', 'sometimes', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'the', 'disposition', 'of', 'her', 'child', 'which', 'weighed', 'upon', 'her', 'mind', 'for', 'i', 'have', 'never', 'met', 'so', 'utterly', 'spoiled', 'and', 'so', 'illnatured', 'a', 'little', 'creature', 'he', 'is', 'small', 'for', 'his', 'age', 'with', 'a', 'head', 'which', 'is', 'quite', 'disproportionately', 'large', 'his', 'whole', 'life', 'appears', 'to', 'be', 'spent', 'in', 'an', 'alternation', 'between', 'savage', 'fits', 'of', 'passion', 'and', 'gloomy', 'intervals', 'of', 'sulking', 'giving', 'pain', 'to', 'any', 'creature', 'weaker', 'than', 'himself', 'seems', 'to', 'be', 'his', 'one', 'idea', 'of', 'amusement', 'and', 'he', 'shows', 'quite', 'remarkable', 'talent', 'in', 'planning', 'the', 'capture', 'of', 'mice', 'little', 'birds', 'and', 'insects', 'but', 'i', 'would', 'rather', 'not', 'talk', 'about', 'the', 'creature', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'indeed', 'he', 'has', 'little', 'to', 'do', 'with', 'my', 'story', 'i', 'am', 'glad', 'of', 'all', 'details', 'remarked', 'my', 'friend', 'whether', 'they', 'seem', 'to', 'you', 'to', 'be', 'relevant', 'or', 'not', 'i', 'shall', 'try', 'not', 'to', 'miss', 'anything', 'of', 'importance', 'the', 'one', 'unpleasant', 'thing', 'about', 'the', 'house', 'which', 'struck', 'me', 'at', 'once', 'was', 'the', 'appearance', 'and', 'conduct', 'of', 'the', 'servants', 'there', 'are', 'only', 'two', 'a', 'man', 'and', 'his', 'wife', 'toller', 'for', 'that', 'is', 'his', 'name', 'is', 'a', 'rough', 'uncouth', 'man', 'with', 'grizzled', 'hair', 'and', 'whiskers', 'and', 'a', 'perpetual', 'smell', 'of', 'drink', 'twice', 'since', 'i', 'have', 'been', 'with', 'them', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'quite', 'drunk', 'and', 'yet', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'seemed', 'to', 'take', 'no', 'notice', 'of', 'it', 'his', 'wife', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'tall', 'and', 'strong', 'woman', 'with', 'a', 'sour', 'face', 'as', 'silent', 'as', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'and', 'much', 'less', 'amiable', 'they', 'are', 'a', 'most', 'unpleasant', 'couple', 'but', 'fortunately', 'i', 'spend', 'most', 'of', 'my', 'time', 'in', 'the', 'nursery', 'and', 'my', 'own', 'room', 'which', 'are', 'next', 'to', 'each', 'other', 'in', 'one', 'corner', 'of', 'the', 'building', 'for', 'two', 'days', 'after', 'my', 'arrival', 'at', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'my', 'life', 'was', 'very', 'quiet', 'on', 'the', 'third', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'came', 'down', 'just', 'after', 'breakfast', 'and', 'whispered', 'something', 'to', 'her', 'husband', 'oh', 'yes', 'said', 'he', 'turning', 'to', 'me', 'we', 'are', 'very', 'much', 'obliged', 'to', 'you', 'miss', 'hunter', 'for', 'falling', 'in', 'with', 'our', 'whims', 'so', 'far', 'as', 'to', 'cut', 'your', 'hair', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'that', 'it', 'has', 'not', 'detracted', 'in', 'the', 'tiniest', 'iota', 'from', 'your', 'appearance', 'we', 'shall', 'now', 'see', 'how', 'the', 'electricblue', 'dress', 'will', 'become', 'you', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'it', 'laid', 'out', 'upon', 'the', 'bed', 'in', 'your', 'room', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'would', 'be', 'so', 'good', 'as', 'to', 'put', 'it', 'on', 'we', 'should', 'both', 'be', 'extremely', 'obliged', 'the', 'dress', 'which', 'i', 'found', 'waiting', 'for', 'me', 'was', 'of', 'a', 'peculiar', 'shade', 'of', 'blue', 'it', 'was', 'of', 'excellent', 'material', 'a', 'sort', 'of', 'beige', 'but', 'it', 'bore', 'unmistakable', 'signs', 'of', 'having', 'been', 'worn', 'before', 'it', 'could', 'not', 'have', 'been', 'a', 'better', 'fit', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'been', 'measured', 'for', 'it', 'both', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'expressed', 'a', 'delight', 'at', 'the', 'look', 'of', 'it', 'which', 'seemed', 'quite', 'exaggerated', 'in', 'its', 'vehemence', 'they', 'were', 'waiting', 'for', 'me', 'in', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'which', 'is', 'a', 'very', 'large', 'room', 'stretching', 'along', 'the', 'entire', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'with', 'three', 'long', 'windows', 'reaching', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'floor', 'a', 'chair', 'had', 'been', 'placed', 'close', 'to', 'the', 'central', 'window', 'with', 'its', 'back', 'turned', 'towards', 'it', 'in', 'this', 'i', 'was', 'asked', 'to', 'sit', 'and', 'then', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'walking', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'on', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'began', 'to', 'tell', 'me', 'a', 'series', 'of', 'the', 'funniest', 'stories', 'that', 'i', 'have', 'ever', 'listened', 'to', 'you', 'can', 'not', 'imagine', 'how', 'comical', 'he', 'was', 'and', 'i', 'laughed', 'until', 'i', 'was', 'quite', 'weary', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'however', 'who', 'has', 'evidently', 'no', 'sense', 'of', 'humour', 'never', 'so', 'much', 'as', 'smiled', 'but', 'sat', 'with', 'her', 'hands', 'in', 'her', 'lap', 'and', 'a', 'sad', 'anxious', 'look', 'upon', 'her', 'face', 'after', 'an', 'hour', 'or', 'so', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'suddenly', 'remarked', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'time', 'to', 'commence', 'the', 'duties', 'of', 'the', 'day', 'and', 'that', 'i', 'might', 'change', 'my', 'dress', 'and', 'go', 'to', 'little', 'edward', 'in', 'the', 'nursery', 'two', 'days', 'later', 'this', 'same', 'performance', 'was', 'gone', 'through', 'under', 'exactly', 'similar', 'circumstances', 'again', 'i', 'changed', 'my', 'dress', 'again', 'i', 'sat', 'in', 'the', 'window', 'and', 'again', 'i', 'laughed', 'very', 'heartily', 'at', 'the', 'funny', 'stories', 'of', 'which', 'my', 'employer', 'had', 'an', 'immense', 'répertoire', 'and', 'which', 'he', 'told', 'inimitably', 'then', 'he', 'handed', 'me', 'a', 'yellowbacked', 'novel', 'and', 'moving', 'my', 'chair', 'a', 'little', 'sideways', 'that', 'my', 'own', 'shadow', 'might', 'not', 'fall', 'upon', 'the', 'page', 'he', 'begged', 'me', 'to', 'read', 'aloud', 'to', 'him', 'i', 'read', 'for', 'about', 'ten', 'minutes', 'beginning', 'in', 'the', 'heart', 'of', 'a', 'chapter', 'and', 'then', 'suddenly', 'in', 'the', 'middle', 'of', 'a', 'sentence', 'he', 'ordered', 'me', 'to', 'cease', 'and', 'to', 'change', 'my', 'dress', 'you', 'can', 'easily', 'imagine', 'mr', 'holmes', 'how', 'curious', 'i', 'became', 'as', 'to', 'what', 'the', 'meaning', 'of', 'this', 'extraordinary', 'performance', 'could', 'possibly', 'be', 'they', 'were', 'always', 'very', 'careful', 'i', 'observed', 'to', 'turn', 'my', 'face', 'away', 'from', 'the', 'window', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'became', 'consumed', 'with', 'the', 'desire', 'to', 'see', 'what', 'was', 'going', 'on', 'behind', 'my', 'back', 'at', 'first', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'impossible', 'but', 'i', 'soon', 'devised', 'a', 'means', 'my', 'handmirror', 'had', 'been', 'broken', 'so', 'a', 'happy', 'thought', 'seized', 'me', 'and', 'i', 'concealed', 'a', 'piece', 'of', 'the', 'glass', 'in', 'my', 'handkerchief', 'on', 'the', 'next', 'occasion', 'in', 'the', 'midst', 'of', 'my', 'laughter', 'i', 'put', 'my', 'handkerchief', 'up', 'to', 'my', 'eyes', 'and', 'was', 'able', 'with', 'a', 'little', 'management', 'to', 'see', 'all', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'behind', 'me', 'i', 'confess', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'disappointed', 'there', 'was', 'nothing', 'at', 'least', 'that', 'was', 'my', 'first', 'impression', 'at', 'the', 'second', 'glance', 'however', 'i', 'perceived', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'man', 'standing', 'in', 'the', 'southampton', 'road', 'a', 'small', 'bearded', 'man', 'in', 'a', 'grey', 'suit', 'who', 'seemed', 'to', 'be', 'looking', 'in', 'my', 'direction', 'the', 'road', 'is', 'an', 'important', 'highway', 'and', 'there', 'are', 'usually', 'people', 'there', 'this', 'man', 'however', 'was', 'leaning', 'against', 'the', 'railings', 'which', 'bordered', 'our', 'field', 'and', 'was', 'looking', 'earnestly', 'up', 'i', 'lowered', 'my', 'handkerchief', 'and', 'glanced', 'at', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'to', 'find', 'her', 'eyes', 'fixed', 'upon', 'me', 'with', 'a', 'most', 'searching', 'gaze', 'she', 'said', 'nothing', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'convinced', 'that', 'she', 'had', 'divined', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'a', 'mirror', 'in', 'my', 'hand', 'and', 'had', 'seen', 'what', 'was', 'behind', 'me', 'she', 'rose', 'at', 'once', 'jephro', 'said', 'she', 'there', 'is', 'an', 'impertinent', 'fellow', 'upon', 'the', 'road', 'there', 'who', 'stares', 'up', 'at', 'miss', 'hunter', 'no', 'friend', 'of', 'yours', 'miss', 'hunter', 'he', 'asked', 'no', 'i', 'know', 'no', 'one', 'in', 'these', 'parts', 'dear', 'me', 'how', 'very', 'impertinent', 'kindly', 'turn', 'round', 'and', 'motion', 'to', 'him', 'to', 'go', 'away', 'surely', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'better', 'to', 'take', 'no', 'notice', 'no', 'no', 'we', 'should', 'have', 'him', 'loitering', 'here', 'always', 'kindly', 'turn', 'round', 'and', 'wave', 'him', 'away', 'like', 'that', 'i', 'did', 'as', 'i', 'was', 'told', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'same', 'instant', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'drew', 'down', 'the', 'blind', 'that', 'was', 'a', 'week', 'ago', 'and', 'from', 'that', 'time', 'i', 'have', 'not', 'sat', 'again', 'in', 'the', 'window', 'nor', 'have', 'i', 'worn', 'the', 'blue', 'dress', 'nor', 'seen', 'the', 'man', 'in', 'the', 'road', 'pray', 'continue', 'said', 'holmes', 'your', 'narrative', 'promises', 'to', 'be', 'a', 'most', 'interesting', 'one', 'you', 'will', 'find', 'it', 'rather', 'disconnected', 'i', 'fear', 'and', 'there', 'may', 'prove', 'to', 'be', 'little', 'relation', 'between', 'the', 'different', 'incidents', 'of', 'which', 'i', 'speak', 'on', 'the', 'very', 'first', 'day', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'at', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'took', 'me', 'to', 'a', 'small', 'outhouse', 'which', 'stands', 'near', 'the', 'kitchen', 'door', 'as', 'we', 'approached', 'it', 'i', 'heard', 'the', 'sharp', 'rattling', 'of', 'a', 'chain', 'and', 'the', 'sound', 'as', 'of', 'a', 'large', 'animal', 'moving', 'about', 'look', 'in', 'here', 'said', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'showing', 'me', 'a', 'slit', 'between', 'two', 'planks', 'is', 'he', 'not', 'a', 'beauty', 'i', 'looked', 'through', 'and', 'was', 'conscious', 'of', 'two', 'glowing', 'eyes', 'and', 'of', 'a', 'vague', 'figure', 'huddled', 'up', 'in', 'the', 'darkness', 'dont', 'be', 'frightened', 'said', 'my', 'employer', 'laughing', 'at', 'the', 'start', 'which', 'i', 'had', 'given', 'its', 'only', 'carlo', 'my', 'mastiff', 'i', 'call', 'him', 'mine', 'but', 'really', 'old', 'toller', 'my', 'groom', 'is', 'the', 'only', 'man', 'who', 'can', 'do', 'anything', 'with', 'him', 'we', 'feed', 'him', 'once', 'a', 'day', 'and', 'not', 'too', 'much', 'then', 'so', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'always', 'as', 'keen', 'as', 'mustard', 'toller', 'lets', 'him', 'loose', 'every', 'night', 'and', 'god', 'help', 'the', 'trespasser', 'whom', 'he', 'lays', 'his', 'fangs', 'upon', 'for', 'goodness', 'sake', 'dont', 'you', 'ever', 'on', 'any', 'pretext', 'set', 'your', 'foot', 'over', 'the', 'threshold', 'at', 'night', 'for', 'its', 'as', 'much', 'as', 'your', 'life', 'is', 'worth', 'the', 'warning', 'was', 'no', 'idle', 'one', 'for', 'two', 'nights', 'later', 'i', 'happened', 'to', 'look', 'out', 'of', 'my', 'bedroom', 'window', 'about', 'two', 'oclock', 'in', 'the', 'morning', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'beautiful', 'moonlight', 'night', 'and', 'the', 'lawn', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'was', 'silvered', 'over', 'and', 'almost', 'as', 'bright', 'as', 'day', 'i', 'was', 'standing', 'rapt', 'in', 'the', 'peaceful', 'beauty', 'of', 'the', 'scene', 'when', 'i', 'was', 'aware', 'that', 'something', 'was', 'moving', 'under', 'the', 'shadow', 'of', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'as', 'it', 'emerged', 'into', 'the', 'moonshine', 'i', 'saw', 'what', 'it', 'was', 'it', 'was', 'a', 'giant', 'dog', 'as', 'large', 'as', 'a', 'calf', 'tawny', 'tinted', 'with', 'hanging', 'jowl', 'black', 'muzzle', 'and', 'huge', 'projecting', 'bones', 'it', 'walked', 'slowly', 'across', 'the', 'lawn', 'and', 'vanished', 'into', 'the', 'shadow', 'upon', 'the', 'other', 'side', 'that', 'dreadful', 'sentinel', 'sent', 'a', 'chill', 'to', 'my', 'heart', 'which', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'think', 'that', 'any', 'burglar', 'could', 'have', 'done', 'and', 'now', 'i', 'have', 'a', 'very', 'strange', 'experience', 'to', 'tell', 'you', 'i', 'had', 'as', 'you', 'know', 'cut', 'off', 'my', 'hair', 'in', 'london', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'placed', 'it', 'in', 'a', 'great', 'coil', 'at', 'the', 'bottom', 'of', 'my', 'trunk', 'one', 'evening', 'after', 'the', 'child', 'was', 'in', 'bed', 'i', 'began', 'to', 'amuse', 'myself', 'by', 'examining', 'the', 'furniture', 'of', 'my', 'room', 'and', 'by', 'rearranging', 'my', 'own', 'little', 'things', 'there', 'was', 'an', 'old', 'chest', 'of', 'drawers', 'in', 'the', 'room', 'the', 'two', 'upper', 'ones', 'empty', 'and', 'open', 'the', 'lower', 'one', 'locked', 'i', 'had', 'filled', 'the', 'first', 'two', 'with', 'my', 'linen', 'and', 'as', 'i', 'had', 'still', 'much', 'to', 'pack', 'away', 'i', 'was', 'naturally', 'annoyed', 'at', 'not', 'having', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'the', 'third', 'drawer', 'it', 'struck', 'me', 'that', 'it', 'might', 'have', 'been', 'fastened', 'by', 'a', 'mere', 'oversight', 'so', 'i', 'took', 'out', 'my', 'bunch', 'of', 'keys', 'and', 'tried', 'to', 'open', 'it', 'the', 'very', 'first', 'key', 'fitted', 'to', 'perfection', 'and', 'i', 'drew', 'the', 'drawer', 'open', 'there', 'was', 'only', 'one', 'thing', 'in', 'it', 'but', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'that', 'you', 'would', 'never', 'guess', 'what', 'it', 'was', 'it', 'was', 'my', 'coil', 'of', 'hair', 'i', 'took', 'it', 'up', 'and', 'examined', 'it', 'it', 'was', 'of', 'the', 'same', 'peculiar', 'tint', 'and', 'the', 'same', 'thickness', 'but', 'then', 'the', 'impossibility', 'of', 'the', 'thing', 'obtruded', 'itself', 'upon', 'me', 'how', 'could', 'my', 'hair', 'have', 'been', 'locked', 'in', 'the', 'drawer', 'with', 'trembling', 'hands', 'i', 'undid', 'my', 'trunk', 'turned', 'out', 'the', 'contents', 'and', 'drew', 'from', 'the', 'bottom', 'my', 'own', 'hair', 'i', 'laid', 'the', 'two', 'tresses', 'together', 'and', 'i', 'assure', 'you', 'that', 'they', 'were', 'identical', 'was', 'it', 'not', 'extraordinary', 'puzzle', 'as', 'i', 'would', 'i', 'could', 'make', 'nothing', 'at', 'all', 'of', 'what', 'it', 'meant', 'i', 'returned', 'the', 'strange', 'hair', 'to', 'the', 'drawer', 'and', 'i', 'said', 'nothing', 'of', 'the', 'matter', 'to', 'the', 'rucastles', 'as', 'i', 'felt', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'put', 'myself', 'in', 'the', 'wrong', 'by', 'opening', 'a', 'drawer', 'which', 'they', 'had', 'locked', 'i', 'am', 'naturally', 'observant', 'as', 'you', 'may', 'have', 'remarked', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'i', 'soon', 'had', 'a', 'pretty', 'good', 'plan', 'of', 'the', 'whole', 'house', 'in', 'my', 'head', 'there', 'was', 'one', 'wing', 'however', 'which', 'appeared', 'not', 'to', 'be', 'inhabited', 'at', 'all', 'a', 'door', 'which', 'faced', 'that', 'which', 'led', 'into', 'the', 'quarters', 'of', 'the', 'tollers', 'opened', 'into', 'this', 'suite', 'but', 'it', 'was', 'invariably', 'locked', 'one', 'day', 'however', 'as', 'i', 'ascended', 'the', 'stair', 'i', 'met', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'coming', 'out', 'through', 'this', 'door', 'his', 'keys', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'and', 'a', 'look', 'on', 'his', 'face', 'which', 'made', 'him', 'a', 'very', 'different', 'person', 'to', 'the', 'round', 'jovial', 'man', 'to', 'whom', 'i', 'was', 'accustomed', 'his', 'cheeks', 'were', 'red', 'his', 'brow', 'was', 'all', 'crinkled', 'with', 'anger', 'and', 'the', 'veins', 'stood', 'out', 'at', 'his', 'temples', 'with', 'passion', 'he', 'locked', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'hurried', 'past', 'me', 'without', 'a', 'word', 'or', 'a', 'look', 'this', 'aroused', 'my', 'curiosity', 'so', 'when', 'i', 'went', 'out', 'for', 'a', 'walk', 'in', 'the', 'grounds', 'with', 'my', 'charge', 'i', 'strolled', 'round', 'to', 'the', 'side', 'from', 'which', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'the', 'windows', 'of', 'this', 'part', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'there', 'were', 'four', 'of', 'them', 'in', 'a', 'row', 'three', 'of', 'which', 'were', 'simply', 'dirty', 'while', 'the', 'fourth', 'was', 'shuttered', 'up', 'they', 'were', 'evidently', 'all', 'deserted', 'as', 'i', 'strolled', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'glancing', 'at', 'them', 'occasionally', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'came', 'out', 'to', 'me', 'looking', 'as', 'merry', 'and', 'jovial', 'as', 'ever', 'ah', 'said', 'he', 'you', 'must', 'not', 'think', 'me', 'rude', 'if', 'i', 'passed', 'you', 'without', 'a', 'word', 'my', 'dear', 'young', 'lady', 'i', 'was', 'preoccupied', 'with', 'business', 'matters', 'i', 'assured', 'him', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'not', 'offended', 'by', 'the', 'way', 'said', 'i', 'you', 'seem', 'to', 'have', 'quite', 'a', 'suite', 'of', 'spare', 'rooms', 'up', 'there', 'and', 'one', 'of', 'them', 'has', 'the', 'shutters', 'up', 'he', 'looked', 'surprised', 'and', 'as', 'it', 'seemed', 'to', 'me', 'a', 'little', 'startled', 'at', 'my', 'remark', 'photography', 'is', 'one', 'of', 'my', 'hobbies', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'have', 'made', 'my', 'dark', 'room', 'up', 'there', 'but', 'dear', 'me', 'what', 'an', 'observant', 'young', 'lady', 'we', 'have', 'come', 'upon', 'who', 'would', 'have', 'believed', 'it', 'who', 'would', 'have', 'ever', 'believed', 'it', 'he', 'spoke', 'in', 'a', 'jesting', 'tone', 'but', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'jest', 'in', 'his', 'eyes', 'as', 'he', 'looked', 'at', 'me', 'i', 'read', 'suspicion', 'there', 'and', 'annoyance', 'but', 'no', 'jest', 'well', 'mr', 'holmes', 'from', 'the', 'moment', 'that', 'i', 'understood', 'that', 'there', 'was', 'something', 'about', 'that', 'suite', 'of', 'rooms', 'which', 'i', 'was', 'not', 'to', 'know', 'i', 'was', 'all', 'on', 'fire', 'to', 'go', 'over', 'them', 'it', 'was', 'not', 'mere', 'curiosity', 'though', 'i', 'have', 'my', 'share', 'of', 'that', 'it', 'was', 'more', 'a', 'feeling', 'of', 'dutya', 'feeling', 'that', 'some', 'good', 'might', 'come', 'from', 'my', 'penetrating', 'to', 'this', 'place', 'they', 'talk', 'of', 'womans', 'instinct', 'perhaps', 'it', 'was', 'womans', 'instinct', 'which', 'gave', 'me', 'that', 'feeling', 'at', 'any', 'rate', 'it', 'was', 'there', 'and', 'i', 'was', 'keenly', 'on', 'the', 'lookout', 'for', 'any', 'chance', 'to', 'pass', 'the', 'forbidden', 'door', 'it', 'was', 'only', 'yesterday', 'that', 'the', 'chance', 'came', 'i', 'may', 'tell', 'you', 'that', 'besides', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'both', 'toller', 'and', 'his', 'wife', 'find', 'something', 'to', 'do', 'in', 'these', 'deserted', 'rooms', 'and', 'i', 'once', 'saw', 'him', 'carrying', 'a', 'large', 'black', 'linen', 'bag', 'with', 'him', 'through', 'the', 'door', 'recently', 'he', 'has', 'been', 'drinking', 'hard', 'and', 'yesterday', 'evening', 'he', 'was', 'very', 'drunk', 'and', 'when', 'i', 'came', 'upstairs', 'there', 'was', 'the', 'key', 'in', 'the', 'door', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'at', 'all', 'that', 'he', 'had', 'left', 'it', 'there', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'were', 'both', 'downstairs', 'and', 'the', 'child', 'was', 'with', 'them', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'had', 'an', 'admirable', 'opportunity', 'i', 'turned', 'the', 'key', 'gently', 'in', 'the', 'lock', 'opened', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'slipped', 'through', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'little', 'passage', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'me', 'unpapered', 'and', 'uncarpeted', 'which', 'turned', 'at', 'a', 'right', 'angle', 'at', 'the', 'farther', 'end', 'round', 'this', 'corner', 'were', 'three', 'doors', 'in', 'a', 'line', 'the', 'first', 'and', 'third', 'of', 'which', 'were', 'open', 'they', 'each', 'led', 'into', 'an', 'empty', 'room', 'dusty', 'and', 'cheerless', 'with', 'two', 'windows', 'in', 'the', 'one', 'and', 'one', 'in', 'the', 'other', 'so', 'thick', 'with', 'dirt', 'that', 'the', 'evening', 'light', 'glimmered', 'dimly', 'through', 'them', 'the', 'centre', 'door', 'was', 'closed', 'and', 'across', 'the', 'outside', 'of', 'it', 'had', 'been', 'fastened', 'one', 'of', 'the', 'broad', 'bars', 'of', 'an', 'iron', 'bed', 'padlocked', 'at', 'one', 'end', 'to', 'a', 'ring', 'in', 'the', 'wall', 'and', 'fastened', 'at', 'the', 'other', 'with', 'stout', 'cord', 'the', 'door', 'itself', 'was', 'locked', 'as', 'well', 'and', 'the', 'key', 'was', 'not', 'there', 'this', 'barricaded', 'door', 'corresponded', 'clearly', 'with', 'the', 'shuttered', 'window', 'outside', 'and', 'yet', 'i', 'could', 'see', 'by', 'the', 'glimmer', 'from', 'beneath', 'it', 'that', 'the', 'room', 'was', 'not', 'in', 'darkness', 'evidently', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'skylight', 'which', 'let', 'in', 'light', 'from', 'above', 'as', 'i', 'stood', 'in', 'the', 'passage', 'gazing', 'at', 'the', 'sinister', 'door', 'and', 'wondering', 'what', 'secret', 'it', 'might', 'veil', 'i', 'suddenly', 'heard', 'the', 'sound', 'of', 'steps', 'within', 'the', 'room', 'and', 'saw', 'a', 'shadow', 'pass', 'backward', 'and', 'forward', 'against', 'the', 'little', 'slit', 'of', 'dim', 'light', 'which', 'shone', 'out', 'from', 'under', 'the', 'door', 'a', 'mad', 'unreasoning', 'terror', 'rose', 'up', 'in', 'me', 'at', 'the', 'sight', 'mr', 'holmes', 'my', 'overstrung', 'nerves', 'failed', 'me', 'suddenly', 'and', 'i', 'turned', 'and', 'ranran', 'as', 'though', 'some', 'dreadful', 'hand', 'were', 'behind', 'me', 'clutching', 'at', 'the', 'skirt', 'of', 'my', 'dress', 'i', 'rushed', 'down', 'the', 'passage', 'through', 'the', 'door', 'and', 'straight', 'into', 'the', 'arms', 'of', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'who', 'was', 'waiting', 'outside', 'so', 'said', 'he', 'smiling', 'it', 'was', 'you', 'then', 'i', 'thought', 'that', 'it', 'must', 'be', 'when', 'i', 'saw', 'the', 'door', 'open', 'oh', 'i', 'am', 'so', 'frightened', 'i', 'panted', 'my', 'dear', 'young', 'lady', 'my', 'dear', 'young', 'ladyyou', 'can', 'not', 'think', 'how', 'caressing', 'and', 'soothing', 'his', 'manner', 'wasand', 'what', 'has', 'frightened', 'you', 'my', 'dear', 'young', 'lady', 'but', 'his', 'voice', 'was', 'just', 'a', 'little', 'too', 'coaxing', 'he', 'overdid', 'it', 'i', 'was', 'keenly', 'on', 'my', 'guard', 'against', 'him', 'i', 'was', 'foolish', 'enough', 'to', 'go', 'into', 'the', 'empty', 'wing', 'i', 'answered', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'so', 'lonely', 'and', 'eerie', 'in', 'this', 'dim', 'light', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'frightened', 'and', 'ran', 'out', 'again', 'oh', 'it', 'is', 'so', 'dreadfully', 'still', 'in', 'there', 'only', 'that', 'said', 'he', 'looking', 'at', 'me', 'keenly', 'why', 'what', 'did', 'you', 'think', 'i', 'asked', 'why', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'i', 'lock', 'this', 'door', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'that', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'it', 'is', 'to', 'keep', 'people', 'out', 'who', 'have', 'no', 'business', 'there', 'do', 'you', 'see', 'he', 'was', 'still', 'smiling', 'in', 'the', 'most', 'amiable', 'manner', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'if', 'i', 'had', 'known', 'well', 'then', 'you', 'know', 'now', 'and', 'if', 'you', 'ever', 'put', 'your', 'foot', 'over', 'that', 'threshold', 'againhere', 'in', 'an', 'instant', 'the', 'smile', 'hardened', 'into', 'a', 'grin', 'of', 'rage', 'and', 'he', 'glared', 'down', 'at', 'me', 'with', 'the', 'face', 'of', 'a', 'demonill', 'throw', 'you', 'to', 'the', 'mastiff', 'i', 'was', 'so', 'terrified', 'that', 'i', 'do', 'not', 'know', 'what', 'i', 'did', 'i', 'suppose', 'that', 'i', 'must', 'have', 'rushed', 'past', 'him', 'into', 'my', 'room', 'i', 'remember', 'nothing', 'until', 'i', 'found', 'myself', 'lying', 'on', 'my', 'bed', 'trembling', 'all', 'over', 'then', 'i', 'thought', 'of', 'you', 'mr', 'holmes', 'i', 'could', 'not', 'live', 'there', 'longer', 'without', 'some', 'advice', 'i', 'was', 'frightened', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'of', 'the', 'man', 'of', 'the', 'woman', 'of', 'the', 'servants', 'even', 'of', 'the', 'child', 'they', 'were', 'all', 'horrible', 'to', 'me', 'if', 'i', 'could', 'only', 'bring', 'you', 'down', 'all', 'would', 'be', 'well', 'of', 'course', 'i', 'might', 'have', 'fled', 'from', 'the', 'house', 'but', 'my', 'curiosity', 'was', 'almost', 'as', 'strong', 'as', 'my', 'fears', 'my', 'mind', 'was', 'soon', 'made', 'up', 'i', 'would', 'send', 'you', 'a', 'wire', 'i', 'put', 'on', 'my', 'hat', 'and', 'cloak', 'went', 'down', 'to', 'the', 'office', 'which', 'is', 'about', 'half', 'a', 'mile', 'from', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'then', 'returned', 'feeling', 'very', 'much', 'easier', 'a', 'horrible', 'doubt', 'came', 'into', 'my', 'mind', 'as', 'i', 'approached', 'the', 'door', 'lest', 'the', 'dog', 'might', 'be', 'loose', 'but', 'i', 'remembered', 'that', 'toller', 'had', 'drunk', 'himself', 'into', 'a', 'state', 'of', 'insensibility', 'that', 'evening', 'and', 'i', 'knew', 'that', 'he', 'was', 'the', 'only', 'one', 'in', 'the', 'household', 'who', 'had', 'any', 'influence', 'with', 'the', 'savage', 'creature', 'or', 'who', 'would', 'venture', 'to', 'set', 'him', 'free', 'i', 'slipped', 'in', 'in', 'safety', 'and', 'lay', 'awake', 'half', 'the', 'night', 'in', 'my', 'joy', 'at', 'the', 'thought', 'of', 'seeing', 'you', 'i', 'had', 'no', 'difficulty', 'in', 'getting', 'leave', 'to', 'come', 'into', 'winchester', 'this', 'morning', 'but', 'i', 'must', 'be', 'back', 'before', 'three', 'oclock', 'for', 'mr', 'and', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'are', 'going', 'on', 'a', 'visit', 'and', 'will', 'be', 'away', 'all', 'the', 'evening', 'so', 'that', 'i', 'must', 'look', 'after', 'the', 'child', 'now', 'i', 'have', 'told', 'you', 'all', 'my', 'adventures', 'mr', 'holmes', 'and', 'i', 'should', 'be', 'very', 'glad', 'if', 'you', 'could', 'tell', 'me', 'what', 'it', 'all', 'means', 'and', 'above', 'all', 'what', 'i', 'should', 'do', 'holmes', 'and', 'i', 'had', 'listened', 'spellbound', 'to', 'this', 'extraordinary', 'story', 'my', 'friend', 'rose', 'now', 'and', 'paced', 'up', 'and', 'down', 'the', 'room', 'his', 'hands', 'in', 'his', 'pockets', 'and', 'an', 'expression', 'of', 'the', 'most', 'profound', 'gravity', 'upon', 'his', 'face', 'is', 'toller', 'still', 'drunk', 'he', 'asked', 'yes', 'i', 'heard', 'his', 'wife', 'tell', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'that', 'she', 'could', 'do', 'nothing', 'with', 'him', 'that', 'is', 'well', 'and', 'the', 'rucastles', 'go', 'out', 'tonight', 'yes', 'is', 'there', 'a', 'cellar', 'with', 'a', 'good', 'strong', 'lock', 'yes', 'the', 'winecellar', 'you', 'seem', 'to', 'me', 'to', 'have', 'acted', 'all', 'through', 'this', 'matter', 'like', 'a', 'very', 'brave', 'and', 'sensible', 'girl', 'miss', 'hunter', 'do', 'you', 'think', 'that', 'you', 'could', 'perform', 'one', 'more', 'feat', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'ask', 'it', 'of', 'you', 'if', 'i', 'did', 'not', 'think', 'you', 'a', 'quite', 'exceptional', 'woman', 'i', 'will', 'try', 'what', 'is', 'it', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'at', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'by', 'seven', 'oclock', 'my', 'friend', 'and', 'i', 'the', 'rucastles', 'will', 'be', 'gone', 'by', 'that', 'time', 'and', 'toller', 'will', 'we', 'hope', 'be', 'incapable', 'there', 'only', 'remains', 'mrs', 'toller', 'who', 'might', 'give', 'the', 'alarm', 'if', 'you', 'could', 'send', 'her', 'into', 'the', 'cellar', 'on', 'some', 'errand', 'and', 'then', 'turn', 'the', 'key', 'upon', 'her', 'you', 'would', 'facilitate', 'matters', 'immensely', 'i', 'will', 'do', 'it', 'excellent', 'we', 'shall', 'then', 'look', 'thoroughly', 'into', 'the', 'affair', 'of', 'course', 'there', 'is', 'only', 'one', 'feasible', 'explanation', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'brought', 'there', 'to', 'personate', 'someone', 'and', 'the', 'real', 'person', 'is', 'imprisoned', 'in', 'this', 'chamber', 'that', 'is', 'obvious', 'as', 'to', 'who', 'this', 'prisoner', 'is', 'i', 'have', 'no', 'doubt', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'the', 'daughter', 'miss', 'alice', 'rucastle', 'if', 'i', 'remember', 'right', 'who', 'was', 'said', 'to', 'have', 'gone', 'to', 'america', 'you', 'were', 'chosen', 'doubtless', 'as', 'resembling', 'her', 'in', 'height', 'figure', 'and', 'the', 'colour', 'of', 'your', 'hair', 'hers', 'had', 'been', 'cut', 'off', 'very', 'possibly', 'in', 'some', 'illness', 'through', 'which', 'she', 'has', 'passed', 'and', 'so', 'of', 'course', 'yours', 'had', 'to', 'be', 'sacrificed', 'also', 'by', 'a', 'curious', 'chance', 'you', 'came', 'upon', 'her', 'tresses', 'the', 'man', 'in', 'the', 'road', 'was', 'undoubtedly', 'some', 'friend', 'of', 'herspossibly', 'her', 'fiancéand', 'no', 'doubt', 'as', 'you', 'wore', 'the', 'girls', 'dress', 'and', 'were', 'so', 'like', 'her', 'he', 'was', 'convinced', 'from', 'your', 'laughter', 'whenever', 'he', 'saw', 'you', 'and', 'afterwards', 'from', 'your', 'gesture', 'that', 'miss', 'rucastle', 'was', 'perfectly', 'happy', 'and', 'that', 'she', 'no', 'longer', 'desired', 'his', 'attentions', 'the', 'dog', 'is', 'let', 'loose', 'at', 'night', 'to', 'prevent', 'him', 'from', 'endeavouring', 'to', 'communicate', 'with', 'her', 'so', 'much', 'is', 'fairly', 'clear', 'the', 'most', 'serious', 'point', 'in', 'the', 'case', 'is', 'the', 'disposition', 'of', 'the', 'child', 'what', 'on', 'earth', 'has', 'that', 'to', 'do', 'with', 'it', 'i', 'ejaculated', 'my', 'dear', 'watson', 'you', 'as', 'a', 'medical', 'man', 'are', 'continually', 'gaining', 'light', 'as', 'to', 'the', 'tendencies', 'of', 'a', 'child', 'by', 'the', 'study', 'of', 'the', 'parents', 'dont', 'you', 'see', 'that', 'the', 'converse', 'is', 'equally', 'valid', 'i', 'have', 'frequently', 'gained', 'my', 'first', 'real', 'insight', 'into', 'the', 'character', 'of', 'parents', 'by', 'studying', 'their', 'children', 'this', 'childs', 'disposition', 'is', 'abnormally', 'cruel', 'merely', 'for', 'crueltys', 'sake', 'and', 'whether', 'he', 'derives', 'this', 'from', 'his', 'smiling', 'father', 'as', 'i', 'should', 'suspect', 'or', 'from', 'his', 'mother', 'it', 'bodes', 'evil', 'for', 'the', 'poor', 'girl', 'who', 'is', 'in', 'their', 'power', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'that', 'you', 'are', 'right', 'mr', 'holmes', 'cried', 'our', 'client', 'a', 'thousand', 'things', 'come', 'back', 'to', 'me', 'which', 'make', 'me', 'certain', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'hit', 'it', 'oh', 'let', 'us', 'lose', 'not', 'an', 'instant', 'in', 'bringing', 'help', 'to', 'this', 'poor', 'creature', 'we', 'must', 'be', 'circumspect', 'for', 'we', 'are', 'dealing', 'with', 'a', 'very', 'cunning', 'man', 'we', 'can', 'do', 'nothing', 'until', 'seven', 'oclock', 'at', 'that', 'hour', 'we', 'shall', 'be', 'with', 'you', 'and', 'it', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'long', 'before', 'we', 'solve', 'the', 'mystery', 'we', 'were', 'as', 'good', 'as', 'our', 'word', 'for', 'it', 'was', 'just', 'seven', 'when', 'we', 'reached', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'having', 'put', 'up', 'our', 'trap', 'at', 'a', 'wayside', 'publichouse', 'the', 'group', 'of', 'trees', 'with', 'their', 'dark', 'leaves', 'shining', 'like', 'burnished', 'metal', 'in', 'the', 'light', 'of', 'the', 'setting', 'sun', 'were', 'sufficient', 'to', 'mark', 'the', 'house', 'even', 'had', 'miss', 'hunter', 'not', 'been', 'standing', 'smiling', 'on', 'the', 'doorstep', 'have', 'you', 'managed', 'it', 'asked', 'holmes', 'a', 'loud', 'thudding', 'noise', 'came', 'from', 'somewhere', 'downstairs', 'that', 'is', 'mrs', 'toller', 'in', 'the', 'cellar', 'said', 'she', 'her', 'husband', 'lies', 'snoring', 'on', 'the', 'kitchen', 'rug', 'here', 'are', 'his', 'keys', 'which', 'are', 'the', 'duplicates', 'of', 'mr', 'rucastles', 'you', 'have', 'done', 'well', 'indeed', 'cried', 'holmes', 'with', 'enthusiasm', 'now', 'lead', 'the', 'way', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'soon', 'see', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'this', 'black', 'business', 'we', 'passed', 'up', 'the', 'stair', 'unlocked', 'the', 'door', 'followed', 'on', 'down', 'a', 'passage', 'and', 'found', 'ourselves', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'barricade', 'which', 'miss', 'hunter', 'had', 'described', 'holmes', 'cut', 'the', 'cord', 'and', 'removed', 'the', 'transverse', 'bar', 'then', 'he', 'tried', 'the', 'various', 'keys', 'in', 'the', 'lock', 'but', 'without', 'success', 'no', 'sound', 'came', 'from', 'within', 'and', 'at', 'the', 'silence', 'holmes', 'face', 'clouded', 'over', 'i', 'trust', 'that', 'we', 'are', 'not', 'too', 'late', 'said', 'he', 'i', 'think', 'miss', 'hunter', 'that', 'we', 'had', 'better', 'go', 'in', 'without', 'you', 'now', 'watson', 'put', 'your', 'shoulder', 'to', 'it', 'and', 'we', 'shall', 'see', 'whether', 'we', 'can', 'not', 'make', 'our', 'way', 'in', 'it', 'was', 'an', 'old', 'rickety', 'door', 'and', 'gave', 'at', 'once', 'before', 'our', 'united', 'strength', 'together', 'we', 'rushed', 'into', 'the', 'room', 'it', 'was', 'empty', 'there', 'was', 'no', 'furniture', 'save', 'a', 'little', 'pallet', 'bed', 'a', 'small', 'table', 'and', 'a', 'basketful', 'of', 'linen', 'the', 'skylight', 'above', 'was', 'open', 'and', 'the', 'prisoner', 'gone', 'there', 'has', 'been', 'some', 'villainy', 'here', 'said', 'holmes', 'this', 'beauty', 'has', 'guessed', 'miss', 'hunters', 'intentions', 'and', 'has', 'carried', 'his', 'victim', 'off', 'but', 'how', 'through', 'the', 'skylight', 'we', 'shall', 'soon', 'see', 'how', 'he', 'managed', 'it', 'he', 'swung', 'himself', 'up', 'onto', 'the', 'roof', 'ah', 'yes', 'he', 'cried', 'heres', 'the', 'end', 'of', 'a', 'long', 'light', 'ladder', 'against', 'the', 'eaves', 'that', 'is', 'how', 'he', 'did', 'it', 'but', 'it', 'is', 'impossible', 'said', 'miss', 'hunter', 'the', 'ladder', 'was', 'not', 'there', 'when', 'the', 'rucastles', 'went', 'away', 'he', 'has', 'come', 'back', 'and', 'done', 'it', 'i', 'tell', 'you', 'that', 'he', 'is', 'a', 'clever', 'and', 'dangerous', 'man', 'i', 'should', 'not', 'be', 'very', 'much', 'surprised', 'if', 'this', 'were', 'he', 'whose', 'step', 'i', 'hear', 'now', 'upon', 'the', 'stair', 'i', 'think', 'watson', 'that', 'it', 'would', 'be', 'as', 'well', 'for', 'you', 'to', 'have', 'your', 'pistol', 'ready', 'the', 'words', 'were', 'hardly', 'out', 'of', 'his', 'mouth', 'before', 'a', 'man', 'appeared', 'at', 'the', 'door', 'of', 'the', 'room', 'a', 'very', 'fat', 'and', 'burly', 'man', 'with', 'a', 'heavy', 'stick', 'in', 'his', 'hand', 'miss', 'hunter', 'screamed', 'and', 'shrunk', 'against', 'the', 'wall', 'at', 'the', 'sight', 'of', 'him', 'but', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'sprang', 'forward', 'and', 'confronted', 'him', 'you', 'villain', 'said', 'he', 'wheres', 'your', 'daughter', 'the', 'fat', 'man', 'cast', 'his', 'eyes', 'round', 'and', 'then', 'up', 'at', 'the', 'open', 'skylight', 'it', 'is', 'for', 'me', 'to', 'ask', 'you', 'that', 'he', 'shrieked', 'you', 'thieves', 'spies', 'and', 'thieves', 'i', 'have', 'caught', 'you', 'have', 'i', 'you', 'are', 'in', 'my', 'power', 'ill', 'serve', 'you', 'he', 'turned', 'and', 'clattered', 'down', 'the', 'stairs', 'as', 'hard', 'as', 'he', 'could', 'go', 'hes', 'gone', 'for', 'the', 'dog', 'cried', 'miss', 'hunter', 'i', 'have', 'my', 'revolver', 'said', 'i', 'better', 'close', 'the', 'front', 'door', 'cried', 'holmes', 'and', 'we', 'all', 'rushed', 'down', 'the', 'stairs', 'together', 'we', 'had', 'hardly', 'reached', 'the', 'hall', 'when', 'we', 'heard', 'the', 'baying', 'of', 'a', 'hound', 'and', 'then', 'a', 'scream', 'of', 'agony', 'with', 'a', 'horrible', 'worrying', 'sound', 'which', 'it', 'was', 'dreadful', 'to', 'listen', 'to', 'an', 'elderly', 'man', 'with', 'a', 'red', 'face', 'and', 'shaking', 'limbs', 'came', 'staggering', 'out', 'at', 'a', 'side', 'door', 'my', 'god', 'he', 'cried', 'someone', 'has', 'loosed', 'the', 'dog', 'its', 'not', 'been', 'fed', 'for', 'two', 'days', 'quick', 'quick', 'or', 'itll', 'be', 'too', 'late', 'holmes', 'and', 'i', 'rushed', 'out', 'and', 'round', 'the', 'angle', 'of', 'the', 'house', 'with', 'toller', 'hurrying', 'behind', 'us', 'there', 'was', 'the', 'huge', 'famished', 'brute', 'its', 'black', 'muzzle', 'buried', 'in', 'rucastles', 'throat', 'while', 'he', 'writhed', 'and', 'screamed', 'upon', 'the', 'ground', 'running', 'up', 'i', 'blew', 'its', 'brains', 'out', 'and', 'it', 'fell', 'over', 'with', 'its', 'keen', 'white', 'teeth', 'still', 'meeting', 'in', 'the', 'great', 'creases', 'of', 'his', 'neck', 'with', 'much', 'labour', 'we', 'separated', 'them', 'and', 'carried', 'him', 'living', 'but', 'horribly', 'mangled', 'into', 'the', 'house', 'we', 'laid', 'him', 'upon', 'the', 'drawingroom', 'sofa', 'and', 'having', 'dispatched', 'the', 'sobered', 'toller', 'to', 'bear', 'the', 'news', 'to', 'his', 'wife', 'i', 'did', 'what', 'i', 'could', 'to', 'relieve', 'his', 'pain', 'we', 'were', 'all', 'assembled', 'round', 'him', 'when', 'the', 'door', 'opened', 'and', 'a', 'tall', 'gaunt', 'woman', 'entered', 'the', 'room', 'mrs', 'toller', 'cried', 'miss', 'hunter', 'yes', 'miss', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'let', 'me', 'out', 'when', 'he', 'came', 'back', 'before', 'he', 'went', 'up', 'to', 'you', 'ah', 'miss', 'it', 'is', 'a', 'pity', 'you', 'didnt', 'let', 'me', 'know', 'what', 'you', 'were', 'planning', 'for', 'i', 'would', 'have', 'told', 'you', 'that', 'your', 'pains', 'were', 'wasted', 'ha', 'said', 'holmes', 'looking', 'keenly', 'at', 'her', 'it', 'is', 'clear', 'that', 'mrs', 'toller', 'knows', 'more', 'about', 'this', 'matter', 'than', 'anyone', 'else', 'yes', 'sir', 'i', 'do', 'and', 'i', 'am', 'ready', 'enough', 'to', 'tell', 'what', 'i', 'know', 'then', 'pray', 'sit', 'down', 'and', 'let', 'us', 'hear', 'it', 'for', 'there', 'are', 'several', 'points', 'on', 'which', 'i', 'must', 'confess', 'that', 'i', 'am', 'still', 'in', 'the', 'dark', 'i', 'will', 'soon', 'make', 'it', 'clear', 'to', 'you', 'said', 'she', 'and', 'id', 'have', 'done', 'so', 'before', 'now', 'if', 'i', 'could', 'ha', 'got', 'out', 'from', 'the', 'cellar', 'if', 'theres', 'policecourt', 'business', 'over', 'this', 'youll', 'remember', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'the', 'one', 'that', 'stood', 'your', 'friend', 'and', 'that', 'i', 'was', 'miss', 'alices', 'friend', 'too', 'she', 'was', 'never', 'happy', 'at', 'home', 'miss', 'alice', 'wasnt', 'from', 'the', 'time', 'that', 'her', 'father', 'married', 'again', 'she', 'was', 'slighted', 'like', 'and', 'had', 'no', 'say', 'in', 'anything', 'but', 'it', 'never', 'really', 'became', 'bad', 'for', 'her', 'until', 'after', 'she', 'met', 'mr', 'fowler', 'at', 'a', 'friends', 'house', 'as', 'well', 'as', 'i', 'could', 'learn', 'miss', 'alice', 'had', 'rights', 'of', 'her', 'own', 'by', 'will', 'but', 'she', 'was', 'so', 'quiet', 'and', 'patient', 'she', 'was', 'that', 'she', 'never', 'said', 'a', 'word', 'about', 'them', 'but', 'just', 'left', 'everything', 'in', 'mr', 'rucastles', 'hands', 'he', 'knew', 'he', 'was', 'safe', 'with', 'her', 'but', 'when', 'there', 'was', 'a', 'chance', 'of', 'a', 'husband', 'coming', 'forward', 'who', 'would', 'ask', 'for', 'all', 'that', 'the', 'law', 'would', 'give', 'him', 'then', 'her', 'father', 'thought', 'it', 'time', 'to', 'put', 'a', 'stop', 'on', 'it', 'he', 'wanted', 'her', 'to', 'sign', 'a', 'paper', 'so', 'that', 'whether', 'she', 'married', 'or', 'not', 'he', 'could', 'use', 'her', 'money', 'when', 'she', 'wouldnt', 'do', 'it', 'he', 'kept', 'on', 'worrying', 'her', 'until', 'she', 'got', 'brainfever', 'and', 'for', 'six', 'weeks', 'was', 'at', 'deaths', 'door', 'then', 'she', 'got', 'better', 'at', 'last', 'all', 'worn', 'to', 'a', 'shadow', 'and', 'with', 'her', 'beautiful', 'hair', 'cut', 'off', 'but', 'that', 'didnt', 'make', 'no', 'change', 'in', 'her', 'young', 'man', 'and', 'he', 'stuck', 'to', 'her', 'as', 'true', 'as', 'man', 'could', 'be', 'ah', 'said', 'holmes', 'i', 'think', 'that', 'what', 'you', 'have', 'been', 'good', 'enough', 'to', 'tell', 'us', 'makes', 'the', 'matter', 'fairly', 'clear', 'and', 'that', 'i', 'can', 'deduce', 'all', 'that', 'remains', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'then', 'i', 'presume', 'took', 'to', 'this', 'system', 'of', 'imprisonment', 'yes', 'sir', 'and', 'brought', 'miss', 'hunter', 'down', 'from', 'london', 'in', 'order', 'to', 'get', 'rid', 'of', 'the', 'disagreeable', 'persistence', 'of', 'mr', 'fowler', 'that', 'was', 'it', 'sir', 'but', 'mr', 'fowler', 'being', 'a', 'persevering', 'man', 'as', 'a', 'good', 'seaman', 'should', 'be', 'blockaded', 'the', 'house', 'and', 'having', 'met', 'you', 'succeeded', 'by', 'certain', 'arguments', 'metallic', 'or', 'otherwise', 'in', 'convincing', 'you', 'that', 'your', 'interests', 'were', 'the', 'same', 'as', 'his', 'mr', 'fowler', 'was', 'a', 'very', 'kindspoken', 'freehanded', 'gentleman', 'said', 'mrs', 'toller', 'serenely', 'and', 'in', 'this', 'way', 'he', 'managed', 'that', 'your', 'good', 'man', 'should', 'have', 'no', 'want', 'of', 'drink', 'and', 'that', 'a', 'ladder', 'should', 'be', 'ready', 'at', 'the', 'moment', 'when', 'your', 'master', 'had', 'gone', 'out', 'you', 'have', 'it', 'sir', 'just', 'as', 'it', 'happened', 'i', 'am', 'sure', 'we', 'owe', 'you', 'an', 'apology', 'mrs', 'toller', 'said', 'holmes', 'for', 'you', 'have', 'certainly', 'cleared', 'up', 'everything', 'which', 'puzzled', 'us', 'and', 'here', 'comes', 'the', 'country', 'surgeon', 'and', 'mrs', 'rucastle', 'so', 'i', 'think', 'watson', 'that', 'we', 'had', 'best', 'escort', 'miss', 'hunter', 'back', 'to', 'winchester', 'as', 'it', 'seems', 'to', 'me', 'that', 'our', 'locus', 'standi', 'now', 'is', 'rather', 'a', 'questionable', 'one', 'and', 'thus', 'was', 'solved', 'the', 'mystery', 'of', 'the', 'sinister', 'house', 'with', 'the', 'copper', 'beeches', 'in', 'front', 'of', 'the', 'door', 'mr', 'rucastle', 'survived', 'but', 'was', 'always', 'a', 'broken', 'man', 'kept', 'alive', 'solely', 'through', 'the', 'care', 'of', 'his', 'devoted', 'wife', 'they', 'still', 'live', 'with', 'their', 'old', 'servants', 'who', 'probably', 'know', 'so', 'much', 'of', 'rucastles', 'past', 'life', 'that', 'he', 'finds', 'it', 'difficult', 'to', 'part', 'from', 'them', 'mr', 'fowler', 'and', 'miss', 'rucastle', 'were', 'married', 'by', 'special', 'license', 'in', 'southampton', 'the', 'day', 'after', 'their', 'flight', 'and', 'he', 'is', 'now', 'the', 'holder', 'of', 'a', 'government', 'appointment', 'in', 'the', 'island', 'of', 'mauritius', 'as', 'to', 'miss', 'violet', 'hunter', 'my', 'friend', 'holmes', 'rather', 'to', 'my', 'disappointment', 'manifested', 'no', 'further', 'interest', 'in', 'her', 'when', 'once', 'she', 'had', 'ceased', 'to', 'be', 'the', 'centre', 'of', 'one', 'of', 'his', 'problems', 'and', 'she', 'is', 'now', 'the', 'head', 'of', 'a', 'private', 'school', 'at', 'walsall', 'where', 'i', 'believe', 'that', 'she', 'has', 'met', 'with', 'considerable', 'success', 'end', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'ebook', 'the', 'adventures', 'of', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'updated', 'editions', 'will', 'replace', 'the', 'previous', 'onethe', 'old', 'editions', 'will', 'be', 'renamed', 'creating', 'the', 'works', 'from', 'print', 'editions', 'not', 'protected', 'by', 'us', 'copyright', 'law', 'means', 'that', 'no', 'one', 'owns', 'a', 'united', 'states', 'copyright', 'in', 'these', 'works', 'so', 'the', 'foundation', 'and', 'you', 'can', 'copy', 'and', 'distribute', 'it', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'without', 'permission', 'and', 'without', 'paying', 'copyright', 'royalties', 'special', 'rules', 'set', 'forth', 'in', 'the', 'general', 'terms', 'of', 'use', 'part', 'of', 'this', 'license', 'apply', 'to', 'copying', 'and', 'distributing', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'to', 'protect', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'concept', 'and', 'trademark', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'is', 'a', 'registered', 'trademark', 'and', 'may', 'not', 'be', 'used', 'if', 'you', 'charge', 'for', 'an', 'ebook', 'except', 'by', 'following', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'the', 'trademark', 'license', 'including', 'paying', 'royalties', 'for', 'use', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'trademark', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'charge', 'anything', 'for', 'copies', 'of', 'this', 'ebook', 'complying', 'with', 'the', 'trademark', 'license', 'is', 'very', 'easy', 'you', 'may', 'use', 'this', 'ebook', 'for', 'nearly', 'any', 'purpose', 'such', 'as', 'creation', 'of', 'derivative', 'works', 'reports', 'performances', 'and', 'research', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'ebooks', 'may', 'be', 'modified', 'and', 'printed', 'and', 'given', 'awayyou', 'may', 'do', 'practically', 'anything', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'with', 'ebooks', 'not', 'protected', 'by', 'us', 'copyright', 'law', 'redistribution', 'is', 'subject', 'to', 'the', 'trademark', 'license', 'especially', 'commercial', 'redistribution', 'start', 'full', 'license', 'the', 'full', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'license', 'please', 'read', 'this', 'before', 'you', 'distribute', 'or', 'use', 'this', 'work', 'to', 'protect', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'mission', 'of', 'promoting', 'the', 'free', 'distribution', 'of', 'electronic', 'works', 'by', 'using', 'or', 'distributing', 'this', 'work', 'or', 'any', 'other', 'work', 'associated', 'in', 'any', 'way', 'with', 'the', 'phrase', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'you', 'agree', 'to', 'comply', 'with', 'all', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'the', 'full', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'license', 'available', 'with', 'this', 'file', 'or', 'online', 'at', 'wwwgutenbergorglicense', 'section', '1', 'general', 'terms', 'of', 'use', 'and', 'redistributing', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', '1a', 'by', 'reading', 'or', 'using', 'any', 'part', 'of', 'this', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'work', 'you', 'indicate', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'read', 'understand', 'agree', 'to', 'and', 'accept', 'all', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'this', 'license', 'and', 'intellectual', 'property', 'trademarkcopyright', 'agreement', 'if', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'agree', 'to', 'abide', 'by', 'all', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'you', 'must', 'cease', 'using', 'and', 'return', 'or', 'destroy', 'all', 'copies', 'of', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'in', 'your', 'possession', 'if', 'you', 'paid', 'a', 'fee', 'for', 'obtaining', 'a', 'copy', 'of', 'or', 'access', 'to', 'a', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'work', 'and', 'you', 'do', 'not', 'agree', 'to', 'be', 'bound', 'by', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'you', 'may', 'obtain', 'a', 'refund', 'from', 'the', 'person', 'or', 'entity', 'to', 'whom', 'you', 'paid', 'the', 'fee', 'as', 'set', 'forth', 'in', 'paragraph', '1e8', '1b', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'is', 'a', 'registered', 'trademark', 'it', 'may', 'only', 'be', 'used', 'on', 'or', 'associated', 'in', 'any', 'way', 'with', 'an', 'electronic', 'work', 'by', 'people', 'who', 'agree', 'to', 'be', 'bound', 'by', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'there', 'are', 'a', 'few', 'things', 'that', 'you', 'can', 'do', 'with', 'most', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'even', 'without', 'complying', 'with', 'the', 'full', 'terms', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'see', 'paragraph', '1c', 'below', 'there', 'are', 'a', 'lot', 'of', 'things', 'you', 'can', 'do', 'with', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'if', 'you', 'follow', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'and', 'help', 'preserve', 'free', 'future', 'access', 'to', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'see', 'paragraph', '1e', 'below', '1c', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'the', 'foundation', 'or', 'pglaf', 'owns', 'a', 'compilation', 'copyright', 'in', 'the', 'collection', 'of', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'nearly', 'all', 'the', 'individual', 'works', 'in', 'the', 'collection', 'are', 'in', 'the', 'public', 'domain', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'if', 'an', 'individual', 'work', 'is', 'unprotected', 'by', 'copyright', 'law', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'and', 'you', 'are', 'located', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'we', 'do', 'not', 'claim', 'a', 'right', 'to', 'prevent', 'you', 'from', 'copying', 'distributing', 'performing', 'displaying', 'or', 'creating', 'derivative', 'works', 'based', 'on', 'the', 'work', 'as', 'long', 'as', 'all', 'references', 'to', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'are', 'removed', 'of', 'course', 'we', 'hope', 'that', 'you', 'will', 'support', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'mission', 'of', 'promoting', 'free', 'access', 'to', 'electronic', 'works', 'by', 'freely', 'sharing', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'works', 'in', 'compliance', 'with', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'for', 'keeping', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'name', 'associated', 'with', 'the', 'work', 'you', 'can', 'easily', 'comply', 'with', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'by', 'keeping', 'this', 'work', 'in', 'the', 'same', 'format', 'with', 'its', 'attached', 'full', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'license', 'when', 'you', 'share', 'it', 'without', 'charge', 'with', 'others', '1d', 'the', 'copyright', 'laws', 'of', 'the', 'place', 'where', 'you', 'are', 'located', 'also', 'govern', 'what', 'you', 'can', 'do', 'with', 'this', 'work', 'copyright', 'laws', 'in', 'most', 'countries', 'are', 'in', 'a', 'constant', 'state', 'of', 'change', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'outside', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'check', 'the', 'laws', 'of', 'your', 'country', 'in', 'addition', 'to', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'before', 'downloading', 'copying', 'displaying', 'performing', 'distributing', 'or', 'creating', 'derivative', 'works', 'based', 'on', 'this', 'work', 'or', 'any', 'other', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'work', 'the', 'foundation', 'makes', 'no', 'representations', 'concerning', 'the', 'copyright', 'status', 'of', 'any', 'work', 'in', 'any', 'country', 'other', 'than', 'the', 'united', 'states', '1e', 'unless', 'you', 'have', 'removed', 'all', 'references', 'to', 'project', 'gutenberg', '1e1', 'the', 'following', 'sentence', 'with', 'active', 'links', 'to', 'or', 'other', 'immediate', 'access', 'to', 'the', 'full', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'license', 'must', 'appear', 'prominently', 'whenever', 'any', 'copy', 'of', 'a', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'work', 'any', 'work', 'on', 'which', 'the', 'phrase', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'appears', 'or', 'with', 'which', 'the', 'phrase', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'is', 'associated', 'is', 'accessed', 'displayed', 'performed', 'viewed', 'copied', 'or', 'distributed', 'this', 'ebook', 'is', 'for', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'anyone', 'anywhere', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'and', 'most', 'other', 'parts', 'of', 'the', 'world', 'at', 'no', 'cost', 'and', 'with', 'almost', 'no', 'restrictions', 'whatsoever', 'you', 'may', 'copy', 'it', 'give', 'it', 'away', 'or', 'reuse', 'it', 'under', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'license', 'included', 'with', 'this', 'ebook', 'or', 'online', 'at', 'wwwgutenbergorg', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'not', 'located', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'you', 'will', 'have', 'to', 'check', 'the', 'laws', 'of', 'the', 'country', 'where', 'you', 'are', 'located', 'before', 'using', 'this', 'ebook', '1e2', 'if', 'an', 'individual', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'work', 'is', 'derived', 'from', 'texts', 'not', 'protected', 'by', 'us', 'copyright', 'law', 'does', 'not', 'contain', 'a', 'notice', 'indicating', 'that', 'it', 'is', 'posted', 'with', 'permission', 'of', 'the', 'copyright', 'holder', 'the', 'work', 'can', 'be', 'copied', 'and', 'distributed', 'to', 'anyone', 'in', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'without', 'paying', 'any', 'fees', 'or', 'charges', 'if', 'you', 'are', 'redistributing', 'or', 'providing', 'access', 'to', 'a', 'work', 'with', 'the', 'phrase', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'associated', 'with', 'or', 'appearing', 'on', 'the', 'work', 'you', 'must', 'comply', 'either', 'with', 'the', 'requirements', 'of', 'paragraphs', '1e1', 'through', '1e7', 'or', 'obtain', 'permission', 'for', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'the', 'work', 'and', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'trademark', 'as', 'set', 'forth', 'in', 'paragraphs', '1e8', 'or', '1e9', '1e3', 'if', 'an', 'individual', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'work', 'is', 'posted', 'with', 'the', 'permission', 'of', 'the', 'copyright', 'holder', 'your', 'use', 'and', 'distribution', 'must', 'comply', 'with', 'both', 'paragraphs', '1e1', 'through', '1e7', 'and', 'any', 'additional', 'terms', 'imposed', 'by', 'the', 'copyright', 'holder', 'additional', 'terms', 'will', 'be', 'linked', 'to', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'license', 'for', 'all', 'works', 'posted', 'with', 'the', 'permission', 'of', 'the', 'copyright', 'holder', 'found', 'at', 'the', 'beginning', 'of', 'this', 'work', '1e4', 'do', 'not', 'unlink', 'or', 'detach', 'or', 'remove', 'the', 'full', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'license', 'terms', 'from', 'this', 'work', 'or', 'any', 'files', 'containing', 'a', 'part', 'of', 'this', 'work', 'or', 'any', 'other', 'work', 'associated', 'with', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', '1e5', 'do', 'not', 'copy', 'display', 'perform', 'distribute', 'or', 'redistribute', 'this', 'electronic', 'work', 'or', 'any', 'part', 'of', 'this', 'electronic', 'work', 'without', 'prominently', 'displaying', 'the', 'sentence', 'set', 'forth', 'in', 'paragraph', '1e1', 'with', 'active', 'links', 'or', 'immediate', 'access', 'to', 'the', 'full', 'terms', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'license', '1e6', 'you', 'may', 'convert', 'to', 'and', 'distribute', 'this', 'work', 'in', 'any', 'binary', 'compressed', 'marked', 'up', 'nonproprietary', 'or', 'proprietary', 'form', 'including', 'any', 'word', 'processing', 'or', 'hypertext', 'form', 'however', 'if', 'you', 'provide', 'access', 'to', 'or', 'distribute', 'copies', 'of', 'a', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'work', 'in', 'a', 'format', 'other', 'than', 'plain', 'vanilla', 'ascii', 'or', 'other', 'format', 'used', 'in', 'the', 'official', 'version', 'posted', 'on', 'the', 'official', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'website', 'wwwgutenbergorg', 'you', 'must', 'at', 'no', 'additional', 'cost', 'fee', 'or', 'expense', 'to', 'the', 'user', 'provide', 'a', 'copy', 'a', 'means', 'of', 'exporting', 'a', 'copy', 'or', 'a', 'means', 'of', 'obtaining', 'a', 'copy', 'upon', 'request', 'of', 'the', 'work', 'in', 'its', 'original', 'plain', 'vanilla', 'ascii', 'or', 'other', 'form', 'any', 'alternate', 'format', 'must', 'include', 'the', 'full', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'license', 'as', 'specified', 'in', 'paragraph', '1e1', '1e7', 'do', 'not', 'charge', 'a', 'fee', 'for', 'access', 'to', 'viewing', 'displaying', 'performing', 'copying', 'or', 'distributing', 'any', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'works', 'unless', 'you', 'comply', 'with', 'paragraph', '1e8', 'or', '1e9', '1e8', 'you', 'may', 'charge', 'a', 'reasonable', 'fee', 'for', 'copies', 'of', 'or', 'providing', 'access', 'to', 'or', 'distributing', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'provided', 'that', 'you', 'pay', 'a', 'royalty', 'fee', 'of', '20', 'of', 'the', 'gross', 'profits', 'you', 'derive', 'from', 'the', 'use', 'of', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'works', 'calculated', 'using', 'the', 'method', 'you', 'already', 'use', 'to', 'calculate', 'your', 'applicable', 'taxes', 'the', 'fee', 'is', 'owed', 'to', 'the', 'owner', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'trademark', 'but', 'he', 'has', 'agreed', 'to', 'donate', 'royalties', 'under', 'this', 'paragraph', 'to', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'royalty', 'payments', 'must', 'be', 'paid', 'within', '60', 'days', 'following', 'each', 'date', 'on', 'which', 'you', 'prepare', 'or', 'are', 'legally', 'required', 'to', 'prepare', 'your', 'periodic', 'tax', 'returns', 'royalty', 'payments', 'should', 'be', 'clearly', 'marked', 'as', 'such', 'and', 'sent', 'to', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'at', 'the', 'address', 'specified', 'in', 'section', '4', 'information', 'about', 'donations', 'to', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'you', 'provide', 'a', 'full', 'refund', 'of', 'any', 'money', 'paid', 'by', 'a', 'user', 'who', 'notifies', 'you', 'in', 'writing', 'or', 'by', 'email', 'within', '30', 'days', 'of', 'receipt', 'that', 'she', 'does', 'not', 'agree', 'to', 'the', 'terms', 'of', 'the', 'full', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'license', 'you', 'must', 'require', 'such', 'a', 'user', 'to', 'return', 'or', 'destroy', 'all', 'copies', 'of', 'the', 'works', 'possessed', 'in', 'a', 'physical', 'medium', 'and', 'discontinue', 'all', 'use', 'of', 'and', 'all', 'access', 'to', 'other', 'copies', 'of', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'works', 'you', 'provide', 'in', 'accordance', 'with', 'paragraph', '1f3', 'a', 'full', 'refund', 'of', 'any', 'money', 'paid', 'for', 'a', 'work', 'or', 'a', 'replacement', 'copy', 'if', 'a', 'defect', 'in', 'the', 'electronic', 'work', 'is', 'discovered', 'and', 'reported', 'to', 'you', 'within', '90', 'days', 'of', 'receipt', 'of', 'the', 'work', 'you', 'comply', 'with', 'all', 'other', 'terms', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'for', 'free', 'distribution', 'of', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'works', '1e9', 'if', 'you', 'wish', 'to', 'charge', 'a', 'fee', 'or', 'distribute', 'a', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'work', 'or', 'group', 'of', 'works', 'on', 'different', 'terms', 'than', 'are', 'set', 'forth', 'in', 'this', 'agreement', 'you', 'must', 'obtain', 'permission', 'in', 'writing', 'from', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'the', 'manager', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'trademark', 'contact', 'the', 'foundation', 'as', 'set', 'forth', 'in', 'section', '3', 'below', '1f', '1f1', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'volunteers', 'and', 'employees', 'expend', 'considerable', 'effort', 'to', 'identify', 'do', 'copyright', 'research', 'on', 'transcribe', 'and', 'proofread', 'works', 'not', 'protected', 'by', 'us', 'copyright', 'law', 'in', 'creating', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'collection', 'despite', 'these', 'efforts', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'and', 'the', 'medium', 'on', 'which', 'they', 'may', 'be', 'stored', 'may', 'contain', 'defects', 'such', 'as', 'but', 'not', 'limited', 'to', 'incomplete', 'inaccurate', 'or', 'corrupt', 'data', 'transcription', 'errors', 'a', 'copyright', 'or', 'other', 'intellectual', 'property', 'infringement', 'a', 'defective', 'or', 'damaged', 'disk', 'or', 'other', 'medium', 'a', 'computer', 'virus', 'or', 'computer', 'codes', 'that', 'damage', 'or', 'can', 'not', 'be', 'read', 'by', 'your', 'equipment', '1f2', 'limited', 'warranty', 'disclaimer', 'of', 'damages', 'except', 'for', 'the', 'right', 'of', 'replacement', 'or', 'refund', 'described', 'in', 'paragraph', '1f3', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'the', 'owner', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'trademark', 'and', 'any', 'other', 'party', 'distributing', 'a', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'work', 'under', 'this', 'agreement', 'disclaim', 'all', 'liability', 'to', 'you', 'for', 'damages', 'costs', 'and', 'expenses', 'including', 'legal', 'fees', 'you', 'agree', 'that', 'you', 'have', 'no', 'remedies', 'for', 'negligence', 'strict', 'liability', 'breach', 'of', 'warranty', 'or', 'breach', 'of', 'contract', 'except', 'those', 'provided', 'in', 'paragraph', '1f3', 'you', 'agree', 'that', 'the', 'foundation', 'the', 'trademark', 'owner', 'and', 'any', 'distributor', 'under', 'this', 'agreement', 'will', 'not', 'be', 'liable', 'to', 'you', 'for', 'actual', 'direct', 'indirect', 'consequential', 'punitive', 'or', 'incidental', 'damages', 'even', 'if', 'you', 'give', 'notice', 'of', 'the', 'possibility', 'of', 'such', 'damage', '1f3', 'limited', 'right', 'of', 'replacement', 'or', 'refund', 'if', 'you', 'discover', 'a', 'defect', 'in', 'this', 'electronic', 'work', 'within', '90', 'days', 'of', 'receiving', 'it', 'you', 'can', 'receive', 'a', 'refund', 'of', 'the', 'money', 'if', 'any', 'you', 'paid', 'for', 'it', 'by', 'sending', 'a', 'written', 'explanation', 'to', 'the', 'person', 'you', 'received', 'the', 'work', 'from', 'if', 'you', 'received', 'the', 'work', 'on', 'a', 'physical', 'medium', 'you', 'must', 'return', 'the', 'medium', 'with', 'your', 'written', 'explanation', 'the', 'person', 'or', 'entity', 'that', 'provided', 'you', 'with', 'the', 'defective', 'work', 'may', 'elect', 'to', 'provide', 'a', 'replacement', 'copy', 'in', 'lieu', 'of', 'a', 'refund', 'if', 'you', 'received', 'the', 'work', 'electronically', 'the', 'person', 'or', 'entity', 'providing', 'it', 'to', 'you', 'may', 'choose', 'to', 'give', 'you', 'a', 'second', 'opportunity', 'to', 'receive', 'the', 'work', 'electronically', 'in', 'lieu', 'of', 'a', 'refund', 'if', 'the', 'second', 'copy', 'is', 'also', 'defective', 'you', 'may', 'demand', 'a', 'refund', 'in', 'writing', 'without', 'further', 'opportunities', 'to', 'fix', 'the', 'problem', '1f4', 'except', 'for', 'the', 'limited', 'right', 'of', 'replacement', 'or', 'refund', 'set', 'forth', 'in', 'paragraph', '1f3', 'this', 'work', 'is', 'provided', 'to', 'you', 'asis', 'with', 'no', 'other', 'warranties', 'of', 'any', 'kind', 'express', 'or', 'implied', 'including', 'but', 'not', 'limited', 'to', 'warranties', 'of', 'merchantability', 'or', 'fitness', 'for', 'any', 'purpose', '1f5', 'some', 'states', 'do', 'not', 'allow', 'disclaimers', 'of', 'certain', 'implied', 'warranties', 'or', 'the', 'exclusion', 'or', 'limitation', 'of', 'certain', 'types', 'of', 'damages', 'if', 'any', 'disclaimer', 'or', 'limitation', 'set', 'forth', 'in', 'this', 'agreement', 'violates', 'the', 'law', 'of', 'the', 'state', 'applicable', 'to', 'this', 'agreement', 'the', 'agreement', 'shall', 'be', 'interpreted', 'to', 'make', 'the', 'maximum', 'disclaimer', 'or', 'limitation', 'permitted', 'by', 'the', 'applicable', 'state', 'law', 'the', 'invalidity', 'or', 'unenforceability', 'of', 'any', 'provision', 'of', 'this', 'agreement', 'shall', 'not', 'void', 'the', 'remaining', 'provisions', '1f6', 'indemnity', 'you', 'agree', 'to', 'indemnify', 'and', 'hold', 'the', 'foundation', 'the', 'trademark', 'owner', 'any', 'agent', 'or', 'employee', 'of', 'the', 'foundation', 'anyone', 'providing', 'copies', 'of', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'in', 'accordance', 'with', 'this', 'agreement', 'and', 'any', 'volunteers', 'associated', 'with', 'the', 'production', 'promotion', 'and', 'distribution', 'of', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'harmless', 'from', 'all', 'liability', 'costs', 'and', 'expenses', 'including', 'legal', 'fees', 'that', 'arise', 'directly', 'or', 'indirectly', 'from', 'any', 'of', 'the', 'following', 'which', 'you', 'do', 'or', 'cause', 'to', 'occur', 'a', 'distribution', 'of', 'this', 'or', 'any', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'work', 'b', 'alteration', 'modification', 'or', 'additions', 'or', 'deletions', 'to', 'any', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'work', 'and', 'c', 'any', 'defect', 'you', 'cause', 'section', '2', 'information', 'about', 'the', 'mission', 'of', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'is', 'synonymous', 'with', 'the', 'free', 'distribution', 'of', 'electronic', 'works', 'in', 'formats', 'readable', 'by', 'the', 'widest', 'variety', 'of', 'computers', 'including', 'obsolete', 'old', 'middleaged', 'and', 'new', 'computers', 'it', 'exists', 'because', 'of', 'the', 'efforts', 'of', 'hundreds', 'of', 'volunteers', 'and', 'donations', 'from', 'people', 'in', 'all', 'walks', 'of', 'life', 'volunteers', 'and', 'financial', 'support', 'to', 'provide', 'volunteers', 'with', 'the', 'assistance', 'they', 'need', 'are', 'critical', 'to', 'reaching', 'project', 'gutenbergtms', 'goals', 'and', 'ensuring', 'that', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'collection', 'will', 'remain', 'freely', 'available', 'for', 'generations', 'to', 'come', 'in', '2001', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'was', 'created', 'to', 'provide', 'a', 'secure', 'and', 'permanent', 'future', 'for', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'and', 'future', 'generations', 'to', 'learn', 'more', 'about', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'and', 'how', 'your', 'efforts', 'and', 'donations', 'can', 'help', 'see', 'sections', '3', 'and', '4', 'and', 'the', 'foundation', 'information', 'page', 'at', 'wwwgutenbergorg', 'section', '3', 'information', 'about', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'is', 'a', 'nonprofit', '501c3', 'educational', 'corporation', 'organized', 'under', 'the', 'laws', 'of', 'the', 'state', 'of', 'mississippi', 'and', 'granted', 'tax', 'exempt', 'status', 'by', 'the', 'internal', 'revenue', 'service', 'the', 'foundations', 'ein', 'or', 'federal', 'tax', 'identification', 'number', 'is', '646221541', 'contributions', 'to', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'are', 'tax', 'deductible', 'to', 'the', 'full', 'extent', 'permitted', 'by', 'us', 'federal', 'laws', 'and', 'your', 'states', 'laws', 'the', 'foundations', 'business', 'office', 'is', 'located', 'at', '809', 'north', '1500', 'west', 'salt', 'lake', 'city', 'ut', '84116', '801', '5961887', 'email', 'contact', 'links', 'and', 'up', 'to', 'date', 'contact', 'information', 'can', 'be', 'found', 'at', 'the', 'foundations', 'website', 'and', 'official', 'page', 'at', 'wwwgutenbergorgcontact', 'section', '4', 'information', 'about', 'donations', 'to', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'depends', 'upon', 'and', 'can', 'not', 'survive', 'without', 'widespread', 'public', 'support', 'and', 'donations', 'to', 'carry', 'out', 'its', 'mission', 'of', 'increasing', 'the', 'number', 'of', 'public', 'domain', 'and', 'licensed', 'works', 'that', 'can', 'be', 'freely', 'distributed', 'in', 'machinereadable', 'form', 'accessible', 'by', 'the', 'widest', 'array', 'of', 'equipment', 'including', 'outdated', 'equipment', 'many', 'small', 'donations', '1', 'to', '5000', 'are', 'particularly', 'important', 'to', 'maintaining', 'tax', 'exempt', 'status', 'with', 'the', 'irs', 'the', 'foundation', 'is', 'committed', 'to', 'complying', 'with', 'the', 'laws', 'regulating', 'charities', 'and', 'charitable', 'donations', 'in', 'all', '50', 'states', 'of', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'compliance', 'requirements', 'are', 'not', 'uniform', 'and', 'it', 'takes', 'a', 'considerable', 'effort', 'much', 'paperwork', 'and', 'many', 'fees', 'to', 'meet', 'and', 'keep', 'up', 'with', 'these', 'requirements', 'we', 'do', 'not', 'solicit', 'donations', 'in', 'locations', 'where', 'we', 'have', 'not', 'received', 'written', 'confirmation', 'of', 'compliance', 'to', 'send', 'donations', 'or', 'determine', 'the', 'status', 'of', 'compliance', 'for', 'any', 'particular', 'state', 'visit', 'wwwgutenbergorgdonate', 'while', 'we', 'can', 'not', 'and', 'do', 'not', 'solicit', 'contributions', 'from', 'states', 'where', 'we', 'have', 'not', 'met', 'the', 'solicitation', 'requirements', 'we', 'know', 'of', 'no', 'prohibition', 'against', 'accepting', 'unsolicited', 'donations', 'from', 'donors', 'in', 'such', 'states', 'who', 'approach', 'us', 'with', 'offers', 'to', 'donate', 'international', 'donations', 'are', 'gratefully', 'accepted', 'but', 'we', 'can', 'not', 'make', 'any', 'statements', 'concerning', 'tax', 'treatment', 'of', 'donations', 'received', 'from', 'outside', 'the', 'united', 'states', 'us', 'laws', 'alone', 'swamp', 'our', 'small', 'staff', 'please', 'check', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'web', 'pages', 'for', 'current', 'donation', 'methods', 'and', 'addresses', 'donations', 'are', 'accepted', 'in', 'a', 'number', 'of', 'other', 'ways', 'including', 'checks', 'online', 'payments', 'and', 'credit', 'card', 'donations', 'to', 'donate', 'please', 'visit', 'wwwgutenbergorgdonate', 'section', '5', 'general', 'information', 'about', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'electronic', 'works', 'professor', 'michael', 's', 'hart', 'was', 'the', 'originator', 'of', 'the', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'concept', 'of', 'a', 'library', 'of', 'electronic', 'works', 'that', 'could', 'be', 'freely', 'shared', 'with', 'anyone', 'for', 'forty', 'years', 'he', 'produced', 'and', 'distributed', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'ebooks', 'with', 'only', 'a', 'loose', 'network', 'of', 'volunteer', 'support', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'ebooks', 'are', 'often', 'created', 'from', 'several', 'printed', 'editions', 'all', 'of', 'which', 'are', 'confirmed', 'as', 'not', 'protected', 'by', 'copyright', 'in', 'the', 'us', 'unless', 'a', 'copyright', 'notice', 'is', 'included', 'thus', 'we', 'do', 'not', 'necessarily', 'keep', 'ebooks', 'in', 'compliance', 'with', 'any', 'particular', 'paper', 'edition', 'most', 'people', 'start', 'at', 'our', 'website', 'which', 'has', 'the', 'main', 'pg', 'search', 'facility', 'wwwgutenbergorg', 'this', 'website', 'includes', 'information', 'about', 'project', 'gutenbergtm', 'including', 'how', 'to', 'make', 'donations', 'to', 'the', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'literary', 'archive', 'foundation', 'how', 'to', 'help', 'produce', 'our', 'new', 'ebooks', 'and', 'how', 'to', 'subscribe', 'to', 'our', 'email', 'newsletter', 'to', 'hear', 'about', 'new', 'ebooks']
In [10]:
# Finding frequency of tokens in T1
from nltk.probability import FreqDist
T1_frequency_distribution = FreqDist(Tokenized_T1)
T1_frequency_distribution
Out[10]:
FreqDist({'the': 3821, 'to': 3525, 'of': 3181, 'and': 3131, 'her': 1909, 'a': 1710, 'i': 1698, 'in': 1635, 'was': 1595, 'she': 1489, ...})
In [11]:
# Finding frequency of tokens in T2
T2_frequency_distribution = FreqDist(Tokenized_T2)
T2_frequency_distribution
Out[11]:
FreqDist({'the': 5811, 'and': 3066, 'i': 2994, 'of': 2779, 'to': 2763, 'a': 2680, 'in': 1818, 'that': 1750, 'it': 1710, 'you': 1548, ...})
In [12]:
from matplotlib.pyplot import figure
figure(figsize=(15, 15), dpi=80)
freq_graph = T1_frequency_distribution.plot(40, title = "A")
#labelling left
# type(freq_graph)
# font = {'family':'serif','color':'darkred','size':25}
# figure.set_xlabel("Word Length", fontdict = font)
# freq_graph.set_ylabel("Frequency", fontdict = font)
# freq_graph.show()
In [13]:
figure(figsize=(15, 15), dpi=80)
freq_graph = T2_frequency_distribution.plot(40)
#labelling left
In [16]:
import sys
print(sys.executable)
C:\Users\ASUS\anaconda3\python.exe
In [26]:
anaconda3 -m pip install wordcloud
File "<ipython-input-26-7b62f0ffe30e>", line 1 anaconda3 -m pip install wordcloud ^ SyntaxError: invalid syntax
In [14]:
from collections import Counter
dictionary = Counter(T1_frequency_distribution)
from wordcloud import WordCloud
cloud = WordCloud(max_font_size=60, max_words=80, background_color="white").generate_from_frequencies(dictionary)
plt.figure(figsize=(20,20))
plt.imshow(cloud, interpolation='bilinear')
plt.axis('off')
plt.show()
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ModuleNotFoundError Traceback (most recent call last) <ipython-input-14-12a3ae85ba86> in <module> 1 from collections import Counter 2 dictionary = Counter(T1_frequency_distribution) ----> 3 from wordcloud import WordCloud 4 5 cloud = WordCloud(max_font_size=60, max_words=80, background_color="white").generate_from_frequencies(dictionary) ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'wordcloud'
In [15]:
dictionary = Counter(T2_frequency_distribution)
cloud = WordCloud(max_font_size=60, max_words=80, background_color="white").generate_from_frequencies(dictionary)
plt.figure(figsize=(20,20))
plt.imshow(cloud, interpolation='bilinear')
plt.axis('off')
plt.show()
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- NameError Traceback (most recent call last) <ipython-input-15-2d69f6718a8d> in <module> 1 dictionary = Counter(T2_frequency_distribution) ----> 2 cloud = WordCloud(max_font_size=60, max_words=80, background_color="white").generate_from_frequencies(dictionary) 3 plt.figure(figsize=(20,20)) 4 plt.imshow(cloud, interpolation='bilinear') 5 plt.axis('off') NameError: name 'WordCloud' is not defined
In [16]:
from nltk.corpus import stopwords
remove_these = set(stopwords.words('english'))
Cleaned_T1 = [w for w in Tokenized_T1 if not w in remove_these]
Cleaned_T1
Out[16]:
['project', 'gutenberg', 'ebook', 'pride', 'prejudice', 'jane', 'austen', 'ebook', 'use', 'anyone', 'anywhere', 'united', 'states', 'parts', 'world', 'cost', 'almost', 'restrictions', 'whatsoever', 'may', 'copy', 'give', 'away', 'reuse', 'terms', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'license', 'included', 'ebook', 'online', 'wwwgutenbergorg', 'located', 'united', 'states', 'check', 'laws', 'country', 'located', 'using', 'ebook', 'title', 'pride', 'prejudice', 'author', 'jane', 'austen', 'release', 'date', 'june', '1998', 'ebook', '1342', 'recently', 'updated', 'august', '23', '2021', 'language', 'english', 'character', 'set', 'encoding', 'utf8', 'produced', 'anonymous', 'volunteers', 'david', 'widger', 'start', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'ebook', 'pride', 'prejudice', 'illustrated', 'edition', 'title', 'may', 'viewed', 'ebook', '42671', 'cover', 'pride', 'prejudice', 'jane', 'austen', 'contents', 'truth', 'universally', 'acknowledged', 'single', 'man', 'possession', 'good', 'fortune', 'must', 'want', 'wife', 'however', 'little', 'known', 'feelings', 'views', 'man', 'may', 'first', 'entering', 'neighbourhood', 'truth', 'well', 'fixed', 'minds', 'surrounding', 'families', 'considered', 'rightful', 'property', 'one', 'daughters', 'dear', 'mr', 'bennet', 'said', 'lady', 'one', 'day', 'heard', 'netherfield', 'park', 'let', 'last', 'mr', 'bennet', 'replied', 'returned', 'mrs', 'long', 'told', 'mr', 'bennet', 'made', 'answer', 'want', 'know', 'taken', 'cried', 'wife', 'impatiently', 'want', 'tell', 'objection', 'hearing', 'invitation', 'enough', 'dear', 'must', 'know', 'mrs', 'long', 'says', 'netherfield', 'taken', 'young', 'man', 'large', 'fortune', 'north', 'england', 'came', 'monday', 'chaise', 'four', 'see', 'place', 'much', 'delighted', 'agreed', 'mr', 'morris', 'immediately', 'take', 'possession', 'michaelmas', 'servants', 'house', 'end', 'next', 'week', 'name', 'bingley', 'married', 'single', 'oh', 'single', 'dear', 'sure', 'single', 'man', 'large', 'fortune', 'four', 'five', 'thousand', 'year', 'fine', 'thing', 'girls', 'affect', 'dear', 'mr', 'bennet', 'replied', 'wife', 'tiresome', 'must', 'know', 'thinking', 'marrying', 'one', 'design', 'settling', 'design', 'nonsense', 'talk', 'likely', 'may', 'fall', 'love', 'one', 'therefore', 'must', 'visit', 'soon', 'comes', 'see', 'occasion', 'girls', 'may', 'go', 'may', 'send', 'perhaps', 'still', 'better', 'handsome', 'mr', 'bingley', 'might', 'like', 'best', 'party', 'dear', 'flatter', 'certainly', 'share', 'beauty', 'pretend', 'anything', 'extraordinary', 'woman', 'five', 'grownup', 'daughters', 'ought', 'give', 'thinking', 'beauty', 'cases', 'woman', 'often', 'much', 'beauty', 'think', 'dear', 'must', 'indeed', 'go', 'see', 'mr', 'bingley', 'comes', 'neighbourhood', 'engage', 'assure', 'consider', 'daughters', 'think', 'establishment', 'would', 'one', 'sir', 'william', 'lady', 'lucas', 'determined', 'go', 'merely', 'account', 'general', 'know', 'visit', 'newcomers', 'indeed', 'must', 'go', 'impossible', 'us', 'visit', 'scrupulous', 'surely', 'dare', 'say', 'mr', 'bingley', 'glad', 'see', 'send', 'lines', 'assure', 'hearty', 'consent', 'marrying', 'whichever', 'chooses', 'girls', 'though', 'must', 'throw', 'good', 'word', 'little', 'lizzy', 'desire', 'thing', 'lizzy', 'bit', 'better', 'others', 'sure', 'half', 'handsome', 'jane', 'half', 'goodhumoured', 'lydia', 'always', 'giving', 'preference', 'none', 'much', 'recommend', 'replied', 'silly', 'ignorant', 'like', 'girls', 'lizzy', 'something', 'quickness', 'sisters', 'mr', 'bennet', 'abuse', 'children', 'way', 'take', 'delight', 'vexing', 'compassion', 'poor', 'nerves', 'mistake', 'dear', 'high', 'respect', 'nerves', 'old', 'friends', 'heard', 'mention', 'consideration', 'twenty', 'years', 'least', 'ah', 'know', 'suffer', 'hope', 'get', 'live', 'see', 'many', 'young', 'men', 'four', 'thousand', 'year', 'come', 'neighbourhood', 'use', 'us', 'twenty', 'come', 'since', 'visit', 'depend', 'upon', 'dear', 'twenty', 'visit', 'mr', 'bennet', 'odd', 'mixture', 'quick', 'parts', 'sarcastic', 'humour', 'reserve', 'caprice', 'experience', 'threeandtwenty', 'years', 'insufficient', 'make', 'wife', 'understand', 'character', 'mind', 'less', 'difficult', 'develop', 'woman', 'mean', 'understanding', 'little', 'information', 'uncertain', 'temper', 'discontented', 'fancied', 'nervous', 'business', 'life', 'get', 'daughters', 'married', 'solace', 'visiting', 'news', 'mr', 'bennet', 'among', 'earliest', 'waited', 'mr', 'bingley', 'always', 'intended', 'visit', 'though', 'last', 'always', 'assuring', 'wife', 'go', 'till', 'evening', 'visit', 'paid', 'knowledge', 'disclosed', 'following', 'manner', 'observing', 'second', 'daughter', 'employed', 'trimming', 'hat', 'suddenly', 'addressed', 'hope', 'mr', 'bingley', 'like', 'lizzy', 'way', 'know', 'mr', 'bingley', 'likes', 'said', 'mother', 'resentfully', 'since', 'visit', 'forget', 'mamma', 'said', 'elizabeth', 'shall', 'meet', 'assemblies', 'mrs', 'long', 'promised', 'introduce', 'believe', 'mrs', 'long', 'thing', 'two', 'nieces', 'selfish', 'hypocritical', 'woman', 'opinion', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'glad', 'find', 'depend', 'serving', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'deigned', 'make', 'reply', 'unable', 'contain', 'began', 'scolding', 'one', 'daughters', 'dont', 'keep', 'coughing', 'kitty', 'heavens', 'sake', 'little', 'compassion', 'nerves', 'tear', 'pieces', 'kitty', 'discretion', 'coughs', 'said', 'father', 'times', 'ill', 'cough', 'amusement', 'replied', 'kitty', 'fretfully', 'next', 'ball', 'lizzy', 'tomorrow', 'fortnight', 'aye', 'cried', 'mother', 'mrs', 'long', 'come', 'back', 'till', 'day', 'impossible', 'introduce', 'know', 'dear', 'may', 'advantage', 'friend', 'introduce', 'mr', 'bingley', 'impossible', 'mr', 'bennet', 'impossible', 'acquainted', 'teasing', 'honour', 'circumspection', 'fortnights', 'acquaintance', 'certainly', 'little', 'one', 'know', 'man', 'really', 'end', 'fortnight', 'venture', 'somebody', 'else', 'mrs', 'long', 'nieces', 'must', 'stand', 'chance', 'therefore', 'think', 'act', 'kindness', 'decline', 'office', 'take', 'girls', 'stared', 'father', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'said', 'nonsense', 'nonsense', 'meaning', 'emphatic', 'exclamation', 'cried', 'consider', 'forms', 'introduction', 'stress', 'laid', 'nonsense', 'quite', 'agree', 'say', 'mary', 'young', 'lady', 'deep', 'reflection', 'know', 'read', 'great', 'books', 'make', 'extracts', 'mary', 'wished', 'say', 'something', 'sensible', 'knew', 'mary', 'adjusting', 'ideas', 'continued', 'let', 'us', 'return', 'mr', 'bingley', 'sick', 'mr', 'bingley', 'cried', 'wife', 'sorry', 'hear', 'tell', 'known', 'much', 'morning', 'certainly', 'would', 'called', 'unlucky', 'actually', 'paid', 'visit', 'escape', 'acquaintance', 'astonishment', 'ladies', 'wished', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'perhaps', 'surpassing', 'rest', 'though', 'first', 'tumult', 'joy', 'began', 'declare', 'expected', 'good', 'dear', 'mr', 'bennet', 'knew', 'persuade', 'last', 'sure', 'loved', 'girls', 'well', 'neglect', 'acquaintance', 'well', 'pleased', 'good', 'joke', 'gone', 'morning', 'never', 'said', 'word', 'till', 'kitty', 'may', 'cough', 'much', 'choose', 'said', 'mr', 'bennet', 'spoke', 'left', 'room', 'fatigued', 'raptures', 'wife', 'excellent', 'father', 'girls', 'said', 'door', 'shut', 'know', 'ever', 'make', 'amends', 'kindness', 'either', 'matter', 'time', 'life', 'pleasant', 'tell', 'making', 'new', 'acquaintance', 'every', 'day', 'sakes', 'would', 'anything', 'lydia', 'love', 'though', 'youngest', 'dare', 'say', 'mr', 'bingley', 'dance', 'next', 'ball', 'oh', 'said', 'lydia', 'stoutly', 'afraid', 'though', 'youngest', 'im', 'tallest', 'rest', 'evening', 'spent', 'conjecturing', 'soon', 'would', 'return', 'mr', 'bennets', 'visit', 'determining', 'ask', 'dinner', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'however', 'assistance', 'five', 'daughters', 'could', 'ask', 'subject', 'sufficient', 'draw', 'husband', 'satisfactory', 'description', 'mr', 'bingley', 'attacked', 'various', 'ways', 'barefaced', 'questions', 'ingenious', 'suppositions', 'distant', 'surmises', 'eluded', 'skill', 'last', 'obliged', 'accept', 'secondhand', 'intelligence', 'neighbour', 'lady', 'lucas', 'report', 'highly', 'favourable', 'sir', 'william', 'delighted', 'quite', 'young', 'wonderfully', 'handsome', 'extremely', 'agreeable', 'crown', 'whole', 'meant', 'next', 'assembly', 'large', 'party', 'nothing', 'could', 'delightful', 'fond', 'dancing', 'certain', 'step', 'towards', 'falling', 'love', 'lively', 'hopes', 'mr', 'bingleys', 'heart', 'entertained', 'see', 'one', 'daughters', 'happily', 'settled', 'netherfield', 'said', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'husband', 'others', 'equally', 'well', 'married', 'shall', 'nothing', 'wish', 'days', 'mr', 'bingley', 'returned', 'mr', 'bennets', 'visit', 'sat', 'ten', 'minutes', 'library', 'entertained', 'hopes', 'admitted', 'sight', 'young', 'ladies', 'whose', 'beauty', 'heard', 'much', 'saw', 'father', 'ladies', 'somewhat', 'fortunate', 'advantage', 'ascertaining', 'upper', 'window', 'wore', 'blue', 'coat', 'rode', 'black', 'horse', 'invitation', 'dinner', 'soon', 'afterwards', 'dispatched', 'already', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'planned', 'courses', 'credit', 'housekeeping', 'answer', 'arrived', 'deferred', 'mr', 'bingley', 'obliged', 'town', 'following', 'day', 'consequently', 'unable', 'accept', 'honour', 'invitation', 'etc', 'mrs', 'bennet', 'quite', 'disconcerted', 'could', 'imagine', 'business', 'could', 'town', 'soon', 'arrival', 'hertfordshire', 'began', 'fear', 'might', 'always', 'flying', 'one', 'place', 'another', 'never', 'settled', 'netherfield', 'ought', 'lady', 'lucas', 'quieted', 'fears', 'little', 'starting', 'idea', 'gone', 'london', 'get', 'large', 'party', 'ball', 'report', 'soon', 'followed', 'mr', 'bingley', 'bring', 'twelve', 'ladies', 'seven', 'gentlemen', 'assembly', 'girls', 'grieved', 'number', 'ladies', 'comforted', 'day', 'ball', ...]
In [17]:
T1_frequency_distribution = FreqDist(Cleaned_T1)
T1_frequency_distribution
Out[17]:
FreqDist({'mr': 783, 'elizabeth': 593, 'could': 525, 'would': 468, 'said': 402, 'darcy': 371, 'mrs': 344, 'much': 328, 'must': 318, 'bennet': 294, ...})
In [18]:
dictionary = Counter(T1_frequency_distribution)
cloud = WordCloud(max_font_size=60, max_words=80, background_color="white").generate_from_frequencies(dictionary)
plt.figure(figsize=(20,20))
plt.imshow(cloud, interpolation='bilinear')
plt.axis('off')
plt.show()
In [19]:
remove_these = set(stopwords.words('english'))
Cleaned_T2 = [w for w in Tokenized_T2 if not w in remove_these]
Cleaned_T2
Out[19]:
['project', 'gutenberg', 'ebook', 'adventures', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'arthur', 'conan', 'doyle', 'ebook', 'use', 'anyone', 'anywhere', 'united', 'states', 'parts', 'world', 'cost', 'almost', 'restrictions', 'whatsoever', 'may', 'copy', 'give', 'away', 'reuse', 'terms', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'license', 'included', 'ebook', 'online', 'wwwgutenbergorg', 'located', 'united', 'states', 'check', 'laws', 'country', 'located', 'using', 'ebook', 'title', 'adventures', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'author', 'arthur', 'conan', 'doyle', 'release', 'date', 'november', '29', '2002', 'ebook', '1661', 'recently', 'updated', 'may', '20', '2019', 'language', 'english', 'character', 'set', 'encoding', 'utf8', 'produced', 'anonymous', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'volunteer', 'jose', 'menendez', 'start', 'project', 'gutenberg', 'ebook', 'adventures', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'cover', 'adventures', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'arthur', 'conan', 'doyle', 'contents', 'scandal', 'bohemia', 'ii', 'redheaded', 'league', 'iii', 'case', 'identity', 'iv', 'boscombe', 'valley', 'mystery', 'v', 'five', 'orange', 'pips', 'vi', 'man', 'twisted', 'lip', 'vii', 'adventure', 'blue', 'carbuncle', 'viii', 'adventure', 'speckled', 'band', 'ix', 'adventure', 'engineers', 'thumb', 'x', 'adventure', 'noble', 'bachelor', 'xi', 'adventure', 'beryl', 'coronet', 'xii', 'adventure', 'copper', 'beeches', 'scandal', 'bohemia', 'sherlock', 'holmes', 'always', 'woman', 'seldom', 'heard', 'mention', 'name', 'eyes', 'eclipses', 'predominates', 'whole', 'sex', 'felt', 'emotion', 'akin', 'love', 'irene', 'adler', 'emotions', 'one', 'particularly', 'abhorrent', 'cold', 'precise', 'admirably', 'balanced', 'mind', 'take', 'perfect', 'reasoning', 'observing', 'machine', 'world', 'seen', 'lover', 'would', 'placed', 'false', 'position', 'never', 'spoke', 'softer', 'passions', 'save', 'gibe', 'sneer', 'admirable', 'things', 'observerexcellent', 'drawing', 'veil', 'mens', 'motives', 'actions', 'trained', 'reasoner', 'admit', 'intrusions', 'delicate', 'finely', 'adjusted', 'temperament', 'introduce', 'distracting', 'factor', 'might', 'throw', 'doubt', 'upon', 'mental', 'results', 'grit', 'sensitive', 'instrument', 'crack', 'one', 'highpower', 'lenses', 'would', 'disturbing', 'strong', 'emotion', 'nature', 'yet', 'one', 'woman', 'woman', 'late', 'irene', 'adler', 'dubious', 'questionable', 'memory', 'seen', 'little', 'holmes', 'lately', 'marriage', 'drifted', 'us', 'away', 'complete', 'happiness', 'homecentred', 'interests', 'rise', 'around', 'man', 'first', 'finds', 'master', 'establishment', 'sufficient', 'absorb', 'attention', 'holmes', 'loathed', 'every', 'form', 'society', 'whole', 'bohemian', 'soul', 'remained', 'lodgings', 'baker', 'street', 'buried', 'among', 'old', 'books', 'alternating', 'week', 'week', 'cocaine', 'ambition', 'drowsiness', 'drug', 'fierce', 'energy', 'keen', 'nature', 'still', 'ever', 'deeply', 'attracted', 'study', 'crime', 'occupied', 'immense', 'faculties', 'extraordinary', 'powers', 'observation', 'following', 'clues', 'clearing', 'mysteries', 'abandoned', 'hopeless', 'official', 'police', 'time', 'time', 'heard', 'vague', 'account', 'doings', 'summons', 'odessa', 'case', 'trepoff', 'murder', 'clearing', 'singular', 'tragedy', 'atkinson', 'brothers', 'trincomalee', 'finally', 'mission', 'accomplished', 'delicately', 'successfully', 'reigning', 'family', 'holland', 'beyond', 'signs', 'activity', 'however', 'merely', 'shared', 'readers', 'daily', 'press', 'knew', 'little', 'former', 'friend', 'companion', 'one', 'nightit', 'twentieth', 'march', '1888i', 'returning', 'journey', 'patient', 'returned', 'civil', 'practice', 'way', 'led', 'baker', 'street', 'passed', 'wellremembered', 'door', 'must', 'always', 'associated', 'mind', 'wooing', 'dark', 'incidents', 'study', 'scarlet', 'seized', 'keen', 'desire', 'see', 'holmes', 'know', 'employing', 'extraordinary', 'powers', 'rooms', 'brilliantly', 'lit', 'even', 'looked', 'saw', 'tall', 'spare', 'figure', 'pass', 'twice', 'dark', 'silhouette', 'blind', 'pacing', 'room', 'swiftly', 'eagerly', 'head', 'sunk', 'upon', 'chest', 'hands', 'clasped', 'behind', 'knew', 'every', 'mood', 'habit', 'attitude', 'manner', 'told', 'story', 'work', 'risen', 'drugcreated', 'dreams', 'hot', 'upon', 'scent', 'new', 'problem', 'rang', 'bell', 'shown', 'chamber', 'formerly', 'part', 'manner', 'effusive', 'seldom', 'glad', 'think', 'see', 'hardly', 'word', 'spoken', 'kindly', 'eye', 'waved', 'armchair', 'threw', 'across', 'case', 'cigars', 'indicated', 'spirit', 'case', 'gasogene', 'corner', 'stood', 'fire', 'looked', 'singular', 'introspective', 'fashion', 'wedlock', 'suits', 'remarked', 'think', 'watson', 'put', 'seven', 'half', 'pounds', 'since', 'saw', 'seven', 'answered', 'indeed', 'thought', 'little', 'trifle', 'fancy', 'watson', 'practice', 'observe', 'tell', 'intended', 'go', 'harness', 'know', 'see', 'deduce', 'know', 'getting', 'wet', 'lately', 'clumsy', 'careless', 'servant', 'girl', 'dear', 'holmes', 'said', 'much', 'would', 'certainly', 'burned', 'lived', 'centuries', 'ago', 'true', 'country', 'walk', 'thursday', 'came', 'home', 'dreadful', 'mess', 'changed', 'clothes', 'cant', 'imagine', 'deduce', 'mary', 'jane', 'incorrigible', 'wife', 'given', 'notice', 'fail', 'see', 'work', 'chuckled', 'rubbed', 'long', 'nervous', 'hands', 'together', 'simplicity', 'said', 'eyes', 'tell', 'inside', 'left', 'shoe', 'firelight', 'strikes', 'leather', 'scored', 'six', 'almost', 'parallel', 'cuts', 'obviously', 'caused', 'someone', 'carelessly', 'scraped', 'round', 'edges', 'sole', 'order', 'remove', 'crusted', 'mud', 'hence', 'see', 'double', 'deduction', 'vile', 'weather', 'particularly', 'malignant', 'bootslitting', 'specimen', 'london', 'slavey', 'practice', 'gentleman', 'walks', 'rooms', 'smelling', 'iodoform', 'black', 'mark', 'nitrate', 'silver', 'upon', 'right', 'forefinger', 'bulge', 'right', 'side', 'tophat', 'show', 'secreted', 'stethoscope', 'must', 'dull', 'indeed', 'pronounce', 'active', 'member', 'medical', 'profession', 'could', 'help', 'laughing', 'ease', 'explained', 'process', 'deduction', 'hear', 'give', 'reasons', 'remarked', 'thing', 'always', 'appears', 'ridiculously', 'simple', 'could', 'easily', 'though', 'successive', 'instance', 'reasoning', 'baffled', 'explain', 'process', 'yet', 'believe', 'eyes', 'good', 'quite', 'answered', 'lighting', 'cigarette', 'throwing', 'armchair', 'see', 'observe', 'distinction', 'clear', 'example', 'frequently', 'seen', 'steps', 'lead', 'hall', 'room', 'frequently', 'often', 'well', 'hundreds', 'times', 'many', 'many', 'dont', 'know', 'quite', 'observed', 'yet', 'seen', 'point', 'know', 'seventeen', 'steps', 'seen', 'observed', 'way', 'since', 'interested', 'little', 'problems', 'since', 'good', 'enough', 'chronicle', 'one', 'two', 'trifling', 'experiences', 'may', 'interested', 'threw', 'sheet', 'thick', 'pinktinted', 'notepaper', 'lying', 'open', 'upon', 'table', 'came', 'last', 'post', 'said', 'read', 'aloud', 'note', 'undated', 'without', 'either', 'signature', 'address', 'call', 'upon', 'tonight', 'quarter', 'eight', 'oclock', 'said', 'gentleman', 'desires', 'consult', 'upon', 'matter', 'deepest', 'moment', 'recent', 'services', 'one', 'royal', 'houses', 'europe', 'shown', 'one', 'may', 'safely', 'trusted', 'matters', 'importance', 'hardly', 'exaggerated', 'account', 'quarters', 'received', 'chamber', 'hour', 'take', 'amiss', 'visitor', 'wear', 'mask', 'indeed', 'mystery', 'remarked', 'imagine', 'means', 'data', 'yet', 'capital', 'mistake', 'theorise', 'one', 'data', 'insensibly', 'one', 'begins', 'twist', 'facts', 'suit', 'theories', 'instead', 'theories', 'suit', 'facts', 'note', 'deduce', 'carefully', 'examined', 'writing', 'paper', 'upon', 'written', 'man', 'wrote', 'presumably', 'well', 'remarked', 'endeavouring', 'imitate', 'companions', 'processes', 'paper', 'could', 'bought', 'half', 'crown', 'packet', 'peculiarly', 'strong', 'stiff', 'peculiarthat', 'word', 'said', 'holmes', 'english', 'paper', 'hold', 'light', 'saw', 'large', 'e', 'small', 'g', 'p', 'large', 'g', 'small', 'woven', 'texture', 'paper', 'make', 'asked', 'holmes', 'name', 'maker', 'doubt', 'monogram', 'rather', 'g', 'small', 'stands', 'gesellschaft', 'german', 'company', 'customary', 'contraction', 'like', 'co', 'p', 'course', 'stands', 'papier', 'eg', 'let', 'us', 'glance', 'continental', 'gazetteer', 'took', 'heavy', 'brown', 'volume', 'shelves', 'eglow', 'eglonitzhere', 'egria', 'germanspeaking', 'countryin', 'bohemia', 'far', 'carlsbad', 'remarkable', 'scene', 'death', 'wallenstein', 'numerous', 'glassfactories', 'papermills', 'ha', 'ha', 'boy', 'make', 'eyes', 'sparkled', 'sent', 'great', 'blue', 'triumphant', 'cloud', 'cigarette', 'paper', 'made', 'bohemia', 'said', 'precisely', 'man', 'wrote', 'note', 'german', 'note', 'peculiar', 'construction', 'sentencethis', 'account', 'quarters', 'received', 'frenchman', 'russian', 'could', 'written', 'german', 'uncourteous', 'verbs', 'remains', 'therefore', 'discover', 'wanted', 'german', 'writes', 'upon', 'bohemian', 'paper', 'prefers', 'wearing', 'mask', 'showing', 'face', 'comes', 'mistaken', 'resolve', 'doubts', 'spoke', 'sharp', 'sound', 'horses', 'hoofs', 'grating', 'wheels', 'curb', 'followed', 'sharp', 'pull', 'bell', 'holmes', 'whistled', 'pair', 'sound', 'said', 'yes', 'continued', 'glancing', 'window', 'nice', 'little', 'brougham', 'pair', 'beauties', 'hundred', 'fifty', 'guineas', 'apiece', 'theres', 'money', 'case', 'watson', 'nothing', 'else', 'think', 'better', 'go', 'holmes', 'bit', 'doctor', 'stay', 'lost', 'without', 'boswell', 'promises', 'interesting', 'would', 'pity', 'miss', 'client', 'never', 'mind', 'may', 'want', 'help', 'may', 'comes', 'sit', 'armchair', 'doctor', 'give', 'us', 'best', 'attention', 'slow', 'heavy', 'step', 'heard', 'upon', 'stairs', 'passage', 'paused', 'immediately', 'outside', 'door', 'loud', 'authoritative', 'tap', 'come', 'said', 'holmes', 'man', 'entered', 'could', 'hardly', 'less', 'six', 'feet', 'six', 'inches', 'height', 'chest', 'limbs', 'hercules', 'dress', 'rich', ...]
In [20]:
T2_frequency_distribution = FreqDist(Cleaned_T2)
T2_frequency_distribution
Out[20]:
FreqDist({'said': 486, 'upon': 466, 'holmes': 462, 'one': 370, 'would': 327, 'man': 288, 'could': 287, 'mr': 274, 'little': 269, 'see': 231, ...})
In [21]:
dictionary = Counter(T2_frequency_distribution)
cloud = WordCloud(max_font_size=60, max_words=80, background_color="white").generate_from_frequencies(dictionary)
plt.figure(figsize=(20,20))
plt.imshow(cloud, interpolation='bilinear')
plt.axis('off')
plt.show()
In [22]:
length_frequency_T1 = {}
for i, j in T1_frequency_distribution.items():
x = len(i)
if(x in length_frequency_T1):
length_frequency_T1[x] += j
else:
length_frequency_T1[x] = j
length_frequency_T1
Out[22]:
{7: 8018,
9: 5109,
5: 9274,
4: 10511,
6: 8389,
3: 3118,
8: 5217,
12: 876,
10: 2576,
15: 57,
2: 1178,
11: 1514,
13: 420,
14: 136,
16: 14,
1: 25,
17: 7,
21: 3,
19: 2,
18: 3,
23: 1,
20: 1,
26: 1,
22: 2}
In [23]:
plt.figure(figsize=(20,20))
plt.bar(range(len(length_frequency_T1)), list(length_frequency_T1.values()), align='center')
plt.xticks(range(len(length_frequency_T1)), list(length_frequency_T1.keys()))
# ax.bar_label(p1, label_type='center')
# ax.set_title("Amount Frequency")
font = {'family':'serif','color':'darkred','size':25}
plt.title("Relationship between Word Length and Frequency", fontdict = font, loc = "center")
plt.xlabel("Word Length", fontdict = font)
plt.ylabel("Frequency", fontdict = font)
plt.show()
# sort keys
In [24]:
length_frequency_T2 = {}
for i, j in T2_frequency_distribution.items():
x = len(i)
if(x in length_frequency_T2):
length_frequency_T2[x] += j
else:
length_frequency_T2[x] = j
length_frequency_T2
Out[24]:
{7: 6063,
9: 2610,
5: 8862,
10: 1575,
8: 4115,
6: 7880,
3: 4036,
4: 10635,
12: 448,
15: 27,
2: 917,
1: 73,
17: 8,
11: 850,
13: 225,
14: 82,
19: 1,
16: 8,
18: 4,
22: 2,
21: 2}
In [25]:
plt.figure(figsize=(20,20))
plt.bar(range(len(length_frequency_T2)), list(length_frequency_T2.values()), align='center')
plt.xticks(range(len(length_frequency_T2)), list(length_frequency_T2.keys()))
# ax.bar_label(p1, label_type='center')
# ax.set_title("Amount Frequency")
font = {'family':'serif','color':'darkred','size':25}
plt.title("Relationship between Word Length and Frequency", fontdict = font, loc = "center")
plt.xlabel("Word Length", fontdict = font)
plt.ylabel("Frequency", fontdict = font)
plt.show()
In [ ]: